A much needed family Vacation

At the beginning of the summer a friend told me about an awesome deal on Schlitterbahn tickets that we couldn't pass up so we got them and started planning our little family vacation for the summer. Ryan didn't think he could take time off until August so, after much anticipation, and a summer of our Daddy working a ton, we were so ready for a vacation!
On Wednesday afternoon we drove up to New Braunfels and checked into a little cabin on the Guadalupe River. Tubing is a big thing in New Braunfels and the river was full of tubers. (Or toobers, if you read most of the signs down there.) We unloaded into our little house and then played in the river a little bit. Then Daddy made us a yummy BBQed dinner that we ate on the deck. After dinner we went for a little walk and did a little fishing along the river. Kate was so cute about her fishing, she would cast her line out and crouch down and wait for the fish to bite. I didn't have the heart to tell her the little plastic tiara at the end of her pole probably wouldn't be attracting too many fish. When it got dark we headed back for home and all of a sudden I saw a little flicker out in front of me....and it was a firefly!! I can't even tell you how many childhood memories flooded back to me as I watched those little bugs flickering in the sky. It was so fun to show them to my children...and to my husband, who had never seen one in his life either! After we got home we roasted marshmallows and made smores and watched the fireflies over the river. It was beautiful.

Our little house is the furthest to the leftKate and Sawyer getting ready to sleep in their bed

The next morning we woke up and spent a little time by the river before we headed to Schlitterbahn. Sawyer was saying "water slide" all morning, he couldn't wait! It was a long day in the sun but we all enjoyed it quite a bit!

We stayed at Schlitterbahn until it closed and then headed to our hotel to change before dinner. By the time we got to Carino's it was 10:30! WOW, my kids were up late! But we were all starving from our long day and enjoyed every little bit of that dinner!
But by the end of it, Kate began to nod off. The poor girl was pooped!
We took some video of it because we thought it was so hilarious. If you hear some people talking about something in the background, it was the big fight that happened right before between some employees and an assumed drunk patron who had to be thrown out. Oh the excitement!


After a good night's sleep at the hotel we woke up and did a little bit of swimming and then stopped at Dairy Queen on the way out. We are sad they don't have any Dairy Queens close to us in Houston and we couldn't resist a dipped cone when it was that close to us!
This is how Sawyer looked by the time things were done. ("Is that chocolate or is that poop?" Name the movie!)
I love little family vacations and this one was over way too fast! Now we say goodbye to Daddy because his ginormous presentation is in 2 1/2 weeks! Work work work!

Eat as much as you want and sell the rest

Today I went with a group of friends to the Blue Bell Factory to take a tour. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Blue Bell is a very delicious and popular ice cream here. It is only sold in 17 lucky states and it is pretty good stuff. We drove the hour and a half with a jam packed car full of fun, the kids being entertained by a movie and the moms getting to talk. The factory tour was short and sweet and it wasn't but just beginning before Kate asked when she was going to get her ice cream. I think we were all thinking the same thing! After the tour you got to pick out a scoop and Kate and Sawyer and Summer all chose Krazy Kookie Dough. I didn't realize it was literally crazier than cookie dough ice cream until we got up there and found out it was sugar cookie dough dyed pink and blue. Even better. And Krazier. I got the Caramel Kettle Crunch which was SO yummy...I wish I was eating a tub of it right now! After the tour we ate a picnic lunch in the grass and then went to the country store where they sold these popping ice cream cones that I remember from my past. And they were 99 cents!! There are never souvenirs for that cheap in the gift shop! So the kids had fun offering each other ice cream and popping each other in the face. Who wouldn't?

It was a long day but the company and the yummy ice cream made it all worth it!

My little doorstop

Sawyer has been in the habit of sleeping on the inside of his door for both his naps and at night. It started when I would put him down when he didn't feel he was tired and he would get out of bed. The strange thing is, I don't lock his door and he can very well get out if he wanted to. Instead he chooses to lay in front of his door and cry until he is asleep. After a while I started to find him in this position even when he would go to bed happily. I wouldn't hear a sound until I would be watching TV and I would hear a "thud" on his door as he shifts in his sleep. I have spent most nights putting him back in his bed before I head to bed.
One day at nap time I went to wake him up and I found him like this. His cute bum-up position right in front of the door. I sure love this little crazy sleeper!

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks

Or in our case, hot dogs and cotton candy!

On Saturday night we had a fun family night at an Astros game, courtesy of our awesome summer reading program! One of Kate's many "favorite parts" was taking the train downtown. It made our trip a lot longer but it was worth it for the kids. Sawyer kept saying, "choo choo!" the whole way there.
When we got to the park we ate hot dogs and, Kate's favorite, cotton candy! She had a hard time taking a break from eating it to even take pictures. We sat the last few innings with some of our friends which made it a lot more enjoyable for the kids. Sawyer loved clapping his hands really big with the crowd and would sing, "1..2...3..." strikes you're out! along with me.
We stayed the entire game and took the train home and we got in LATE. But it was worth it! Ryan worked 72 hours last week (is that illegal??) and the rest of the time was spent either sleeping or on his upcoming presentation. We were so glad to have an evening with our Daddy!
Oh, and the Astros won 6-0! We're not huge fans, but we loved that we got to see fireworks at the end!
Go Astros!

Kid quotes

Kate (talking to someone on her pretend phone): "My brother doesn't have earrings. He loves Jesus. I have earrings."

Sawyer (as soon as we get home from church): "Shirt off!!"

Kate and Sawyer several times throughout the day: "ALL ABOARD THE CHOO CHOO!!!!"