2016-2020 [Cliff's Notes]

Well, five years ago, life got busier. Ha ha. I will try and go back and fill in some of the gaps over time. 

In 2016...

• The kids and I finished our year with Acton Academy and went back to homeschooling. We learned some great stuff through Acton, but we were glad to be back to just us.
• In the summer, we took a trip up to South Dakota and saw Keystone, the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, and so much more! We then drove over to Estes Park and spent a week there in the Rockies with my family. It was a great trip!
• In the fall, we piggybacked on to a business trip Aaron was taking to Arizona, and we did Phoenix, Las Vegas (just for a night), then Zion National Park (ask about the big fight someday), and the Grand Canyon! We still haven't really seen the Grand Canyon as a family because it started snowing big time about 10 minutes after we showed up!
• We became very close friends with the Drumm family (who also homeschooled) and they were such a gift to us for a couple of years. We had dinners together every week, and went camping (in below freezing temperatures) at Mo Ranch in December. It was crazy cold, but so fun!

In 2017...

• It was a great year of homeschooling! The kids were at such fun ages, and we had a great time!
• In the Spring, we went to Big Bend National Park with the Drumms and camped for several days. It was beautiful there!
• We went to Mexico in September and explored the Yucatan Peninsula! We started in Cancun, went to Merida, then circled back to Cancun by way of Tulum and many other beautiful places. There were ruins, cenotes, great food, and more. Coming back from Cancun, we scheduled an overnight layover in Mexico City, which we loved. And then--within a few hours of arriving--we were in an 7.1 earthquake. It was a very eventful last couple days of the trip, so that will need to be it's own post as well.
• Abby turned 13 and made a new best friend, Danielle. They had such fun together!

In 2018...

• We took a trip to New York City on a whim and had a great time! That should also get it's own post one of these days.
• We finally decided to take the leap and sell our house on Sierra Trail to move out toward Bandera/Pipe Creek. It was all a bit of an ordeal that included backing out of a house we'd planned to buy, moving out of our house in tons of rain and mud, and living with our best friends, the Sizemore's for 3 1/2 weeks. Additionally, it included falling in love with a house we couldn't afford, and then over a month or so the price dropping until we kinda sorta felt comfortable and put an offer on it. They accepted our offer, but then... everything went wrong over the course of the deal and it looked like it might fall through on multiple occasions. However... finally, we got the house (and at a price we felt 100% comfortable with because of our negotiations after all the issues)! We couldn't be happier with our little piece of heaven out here in the Hill Country. I'll make it its own post sometime.
• At the same time, the kids decided to go back to public school and started in the fall of 2018 at Bandera ISD. Carson was starting 7th grade and Abby was a freshman in high school.

In 2019...

• We went to Boston + Portland in the dead of winter because we had some travel vouchers and the airfare was cheap. It was one of the best trips, and we all had such a good time over the four days we were there!
• In June, our friends Shannon + Ana (Shelby's brother and now sis-in-law) asked us to come to Oregon with them so they could get married there! Aaron officiated, I photographed, and Shelby played the music. That was it! It was just the five of us at this remote waterfall we had to hike to (and nearly died). It was such an amazing four days (except for the danger hike), and I'll never forget it!
• In the summer, we took our longest road trip to date and explored the Midwest. Aaron had business in Indiana, so the kids and I drove up to meet him in Fort Wayne and then we all travelled from there. We did Detroit, Toronto, Niagara Falls, Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Nashville. We were gone 2 1/2 weeks! We had some good times, but it was a bit of a moody and stressful trip too. Lots of fun memories though.

In 2020...

• We took a Spring Break trip to Atlanta (Abby's request) and had a really fun week there! We saw Stranger Things sites and then stumbled upon two real life shoots! (We were really geeking out.) Also went to Coca Cola, the ballpark, and lots of other fun stuff. Then on the way back...
• We started hearing people talk about this Coronavirus thing. We were so confused. People were starting to freak out. There was talk of the kids school closing the following week. WHAT?! It all sounded crazy. We were coming back on Saturday, so we decided to stop at the store on our way through Mississippi to get hand sanitizer for the church and they were ALL OUT. We stopped at multiple stores across several states. No sanitizer or cleaning products anywhere. Then it is confirmed that, yes, the kids school will be closed the week after spring break.
• We got home in time for the kids and I to drive to Dallas to visit Nanny who wasn't doing well, and she sadly passed away on Monday. Abby was the sweetest and was there with her all Sunday night and all day Monday, and it was a truly beautiful thing. More on that later too. We didn't really get to have a funeral due to COVID, just a small graveside service where none of us could really hug or stand close and it was all very strange and sad, especially because we are such a close family.
• To unpack the rest of 2020 up until now with COVID and politics and racial tensions would really take a whole lot more space than this, but until I write that down, the history books will well document this season.

