Camping in AR with some good ol' friends from LA

Karl decided he wanted to go camping.  He expressed his wishes out loud to some good friends of ours (who were supposed to be with us but couldn't at the last minute).  The plan was set in motion and we were off.  Camping in Arkansas was great.  The weather was perfect and the place was a great location for a short weekend.  

 Karl and the boys setting up their tent.  They were very proud of their space.

 This...however is how I camped.  Being pregnant and having others that wanted to share in the inside fun, we ladies got to camp inside this quaint cabin.  It was super cute and just big enough.  We ate really well and had all of our activities outside at the campfire in the evenings.

 If fishing is available, Karl is all in.  After the tents were set up, we took our poles and headed to the water.  I ran into town and found some worms ($3/worms...).  We were getting the poles ready for live bait and I hear a thump into the water.  Leland had dumped the whole cup of worms into the water.  He said he wanted to feed the fishes.  

 So....after we caught some grasshoppers (which was super fun for a big ol' pregnant lady), we fished.  It was wonderful.  The next day, I went back into town and got more worms.  The boys enjoyed both fishing with the worms and throwing them in the water one at a time to watch the fish come up and eat them.  

 Steven, Karl, Grant, and Will all tried their hands at trying to create fire.  They were very determined until we said it was time to get the grill going.  

 The kids got to cool off in the lake.

 On Friday, we dug for diamonds.  This was a highlight on Karl's list.  He enjoyed it more than any of the rest of us.  It was a fun experience and the boys got to all play in the dirt!

 We had a great time camping.  We enjoyed out company and would love to make it a tradition.

I don't have a picture of Jana, Travis or Lauren....boo....

Susan G. Koman Time and Mother's Day Weekend

 My strong Mother-In-Law is a 10 year breast cancer survivor!  We have been able to go and celebrate with her on and off for the last 10 years at the Tyler Susan G. Koman Walk.  We are glad she is such a tough cookie.

 Kaden and Leland both got to run the Kids Dash this year.  Leland fell about 10 yards from the start line and decided he was not having any more running.  His Sweet Aunt Sherry walked the rest of the way with him as he finished.  

 We walked, we ate lunch....we went to the ZOO!!!!!

 Tyler has a great zoo and my boys ate it up.  We started the morning at 6:30am and got back home after dark.  It was a long day, but worth every stop.  

On Mother's Day, we got to go and worship with the LaPoyner coC with Grandma Cindy.  We are a blessed family.  We missed Karl, but we had a blast without him.  Hopefully next year he can join us!

Kaden's PreK Graduation and Kristyn's High School Graduation

 Two May graduations put Leland into electronic mode.  He was happy to attend and be present.  He didn't have a clue what he was present for.  He was just happy to play!

 Kaden and all of his little friends.  These are some of our buddies from Bible Class.  One huge blessing is that we will get to go to OCS with most of them.  Not only will they be Bible Class Buddies but they will accountability partners at school...That makes me HAPPY!

 Our sweet little (growing) family.

 This is the picture Kaden drew for me for Mother's Day.  Ms Carrie had to tell me some sweet stories.  One being that Kaden was drawing this picture of me (with the baby in my belly) and he was getting frustrated.  Ms Carrie asked him how she could help and he told her, "My mom has boobs and I just can't draw them right."!  Oh, my!  Ms Carrie told him not to worry, she couldn't draw them either.  

 Very proud boy of his medal.  He received this for reading 100 books while in WEE School!

 After Kaden's Graduation (Wednesday) we moved straight on to Kristyn's graduation.  Kristyn Miller lived with us from August 2012 until May 2013.  Her mom and Mike live in FL and she wanted to come to OCS and finish her Sr. Year.  We housed her and helped make that possible.  We had some growing pains as with any new process but Kristyn made it work.  She is such a beautiful girl (inside and out).

All three boys with electronics at Kristyn's graduation.  We got there an hour in a half early to get a good seat, so we were prepared with electronics for everyone until graduation actually started. 

Micah has crawfish...

 Micah wanted to host a crawfish boil for his birthday, so we drove to Greenville and joined in on the fun!

 It took a little bit, but Leland finally decided it was okay to pick the crawfish up.

 Ava was not so sure about playing with the food....

We had a fun weekend.  We are glad we have such great family/friends to celebrate life with.  Ava and Max were kind to share their home with us and their toys.  

LCJLS 2013

The boys and I attended the Lamar County Junior Livestock Show this year.  They look forward to this show every year.  On Thursday night before the steer show, they have a Kiddie Class and Kaden and Leland have shown the last two years.  This year Kaden showed Bottle Feeder (bottle baby lamb) and Leland showed Rock Eater (baby chick).

 Amy and Karl giving them a pep talk of what to say to the judge.

 The boys and their animals.  Leland went straight into the ring and loved every minute of it.  The judge asked Leland his name and he tried real hard to tell the judge the name of his baby chick.  Communication was broken.  

 Kaden did a great job showing his lamb as well.  

As soon as the animals were put up in their rightful places, the trophies became regular dirt toys.  

I love my boys.  

On Friday night, we go with Da and Z to the sale.  This year dad won the floor on the goats, sheep and steers.  So, late into the evening Karl and Dad were loading animals and hauling them home.

 Leland told Papa all about his baby chick and how he was going to win a trophy!

Two of my favorite people.