Traumatic Vacation Moments

I am still working on the pictures from our Lake Conroe trip with the Aden's.  These pictures from the lake trip deserved their own post.  Colton make need therapy after this trip.

We will start with traumatic incident #1.  Here is the serene, peaceful scene just before the event.

Any chance you can guess where this is going.  Do you notice something?  Why, yes, my son is the only child fishing at the waters edge without a life jacket.  A quick explanation as to why would be the fact he is the only one with a parent right there with him.  A longer explanation would require me to explain Rusty's personality and that he likes to walk on the edge (no pun intended here), thinks he (and his children) rarely need extra safety measures if he is nearby, and honestly, he thinks nothing is going to go wrong.  I love my daring man :)  His reckless nature and all.

My kid fell in.  I do not have an after picture because I panicked a little and didn't think to snap a picture.  Laying in a chair, enjoying the sun, and I hear Rylee yell out he fell in.  Now a little disclaimer here-  Colton can swim a little bit.  We have confidence if he falls in the water, he would be able to atleast surface himself and would be able to stay above water for a minute or two.  I hear Rylee, jump up to see what is going on, and I see Rusty taking his sweet time "saving" our boy.  I run to the water, hearing Colton crying at this point, look over and realize that Colton is STANDING in the water.  Yeah, apparently it wasn't very deep.  Scared him none the less.  

Not to scared to continue fishing with Daddy without a lifejacket though.

Traumatic incident #2.

Colton wanted to tube.  We think our kids love and comfort with the water (in spite of my uncomfort with the water) is so fun so of course I said, "Come on, let's do it!"

Wrong type of tube for a 3 year old.  He really isn't this tall above the top of the tube, I am holding him up for a picture.  

This is the very beginning of the ride.  Moments later he slips down into the tube, slips down and gets stuck between the bottom and the inflated ring itself.  I was freaking out, worried that he would be stuck face down in the water there at the bottom, so I sunk down to at least hold him flipped face up.  I end up stuck down at the bottom unable to give a stop signal.  I was truly worried about my son's life for a few minutes.  I prayed we would just flip out.  Finally, once we disappeared out of sight at the top of the tube, they stopped and pulled us in.  This incident may have been more traumatic for me than him.

It will be interesting to see if he is willing to tube again next year.  

Aden's To Texas Part 1

Every year, Aunt Staci, Kaleb, and Jacob (occasionally Uncle Mark) vacation here in Texas with us.  I know what your thinking because everyone asks....why would people from COLORADO come to TEXAS for the summer.  That's what happens when you move away from family.  "Going home" robs you off vacation options.  And, well, lets be honest.  Texas has me.  And I have 2 cats.  We all know how much Staci loves cats.

We kicked off her trip here with the annual Burress kids with Nana picture.

Asking 7 kids to all smile at the camera at the same time...you'd think we were torturing them.  It is absolutely absurd to say the least.  They take turns tormenting us with tongues out, frowns, tears, and what ever else they can pull out of their bags of tricks.

And, then as a reward for the "good behavior" we enjoyed a little more free summer bowling.

Kaleb and Jacob 

Jacob watching his ball

This was all just the beginning of our 2 week Aden Adventure.  Approx 1,000 pictures between 3 cameras to sort through and then I will have lots more to share!

52 Week Photo Project Week 25

Best buds.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Our summer has started off with a bang!  We have been so crazy busy and loving every minute of it.  I cannot tell you how early I started counting down the days for school to be over.  I do this every year.  I get "summer fever" worse than my kids I think.  No schedules, or schedules filled with water, sun and friends...I can't get enough.  My children are growing up so fast, and I cherish summer time when they have a chance to just be kids.  Nearly every moment is filled with ease.  No alarm clocks, no homework, no tests, no sit still in your desk until 3:30pm, no raising your hands if you need a bathroom break.  I might be a free spirit :)  Maybe.

We kicked off summer with a quick trip to the bowling alley with a few very close friends.  It was hysterical. I will spare (ha, ha) you a recount because I am not nearly as funny as my friend Bobbie.  She replays our bowling experience soooo much better than I ever could.  Read about it here.

Looking forward to many more bowling trips with you girls.  Without Colton sticking his head in the conveyor belt thing.  And with Bobbie falling.

I've Got Sunshine....

I mentioned back during our Memorial Day trip to the lake, that Amanda and I began some pinterest inspired DIY projects.  Here are the final two projects!