To be continued...

Spring Break 2016

The up side of being at a year-round school is that we got a two week Spring Break! It came just in time, and we loved every second of it! Here's a little snapshot...

Aaron brought me a card and a cupcake to work to celebrate Spring Break.
Yes, it has been that kind of a year.

Carson learned how to mow the lawn.

Aaron and I got to squeeze in a few dates during the break too.
He's my favorite.

Since we usually do "that church thing" on Easter, that means we typically have to put off our Easter celebrations with my family off a week or two. This year we went up during spring break and got to spend a long weekend with everyone. It was great!

The kids dyed Easter eggs with Mattie.

And we spent Saturday out at Grandma & Grandpa's for our annual

Easter lunch...

...and treasure hunt!

And we spent time with cousins.

We spent Sunday morning at the church where I grew up, FBC Howe.

On our way home, we stopped to spend the afternoon with Nanny,
and we really enjoyed that special time.

We had time to finally make some progress on our master bathroom.

In addition, we spent a lot of time up at church working on projects. Our sweet kids happily came along and played and helped and hung out with us for long, long hours!

And on our last day of spring break, we had an "upside down" dinner,
with dessert (at Gables) first, and then pizza.

Only 7 weeks left and we are done for the year!

It's Baseball Season

Spring is here and that means so is baseball! Carson missed baseball season last year because we totally dropped the ball (no pun intended). He didn't mind, and he spent a lot of time skateboarding instead (which he loved), so it was all good--but he's happy to be back in the game this season.

This year, he's number 7 for the Braves, and has an awesome coach, Coach George. So far, we've loved watching him play every game! Looks like we're about halfway through the season right now, so there's more great baseball to come!

Carson is #7. He was getting ready for his first game.

Three generations of Baseball.

Concerts

We've been very fortunate over the past few months to be able to go to several great concerts. I meant to give each one it's own post, but alas... this will have to do.

All Sons & Daughters and Dave Crowder | Floore's Country Store

Our good friends, Nick & Francesca, gave us tickets to go see this great show at Floore's Country Store back in October. I absolutely love All Sons & Daughters, and their show was pure worship--beautiful and heartfelt. Dave Crowder is a man I have long admired for his incredible talent and heart for God. He went all out, and it was so much fun.

All Sons & Daughters

Dave Crowder Band

On a side note, afterwards, we discovered the most delicious taco stand in San Antonio thanks to our friends, Dan, Caleb & Laura. We stayed out 'til like 12:30 eating tacos. Because we're not old yet. (Though I can't even tell you the last time we were out that late!)

Caleb, Laura, Dan, & Aaron. Tacos and Mexican Cokes. Oh, yes.

Pat Green | Gruene Hall

In December, we went with Jason & Natalie to see Pat Green at Gruene Hall--our favorite country guy at an epic venue! We got there early early and the guys waited in line so we could get a good spot while Natalie went across the street so we could sit down to eat dinner and hang out (don't worry, we brought food back to the guys). It was nice. Finally, the doors opened, and we were able to stand in the very front row. Literally about six feet from Pat Green's face. It was really cool. (Also a little unnerving/awkward.) But we had a blast. (You can imagine Aaron and Jason standing front row at a concert.)  I didn't love it nearly as much as the Stubb's show (it seems like he was playing up the dancehall/party guy rather than the family guy we've grown to love), but it was a fun show, nonetheless. Love me some Pat Green!

Pat Green

BFF's  (Why do I look scared?)

Brad Paisley | San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo

A few weeks ago, we went with the church staff to the rodeo and to see Brad Paisley. Our seats were way up top, but we enjoy his music, and he played a good show!

Brad Paisley

Family Day at Magik Theatre

Saturday, we had a really fun day with family downtown. We started off by going to see Shrek: the Musical at the Magik Theatre. It was so good! Everyone enjoyed it. 

