Friday, July 31, 2009

The beginning of our 10 day road trip...

We left Arlington at 6:30 am on Thursday, July 23rd headed for St Louis, Mo.. We knew that it was going to be a long day.. We decided to make it a long day so that we could spend some time in St Louis and so that our next trip to Madison, WI wasn't a long trip.. Luckily for me, Bob did a lot of the driving that first day.. so I read which made the trip seem short to me.. Of course when I did decide to take over the last leg of the driving it started raining and I despise driving in the rain.. I did manage (even with the random moments of fear thanks to lightning, again not a big fan) and we rolled into St Louis around 6:30pm that evening.. Once we got to St Louis it was great weather.

We decided to check into our hotel and then walk a little into the downtown area and find someplace for dinner. We were very impressed with how clean St Louis was, even though all the All Star baseball stuff had just left maybe the day or two before we got there.. We found a nice little park in the middle of downtown with a beautiful fountain and everything was so green and in bloom! After dinner we were going to walk over to the arch, but were side tracked by a horse and carriage.. Emma really wanted to ride in it and we decided that would be a great thing for her to remember. Luke wasn't too sure about it but he ended up loving it (it may have helped that the horses name was "Elmo").. The ride was only 20 minutes long but it was so worth it.. I got some great shots of the scenery, but the best part was seeing the pure joy on Emma's face. The lady let her ride up front with her and help guide Elmo through the streets. So FUN!!

After dinner we walked to the arch and it was beyond belief! If I am remembering correctly, it is 630 ft high and 630 ft wide.. WOW!! Of course we didn't stay long because I noticed lightning off in the distance and decided it was time to head back to the hotel.. The next morning we got up and walked back down to the arch. The weather was perfect, the sun was out, there were very few clouds in the sky and between Emma and I we captured the arch perfectly.. Emma had the great idea to lay on the ground and take pictures of the arch from that perspective, so she did.. Then Bob stood over her and they lined it up to look like Bob was holding the arch.. Of course we all had to have one like that!! Once we were finished at the arch we checked out of our hotel and started making our way up to Madison! Here are some pictures of our time in St Lo
uis:




















































Next up: Our great time in Madison, WI























Thursday, July 30, 2009

We've been on vacation....

and it has taken me a little while to get back into the swing of things (go figure)!! I have a lot of posts to do about our vacation.. It was a long, fun, tiring, exciting vacation.. We visited St Louis, MO; Madison, WI and Victoria, MN. So based on that I will do a post about each place.. For now though, I thought I would share my FAVORITE picture from the trip.. It shows just HOW much fun we had!!

Cousins having a BLAST!!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Don't forget me Mommy...

While trying to pack for our upcoming trip I found my son doing this..
I had been in his room getting his clothes together, left for just a minute and came back to find him in the suitcase..
As if I would forget to take him with me :o)

100th post and a new toy for Luke


I can't believe that this is my "100th" post.. I apparently have a lot to talk about.. :o) and if you know me, you know that to be VERY true!!

This weekend my mom and Jay came over to set up Luke's present they bought him for his birthday.. They were here around 7:30am to start working on the project.. Why 7:30am you might ask??? Well the first reason is that we live in Texas and it gets HOT here pretty darn early in the day.. Second, they wanted it to be up before Luke woke up...

It didn't take us long to get it put up... Just a little over an hour (with 4 adults working on it).. Luke was pretty surprised when he woke up, but mostly because Memi and Papa were here :o) That was a great surprise for him!! He played on the toy for a little bit, but also wanted to show Memi and Papa all his other toys in the back yard..



Helping Daddy



Luke helping Daddy fix the dishwasher..











"Daddy, I think this is the problem right here"












"Cheese"

Through Papa's eyes

I thought this was a cool picture..
If you look back at the snowcone post you will see the original picture..
You know the one were Papa stuck his tongue out to show us how red it was??
Well I was zooming in on the picture and noticed the reflection in his sunglasses..
Can you see my little monkey trying to mimic his Papa?
He LOVES his Papa..
Thought it was a sweet little picture!!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Luke turns 2 (7-6-09)

It is hard to believe that just 2 short years ago you blessed our lives..
You are precious beyond words..
You love your Mommy..
You love your Daddy..
You love your Emma..
You love to watch the movie "Cars"..
You are fascinated by trucks, cars and tractors..
You love to point out "airpanes"
You love your best friend Joah..
You talk all the time..
You love to play "baketball"
It pains your Memi, but you would prefer your "Papa" over anyone else..
You love to help daddy work on things..
You love to color..
You always want to play outside..
You enjoy entertaining everyone..
Your smile is contagious..
Your laugh is music to my ears..
You are our buddy and we all love you dearly!!
Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!!
I can't wait to see what life has in store for you!!
You WILL be AMAZING!!

Snowcones are Y-U-M-M-Y


Luke enjoying his first snowcone EVER!!







Papa showing his really red tongue







Daddy helping Luke get a nice big bite!!

Tears

Emma and friends on the last day of school
:o(

Rest In Peace

Your music touched millions and millions..

You were and always will be an icon..

May you rest in peace, Michael Jackson!!

If this isn't a flashback to the 80's I don't know what is....