July Little Things

This summer has flown by and I can't believe I go back to school next week.  July provided lots of great memories including a few of these little things:

The girls got to go to Great Wolf Lodge with Grandma, Aunt Sondra, and Taylor.  They had a great time and got to do so many fun things!

Books and babies- two of Parker's favorite things!

He also loves his dog! And reading with his dog!

Enjoying a cold treat on a hot summer day!

Parker loves playing with the triplets but he's also great with Holland!  He enjoyed an afternoon at the Children's Museum with her one day before we left for Colorado.

And now it's time for back to school shopping! I'm so thankful that I have summers off with the kids- it's definitely the biggest perk of being a teacher!

Colorado 2019- Day 5- HikeMS

Today was HikeMS!  We woke up to good weather and healthy kids- two things we haven't always had on hike day.  Everyone was in good spirits and ready to hike!  We had decided to try the 6 mile hike with the kids for the first time.  I wasn't sure how they would do on that long of a hike but they were all willing to try it so we ate a quick breakfast and got ready to go.

 "I HIKE FOR MY DAD!"- Cory wasn't able to hike this year but he has three great kids who were willing to hike for him!

Eric and Joni Bishop, our good friends from our church small group, and their three kids decided a few months ago that they wanted to come and join us on the hike this year.  Our kids were so glad to have more friends to hike with today.  We always bring a Texas flag with us to the hike to represent our awesome state.  We love Colorado but our hearts belong to Texas!  Here is our entire group at the starting line.

The first couple of miles were great!  There were some steep parts but the kids kept pressing on without much complaining.  We made sure to stop and take lots of breaks.

By the 2nd rest stop (about mile 4), everyone started getting very tired.  The kids definitely needed a lot on encouragement from the adults to keep going.  At times, it seemed like it would never end!

But we finally made it to the top!  Cory was waiting for us at the top and we all felt such a sense of accomplishment as we crossed the finish line!

 All the hikers!

We are so thankful for The Bishops and their friendship!  Maybe next year we can convince our entire small group to come hike with us!

I'm also so grateful for my family and all the help they gave me this week in Colorado!

 These two pictures were taken three years apart.  What a difference a few years makes!

As always, today was one of our favorite days of the year!  The kids did amazing on the hike and I'm so proud of them for not giving up especially on those last few miles.  I think next year we will stick to the 2 mile hike but I'm glad we accomplished the 6 mile today!  Thanks to all of our family and friends who donated to HikeMS this year and helped make today possible.  We couldn't make it on this MS journey without you!

Colorado 2019- Day 4

Cory and I were woken up on Thursday by Lily running into our room shouting, "A MOOSE! A MOOSE! THERE'S A MOOSE IN THE FRONT YARD!"  We all jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to see this outside the window:

We had seen a moose on the side of the road one other time earlier in the week but had not seen one up close like this.  It was amazing! He stayed in the front yard eating flowers for a long time before moving on.  We were all sad when he left... I think we could have watched him all day long!

 

The kids had begged all week to go into town and do the Tumble Bubbles.  We didn't have much to do so we agreed to go and see if they were busy.  Luckily for the kids, there was no line at all!  They all 6 got to tumble at the same time.  And because there wasn't a line, they all got a little extra time in the bubbles!

After the bubbles, we went on a very short "hike" to see a man made structure that we had heard about.  It was quite interesting!

The structure was close to a park we used to take the kids to when they were little so we went and walked around for a few minutes.  The kids have definitely outgrown this park!  This balance beam was the only thing that they could play on!

Tonight when we got home, guess who was back?!?! And he brought a friend with him!  This time, the moose were in the back of the house.  They stayed for a very long time eating and resting.  At one point, one of the moose lay down in the yard. We thought they might spend the night in our yard, but they finally got up and left.

Watching the moose so close up (not just once but twice in own day) was truly one of the highlights of the whole trip!  That is definitely something we never see in Texas!