2nd Annual Addi Adventure & 1st Annual Cooper Camp

Kevin's parents, aka KK and G-Pa, have made it a point to spend some extra special time with both the kids. Since KK is a teacher and off in the summer, it makes since that they do it at that time. This year, Addison went for four days and those days were packed with fun stuff! Kevin and Addison met KK and G-Pa in Waco and she went onto Dallas with them. The first afternoon, they got pedicures/manicures, went fishing, built a huge tent in the living room, and had a movie night watching "Up". They had a special snack at movie night - popcorn, pretzels, and M&M's in a bowl...you can bet which one Addi was going after the most!

On Monday, they went to Six Flags! This year, Addi really wasn't interested in the "kiddie" rides and she was tall enough to do some of the other things. KK said there were a few times that she was glad that she was busy taking pictures so she didn't have to notice how high up they were - but Miss Addi was so brave and didn't seem to mind at all!

Addison also did some swimming while she was there. G-Pa must have taught her a thing or two about fishing too - I think she caught 2 small fish and 1 good size fish! Pretty impressive!
They also went to see Toy Story 3 at the movie theatre. I heard from a few people that it is kind of sad and even scary in some parts, but she really liked it. She actually HAD to have the Toy Story 3 cereal that she saw at the grocery store the other day!

Addison brought Samantha (her American Girl doll) to Dallas. She got to bring Samantha to the American Girl Doll salon to get her hair done. Apparently, they are very particular about how it is suppose to be and how you should take care of it at home (which I knew nothing about)!

From most of these pictures, you would have thought that she was there for one day considering she is wearing her Hello Kitty t-shirt in almost every picture! I promise I sent at least 4-5 outfits with her! Since she wanted to wear it EVERY DAY, KK and G-Pa took the time to wash it every night for her! Only something that a grandparent would do!!! :) I thought that was too cute!


Cooperman participated in his 1st Annual Cooper Camp from Thursday until Saturday in Dallas. He played a lot of baseball, which he is really into these days.

He even got to go to Six Flags with KK and G-Pa. This picture of him below makes me smile - he is strutting his stuff down the street like he owns the place!


They went to play at the park for a while - this boy loves to be outside! He took a dip in the pool a few times with KK. That's the best way to beat the heat after a long day in the sun!


Cooper also got to play at Chuck E. Cheese. Here he is trying to play Guitar Hero - this is another great picture that completely represents something else he is into now - guitars! Our little dude loves to jam!

We are blessed to have very fun, caring grandparents for our kids who love to be involved and make them feel special. Not only did the kids have a great time while they visited KK and G-Pa in Dallas, but we had some time to be with the other child at home for one-on-one time too. Thanks again KK and G-Pa for making the 2nd Annual Addi Adventure and 1st Annual Cooper Camp a big hit! We love you!

Take me out to the ballgame!

Even while the Astros haven't had their best season, it's always fun to go to a game. The kids could care less if they win or loose, so why not go for some summer fun?

My parents and some of their friends have season tickets to the games and since not everyone could go this time, they invited us along.

Nana and her two youngest grandbabies!

Cooper had a hard time sitting down and watching the game for long, but he did much better than I expected considering it started at 6pm. Surprisingly, we were able to stay for the entire game which ended at 8:30! He was occupied for a while when he got to have popcorn to snack on!

We played the St. Louis Cardinals (rivals for us since most of our extended family lives in St. Louis) and we won!

Addi and Grandad cheering on the Astros!

On this particular day, we also went to Katelynn's Astros birthday party at the stadium in the afternoon too! We were able to see some of the behind the scenes things at the stadium which was interesting for all of us. Too bad I didn't get any pictures from the party!

Swimming and July 4th in New Braunfels

I will have to apologize up front because all of these pictures aren't the greatest quality - I have been taking lots of pictures with my IPhone instead of my good camera. You can completely tell a difference, but my IPhone is so easy to take with me, that I tend to snap pictures more lately with it.

While Rob and Jennifer were in Vegas celebrating his BIG 4-0, we had some time to spend with my nieces and nephew and most of it was spent at the pool at Nana and Grandad's house. I broke out some of my old cheerleading skills to try to "coach" my dad and Kevin to do some stunts with the kids. Here is Kendra trying to keep her balance - you can tell my dad and Kevin did not take my advice because they are holding her all wrong, but hey, it got the job done!

Emorie Claire got the hang of the shoulder stand with my dad and Addi did a little partner stunting with Kevin. Cooper and Nana are just hanging out observing in the background!

Addi got to go to Pottery Camp with Emorie Claire and sleep over for 2 nights with her. Then, we had Emorie Claire over to our house for some fun. We took them to the pool in the neighborhood and they enjoyed it for many hours!

This picture of Cooper made me laugh - he looks like a little old man in the picture because of how he is laying with his ankles crossed and his brown "Buddha" belly! :)

We went to New Braunfels with the Evans' this year for the 4th of July. My parents took our 2 kids up on Friday afternoon, which is when Rob, Jen, their kids, and Wanda (Jennifer's mom) went up there. On Sunday, July 4th, Kevin and I drove up and we all BBQ'd, swam, and watched fireworks. Cooper was VERY SCARED of the fireworks! As soon as they started, he scrambled to my lap and had his back to them the entire time! He had his head on my shoulder and would occasionally peak in the direction of the fireworks to get a quick glimpse, but not for long.

I was trying to get a cute picture of the youngest three kids with their flags and patriotic shirts on, but most of them someone had a flag in their face or were making crazy faces like the one below! Coop and EC especially crack me up!

Near the cabins that Rob and Jennifer stay each year, they have this train and we decided to take it for a ride. It was a great little activity for the younger kids - I think Kendra and Trey would have cared less!

The weather was beautiful the entire time we were there. We went to Schlitterbauhn for a half day also - the kids loved it! Cooper was still a bit young, but they had several play areas for young kids there too which was perfect.

Rob and Jennifer met in New Braunfels at the cabins they stay in around 1987! Jennifer's family has been going for many years even before that. After they started dating, married, and having their own kids, they continued this family tradition every year around July 4th. I have been there a few times over the years when I was younger and before kids, but this year was by far the best. I can see why they love taking the kids each year - what a great family tradition! Thanks for letting us be a part of it!