Our Second Week Up North - Wisconsin

We rented a vehicle and headed to Cecil Wisconsin to see the rest of my family. It was a 4 hour drive, but our kids did good since they are used to traveling. It was so cute because in the first part of the trip Jacob feel asleep and on the second part of the trip Taylor and Hayden feel asleep. Once we got there the kids were all hyper and excited to see Grandma, Great Grandma along with the kittys and horses. Jacob got busy right away wanting to help Grandma with the chores. If we ever needed to find Jacob he was always attached to Grandma. They did all sorts of things together...walked miles together, went for tractor rides, did horse chores and whatever they could find to stay busy. Taylor on the other hand was not so eager to stay busy. She did a little of everything, but at a slower pace. LOL!! Hayden...well, he got into anything he could find to break or touch and drag around to misplace. I guess that is what we expect out of him though. LOL!!

Taylor... watching a movie. Hayden... smiling as usual. Jacob...asleep (yeah)

Taylor and Hayden are out and Jacob now watches a movieJacob helping with chores...better him than me Jacob helping with feeding...Taylor just watchingThought this was so cute of all of them heading to the barn...even the dogGreat Grandma and Hayden following behind Grandma, myself and my step mom Carol...aren't we cuties??Here is my little cutie pie Carol and Dad alongside all 3 kids going for a horseback ride Dad with Taylor and Hayden...Jacob must be with GrandmaI have to cherish this picture....Taylor helping with chores...wow

(I probably should stop teasing my little girl)Ian getting ready to drive away...who wants to go for a ride??

Valerie and Hayden Valerie and Jacob

Melissa with Hayden Ian loving the ride...Jacob getting in trouble because he has a hard time waiting patiently for his turn Gersito enjoying the ride...just wanting to go faster Taylor...looking a little scared without the saddle Valerie trotting and trotting some more The boys heading up for some more riding...gotta love Ian wearing his cousins pink boots Jacob riding again

My Grandma wanted to go pick strawberries one day, so off we went. Jacob went with us to help us get the job done. I remember doing this when I was little, but it was in our own garden and it was raspberries. Anyways, Jacob ate until his heart content and did a great job helping us out. Here are a few pictures of that day.

Jacob eating the strawberries...they said we could eat as many as we wanted to Jacob and Great Grandma hard at work
Getting ready to leave...buckets are full Jacob took a picture of Grandma and I before we left

We took the kids to a place called Bay Beach. I remember going there when I was a little girl. So, I thought it would be fun to take my kids to a place that I had so much fun when I was little. Well, I have to admit it did seem a lot smaller than what I remember it to be. My favorite ride that I remember so well was the big blue slide. It was most definitely still my favorite...it was also my kids favorite ride. Jacob is still asking me if we can go back to Bay Beach to ride the big slide. I went on it 4 times with the kids and than their Grandma took them another 4 times. I think Carol and I loved it as much as they did!! Here are some pictures of them on the rides. The thing about these pictures compared to the old pictures of my sister and I on the rides is that my kids didn't cry on the rides.

The boys and I on the merry go round...Hayden looks a little afraid Grandma and Carol on the train Taylor and Hayden on their first ride alone

All 3 of our kiddos on the boats together

Jacob on the ladybug

Hayden looking for me as he drives his purple race car

Taylor and Jacob on the swings

Taylor on the big blue slide...click on the picture to see her face better

Jacob and I having a blast

Taylor and Hayden together on the ladybugs

Grandma with Jacob and Taylor...love this picture...another one you should click to see better

My grandma and I waiting as they slide over and over and over

Our First Week Up North - Minnesota

This summer we headed up to see my sister and her family in Minnesota for a week and then to see the rest of my family in Wisconsin for another week. Scott hurt his back before we even left to go up north and so we weren't even sure he was going to be able to make it or not. I didn't think I would go if he wasn't because I didn't think I could handle driving to Bush Airport in Houston and parking my car and bringing in all my luggage and infant car seat all on my own. So the day before we left Scott finally decided he wanted to try and go. The kids did great on the plane and everything went really well. Scott did okay, but was in a lot of pain by the time we got there. Below are a few pictures of all of us around Melissa's house and the kids playing in the kiddy pool.

