adventure

This past weekend, we celebrated our eleventh anniversary!  Last year, I was eight months pregnant with Anchor so we were extremely limited in what we could do.  This year, with three little ones at home, I knew we couldn't go far. But at least I could participate!!

Kenny planned an amazing trip to the Austin/Hill Country area. I'm so proud of him for planning everything. It was one of our best trips yet!

On Thursday, we drove to Austin and checked in at the Omni Barton Creek.

We then headed out for a hike... yes, hike in 100+ degree weather! This is something I typically would have said no to. But I've been so excited for this trip, I was truly up for anything and determined I would keep a positive attitude.

I'm SO thankful I did!

We hiked at the Barton Creek Greenbelt. Most of the hike was shaded, steep, and absolutely gorgeous! Unfortunately, it was dry. This is what we saw:

 This is what it looks like when it's rained:

But the experience was exhilarating! I couldn't believe I was in good enough shape to hike in Texas in the summer. And man, what a creative God we serve!!

Next we drove to Lake Travis to go jet skiing. Many of our summers dating and as newlyweds were spent on the lake.  We fell in love on the lake, had our rehearsal dinner at the lake, and live near the lake. It was such a beautiful reminder of how we spent our time getting to know each other and that we have such similar interests.

We then found a non-chain restaurant that had great reviews. We love trying new, hole-in-the-wall places. It was called The Grove and had a beautiful, gigantic oak tree lit up with Christmas lights! We wanted to sit outside, but it was just too hot. We had yummy bruschetta, pizza, and a flight of cabernet sauvignon wine tasting. With tummy's and heart's full, we headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep (one thing we don't take for granted anymore).

On the second day, we met some good friends for breakfast. They live in Dallas but happened to be in Austin the same weekend. We then drove to The Blue Hole and Jacob's Well but found out you can only get in with a reservation. While driving around trying to figure out where to go and what to do, we saw a new subdivision being built. Another thing Kenny and I have always enjoyed doing (but rarely time for) is looking at new home construction... especially spur of the moment!  So of course we stopped to look around and found this house, which is pretty similar in size to the one we hope to build.

We also passed at this really cool event venue that shares my maiden name... Thurman's Mansion! Maybe we can renew our vows there one day.

We finally decided to float the Comal River. I've always wanted to do this! It would've been more fun with friends and food, but it was so relaxing and just fun to be with my best friend on the water!

We definitely worked up an appetite and headed to the Gristmill in Gruene for lunch.  They have the best onion rings and burgers!  Next we headed to Hey Cupcake so I could get my favorite late night snack... I got the Michael Jackson! We went back to the hotel and had drinks by the pool.  Our hotel was really family friendly and played a movie at the pool, had a playground, and lots of kids/family activities. I hope to take the boys there someday, and really look forward to showing them a city that means so much to our family.

On Saturday, it was cloudy and we thought it was going to rain so we planned to just shop and take a slow drive home. We ate bagels at Wholy Bagel, another hole-in-the-wall restaurant. Afterwards, we drove to see Kenny's 101 year old grandmother! She suffers from dementia, but I was amazed at how she remembered Kenny. She LOVED seeing pictures of the boys. She has left such a legacy for them.  By the time we finished that, the sun was peeking through the clouds and we knew we'd regret not paddle boarding. So we headed to Lake Austin and had the time of our lives being on the water and trying something new, for both of us! Unfortunately, we left our phones in the car so I have no pictures/proof of this. The lake was calm and peaceful and oh so gorgeous! The trees in Austin are of their own breed... ginormous!! It was so therapeutic... I hope to own a board someday and go often enough that I can actually be good at it!

After paddle boarding, we went to Gueros - a restaurant that we visited often when in Austin for my doctor appointments and surgeries. It was such a different feeling being there without surgery looming over my head. I'm thankful this restaurant finally has good memories for me! We ordered the queso flameado and nachos, and of course margaritas!

By the end of lunch, Kenny was feeling pretty miserable from his allergies so we headed home. I felt so bad that I couldn't help with the drive, but I can't drive a standard... one more reason to learn how!

I was blown away by how God blessed this trip. We never fought and I completely fell head over heels in love with my man all over again.  This incredible man who took me out of my book-reading, nook-loving, rule-following comfort zone and showed me what adventure is! And I love that God has now blessed us with three boys who I know will also show me all about adventure... and I so look forward to adventuring with them!  We have had our rough times, as all couples do, but my steady, deeply rooted man has never lost his faith, always supported me, and always believed in us. I definitely married up!

I love you so incredibly much Mr. Wright. As I told you this weekend, it was so easy saying "yes" to you. Thank you for choosing me to join you on this crazy adventure and showing me how to live life to the fullest!

P.S. And a HUGE thanks to my mom and Kenny's parents for watching the boys. I loved seeing pictures of them having a great time as well. They are getting older and we loved talking to them at night and hearing "I love you!" and "When are you coming home?"  These are words I dreamed of hearing for so long, my heart is so incredibly full! Thank you again and again Lord for this anniversary trip, and the man and children you've so richly blessed me with.

2016 Olympics!

It's not secret I'm obsessed with the Olympics.  I often hated being in school/working because I couldn't watch them during the day and dreamed of the day when I could do nothing but watch every.single.event.  I even prayed that I would have a newborn around the Olympics so I could nurse and watch them all night long.  My prayers were answered with Maverick and the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi.

This year, Joshua and I decided to have an Olympics party that I'm hoping will become a tradition.  We made decorations and hosted mini-events for the kids to compete in. It was hot, but so much fun!! I was surprised at how well the kids did even in the heat. They never complained and kept asking for more events!