Using the same old fence panels Rusty and I used to build a small kids computer desk and a console table for behind our sectional, we built a wood sign for Amanda.  Free wood, a little stain she already had, a cricut cut contact paper stencil, and acrylic paint....a huge piece of FREE art.

Here is the pinterest inspiration:

Source: shanty-2-chic.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Here is our completed version:

I would have much preferred a picture of her sign hung up, but she moves slow :)  She has it hung, just hasn't emailed me the photo yet.

The next project was another reclaimed wood sign that I pinned on pinterest.  I thought this was an adorable idea that would look GREAT in our alphabet wall playroom.  Here are the inspiration pictures:

Source: lemontreecreations.blogspot.com via Alicia on Pinterest

Source: lh3.ggpht.com via Alicia on Pinterest

Using the same contact paper stencil method from the Behave art, I stenciled this:

The green I choose didn't pop as much as it should have, but oh well.  Still lovin' it!

It has been so fun working on these.  I can't wait to find my next craft inspiration.  I guess off to pinterest I go....

Behave, Be & Have

Possibly one of my favorite Pinterest's inspired projects to date.  While camping over Memorial weekend, Amanda and I tackled a few projects.  They are done now!

Here is the inspiration:

Source: etsy.com via Alicia on Pinterest

I have wanted to do some type of family rule board for a little while.  This particular one caught my eye because it has the same colors that we decorated our family room in.

We, by we I mean Rusty, cut a piece of plywood.  He has allowed me to do a lot as far as my little DIY projects go, but power tools are not one those things.  We appreciate me having 2 hands and all 10 fingers.

I planned on using my cricut to cut vinyl for a stencil for the words.  Enter dear ole' Amanda and her save a $1 plans.  She suggests we use cardstock since we both had more than enough on hand and it is so cheap.  Cardstock was a FLOP!  I had to start all over because the paint bled under the paper so badly.  Her idea did lead me to think outside the vinyl box.  I tried some old clear contact paper I had on hand, and it worked great!  

Not only is it a favorite craft project, it also has proven to be the most time consuming.  Worth it though!  

We are loving how it looks in our family room in our ever growing fun photo wall!  

52 Week Photo Project Week 24

This week's photo memory I can't wait to forget.  

This NOT SWEET picture of Colton sleeping ON MY BED is a reminder of the nightmare that has become our nights the last 2 weeks.  My boy has been a champion sleeper since 6 months old.  12 solid hours a night, never a fight for bed, asking to go to bed most nights.  Approx 2 weeks ago, timed perfectly with the arrival of my sister in law and her kids traveling from Colorado to stay with us for 2 weeks, my son started waking up approx 2 am screaming and beating on his door wanting to sleep with us.  And I mean SCREAMING!  FOR 2 HOURS!  This has never, ever been an option aside from camping/hotels on trips so I was shocked he decided to start asking.  Repeatedly, mom or dad tucking him back in his bed, reassuring him he is ok, and him getting up 10 mins later and starting again.  He is so not a strong willed child at all so we are floored by this behavior.  He isn't sick, he doesn't appear scared, and we do not think night terrors at all.  He is calm within seconds of us walking in the door.  In order to keep some quiet in the wee hours of the nights for our guests, who were sleeping in the room right next door,  he won this battle for a couple weeks.  What makes it worse, is that he doesn't even sleep well in our bed.  He is constantly tossing, turning, and sitting up.  Tonight is Operation Sleep Train The Preschooler.   We all need sleep.  Pray for us.


Update- as of June 22 he has slept the last 2 nights in his bed.  The first night he slept until 5 am, cried for a few mins and then slept until 6:30am.  Last night, he had a perfectly normal night.  Thank you God!  Slept from 8:30-8:30 uninterrupted!

52 Week Photo Challenge Week 23

The Aden's are in for their annual Texas trip and we LOVE to torture ourselves by forcing these kids to take a picture together every year.  The oldest 4 have mastered cooperating, well, for the most part.  An outtake on my oldest to come :)  But, the 3 3 year olds have not.  Wow.  Three 3 year olds expected to smile at the same time...enough said.

We managed a little something we are pleased with.  A little thanks goes to photoshop for this though :)  

Lots more blogging to come from the Aden visit.  Still have several days left of their visit, and we are up to approx 510 pictures (between me and both sister in laws)!

