Gimme a Break!

In the midst of unpacking hundreds of boxes, trying to find sheets for the beds and towels for the bathroom, all the while trying to entertain 2 kids and do my job...


...don't say we don't know how to take a break and have some fun in the Texas heat!




Noah doesn't really grasp that it is a slip-n-slide. He views it more as a run-n-jump. I don't question it though; it entertains Lauren, cools me off as I sit in the 105 degree heat (no kidding), and occupies a very rowdy 2 1/2 year old. At this point I wouldn't even care if it were a rip-n-throw--it was the best $9 I spent all summer!

Yes, I know I haven't posted any pictures of the new house yet, and I've gotten some flack from some of you, but I must say that I am that personality type that just can't post photos of newly laid wood floors and freshly painted walls if the rooms still have crusty old ceiling fans and cracked brass light fixtures circa 1994. Soon though, I promise...

In the mean time, go get yourself a run-n-jump and have some fun!

Glorious Summer, part II

Do you remember this post from last year? We went to the same location a couple of weeks ago, and had a phenomenal time (as usual). We woke up to mornings of South Carolina sunrise, hot coffee and breakfast, followed closely by a morning boat outting. The jet skiing usually happened in the middle of the day, after lunch but before a couple rounds of competitive Boggle. Cliff jumping and tubing were staples each day as well, and therefore Advil became a staple each evening. Here are a few photographed highlights, although there is no way to post them all!


The house was, as always, wonderful and inviting. And the view of the lake, golfcourse, bay, and mountains weren't half bad either...


Our kids had a great time! Noah went canoeing with his daddy.


It was Lauren's first time on a boat! She showed off her pretty pink swimsuit.


Noah went on the tube with me! He had a ball (cautiously) but made me cover his face the whole time so the water wouldn't spray in his eyes.


His dad, however, is a lot less cautious and tried several new wakeboarding tricks this year, along with the never-gets-old-to-see sexy backflip. I sure married a cute one!


I tried something new, too. Okay, so we all did. WakeSURFING! It's basically wakeboarding on a surfboard without your feet attached to anything. You hold a short rope and stay only about 5 feet behind the boat, surfing inside the wake. It was so much fun and I can't wait to try it again!


Jenn, Dustin, and their 3 boys drove from Dallas! We had a blast with Brice--his first time on a boat too!


The beginning of the week was spent with Jared, Rachel, and little Judah--lots of relaxation and quiet time on the boat. Then several cousins and aunts/uncles came in towards the end of the week to celebrate the 4th of July together. It was a blast, and the perfect combination of relaxing and catching up.

Uncle Jared was in his element. I will also say the Pawpaw (my dad) was in his element as well as he was surrounded by like 4 grandchildren every time he walked into a room. I loved it!

Lauren and Judah played hard, napped hard, and were pretty tuckered out every night after a long day of sunshine.

Lazy Lauren, after a long day of competitive wakeboarding, tubing, and cliff jumping, took advantage of what a true vacation should be...a bottle and a nap.

Happy vacationing!

The Manor

We got it!

Well, we made it. We FINALLY came to agreements with the sellers, got the new roof in time (woo hoo!), closed, got funded, and got the keys just in time to meet the flooring contractors at the house so they could get started ripping out the carpet (I don't think the sellers vacuumed very well in 12 years).

There was one final obstacle that reared its ugly head on moving day; the movers simply did not show up. After about 38 phone calls, a bit of yelling and a few tears, I was able to cancel on them (after they charged my credit card $1000 which we are officially disputing) and hire another moving company that had us in the new house in 5 hours.

So now all of our belongings are in the garage of our new house, with a few straggler boxes in random bedrooms. The hardwood floors are in, the kitchen cabinets have been primed and painted, and the walls are supposed to have been painted and completed yesterday.

I can't verify any of this, however, because we have been on vacation since last Saturday (at the South Carolina lakehouse to which we went last summer--pictures to follow). It is a much needed vacation, but I am certainly a bit nervous to get back to Dallas and walk into my new house with alleged new floors and alleged new paint after I left the contractors with money and house keys and traveled halfway across the country...

If our belongings have not been stolen, and the work has indeed been finished, I will post pictures soon.

For now though, I will continue gazing out onto a view filled with tree-covered hills, a bay that opens to a serene lake, and the green of the 5th hole of a golf course; and maybe in a minute I'll do a bit more wake boarding.