The Big Three-One!

Seth's birthday was this past Wednesday, the 23rd. I think we have celebrated his big day everyday this week........seriously! Sunday was our last day at Mom & Daddy's and they gave him a gift. Monday, the kids and I gave him his gifts from us. Tuesday was supper out with his Mom and more gifts. Wednesday was the staff birthday luncheon in his honor (and the pastor--his birthday was last week!) which also included many gift cards and a wonderful homemade lunch by the ladies in the office. Then, Thursday, our neice and nephew brought over a gift. I think that I should get a gift, now. HaHa!


Anyway, it has been a great week honoring Seth's 31st birthday. Seth will be quitting his electrical job Aug. 1 to pursue his college degree full-time. He feels the Lord leading him in this direction, so he is being obedient. It is definitely a HUGE step of faith, but the Lord has already blessed us so much since the decision was made. Everything always falls into place smoothly when you are in the Lord's will. That is so awesome!! Anyway, the kids and I got him lots of school supplies for his birthday...hence the backpack and highlighters. Please pray for us all in this big change in our family. It is going to be great!!!!

Mini Vacation

We had our mini vacation this past weekend. We went to mom & daddy's house in Wichita Falls. They took us out about 30 minutes south of their place to Antelope, TX where my Daddy lived as a kid. We saw the old house and the old school gymnasium. Seeing all of that and hearing the stories of my Daddy's youth was really interesting. We also drove out to the location of my great grandfather's home and farm. The old house that he built back before or right after my grandmother was born is still standing tall.

We also went to the Castaway Cove water park there in Wichita Falls. We all had a good time playing together as a family. There were not a lot of people there later in the afternoon when we went, so it was nice. Really didn't want to come back to work today (Monday)! Hopefully we will get to go somewhere else for the weekend before school starts at the end of August. Maybe camping.......? :)

Seth and the kids up on one tower in line for a ride.

Warm-up to the REAL Waterpark

The kids and I had so much fun yesterday. After meeting up with our worship pastor's wife and her kids, we traveled about an hour northeast to Eastland, Texas and went to the Park Hill Waterpark. It is not a waterpark in the way that all of you may be thinking. It is like public pool on steroids. They have a kiddie area with a small slide, a medium-sized slide for the bigger kids, and a waterpark-type slide for everyone. It is so cheap to get in (only $2 per person over 6 yrs old). Hunter commented that the trip to Eastland was a "warm-up to the REAL waterpark." We are going to visit my parents in Wichita Falls, TX this weekend. They have a pretty nice waterpark there that we are taking the kids to. It should be a good time as well. Good times!!

Hannah & Jordan

The guys....Hunter, Eli, and Isaac



Hunter coming down the big water slide. Jordan took this picture--she did a good job, huh?!

3rd Place Winners!

Jordan's softball team played a great game, but in the end lost to the first place team. The score was 3-9 and they played 6 innings in a 2 hour time period. The game was intense the whole time. We were pretty much neck and neck until the 5th inning when one of the other team's batters hit a ball way out to the fence and got 3 RBI's. Out girls took it really hard and started making mistakes, but did recover later in the inning. It was 4:00 in the afternoon and 99* degrees with no shade, but our team played great! The team officially placed 3rd in the district tournament and recevied trophies afte the game. The other 2 teams battled it out for 1st place with the 2nd place team winning both games and becoming the 1st place team in district. That was great because the new #1 team is the other Brownwood team and a few of Jordan's friends are on that team. But, hey!...........now we can start our summer and relax!

Jordan & the Softball Playoffs

Well, Jordan and her softball team are in a heated battle (literally) for the chance to advance to the state finals in the Freshman Girls District Softball Tournament. It is HOT and sunny outside and the team is playing really HOT! We lost our 1st game Tuesday evening @ 6pm to the team that is currently in 1st place today. We won our game on Wednesday evening and won both games we had to play last night (Thursday). We play this afternoon @ 4pm for the 2ND place slot against the #1 Brownwood team. We are the #2 Brownwood team. It will be a tough game, but one that we can win if we keep our heads on straight and play smart. If we win at 4pm, we will play again @ 6pm against the 1st place team (you remember.......the one we lost to in the beginning?). If we win that game, we play the same team again at 8pm!!!! Yikes.......this may be a long, tiring evening. Jordan is excited and ready to play and the rest of the team is pumped up as well. Wish them all luck and I will let you all know the results a.s.a.p.~~Amy

The 4th of July

The first week of July was great. Very relaxing, enjoyed family time, and of course fireworks and Independence Day! Seth's Dad and Becky were at our house visiting for the week. We had a great time! On Thursday, July 3rd, we went to San Angelo for an evening of San Angelo Pops in the Park complete with an orchestra-accompanied fireworks display. It was something Seth and I have always wanted to do for the 4th of July. The music was wonderfully patriotic and the fireworks were spectacular. We had tickets for reserved seats only 4 rows away from the orchestra! They also honored our veterans--including Seth and his Dad who each served in the Army. Jordan & Hunter enjoyed the show very much, but thought the very REAL canons that were fired throughout the show were a little too loud. The weather was a little hot and sticky at first, but after the threat of a thunderstorm passed, the temperatures cooled and a slight breeze kicked up. All in all, it was a great July 4th weekend!