How Many Jumps Does It Take?

How many tries does it take to get the right jump out of 3 kids jumping into the water?

They could take after their mothers.  

They insisted on the photo being retaken until they were satisfied with each jumper.

Dalton wanted in on the action, too.

That one just cracks me up.

Ah, yes, there we go.  It's a keeper.

Memorial Day Part 2

No real exciting details left to share, but still a few pictures that deserved to be shared.


Colton being silly and apparently thinks his Batman is a chew toy.

Colton attempting to fill the water toy himself.

Miss Kinley hanging outside and my weird camera angle.

Miss Kinley now deciding it is time to roll over!

There she goes!

Big kids hanging out on the tube.

Colton being cute while snacking.

Emma sporting a hat.  Early wrinkle protection.

Emma doing what Emma does best.  Eating.

A tree right above us while hanging out by the fire.  PERFECT "scary" tree.  I forgot to take a picture of the 2 headstones marking very old gravesites right beside the house.  Dead serious, too!  (ha, ha, see what I did there :)  Ultimate spot for a Halloween party!

Brotherly love.

Dalton's "jump shot".

Happy 4th Birthday Dalton.

Watermelon time!

Alicia, Rylee and Jackson as taken by Jadyn

Memorial Day

Before I brag on what a great, long weekend we had, I must say how incredibly grateful I am for all the men and women who have fought for our freedom.  I have thanked God so many times for the blessing of being born an American.  Those who have given themselves to protect our rights are my heroes.  Thank you for your sacrifice!

We ushered in summer the best way we knew how.  On the water.  The Collins' family invited us out to her parents house on Lake Livingston.  We arrived late Friday night and set up the camper (lots of family and family friends were joining us for the weekend so we came with our own room :).  Saturday morning the kids woke up and put their swimsuits on and with the exception of pajama's, they were in swimsuits until 4 o'clock Monday afternoon!  Now that is how you ring in summer!!!

Rusty helped rebuild their pier while us girl's worked on our tans and did a little DIYing ourselves.  I figured if Rusty was going to have his saw out then I might as well tackle a few Pinterest projects Amanda and I have been pinning.  More on those later though :)

I have no doubt incredible memories were made by my children this weekend.  To name a few:

1.  John (Amanda's dad) allows the kids to take a john boat with a trolling motor out in the cove and "drive"   themselves around.   Jadyn thought this was amazing.

 2.  Colton became comfortable with swimming around the lake (with his life jacket on) without an adult   holding on to him.  He truly thought he was one of the big kids.  He even braved the neighbors waterslide!

• Side note:  We are working hard on his girly fear/annoyance of bugs.  He hates flies and bugs swimming in the water.  Dude, your a camper.  Better get used to it quick.

3.  Multiple trips out on the "real" boat including a ride on the tube.  Uncle Kyle was unable to throw them off although he tried.  Jadyn may remember the tube boat ride a bit different than the rest.  A cement bucket fell over onto her toes.  Ouch.

• Side note: Trips to the lake with multiple adult couples allows for a lot of other people to watch your kids :)  Us "big kids" got a boat ride without kids and the kids had boat rides with the other adults.  VERY NICE BREAK!

4.  Seeing Saturn, Mars, the moon, and a double star (I think?) through a very high end telescope courtesy of Roger, friend of John's.  Jadyn LOVES science and facts so this may be a highlight for her entire life.  She loved this.  I must say, Saturn was AMAZING!  Looks exactly like we are taught but seeing it was incredible.  And, surprise, Mars is actually red :)  Again, I know we are taught this but seeing it seems so different than what you imagine.

5.  Kids played hide and go seek in the dark.  Very important childhood moment, I think.

6.  Colton fishing with Daddy.  Short attention span but he still had fun.  I'm sure we can all guess who the short attention span belong to.  Maybe next time Rusty will hold out longer.  Ha, ha.  Bad joke over.  Yes, it was the 3 year old :)

7.  A waterslide into the lake at the neighbors house.  FUN!  Even Colton got in a little on this action.

Colton

Jadyn

Rylee

8. Crafting with Amanda's little sister Sandra.  The kids took scraps of wood, and had a grand ole' time painting and decorating them.

We big kids had a great time, too.  With the kids taken care of, we got to take a sunset boat ride, craft, and  hang out fireside.

Incredibly fun weekend.  Bring on SUMMER and many more weekends like these!