Fossil Rim, Granbury, and visit from Auntie Hailey

We had such a wonderful weekend, full of quality family time.  I was sick Thursday and Friday last week, so I stayed home from work and "rested," which was good except that I still had to work a lot both days.  It was nice to be home though because we got two major house projects completed - the dining room wood trim was repaired and our drapes were installed!  I am so happy with the way it all turned out and I am glad we finally got it done.

On Saturday we woke the kids up early and drove out to Glen Rose to do the Fossil Rim drive through safari.  I had heard about it, but I was not quite sure what to expect, especially having been on a real safari in Africa.  It was awesome!  You can drive your own car through the 9-mile trail, and there are tons of different animals roaming wild (for the most part) throughout the property.  We saw every imaginable type of deer (even reindeer!), gazelles, wolves, turkeys, giraffes, zebras, goats, sheep, buffalo, rhinoceros, cheetahs…it was awesome.  They provided us with a big bag of animal food to take on the trip, and many of the animals would come right up to our car to eat the food right out of our hands.  The kids LOVED it.  The drive was long - it took about 2.5 hours, and we probably should have arrived a littler earlier, because it was getting late and we were all starving by the time the drive was over.  We went into Granbury and ate lunch and ice cream at a cute little restaurant on the square and then walked around a bit before heading back to Dallas to pick up Auntie Hailey.  She happened to be in town for a conference, and she extended her trip a day so that she could stay with us.  We spent Saturday night swimming and grilling out and relaxing.  Sunday we slept in, enjoyed a big breakfast, and then went to church.  The kids played on the church's indoor playground after the service, and then we headed over to Feedstore for a bbq lunch.  After lunch, the restaurant owner took us out to the feed the cows on the property behind the restaurant.  These kids sure did get to feed a bunch of animals this weekend!  We went swimming again on Sunday evening, and enjoyed a spaghetti and meatball supper before Hailey headed back to California.  It was truly a wonderful family weekend, and I felt so blessed for our home, our yard, and our pool to enjoy together as a family.

Life lately

I feel like the summer is flying by!  It has finally hit 100 degrees in Dallas, and it is really starting to feel like a typical summer here.  If we are outside, we are probably in the pool.  We try to spend at least 2-3 nights during the week in the pool with the kids, which they both love.  Frankie is doing swim lessons again, and he is doing great.  He loves the water and so does his sister.  Last night we played for a little while out on our massive front lawn and met a few more of our neighbors.  Tonight Frank and the kids came to watch me play on my law firm's softball team!  We didn't win, but I LOVED having them come out to watch me play.  Frankie cheered "Go Mommy!" almost the entire game, no matter whether I was up to bat or in the field.  It was awesome.  I think he had fun, and I am thiiiis close to convincing him to try baseball next season.  I would really love for him to love the same sport that I love.

Last weekend we drove to Houston to visit Nana and Papa.  We got to swim in their updated pool and spend lots of time catching up and hanging out.  Frank took Frankie fishing with his friend Keith and their family on Saturday.  Unfortunately, they did not catch any fish! Papa got Frankie some little golf clubs and we tried to teach him how to use them.  My grandparents came over for dinner on Saturday night, and it was so nice to see them.  I am trying to treasure every moment we get to spend with my grandparents, because they are getting older and it is impossible to know how much longer they will be here with us.

Lily is talking up a storm these days.  She is starting to put together sentences, even though the words may not always be in the correct order (e.g., iPad, Lily have it!).  She is running, jumping, and trying to swim.  She basically wants to do everything her brother does!  They are forming the most incredible relationship, and I love to watch it blossom.  They can actually play together unattended now for decent stretches of time, which is so nice.

We have planned a quick end-of-summer vacation at the end of August to San Antonio to take the kids to Sea World and enjoy a few days in the Hill Country.  Frankie is obsessed with sharks and alligators right now, so I know he will absolutely love it.  I have a big trial in August for work, so I am going to be ready for a little break once that is done.  Work has been relatively slow this summer, but it is going to quickly pick up speed over the next month.  I am still loving my job, and I am so thankful for finding a place that suits me well.

Frank is gearing up for his big 40th birthday trip to Vegas over labor day weekend.  I am sure they will have a blast.

Independence Day 2015

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating the Fourth of July and Monte'a Alive Day.  We hosted the Borrell family for swimming and dinner Friday night.  They have two kids - Sebastian, who is Frank's best friend from school, and Alex, who is just 6 months older than Lily.  They play together a lot during the week when we are at work but this was the first time we had the whole family over.  We had such a great time hosting them!  We decided to skip walking up to Town Center to see the fireworks, and we got super lucky that we have a spot on our front yard that was perfect for viewing them.  It was so nice to see the spectacular fireworks show without having to deal with the big crowds.  

Saturday morning we headed up to College Station to celebrate Monte's Alive Day.  We were not sure what to expect this year, but it turned out to be a huge party, and everyone had a great time!  Monte and Amanda had tons of food, and everyone (including the 7 dogs in attendance) got to swim and enjoy their new pool.  Lily found one of Felicity's old scooters and scooted around on that thing all day and night long.  Frankie and Uncle Monte bonded a little bit, and he rode around with him a lot in his wheelchair.  Monte and Amanda seem to be doing so well, and we are so proud and thankful for their community of friends and family that support them.   Monte and his friends set off a ton of fireworks at the house, and Frankie LOVED them, but Lily was really scared of the noise, so I spent most of the night inside with her.  Frankie did a bunch of sparklers and had so much fun.  

Sunday we took the kids over to the A&M campus for a while and showed them the Century tree, the Sully statue, Kyle Field, and the George Bush school, where Frank and I met.  It is always so nostalgic to go back there and relive memories of being in College.  It is so crazy for me to think about how much time has passed since we were there, when in some ways, it feels like we just graduated.  

Overall it was a great weekend spent with family and friends and celebrating our nation's freedom and those like Frank and Monte who so bravely fight to protect that freedom.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend: