Birthday Weekend

For months, the kids have been dreaming of and planning their perfect birthday parties. There have been lots of ideas thrown out there. Should we go to Peter Piper with all our friends from school? Should I have a sleepover with my best friends? But finally, Abby and Carson both decided that what they really wanted was to celebrate their birthdays with their cousins.

Since both kids' birthdays are in May, we just decided we'd do it all in one weekend, so on Friday, the kids and I went to pick up Jerah and Andre (Benjamin and Amorette stayed behind) to begin cousins weekend. They spent the night and then the next morning we picked up Jackson, Reagan, and Madison and started the party! First, we went for Happy Meals and playtime at McDonald's.

Ready to go build bears!

Then we headed over to Build-a-Bear Workshop at La Cantera for the party. Everyone had an awesome time!

So many choices...

"Rub the hearts on your cheeks so they can always have smiles..."

Abby and her rainbow bunny, "Stella"

Carson and his camouflage bear, "Camo"

Uncle Aaron helping Madi and Andre bathe their puppies

The finished bears... and bunnies... and puppies

Game time!

Andre, Carson, Abby, Jerah, Jackson, Madi, Reagan

After Build-a-Bear, we headed home for cake, and then everyone played together and had a great time. Later, we ventured to the neighborhood pool for an afternoon swim, then it was pizza for dinner, and then a movie. One by one, everyone fell asleep and I'm pretty sure they were all asleep by 8:30 or 9:00.

"Happy birthday to you!"

Cake time!

We all thoroughly enjoyed our weekend with these great kids! Love 'em all! Now I'll just go take a nap and clean up the mess later. ;)

Catalyst & Stuff Weekend

Aaron and I had the awesome last minute opportunity to attend the Catalyst Conference in Dallas this year. As luck would have it, everything fell into place so that we could go. The kids got to stay for a few days with Ammie & Poppy, and we took off for Dallas.

We went up a little early so that we could go spend the afternoon with Nanny & Pawpaw. We had a wonderful time sitting on their couch and talking with them for a few hours. I wish we lived closer. It was Pawpaw's birthday too, so that was fun!

After the afternoon with them, we went and met my dad in Allen so that we could take him out for his birthday. We had the best fajitas ever at Uncle Julio's, and then finished the night off with ice cream at Cold Stone. Loved hanging out with my dad, and (again) I wish we lived closer.

The next two days, we were at Catalyst Dallas and it was so good. We heard great talks from Patrick Lencioni, Francis Chan, Jenn Hatmaker, and many many more.

Aaron with Patrick Lencioni

Worship with Jesus Culture

It was a wonderful few days that really recharged our batteries on a personal level. Much needed.

After the conference was over, we went and stayed the night in Howe so that we could go to Brendon and Madison's baby shower the next day. It was good to go and celebrate the coming of baby Landon and to catch up with family.

Brendon & Madison

Jewelry Workshops

Our dear friend, Francesca, gave me the sweetest gift for Christmas. She told me I could take one of her classes for free. (She has a great art studio/gallery--Roadhouse Arts--that is awesome!) In the end, she let me take Beginning Soldering and the following Next Steps Soldering class. I never thought I'd be one to enjoy jewelry making, but I had the best time! 

Jewelry I made in my beginning soldering class

Francesca said my "earrings needed a selfie". Ha! Well, here it is.

The ring I did on day two!

Making earring wires. Isn't the flame pretty?

Finished product!

The ring turned out a little (a lot) bigger than I typically wear, but my inner big haired preacher's wife loves it!

Wedding Weekend

We'd been looking forward to April 4th for a while. Not only were our good friends Brandon & Brittany getting married (she was one of our former youth), but some of our very best friends, the Phelps' were coming in to town--all of them--for the first time since they moved five years ago! The wedding was so fun, and we were honored to be involved. I did the photography and Aaron officiated. It was fun celebrating with old friends and we all had a great time!

Lauren and Terra at the wedding

Terra and Brittany

Aaron officiates the ceremony

Brittany & Brandon

The wedding was Friday night, and we spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with the Phelps and the other Powers crew.

The boys reunited

"Bobby and Lala" together again!

The girls and I went upstairs for a while to pull up a few old pictures for a good laugh. They ended up helping me put together a slideshow of a bunch of old pictures to play for everyone downstairs.  We had a really good laugh at all the funny pictures and happy memories!

And, of course, we had to take a few minutes for a family portrait session. (It was a little easier now that everyone's bigger!)

Big League Weekend

As you may know, we're a baseball family. More specifically, we're an Astros family, so when Aaron heard about Big League Weekend here in our very own San Antonio, he was ordering tickets. Last weekend, we drove downtown to the Alamodome where we met Ammie, Poppy, Jason, and Jackson to watch the Astros play the Rangers. We all had a great time, AND the Astros won! 

Caddo Lake [Spring Break 2014]

This year for Spring Break, we headed to East Texas for five days at Caddo Lake. It's become a family favorite. We love it there! This year we stayed in Barnstormer on Taylor Island (my favorite area to stay) and we had a lovely time! We spent a lot of time fishing, eating, canoeing, and just unplugging from our sometimes crazy life.

Game night after the kids went to bed

Exploring at Caddo Lake

Aaron, Abby, and Mattie

Dustin, Andre, Jerah, and Valerie

I love being on the water, so I went out in the canoes several times. Our last full day there, it was gorgeous, so we decided that we'd try to go all together (except for Granddaddy and Benjamin) in a few different canoes. Abby was not a fan, but we convinced her to go. Well, the trip was going wonderfully and everyone was having fun, when a motorboat sped by and the waves tipped the canoe carrying Aaron, Abby, and Mattie. The rest of us rushed over to try and help them because the water was deep and very cold and Abby was completely freaking out. We managed to get everyone out and to save the canoe, but I'm pretty sure Abby will never get into a canoe again!

They got soaked when the canoe tipped over, but they survived!

Jerah & Carson chillin' on the back porch

Mattie & Grandaddy with all the grandkids