I'm so sad to say I didn't get very many pictures. It was really difficult to run the games, talk to guests, and try to take pictures too.

We started out with a torch relay. I had the kids take turns running around our back yard with our homemade torch (a flashlight covered with foil and felt flames). Joshua was last to run(since he was the host) and then he held the torch up to our tiki torches to light and signify the opening of the games!

We then did a march of the athletes.  I played the Olympic theme and we paraded around the backyard cheering for team USA! I forgot flags and realized the march was supposed to be before the lighting of the torch. (making mental notes for improvements in the future)  It also would've been fun to have the kids wear colors to represent different countries and all carry different flags.

Then we started the games! We did a sprint, high jump, hurdles, frisbee throw, 3-legged race, tug of war, and a long run.  The kids ages ranged from nine to five, so in the future I may need to divide older/younger kids. I was impressed with the good sportsmanship I saw and their willingness to try new things.

Finally, it was time for the medal ceremony. We played the national anthem and had them put their hands over their hearts.

After the games were over, the kids had fun with water balloons, a kid pool, water hose and trampoline. They played for hours without fighting or complaining... a parent's dream! We ordered pizza and my sweet friend, Megan, brought cookies and an amazing mocha salted caramel cake.

I think we'll have to start a bi-yearly field day and we can make it an Olympics party whenever they're on.

I'm so thankful for the family and friends the Lord has blessed us with. Our hearts are full.

And... go team USA!!!

BFIAR: The Big Green Pocketbook

The last book we rowed this summer was The Big Green Pocketbook by Candice Ransom. I had never read this book before and thought it was wonderful! I'm very sentimental and this book reminded me of how things were growing up. I'm sad things aren't still like this for my boys. But I know they'll have other memories of childhood.

We did not have any companion books for this row.  Life is just too busy in the summer, there's a reason we have a school year and a break!

I love that as Maverick is getting older, he wants to join us and  do school too. 

After reading this book, the first thing we wanted to do was make our own green pocketbook! I took Joshua to Hobby Lobby and let him pick out some green fabric.  Unfortunately I realized my sewing machine is not accessible right now (and my mother-in-law's recently broke so I couldn't borrow hers).  So plan B was to make one from felt. Thank the Lord for hot glue guns!

Joshua loved putting his things in there... 2 lollipops (one for now and one for later), the bus tickets, etc. At the beginning of the week, he had to use cut out cards. But as the week went on, we found real items!

Our special treat this week was riding the trolley in uptown Dallas.  We went with our cousins and had such a great time!

Next we went to Highland Park Soda Fountain for lunch. My grandmommy brought me here numerous times as a child and it holds so many dear memories for me.  I look forward to being able to share all about how wonderful my grandmommy was with my boys someday. We had grilled cheese and old-fashioned milkshakes! 

he even bought his own box of crayons to keep in his pocketbook

We learned about money and had fun playing this game. Joshua was really good at rolling the dice, looking up what that number meant, and putting the correct coin in the correct spot. He could play games all day... especially with nana!

We also did a science experiment about how blue and yellow make green.  This book is really cute too!

Joshua also enjoyed typing his name (first in big letters, then in small letters) on the laptop.  I wish I had a typewriter to show him.  That's another thing from my grandmommy that I loved playing with.

One of the things I enjoy about Before Five in a Row is that it always ties in Scripture.  This week, we read the parable of the lost coin.  We reviewed it several times with Joshua and still bring it up today when the situation applies.

This row was another one of my favorites... most of them have been so special and I'm loving the memories they are making for our family.  They have provided an extra way for Joshua and I to bond. The times are so sweet and I'll always remember them.

BFIAR: Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?

One of my favorite childhood books is Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? by Nancy White Carlstrom.  I can still hear my daddy reading it to me. It was truly a delight to share this with Joshua and we both had fun doing all of the activities!

We did not have any companion books, mainly because we just read about bears with Blueberries for Sal but also because I just couldn't squeeze it all in.

Our first activity was a bear hunt. Joshua wanted to do this over and over again!

I also bought the boys a matching bear card game. Maverick loved this the most, but Joshua still enjoyed it. I know we'll play this for many years!

We talked a lot about healthy vs. unhealthy food this week.  Joshua LOVES food (and that's an understatement) to the point where he eats so much it makes him sick.  I don't know what happened the first two years of his life to cause these issues, but he is getting better.   This was a great opportunity to discuss being grateful for what we have and trusting that mommy/daddy give him the right amount of food.

We made a Jesse Bear lunch! "Carrots and peas, and a little more please, celery crunch and sprouts in a bunch, an apple to bite and a mustache of white, juice from a pear and rice in my hair."  We had ants on a log instead of sprouts. And I had to add some protein.

a mustache of white

We learned how to measure in inches. This was Joshua's first time using a ruler!

We also worked on rhyming words and patterns. These are difficult, but I've seen so much improvement this year!

I think the most fun activity was designing our own kitchen floor to look like Jesse Bear's! We used circles, squares, triangles, and lines.  Joshua is so neat and has such joy on his face when we do things like this.  I'm working on not being so OCD and letting them just be kids... it's incredibly hard for me!!

Another one of the things we discussed was the American flag. It's shown a few times in the book so this was a wonderful introduction.  It was also perfect because the Olympics are coming up! We were able to talk about flags, what they mean, athletes from the all around the world competing, and so on. Joshua became so excited about this we decided to have an Olympics party!! (more on that later)

Another one of the many things I enjoy with homeschooling is knowing exactly what my kids are learning about.  I can see what excites them and feed them more information in that area, igniting the fuel for them to learn all they can! And I get to see it all through their eyes. There is nothing more precious!