Grant's preschool has a costume parade every year. Above is Grant's class. Can you find him?
Our friend Jennifer sat next to me and said he was parade material. I think it was because he marched around to the music so well. Maybe the mask lent him anonymity so he had no fear. Maybe that's why Batman is so brave too. 
Grant was very insistent about painting today, and not just with watercolors. He's been trapped inside with a fever for the last few days, so I wanted to make him happy. Usually I don't like to get out paints because it seems like a lot of work to set up and clean up when they lose interest in 5 minutes. Grant was very happy painting about 3 pictures and asked for my help with stars. He described this first picture as corn growing in the green grass, a night sky and moon and stars and even darker sky above that....
then he painted another darker sky...
in no particular order....
Either way Grant was ready. He was a little sad over breakfast this morning, but when it was time to leave me at school, he gave me a big sloppy kiss and went off to play.
I just have to post that I am super thankful for friends! Here is Abby splashing with some of her friends:
I have really fabulous friends here including Teresa (of the crazy half-marathon idea). We were both able to forget about training enough to get together in Colorado when she came through town with her friend Amy. See more of their adventures here.
Before our family vacation to Colorado, I was able to escape to Galveston for a weekend. Big thank you to Brian, my mom, and my friend Amy for help with the kids! This was a 10 year reunion with my closest friends from college. There were 7 of us that went on Spring Break road trips, played secret santa and shared life together at Baylor. We all miss each other and loved unhurried, uninterrupted time we spent in Galveston. We missed Amy and Lisa, but here are Kalley, Kathy, Lori and Katy. We had an amazing time laughing, eating and catching up on all that we had missed.
time on the beach:
Thanks Kathy for the glamour shots:
Thanks most of all to my best friend Brian who encouraged me to go to Galveston. He also packed up 3 kids and drove by himself for 6.5 hours to pick me up on our way to Colorado!
Our kids had a blast riding the horses in Colorado. Abby was super excited to get there and ride Toby, but Grant said he wouldn't ride any horses. Grant surprised us when he was ready to ride the second time we saw the horses. Why are we surprised anymore by their bravery? Grant helped take care of Joe with Pops and Abby helped Nanna by brushing Toby.
Look at that proud and happy girl!
Jackie said this was the slowest Toby had ever walked, but he did it for Grant!
Here are a few pictures of our time in Colorado. We had a really great time seeing deer and foxes, pretend fishing, hiking, and spending time with Brian's parents. I wish I could show pictures of our sweet "angel" but we still can't show her. She loved waving at us from her hiking backpack and sleeping in it too.
The cold, cold water of Lake Erwin.
Thanks to Nanna and Pops for a fun vacation and fun with Toby and Joe.
"Sit still kids!"
Abby watching for wildlife on our daily drives. Brian offered them a dime for any four-legged wild animal they saw, or $10 for a monkey. 
Abby and Grant fishing from their sled "boat."
We had a fabulous trip to Colorado last week. I would love to post videos or pictures of the 32 hours of road trip, 5 hikes, horseback riding, jeep driving, canoeing, and more smores fun. But sadly this is all I can post for the moment, even though 6 cameras went with us. Let's all be old-school for a moment and lean our heads to the left to see Abby riding Toby, proudly wearing her pink, sequined cowgirl hat (taken by Abby's camera).
I'll get Brian's help and post more soon.
My friend Bruce preached at our church on Sunday. We've been going through the book of Nehemiah which is most known for the re-building of the wall around Jerusalem. But after the wall is built, there's still lots of good stuff in the book.
Bruce's message was based in Nehemiah 8 where God instructs the people to build tents and sleep in them. This unusual request was an invitation for others to ask questions and get introduced to the one, true God. Bruce also referenced a study that stated that the most functional families have 2 things in common ... sharing a meal together most nights of the week ... and camping together.
So, in honor of God's instructions in Nehemiah 8 to "camp together" Bruce sent everyone home with supplies to make s'mores. After lunch on Sunday we huddled under our kitchen table (our tent) and consumed s'mores. The kids loved it and we got to tell them about Nehemiah in the process.
Thanks everyone for your encouragement, it meant a lot to me, especially on Saturday morning. I only ran 7 miles out of my 8 planned miles, but it was the farthest I've ever run before. I really felt like I had accomplished something when I finished.
Posts
