back home

After a week away - we finally made it home... and how sweeeeeeet it is.
We drove down to Texas so we would have room to bring Jenn and Matt (and stuff) back with us..
First stop - NanaMom and Pa's. Uncle Jon drove down and stayed the night with us and taught Ben the 'silly face'....

Aunt Maybee, Jenn and Matt also came in and we all had a really good time riding horses up and down the road. Uncle Billy and Aunt Starr stopped by for a few on their new Harley.. and it was super cool. Aunt Starr brought Ben a gift later in the week -- it was a huge box of finger paints! I wasn't brave enough to bust them open at Nanamom's, but we will definitely bust them open this week. Mandy even mosied on by (all the way from next door) when she wasn't busy with ballet practice or flag corp or grad parties..

After a weekend of Texas-style fun - Pete decided it was time for him to head back North.. and left us with the family to melt in the 100+ degree heat (which really wasn't as bad as I expected).
Too keep cool - we played in the pool, sprinklers and with the water 'pow-pows'.

Pa took us on a mini-excursion around the county - and we got to see cousins, the lake, and this really cool tractor. There was even a dog that made us a little home sick b/c he looked just like our Tally girl.

Second stop - Enchanted Rock. Wed morning we woke up at 4am and drove several hours down towards Fredricksburg. I listened to TomTom and took the back roads to the state park.. and as much fun as it is to drive through peoples farms with loose livestock and deer running everywhere.. I think next time I'll stick to the main roads even if it does mean 15 min longer on the road... I had my fair share of cows and deer running in front of the car.

Me and Ben at the top of Enchanted Rock... What a climb with a 40lb pack attached to my back.

Third Stop: Ben's Great Grandma's house. We had a really nice (but crazy short) visit with my Mimo and Ben's Popo and Memaw.. Memaw convinced Ben that he 'needed' a cat like hers (Doggy). Thankfully after a day or two he forgot how badly he 'needed' a cat. While down in the area - Matt and I picked up a few geocaches.. and one took us to a site where artist David Drake sculpted (i hear by chainsaw) the "Texas Shephard" from a storm-stressed Pecan tree.

June and the boys - Cade and Conor stopped my and oh Lord the fun they kids had! They are 1 yr younger than Ben and pure trouble!... This is the best picture of all 3 of them I got - Trying to convince 3 boys to sit still is IMPOSSIBLE!

Finally we trekked home and hit the lake the very next day.... Our life is jam packed right now with things to do.. fun and chores...