Frio River 2012

It's only the middle of June and we've already packed and unpacked two times!  Like last summer, we headed out on the first weekend of summer for the Family Frio river trip.  It was a much different experience since the water was up enough to float and Neals added a rope swing!

 

  

Roo seriously thought about doing it but soon decided against it.  

She jumped off the little rock instead.

The boys had a system down.  Whenever there was a line for the rope swing, they jumped off the rock and whenever there was a line for the rock they switched back to the rope swing.  

They did this for 5 hours!

Proof that there was a little down time.  

Roo,

Pops,

and even me, feeling relaxed.

I had such a fun time with my girl in the water.  I remember telling myself that she won't want to do this many more summers with me by her side so I should make the most of it.  We tried to catch minnows in her net, played motor boat like when she was a baby and got in and out of the river a hundred times to go to the bathroom.  

At night, when the river fun is over, the kids beg to go to the bar.  (-:  

It's a family friendly bar, with scooters and goats and dancing.  What more could you ask for?

Another awesome family trip in the books.  

The kids went on to Camp Grandma and hubby and I came back home because he had to work.  I did exciting non blogworthy things like recaulk the kids' bathroom and weed and mulch the front flower bed.  Hubby and I did get away to Bandera, Tx for a few nights before picking up the kids.  I hope to get those pics up before we leave for Beachbody Summit in Las Vegas  but that's probably wishful thinking since I haven't started packing and we leave tomorrow!

End of the year

I don't know why I was so emotional at the end of this school year.  Perhaps it is because my babies are growing.  And growing fast.  I'm not one to want to keep them young forever.  I love the idea of them becoming their own person and becoming independent but does it have to happen so fast?  No matter what my emotions are, time keeps ticking.  I'll probably say this every year, but my kids have come SO far academically and socially.

{first day of school 2011-2012}

To my Roo,
You are the first one to tell anybody that first grade is NOT at all like Kindergarten.  It was hard work for you.  And work hard you did!  My sweet girl, being chosen for tutoring every Tuesday and Thursday morning for the entire year was not easy.  But you only grumbled about it a few times towards the end and stuck with it.  With all of your hard work, you were given the B.U.G. (bringing up grades) award.  I know you were so upset to not win the art award but after our heart to heart about how proud I was with all of your discipline, you were ok.  Your excellent conduct and work habits awards are awesome and so well deserved.

{studying for spelling test with sugar!}

Oh sweet girl, may you always look at your own strengths and be as proud of yourself as I am of you!  The talent show was the icing on the cake for this year.  When you said that you wanted to be in it, every part of me wanted to lock you in your room because I couldn't even imagine doing such a thing at your age.  Especially with your quiet/introverted personality.  Your bravery was astounding and I know it was because of your friend Sofia at your side and, most of all, that you were so confident in your hula hooping abilities.  (-:  (And many prayers too!) Roo, I am so happy and proud of you.  You are so smart, funny, loyal, passionate, quick thinking, and fiercely loving.  And I can't even stand how much I love you!

To my J-man,

I can't believe that you are moving on to a different school already.  Although I think that 5th grade is a little too soon for middle school, it is what it is, and I'm happy that you are so ready.  I am so thankful for such a wonderful elementary school.  I have so many great memories of mine, and I know you will too.  I cannot believe how hard you have worked this past year.  Having three teachers is not easy and you have handled it with such confidence.  I wish they gave out a "not giving Mommy a hard time in the morning" award.  You amaze me with your ability to get it done quickly every morning.  Getting to play my I-phone is a great motivator, but I also think you are so much like your Dad.  He doesn't deal with a bunch of nonsense and neither do you.  Thank you for being so helpful!  I'm pretty darn proud of your A/B honor roll award though.

 Even though it was a fun, you took your Safety Patrol job very seriously.  

This year, we saw more and more how much you love the game of soccer.  It is awesome to see you light up on that field.  You have become a leader on your team by playing goalie.  Daddy and I talk so much about how much a boy can learn from being on a team and I'm so glad that we have been blessed with such a good one. 