Mel and I hanging outside with the kids
Our sweet little boys...sitting where they are not suppose to

My niece Valerie...pretty little thing (just like my sister)

Taylor trying to be just like her cousin

Jacob filling the kiddy pool

Hayden being silly

My cute little nephew Ian

Valerie teaching Taylor how to mow the yard

We went to a few of the parks in Minnesota. The kids enjoyed staying busy and it was so nice to be outside where we are not pouring sweat when we sit or stand outside. The air feels so fresh and clean up there!!

Jacob posing for a picture

Valerie and I hanging out at the park watching the kiddos

Taylor climbing the ropes in flip flops

We were also able to go to the Mall of America. Since I have seen the Mall Cops show, I thought it would be sort of cool to go and check out the 4 story mall. It had sooo many cool stores!! The bad thing was that I really couldn't shop (which is super hard for me) because we had our 3 kids plus 2 of my sisters kids. It wasn't to bad though...except for the part of losing Hayden's croc. I was so mad because I had just bought them. When I called the lost and found, they said they found it but threw it away. That's what I get for spending a lot of money on a toddler shoe. Anyways, the kids had a lot of fun riding the rides inside the mall. Their favorite part was the butterfly room. They spent a lot of time in their holding the butterflies. Here are a few pictures from the mall.

Valerie and Jacob on the big swing.

Valerie and Jacob on the train in the front seat

Ian and Taylor on the train in the back seat

Ian on the blues clues ride

Jacob loving the butterflies

Ian so excited he finally was able to get a butterfly

Taylor posing with one of the many butterflies she held

Hayden just couldn't take the excited much longer

Toledo Bend

The begining of June we decided it would be fun to take the kids to Toledo Bend and go camping. As most of you know...I'm not much of a camping in tents kind of girl. Done that and don't want to do it again with young kids in Texas or Louisianna heat. So, we rented a cabin...a really nice cabin. The kids had their own room with bunk beds which they loved. We rode our bikes, played on the playgrounds, swam in the turtle infested waters and went on boat rides. The kids played hard and seemed to really enjoy their time. My favorite part was when we came home Scott and I went out of town without the kids. Just kidding!! Well...sort of. Thanks to our wonderful sitter and her husband we were able to run away for a few days. Here are a few pictures from the trip. We are hoping to go back sometime soon, it was really nice camp grounds.

Hayden playing in the water, while Scott is catching little fish for the kids.

Hayden....so tired from all the fun

Scott and Jacob getting ready for a boat ride

Taylor and Hayden in the background on the fishing pier
Scott messing with the turtle he found

Scott and Jacob biking all over the place

Hayden fell asleep at the beach with me

Taylor, Jacob and I hanging out in the water...look at the view behind us

The kids being silly and splashing around

Our cute Jacob

Taylor and her mis-matched swim suit

Hayden lagging behind...he looks so tired

Jacob and I posing for a picture

Our sweet boy looking sooo tired

Taylor took a picture of Scott and I...notice Hayden standing by Scott. Hayden was so grouchy this morning, he had to be by daddy

Moody Gardens

Okay... so it has been way too long since my last posting. So I am going to back track to the end of May right after the kids got out of school. Once school was out we headed for a weekend in Houston. We love heading over there!! Scott went to help his brother with his new house, while us girls took the kids to Moody Gardens Aquarium and hung out at the house. The kids were well behaved as they could be with the excitement of being together. However, I think they had just as much fun at the house "helping" build Uncle Calvin and Aunt Laurie's new house. I was also able to visit with my cousin Matt for a little while and go to Lakewood Church with him Saturday night. It was really nice to go back and visit!! Here are a few pictures of our visit to Moody Gardens.

Jacob touching a real starfish

Claire, Connor, and Taylor with the Penguin

Just how I like them....Connor, Jacob, Taylor and Claire locked up!!

Hayden hanging out in the stroller
Another silly pose!