Neal Celebrates Another Year

Neal kept his birthday fairly simple. We made him the meal of his choosing, worked as a family to mow the lawn and trim the hedges so he could focus on what he wanted to do, and he went to a movie with a friend. By the way, this was Rhys' first go at mowing and he is not afraid to make some crazy lines on the lawn. On the day of his birthday was Allen's USA Celebration so he did what he wanted which was volunteer at the event for CERT. He spent 2 hours in a truck chatting with fellow CERT friends while an evacuation was put in place due to rain and lightning in the area. He spent the evening hanging out with his family at the concert and watching the fireworks.

Summer Filler

Some fun things we've been up to are:
Our city's concerts in the park
Sophie enjoying her first year of Young Women's Camp through church--faith walks, chalk fights, crafts, canoeing, and songs.
Rhys taking a week long tennis/swim camp to try out tennis and stay cool.
Neal and I are running in the mornings following a gentle program and counting bunnies.
Volunteering at Feed My Starving Children as a family and with neighbors and friends.

Sophie Turns 12!

Our beautiful daughter is growing up into a young lady. To celebrate her birthday, she was treated to "birthday" pancakes, a trip to the animal shelter to love on kitties (her request), and afternoon swimming with friends at the local city pool, and her requested meal, German sausage and red cabbage, for dinner. The next day we headed to Milky Treats for Cereal themed ice cream concoctions since we could not do that on her birthday given the schedule and hours of business. One of the coolest things that happened--and I am not just saying so because you are the only one who reads our blog, Kira--is that Sophie's Aunt Kira and Uncle David sent her a couple video greetings from Africa as they were traveling there and were able to video a tribal chief singing their version of "Happy Birthday" to her! Very cool! Happy birthday, sweetheart!

Seeing Things More Clearly

Sophie started saying she could not see well from the back of the classroom the last half of the school year so we had her screened again and she passed. During the beginning of the summer here she was reading like crazy and saying the same thing so finally we made the appointment and yes, she needs glasses for distance. She only needs to wear them in the classroom but sometimes she wears them more often because it clears things up and they look cute on her. Apparently our book worm of a daughter has deformed her eye shape with all her long hours of up close reading day after day. Now I tell her, "Stop reading! And go out to play." It's weird to say that as a parent.  She is rocking her new look. Her frames are tortoise with aqua/teal on the backside so depending on how she turns her head, there are little glimpses of this blue that, get this, she matches to the elastics on her braces. Love it!

Corpus Christi and the Alamo

When planning our summer trip, we asked the kids what they wanted. Sophie said to swim in the ocean and Rhys said to visit the Alamo. Done.

After a day of driving we were settled in at Corpus Christi. A storm passed over us the first night as we slept comfortably in our hotel but it made for dangerous swimming conditions and we were advised not to go beyond our knees. We spent the day enjoying the waves and strolling the sand. We loved skimming our toes across the wet sand to find thousands of tiny clams that would nestle themselves into the sand for safety again.

That night we took in a minor league baseball game. Go Hooks! The bridge behind the stadium had had lights that would change and really gave a nice backdrop to the game.

The next day we got another shot to enjoy the beach and luckily the swimming was fine. We took in a short nature walk that had no map available to go with what would have been the corresponding points of interest. Thus, Neal made up details on the fly--both true and imagined truth to entertain us. We spent hours out in the ocean and were so busy having a good time, we left photo taking to another time. Later that afternoon we took in Rockport, a nearby town and enjoyed the shops. The kids got to experience their first ferry ride on the way back to Corpus Christi.

The next day we were off to San Antonio. Our hotel was on the riverwalk so we really enjoyed everything within walking distance. Our first full day in San Antonio, we headed straight to the Alamo by way of the riverwalk since the Alamo was on Rhys' bucket list for this trip. He really knew a lot of the history because of his 4th grade year.

Sophie wanted to get a picture of me being stabbed. Isn't she just a dear?! Just hoping it's not a foreshadowing.

Then we walked over the the historical market place and took in the shops and enjoyed lunch at the Mexican restaurant and bakery, Mi Tierra. We bought a box full of goodies to try out later at the hotel.

That evening we  drove out to the San Antonio Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This temple has beautiful stained glass everywhere. We really enjoyed the grounds.

Goodies that night from the bakery.

The next day Neal and I got a run in along the riverwalk before starting the rest of our day. We took in a guided tour of Mission San Jose and really enjoyed the ability our guide had to make us think of the people and the cultural atmosphere at that time in history, not just the structures before us.

We decided to see San Juan as well and stopped to view the Espada Dam and Acequia (or aqueduct) that was used to divert water for the missions and the crops, along the way.

That afternoon we headed to the Tower of the Americas to enjoy the view from up top, 4D short movies, and the grounds. It was windy at the top!

On the way home we stopped in Frederickburg and enjoyed the shops.

It was a great week and we had a lot of fun as a family.

REO Speedwagon Concert

I think this is maybe the 2nd concert Neal and I have attended together. He goes more often than I do but when I heard REO Speedwagon was coming I said, "Let's go!"

Keri's Birthday

I celebrated living to my 45th year. Started the day with a run with my sweetheart and walked out to this!

Then, since Sophie was just out of the contagious stage for strep, Rhys and I left her to go do some good at the North Texas Food Bank. Sophie was not at all put out by this as she had uninterrupted reading time. Rhys and I bagged potatoes into 5 lb bags with a great group and made sure two elementary drop sights would get their order for the next day. Also, rotten, liquefied potatoes are worse than anything I touched being a mother thus far, and that is saying a lot.

During the afternoon, I did not know just how I was going to reach out when an opportunity opened up just a couple days before my birthday. I was able to prepare and bring a meal over to a nice family in our church who was moving that week to lighten their load and help them focus on getting the move finished.

The evening of my birthday, I got away for a girls night at Feed My Starving Children. We had fun talking and listening to music and being silly while packing meals for the hungry. It was the perfect way to end the day!

Thanks to all that reached out by phone, text, and social media to make me feel the love! You made my day!