Fun Times!

I've decided to break this post up into sections instead of doing a bunch of little posts. I know I'm lazy!!

REAL: I've decided that I need to come clean and just be real with you all. If you are not around Jake you have gotten a false image of him from this blog. This is really my son:

Yes, here is my son, paci, blankets, and all. He has to have his pacifier and blankie with him ALWAYS. I work hard to get them from him so I can get cute pictures. He has gotten better; we are not eating with a blankie in hand and if you ask him to give you his pacifier he will hand it to you 3 out of 5 times. I am just praying that he gives it up before he goes off to college! :)

Portraits: I went to get the kids portraits made yesterday. We got some good shots, but we had a new guy that the kids did not know how to respond to, but what can you do?!?!

This book is one that we got from Chick-Fil-A right before we went to get the pictures made. Jake did not want to give it up , so I incorporated it into the picture. This one of my favorite pictures from today because Baylie loves to "read" to Jake all the time!

Rain: It had been pouring here due to Dolly the past few days. The other day Baylie was standing in the doorway watching the rain. Since Jake was napping I decided to take the opportunity to play in the rain with Baylie. So, Baylie and I played in the rain and had a GREAT time getting soaked, dancing, jumping, and twirling! I think I am going to take more opportunities to play in the rain!

Yes, I know, I am wearing a white shirt. I'm not crazy, we were in the backyard and I made I never wear white without an under shirt! Thank Goodness!! *p.s. Baylie got the necklace and earrings for me for my birthday!* I love you, Baby Girl!!

Children's Museum: Today we met my cousin's wife, Stephanie, and their two little ones, Ezra and Juliette, at the Children's Museum in Houston. We had a fun time today even though it was extremely crowded!! The kids enjoyed being together and I loved seeing Juliette and catching up with Steph. Afterwards we went to Cafe Adobe YUMMY!

My favorite part of the day was being in the car with my kids and introducing them to some great 80's music! What was even better was that they loved it and danced in their car seats !

I was able to take some pictures of the kids at the museum, it was hard to get a lot of good shots in the mass of kids, but I was able to get a few pictures!

Here's Baylie ready to head out to the museum. She dressed herself, boots and all!

Sweet Ezra! He is such a precious boy and I was so impressed with how well he speaks.

Baylie playing a game. She was totally focused!

Jake playing in the Mexican Market.

Baylie milking a "cow."

Cousin picture: I promise they were having fun despite the look on their faces!

Shame on me!! I did not get a picture of the newest Cole addition sweet Juliette. She is absolutely ADORABLE! She looks like her Mommy, but has the Cole body!! :)

As I drove to the museum I remembered the first time I came to Houston in my little Dodge Neon. It was horrible!! I was a small thing in a sea of crazy drivers in their huge trucks. Needless to say, I ended up calling Nathan in tears. I was so unprepared for what I was going to face and I wasn't very well equipped in my Neon either. I kept thinking that I was going to get crushed at any moment! Bless Nathan, he calmed me down and talked me through highway driving in Houston and I made it to my destination in one piece.

Now, fast forward to today when I am driving watching cars weave in and out. I'm doing the same (more carefully than others) cruising in my big SUV. I am now officially a Houston driver. I just had to laugh! Then it hit me that my first experience driving is like when I am not in The Word and spending the much needed time with God. I am not prepared and well equipped to battle the trials I face. So, in other words I am back to my first day driving my Neon in Houston. When I do have the relationship and study His Word then I'm better equipped to face the challenges of everyday.

To be honest, I have let my studying of God's Word slip. I know that I must spend that time to have the close relationship I so desire with Him; and to prepare myself for the daily trials I face. So, I am putting it in print for all to see (all 3 of you who read this) that I am committing myself to spend time with Him and His Word everyday, and I want to be held accountable!

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

Circus!

Saturday morning Nathan treated us all to the circus! We had a great time and the kids LOVED it! It was really a good show that lasted over 2 hours! We had awesome seats so the kids could see everything. If you have a chance to go to the circus I hope you do! Thanks Daddy for a fun time!

Jake was to intent on watching the circus to give the camera a smile!
Baylie glanced away for a moment to flash a smile for the camera
The beginning parade
The tigers: Jake kept covering his mouth with his hands with a look of surprise on his face everytime the tigers growled. He called them lions and roared back! It was so funny!The elephants were Baylie's favorite part. She got so excited whenever she saw one, but when they put on their act they became her favorite for sure!

Tucson

Wednesday July 9th I boarded a plane to Tucson Arizona. I went to my fraternity's convention. I did not know what to expect and I was a little apprehensive about going, since I did not really know anyone. I prayed that the Lord would protect me and bring me someone to connect to. As always the Lord provides above and beyond my expectations. The first day I arrived I was eating lunch when who walks in the door, but my friend Sarah from UTA!!! Sarah was travelling for ZTA when I came in but we got to know each other through mutual friends and I was good friends with her husband Efren in college. I was sooooooooooo glad to see Sarah it brought us both to tears!!! I really enjoyed catching up with her and seeing pictures of her beautiful girls!

God also provided some new friends! I met a ton of people and fell in love with all of them. I am so glad to have my new friends. Some are from the Houston area so I know I am going to enjoy lunch with a few of them!!

Tucson was beautiful. I enjoyed a hike with a new friend from Bedford Texas and 10 other ladies from OHIO! We had a great time. Although, the only wildlife we saw was ants and 2 birds. My week was jammed packed with meetings, dinners, and changing clothes. I was worn out! I was glad when Sunday rolled around so I could head back to Texas!

View from my balcony
The resort
Another view from the resort
My friend Sarah and I at the awards banquet
Hugging cactus that I saw on my hike!

Our July...so far

Well, were are finally all back together in Houston. Since the calendar read July our family has been off and running. We were able to spend some quality time with our family up in DFW and the kids got some precious time with their grandparents while I was in Tucson and Nathan came back to Houston for work. Here is what we did while we were gone. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Baylie and Nathan were in our friends Scott and Stephanie's wedding. We had a wonderful time and I really enjoyed seeing some of our college friends. The wedding and reception were beautiful! Baylie had a great time with the ring bearer and she especially enjoyed getting down on the dance floor!

Uncle Brad is a firefighter and he invited us up to the station to take a tour and see the fire trucks! The kids loved it!!! The engineer took us around the block in the fire truck and we got to see the lights and hear the alarm. We are so proud of Uncle Brad!! Thanks for a fun day!

Swim lessons were continued during our visit. Since the kids were going to be there all week I decided to enroll Baylie in swim lessons up there to give her something extra to do. She really enjoyed her teachers except for the one lady with the loud voice. We told her that God just give some people a loud voice, but that she is still a nice lady. This was very strange to me because Baylie has a very loud voice herself!! Jake liked being poolside with his cool shades on!