Grammy's Birthday Celebration

After church on Sunday, we met Grammy and Paw Paw for a delicious lunch at Fish City Grill in the Vintage Park shopping center. This place reminds me of Market street in the Woodlands. The kids played in the fountain while we waited for Grammy and Paw Paw to arrive.
The kids handed Grammy their homemade birthday cards right when they saw her and wished her a Happy Birthday. She loved them.... glitter and all.

I had to get one photo in front of this beautiful fountain

After treating Grammy for lunch, we headed over to the Tomball Silverado Theater. This was Carlee and Zachary's first time to the theater. We were going to see Toy Story 3.

When we got to the window to pay, the clerk said, "the only Toy Story 3 movie that was playing was in the IMAX theater, which is $14 a person." We had already told the kids about seeing the movie and they had high hopes.

So Paw Paw bit the bolt and paid the $84 (for 6 people). We are so glad he did! The experience was worth every penny! Thank you Paw Paw for the great memories!

Carlee loves movies and when she sees something new her eyes are glued to the screen. She loved wearing her 3D glasses. We had to warn Carlee before the movie started that most movie screens are not this big and you normally don't wear glasses. I didn't want her setting her expectations too high when she sees movies in the future .

Randle and I laughed so hard the first half of the movie because of Carlee and Zachary's excitement and comments. They were hilarious! Carlee kept noticing scene's in the movie that reminded her of her Leapster game and she would say, "Hey, this is from my game!". Zachary kept making sure everything was going to turn out okay. He would say, "What's going to happen? or Are they going to be OK?" He is so sweet and sensitive.

Zachary wore his glasses the first half of the movie, but then choose to keep them off. The movie was a little blurry, but he seemed fine.

Grammy bought Carlee and Zachary some Toy Story 3 toys for the kids when the movie came out (probably a few months ago) and she gave them to the kids when we got back home from the movie. They played with them for the rest of the night. Their cars go fast after shaking them lots and lots.

Greg and I bought Grammy her favorite chocolate cake from Costco and ended the evening singing, "Happy Birthday," to our special Grammy/Mom.

Randle- You are beautiful and we are so thankful to have you in our life. You shine with grace and love in all you do. I don't think you have a moment when you are not thinking about someone else, which makes you the greatest friend. You are very thoughtful! Thank you for all the acts of kindness you display to our family. The world is a better place because of you. It brings me tears of joy just thinking about how God has blessed me with the best Mother-in-love. I couldn't have asked for anything more. Thank you for being there for me in times of need and encouraging me along the way. Life is precious and we are thankful we get to share some fun memories with you and Ed. God bless you this year! May it be a year of joy!

One Stop Before We Go Home

We stopped in Kemp, Tx before heading back home to The Woodlands. Marsha and Rodney (Randle's cousins) live here on 64 acres of land. It is beautiful! This was probably my favorite day because I got to workout, read my book, spend some much needed time with God, take in the beautiful scenery and do things I never get to do.
Zachary is exploring the fields. He tired himself out this morning and took a morning nap in the trailer house we stayed in before heading back home.
This is where Carlee slept. On the top bunk in the trailer home. She absolutely love this place and went to bed rather quickly because she was so excited about sleeping up high.

Zachary slept on the bottom. He liked it too, but you can't tell from the picture. For all those people out there that thought we had perfect kids, here is a picture to change your mind. I'm not real sure why he is crying, but I think he is crying because I am taking his picture. I guess after 300 shots from the vacation, he was all done with the camera.

Yeah, for working out! It was about time to get rid of the extra calories from all the home-cooking we had consumed.

This reminds me of Charlotte's Web. I love it!

I might have to blow this one up and frame it.

MOO COW

We went exploring in this funny looking gator. Rodney uses this when he goes deer hunting. Greg got this baby up to 30 mph. It was a lot of fun to ride in.

Here we are on the paddle boat. We went for a quick ride around the lake. I should have saved this for my workout because it was a quad burner. The kids loved it! The tricky part was getting out of the boat without getting wet.

One of my very favorite pictures of me and my girl....

The boys....

Marsha and Rodney thank you for letting us stay at your place. I could have stayed all week and been happy. Your place offers time to reflect and rest. Your home is lovely and we hope to return again.

Now for one last stop at Sam's lunch buffet and we are off to the Woodlands.

