Little Beakers Plus

Here's a family selfie after church.  This is what happens when Taylor and I try to sit on the love seat together (both of the kids always want to be on the "big couch").

On Monday, I thought Little Beakers camp started at 9:00 AM instead of 10:00 AM.  We took the hour and hung out at a nearby park.  It's the first time I've seen a merry go round in years.  The kids loved it.  Anna Belle's feet struggled to stay on the ground, but she held on tight.

Here's the last day of Little Beakers camp.

Little Beakers

At the end of the school year, Ace's mom and I decided to sign the boys up for Little Beakers camp.  Ace is the one on the left in the blue t-shirt.  They have really enjoyed this week and all the messy and gross projects.  

Late 2013 8x11

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Hill Country Time

On Thursday afternoon, Grandma and the kid and I drove up to the ranch.  I managed to bring everything in from the car just as it began to rain.  The rain turned into quite a storm.  Some areas had really high winds, maybe even tornadoes.

The four of us tried to go to Hamilton Pool on Saturday, but it was closed (like the last time I attempted to visit).  We ended up going to Krause Springs.  The water was kind of mirky, but we had fun.  Trey and Ann met us there, shortly after arrival.

Upon our last visit, Brady rang the bell.  This time, Anna Belle did it (and Brady didn't want to).

The water was pretty cool, so the kids mostly wanted to play in the streams of water going through the rocks.

These photos were taken down at the creek.  After a hard day of mowing, weed eating and pulling weeds in the creek, we were happy to enjoy a cheese plate with our feet in the water.

... and Brady's always happy with a gun in his hand.

This has become my favorite picture to take at the ranch.  I traveled through water, hills, mud, reeds and a total of about 10 yards to get to the perfect spot to take this shot, but I'm always happy with this  photo angle.

Taylor bought and looked good in his first fishing shirt.

After Brady shot his BB gun almost right at us (it hit the table between the chairs), we took the BB gun away.  He laid on the rock and pouted, and Anna Belle joined him.

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

-Romans 12:15

My Anna Belle is a sweetheart.  Anna Belle also tries to whistle by putting her fingers in her mouth and hollering, "Woo Woo!"  <3

Pool Party

Last night, we had Taylor's family over for dinner.  I LOVE this picture of Anna Belle with Grandpa.

Brady and Anna Belle called our family get-together, "Brady's Party."  I'm not exactly sure why.  Taylor and I decided it was actually the pool's party.  Our pump went out last week.  It took a full 7 days notice to get our pool repairman out (and I had to use him because the pump was still under warranty through him).  Once we got the pump back on, the water was pretty gross.  After a few hundred dollars at the pool store and a little elbow grease, we got it back to 100%.

In the photo below, you can see that the pool was still a little cloudy and green.  Oh, and there's my son the sniper. 

Swim Lessons

Anna Belle just finished week 7 and Brady just finished week 1 of swim lessons at Houston Swim Club.  We've been really happy with the program.  One more week to go!

Anna Belle swims quite well, but absolutely loathes floating.  Brady's form has improved quite a lot.  Learning how to breath correctly during a freestyle stroke is not the easiest swimming skill, but he's getting really close.

We have a few friends taking swim lessons in the same time slots this session, so I've really enjoyed mommy chat in the waiting area.

Last Day of School

On the last day of school, we took Brady's friend, Daniel, with us to get frozen yogurt.  The kids really enjoyed it.

The evening after Brady's last day of school, we had a baseball party to celebrate the end of the season.  It was hosted at Fairfield's splash pad, which worked out really well.  Anna Belle was really sad that she didn't get a trophy too.  You can see in the photo, she's waiting very patiently.

Hello Summer

Brady's last day of school was Friday.  That night we had a baseball party and the next morning we drove to Galveston to celebrate Sam and Sara's birthdays.  I normally do not love beaches, particularly Galveston, but this was actually a lot of fun.  We borrowed chairs and a ripped umbrella from Sherry.  If I can keep my feet out of the water, my bottom out of the sand and hide from the sun, the beach quickly becomes more likable. 

The kids loved it!  Brady loved the ocean and spent quite a bit of time talking about the waves.  Anna Belle was a bit intimidated by the water but loved playing in the sand.  We stayed at the beach for a few hours, and no one was sunburned <phew>.

I've been working on my summer planning, and I would really like to make it down to the beach again before Brady goes back to school.