Afterwards, we spent some time walking around downtown and just hanging out together. The weather was perfect and it was great just being together. 

Some of our crew with Donkey

and with Lord Farquad

And, of course, with Shrek and Fiona

Cousins

Girls (with Kids) Road Trip!

In mid-August, Aaron and Jason headed north for a week to go see four major league games in four ball parks and to go to the Global Leadership Summit, so naturally, Natalie and I decided that was a good excuse for us to go on a little road trip of our own. A few minutes after the guys pulled out of the driveway, we loaded up the kiddos and headed for Houston! The drive there was interesting to say the very least. Five kids ages 3-10, there is no shortage of noise. (I've got a video I'll try to upload. So far, no luck with it.) But with a stop at Buckee's, a movie or two, and the ability only a mom can have to tune out the noise and have a decent conversation, we made it with everyone in one piece.

[Applause.]

We stayed at Anthony's house (Natalie's brother), and when we arrived, Savannah (Natalie's sister) and Carlos (her husband) had pizza waiting for us and we had a great evening just hanging out. Later, we were happy to have Lindsey drive to Houston to spend a couple of days with us too due (sadly) to being let go a week early from her job. But we were happy to have her!

The next day, we took the kids to the  Houston Museum of Natural Science, and fun was had by all. We followed it up by taking them to a downtown splash pad and letting them run around and eat snow cones and be crazy.

The grown ups may or may not have gotten Pink Panther ice creams from the ice cream cart.

Tuesday, we decided it would be fun for us all to go to Galveston for lunch at Shrimp 'n Stuff and then to play at the beach. The first half of the day, we had our doubts that we would make it and that it would turn out to be a good day.

But we did make it, and then when the clouds came and covered up the sun, it made for an absolutely glorious afternoon for all. We finished off the day with burgers that Carlos grilled for us by the pool at their apartment. It was such a nice day!

Carson, Jackson, Madi, Abby, and Reagan in Galveston

Natalie and Madison

Lindsey

The next day we had lunch with Natalie's grandma and aunt at Denny's before we headed back home.

We got back and I decided the kids and I would just stay at Natalie's that night since I'd have all the kids the next day (Nat was going to a conference). Since our family had just been given season passes, we decided to go to Schlitterbahn for a few hours, which was (of course) a blast.

So thankful for such a great family that we can have fun with!

Reagan, Carson, Jackson, Madi, and Abby at Schlitterbahn

College Station

At the start of the summer, I had grand plans for visiting with family and having all of the nieces and nephews stay with us for several days and such. And then I looked up--and summer was over. Where did the time go? So a few days before school started, the kids and I hopped in the car to go spend the day in College Station with Valerie and her kids. We left early, early so that we could maximize our time there, and we made it there by about 9:00.

The kids had been wanting to visit the campus of Texas A&M, so Aunt Val gave us all the tour (including the Kyle Stadium, the baseball field, and the student center). Abby and Carson really enjoyed it, and, after years of being a huge UT fan, Abby finally said that she'd like to be an Aggie.

The rest of the day, we had a great time hanging out. We went to Double Dave's for lunch and then enjoyed spending the rest of the day at their house where Valerie and I sat on the couch talking while the kids played for hours upstairs.

Loved getting to spend the day with my amazing sister and can't wait to go back!

Summer 2014 [July]

July was a very full month. We did a lot and had a great time. I've tried to highlight most of it here with the photos I quickly downloaded from my iPhone. The only thing not mentioned that I thought was incredibly noteworthy was that Aaron was the main speaker for a week at Master's Camp, and as I hear, it was awesome! (He also had another speaking gig in June for City Church as the camp speaker that I forgot to mention.) Here are a few more of our favorite moments...

Rope swing in Old Town Helotes

We had to have our roof repaired. Bye-bye money.

Try to stay cool at the neighborhood pool!

Picked up the Anne of Green Gables series again. Love!

A trip to our favorite water hole in Bandera

"Days go by, I can feel 'em flying like a hand out the window in the wind..."

Rain and getting stuck in the mud at Mattie & Grandaddy's

A little front porch sittin' at Mattie & Grandaddy's.

Perot Museum in downtown Dallas

My little scientist at the Perot

A trip to the Perot Museum with Mattie

Bella, our watch dog

The kids have loved Meals on Wheels

Time with cousins

Logging minutes to earn rewards for reading!

Legos and creativity