This post concludes our vacation. If you have stayed consistent in reading all the posts, thank you for allowing me to share this with you. I will probably be taking a break from this blog for a little while so we can start home-schooling Carlee again. Don't worry I will update as the Lord allows the time. :)

Random Photo's That Did Not Make It In A Post

Just when you thought I was done posting pictures about our vacation..... I add a few of my favorites. Here's the things you haven't seen. Carlee and Mommy in our pj's having good morning hugs.
This little man and his sweet smiles will melt your heart in seconds

There is no telling how many games of Domino's we all played on this trip, but when the kids were napping or sleeping, all the adults were playing games. Carlee learned how to play Mexican train dominoes on this trip as well and managed to beat daddy her first game without any help. She is raising the bar for competition in our family.

Zachary had the cutest hit when it came to playing putt-putt.... It made his daddy crazy, but Zachary loved hitting it this way and would not change when taught properly.

I leave you with one last pose of Carlee with hand on hip, crossed legs and side cocked head. Gotta love it!

We already miss this place and find it hard to get back into the swing of things, but with time and adjustment we will find a new routine and try to adapt a less stressed lifestyle. If we could only be on vacation everyday..... haha

Time to Say Good-bye Arkansas

Our time in Arkansas was fun, adventurous, hot, full of laughs and good times. We will always remember this time with our family and be thankful for it. These are the last of the pictures from Arkansas.....
Our condo we shared with Matt and Quint. This place was great! Thank you Matt for allowing us to use your time share. What a blessing to be able to stay here for free!

My last attempt to get a cousin shot. This is the best one I got.

Just a side note to remember what I don't need to pack next time I go on a vacation to Arkansas..... I did not need make-up, a hairdryer, a straight iron, jewelery, accessories, half of my clothes (only athletic clothes), and half of my shoes (only tennis shoes). It was nice to take a break from my daily routine. I've gotten a lot more laid back since and have realized all these things are not necessary for everyday use. I think I am just a girly girl and I enjoy getting fancy here and there.

StringBeanz

The last night in Arkansas we went to a local restaurant called, "Stringbeanz." It had the best home cooking food. Everything was fresh from the garden and delicious!

Here is a sample of one of the plates of food. We all had massive amounts of food on our plates and we probably all could have shared, but who know....

Then after dinner, we had some delicious homemade pies and cakes. Zachary is eating the candy bar cake.

Grammy is eating the strawberry lemonade pie. We all shared and passed the pies and cakes around the table. YUM!!

We had the cutest little waiter, who had the sweetest Arkansas accent. We had to wait awhile to get our food and the restaurant was pretty hot. It apparently just opened the week before, but the waiter made it worth the while and the delicious food made up for the wait. If you are ever in Fairfield Bay, Arkansas I totally recommend this restaurant.

Pancake Breakfast at Grammy and PawPaw's Place

Now you can not be with Grammy and Paw Paw for too long without having pancakes, strawberries and turkey bacon for breakfast. We went to their place for breakfast one of the mornings on vacation. Grammy did great even though she did not have her griddle. She made due with cooking the pancakes in two skillets. Carlee is taking it all in.....
Strawberry fingers (this is something our kids normally do when they have strawberries at Grammy's)

Zachary chowing down....

We ate in rounds, like we normally do. Grammy makes the first batch without nuts and the second batch with nuts. I always wait for the nutty pancakes.... delicious!!

Jesse ate on the floor and did not complain.

Nathan and PawPaw

Grammy did get to eat after all the laboring in the kitchen. Thankfully, someone saved her two.

Quint loving me more for taking this picture of her. haha

Thanks Randle for making this yummy meal. It was enjoyed by all of us!

Pool Time

After some very hot days in the sun, the pool was a perfect place to cool off. This pool was nice and had a beautiful view of the mountains. It had plenty of fun sprayers, but no slides or diving boards. However, my kids really don't like all of that stuff anyways.
Zachary and daddy in the kids pool. I love zero entrance pools! We have a few in the Woodlands and they are really great for little kids.

The girls and Jesse..... I was so proud of my mother-in-love for buying a swimsuit (after 20 years of not having one) for this trip and wearing it to the pool. She enjoyed watching Carlee swim and had fun with all the grandkids. We loved having Grammy and PawPaw there with us!

The crew minus me and Paw Paw (who were taking the pictures)

Love this shot

and this one too (our little poser... the camera loves her)

Who needs a diving board, when you have the side on the pool to jump from.... Reminds me of a dancer in this shot....Oh Yes, I could have stayed here all day and read a book while soaking up the sun. There were little times for this on this vacation. I only sat here long enough to take a picture and then I was off playing with our kids.

I am going to miss our pool days.