J-man, I'm so proud of all that you have accomplished this year.  You are such a cool, funny, caring, sweet, strong, young man.  You give me a hug every single morning and it's one of my favorite parts of the day.  I look forward to many, many more.  I love you.

   

   Here's to Summer 2012!

     

Spartan Race 2012

I did it!  I survived the Spartan Race.  Before the race,  I envisioned myself (literally from being awake in the middle of the night thinking about it) that I would get to each obtacle and try and fail and then do a thousand burpees for punishment.  Hubby kept saying to me not to worry and that I would be telling myself "that was no big deal" afterwards.  Not so much because it was hard.  But can I just say, I'm so proud of myself?!  On two occasions, the monkey bars and "spider man wall", I started and finished on my own! With no help from hubby.  Both times almost falling off but sticking to it with the mentality of I will make it through.  What an awesome feeling!   The times that I did need hubby's help were just as cool.  We are a team and I loved having him by my side encouraging and supporting me.

{I'm in the purple about to step on hubby's shoulder}

The kids did their own races and I am one proud mommy.  Pops and Grandma were there to watch and support them since their races went on at the same time as ours.  Their courage and bravery to do it on their own amaze me.  J-man's race was a mile and Roo's was a 1/2 mile.  Both weren't too sure about doing it but they blazed through and had a great time.

That's my son going around the mud pit because he didn't want to get too dirty!

Roo is in the pink shorts and white shirt.  Look at that face! The poor girl in front of her was fine.

 Roo said her favorite part was walking through the mud.

When their races were over they camped out by the last few obstacles and waited for us.  It was not awesome that when they finally saw us, they witnessed me throwing a spear like an absolute girl and then freak out and be a scaredy cat about jumping over the fire.  But I redeemed myself rope climbing over the wall and then rolling through way too much mud under way too much barbed wire.

Woo Hoo is how I felt too!

I just have to say that I could not have done this race without the help of Beachbody programs.  All of the programs I have done have led me to this point.  The most fit I have ever been in my life and I'm pushing 40.  Thank you P90X, Insanity, Chalean Extreme, Turbofire, and Les Mills Pump!  If you have any questions about any of these programs I would love to help!   I can even be your coach through it all.  Wouldn't that be fun?  Just click on the "Connect/email-me" button on the right hand sidebar and I will get right back with you!

A fun busy week

Last Thursday I finally cashed in my gift certificate to a beginner's mosaics class out in The Heights.  I went totally out of my comfort zone and hung out and crafted with ladies (and one gent) I didn't know from all over this crazy big city.  I even experienced morning traffic here for the first time and to tell you truth I was thankful for the slower pace instead of cars whizzing past me.  

Here is my creation before the grout.  Imagine that, its all neutrals!  Ha.  

And after the grout.

The Mosaic studio was gorgeous and they were working on a huge mural piece right in the front room.  I hesitated again to take pictures because I wanted keep their artwork protected until finished.  

Look at that rainbow of colored tiles.

I liked The Heights so much that Hubby and I decided to go back the next day for date day (the one bonus of shift work).  We explored shops, antique stores, and of course, my favorite thing to do, walked and dreamed about  houses.  Here are some pictures of a few things that caught my eye while browsing around.

Sorry. These are all so blurry.  What is up with my Iphone?  But I want to remember them and I think they are totally DIY-able.  Not the crazy car though.

And the craftsman houses were killing me.  

It was actually quite difficult to tell the brand new houses apart from the original ones.

That night we went with our church to give away free ice cream to everyone at the Concert in a local  park.  My kids really enjoy seeing the looks on people's faces when they find out its actually free.  And the best part is telling those people that it is just a simple way of letting them know that God loves them.    We enjoyed listening to some Tejano music in celebration of Cinco de Mayo but the band ended up playing all sorts of music and the crowd loved it.  

Insert picture here:  I was too busy keeping up with where my kids were going to even think about taking pictures. 

On Saturday, J-man's soccer team won by a landslide and Roo went to a Cinco de Mayo birthday party.  The best part of that day?  The party wasn't finished when I went to pick her up so I gladly said yes to a margarita and then found the dishes all done when I got back.  (-:  Now that is love.