Ashlyn's 14!

Ashlyn's Birthday was yesterday, so, since we will probably celebrate her day while Jill's here (possibly a BBQ on the 18th), we let her pick out what to eat for dinner on her special day (spaghetti & meatballs w/ice cream for dessert) and I bought some mini brownies so we'd have something to put all of her candles on. Here's our 14 year old with her birthday brownies:

We've had a busy summer so far. This past weekend we went to Dayle & Dee's wedding shower and are sooo looking forward to their wedding on July 10. Sunday we met our friends, the Harwell's, at the Llano river to discuss menus for our upcoming trip to Balmorhea and Davis Mtns. We went there with them last year, too, but we're getting to stay in the parks this time (since we made early reservations unlike last year) and hopefully will get to have a non-stormy star party at McDonald Observatory. We are all looking forward to getting away for a few days. Then the next week Jill will be here for a week and I'm sure we'll do some fun stuff with her and then at the end of July, Colten will be going to Hermann Sons Camp and John will be going to another fire fighter training in College station, so it will be just Ashlyn & I at home alone that week - she's too old for camp already! Then it's August already - summer flies!

New Bull

John got a new herd bull for the ranch and we need a name for the big guy. His idea is Big Red. Any other suggestions?

Father's Day

Hope everyone had a good Father's Day. We pampered John a little - made him breakfast and did what he wanted to do - absolutely nothing all day! Wasn't too difficult.

Here he is in his father's day recliner with a beer and the remote and the card that the kids picked out for him - it says tape to stomach - now you have the six pack abs you've always wanted ;)

Summer

We had another busy weekend - went to see my cousin Casey graduate from high school, went to the beaver creek and swam in the almost too warm water and then went to visit our friends whose little boy turned one. The kids got to hang out with them and swim, too, so they were happy. Here are some pictures from the last few weeks:

Start of Summer 2010

Friday, Ashlyn will be headed to basketball camp for 3 days and then the kids will be going to South Padre with my parents the following week. It'll be quiet around the house - no remodel projects planned this time :)

End of School & Memorial Day Weekend

Well, summer is definitely here! We had a very busy last week of school and Memorial Day Weekend. Colten went to the capital Wednesday and John went with him for this field trip. I think they both enjoyed it, although John got a little tired of all the other kids... Ashlyn went to Schlitterbahn with her class Thursday and of course got sunburned and is still complaining about it. Hopefully next time she'll be better about applying sunscreen :). Friday was the last day of school and Colten had a Splash Day and it was Ashlyn's 8th grade graduation ceremony. Then Ashlyn had a friend over until Saturday. Whew! Here are a few pics from the week/weekend:

In case you couldn't view the video of Colten's performance, here he is in his Davy Crockett outfit:
Here is Ashlyn graduating from the 8th grade.... can't believe she will be in high school next year - it's mind boggling.

Saturday we were invited to a pool party with Chris and Jodie.We had a good time - it was definitely a good day to be in a pool! We were reminded though that we need to make sure the kids are drinking plenty while they swim - Colten ended up with a bad headache and threw up while we were there. Poor guy! Here are the kiddos hanging out in the pool:


Then, Sunday & Monday we went to visit our friends the Wolf's who will probably be moving back to North Dakota soon. We have to hang out with them while we can! This is Cole, Ashlyn & Colten in the pool Monday morning:

Colten as Davy Crockett

Colten did an awesome job reciting his Davy Crockett speech. He said he was nervous, but I think he was one of the best presenters. Here's a video:

Almost Summer!

Colten was insistent - he wanted to sleep in the tent in the yard with his buddy Jason. So we set up the tent and then Ashlyn wanted in on the fun, too, so we found her tent and set it up as well. Jason's sister Kayla was going to stay with her. I knew it wouldn't last long, though, and around 11pm the boys came in and said the cats and the bugs were too loud and they couldn't sleep. The girls said they came in around 3am when they couldn't stand the hard ground any longer. Looks like we need a bit more practice before going on a camping trip further from home ;)

Here's our tent city:


John & Colten found two toads in the yard the other day and Colten really wanted to keep them as pets. So, John went and found an old fish tank that we had and he set up a toad house for them. Colten so far is very enthusiastic about finding bugs for them to eat and cleaning out their water. Hopefully it lasts.

Here's the fish tank. You can see a frog profile in the far left corner.


Here's one of the toads eying a fuzzy caterpillar before devouring it:

It's actually pretty interesting to watch them eat.

This is the last week of school for the kids and it's a busy one! Tuesday is the Notables presented by Colten's class where Colten will dress up as Davy Crockett and recite a speech about his life. Wednesday, Colten's class is going on a field trip to the state capitol and the Imax at the Bob Bullock history museum. Wednesday evening is the 8th grade dance/graduation party. Thursday, the 8th grade is going to Schlitterbahn. And Friday is the 8th grade graduation. Whew! I will hopefully have lots of pictures to share once this week is over!