Laity Lodge Family Camp

So this past weekend was extra special. We loaded up the family and drove to Leakey, TX for a fun weekend in the Hill Country. We spent the weekend in Echo Valley doing all sorts of fun stuff like - taking walks, canoeing, singing at Roundup, eating great meals and just enjoying the beautiful scenery. We went with two other families that have children the same ages as ours which made it even better.

I attended camp here for many years as a kid and was even a counselor after my freshman year in college so it brought back so many memories to see the camp again. I saw the exact place I became a Christian so many years ago after one of Frog Sullivan's famous "Cross Talks."

Will really liked the music and singing at Roundup and would clap and follow along with the hand motions and sit perfectly still on my lap. Alivia loved the fact that we were all sleeping in a cabin together and did really well in the bunk bed.

The weather was a bit chilly in the mornings, but when the sun came out it was so beautiful.

We look forward to our next adventure at LLFC!

Pumpkin Painting

Matt and the kids had a great time painting the pumpkins they got from a birthday party. Matt even took the kids to a craft store to pick out special paint for the occasion. Matt steered Will towards making a Pittsburgh Steelers Pumpkin (black and gold). His fellow Yinzers would be proud.

Trip to Rountop

My mom, Jill and I all spent a fun day in Roundtop yesterday. For those of you who don't know, Roundtop occurs twice a year and is a collection of thousands of tents and vendors from around the country selling everything from saddles to furniture. You can literally find just about anything there - new and old. The trick is simply finding it! We went with my friend Mandy's tour company called Whimsey. Unfortunately I left my camera behind due to rain, but here are some pics before we left. We met at 7:30 am! Are we dedicated shoppers or what? Thankfully the rain mostly stayed away for most of the day and left us with nice cool weather.

Here are our fearless leaders, Mandy and her sister Meredith.

Sailor Boy

Mimi and Grandpa took Will to the lake for a special overnight this past weekend. I know he loved the one on one attention and had a fun ride in the "Moomba boat." Pa sent me an adorable pic from his iPhone.

Special Guest for the Weekend

This weekend Alivia had a special friend stay with us. Her name is Aubrey. She was so fun to have around and the kids had a ball all playing together. We went swimming, painted, ventured to Costco and church.

Sweet Remy

In all the posts about kids and family, I have yet to post about our true "first baby." Sweet Remington ("Remy") is 7 years old now. He is getting grey hairs but is the sweetest dog I know. He never complains, never whines and is always excited to see me (even at 3 am). He greets me at the door with the same gusto as when he has a puppy and has embraced every new member of our family along the way. I have not ever heard him growl. He has let the kids hit him, pull his tail, yank on his ears and fall onto him with the full weight while he was sleeping and never once complains. He always forgives us when we forget to feed him or don't make time for his daily walk. We love you Remy!

First Day of School

Alivia's first day of school was today. She will attend three mornings a week and has looked forward to it all summer long. She has a wonderful teacher named Miss Jaime who is good friends with Aunt Emily. Her buddies Samuel and Aubrey are also in her class.

My friend Mandy taught me how to do Alivia's hair like this!