Lilly's Baptism

Our niece, Lilly, turned eight in May and she wanted to be baptized while we were all in town. So she was dunked on Saturday (8-23) by the Gov, since her daddy is in Iraq for the year. It was a really great experience for all of us. We have watched this girl evolve from the Lilly Bean, into Lilly the Kid, and now into Lilly the beautiful girl who has the desire to follow in Christ's footsteps and be baptized.

She wore the dress that Mom made for Evelyn when she was eight. Leighann and I also wore it for our baptisms, and it has since graced the bodies of about fifty other girls too. It has been passed around by so many friends! I hope that my girls will one day wear it too.
Cody gave the talk on baptism and I played the piano. Other people who have touched Lilly's life participated in some way too. So many people turned out for it and it was standing room only! Afterwards people came over to Mom and Dad's for swimming and burgers.
Uncle Joseph is such a metro. He is one classy dresser.

Uncle Philip trying to look metro, but he lacks the same appeal wearing his tattered and stained white tee shirt!
Ethan tried out his metro pose as well.
I love how I caught Evelyn looking really mad.
Jessica, Jason, and Ammon. Jason actually spoke on the Holy Ghost.
Our good friend TJ (Theresa) came up from Houston with her hubby, Scott, and their baby, Sam. Sam was born with a bilateral cleft pallet and the doctors have done wonders for him. He still has a long way to go, but it's pretty amazing what they have done so far.

Dana acting silly...just like Dana!


What a fun day!!!

Burger's Lake

On Friday (8-22) we drove out to Burger's Lake. Dana got to go with us so that was really fun. She ended up staying through the weekend. The weather was PEREFCT and it wasn't crowded at all. I think a lot of kids had started back to school already so it wasn't over run with families. We got a great picnic spot and grilled hot dogs and had water mellon and lots of other junk food. I took Kaylan and Lilly down the steep slide and Kaylan hit her head on the way down so that put a damper on things, but over all it was a perfect day!


Gov fixing the broken playpen. Yes, he does have a closet full of the same clothes!!!

Lauren couldn't get enough of the sand and water.
Looks like he is running on the water. The boy is fearless on the diving board!

Cheeseburgers, Trains, and Fish...Oh My!!!

Yea! Daddy is here! Cody flew in very late on Wednesday (8-20) and we all headed to downtown Fort Worth on Thursday for a day of fun. It was pretty hot and Cody was a good sport about it, even though I know he would have rather spent his days in the more mild climate of where we live. We started off at McDonald's for lunch. I absolutely LOATHE McDonald's, but it was a good location to meet up at and the kids love it so I caved.

The Gov looks so thrilled to be there, doesn't he?
Then we were off to ride the train. It is right outside the zoo and for only $3 an adult, it takes you on a 45 minute ride all through out gigantic Trinity Park. It was so worth the money and it sure beats the pathetic two minute train ride at our zoo. It was so peaceful and the breeze hitting your face made the heat almost non-existent. Trinity Park is a really gorgeous park, all very shaded with lush foliage and a river running through it all.

We then headed to the museum to see the new "Deep Sea" IMAX movie. It was all about deep sea animals and I thought it was great, but the kids were so beat and they slept through a lot of it. We left the museum and had dinner at a wonderful Mexican restaurant nearby. A perfect ending to a great day!

The Widget Box

The Gov has a famous box that he calls the Widget Box. It is a small treasure chest that he has spent years filling with odd little trinkets that he finds. He started this box before I was born and as added to it over the years. It is a special treat to get to rumage through it, and the kids got just that treat on Wednesday night (8-20). It is a child's paradise! Who knew that things such as a tape measure, hour glass, and a key chain could be so much fun?

A Somewhat Sunny Day!

On Wednesday (8-20) sheets of rain came down all morning long. Then the sun actually came out for several hours and it felt like a miracle! The water was still too cold for Lauren and me but the others kids had a blast swimming. Gov even came out for part of the time! Then we finished off the afternoon with yummy ice cream pops.

Rain Rain Go Away!

On Tuesday (8-19) the clouds parted for a few minutes so we jumped in the pool. WOW!! Rain water really makes the pool temp drop! The water was in the low 80s which was way too cold for Lauren and me, but I watched the other kids swim for a while. Lauren really wanted to join them but she would have frozen her tookas right off!

Uncle Matthew

Uncle Matthew came in early in the week (8-17) and it was nice getting to visit with him. He drove up to make use of Dad's giant work shop and plethora of tools. He is making new saddle bags for his motorcycle so he spent a good deal of time in the shop, but he still made time to get to know his nieces and nephew even more.

He has a dog named Mya who is a yellow lab mix and it almost 10 years old. I am not a dog person at all, but she is such an awesome dog and very human like and I wouldn't mind having a dog like her. I love getting to see and pet her. It was nice getting to spend a little extra time with Uncle Wunchie during the week!

Matthew on 2006 with Hailey. Don't you love the Elvis burns?

Crafts & Star Wars Party

What would camp be without crafts? We planned a craft for them to do each day, and actually had a lot left over that we never got to. One day we made bean picture frames (Ethan and Hailey still have yet to paint theirs). We also made official "Granana Camp" tee shirts (which took up two craft days to make) that they later wore in the annual wagon picture. We have crafts left over to use next summer so that will be nice.

On Tuesday night we all watched "Star Wars: Episode IV" and had a great time. Ethan was able to relay much of the story to the girl cousins who didn't understand it like he did. It was a lot of fun staying up late and getting into the movie!

Granana Camp Kick-Off

Monday (8-18) was the official kick-off to Granana Camp. Each year my mom likes to get all the grandkids together for several days and do sort of a camp, modeled much like Girls' Camp. We planned it out months in advance, but of course nothing went as planned.

On Monday we were supposed to do an over night camp out at a local state park, but we woke up early that morning to RAIN!!! August is supposed to be the driest month of the year in that part of Texas, but the good Lord saw fit to answer prayers for rain during the week that Granana Camp was supposed to take place. So the over nighter got cancelled, so instead we had a mini camp in the living room that night. We gave the kids their flash lights and the Gov told a spooky story and we had a little devotional around our mock camp fire.

We all tried so hard to make the most of it and not let our disappointment get the best of us. John Lennon once said "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans" and truer words have never been spoken!