Drivin' with Papa on the dirt road

Let's go Uncle Jim!

Getting ready to kayak

Yee Haw

Liz bought the boys cowboy costumes. They are getting ready to go search for their treasure.

Where's my treasure?

Pittin' cherries

...naked of course ;)

Pittin' cherries for cherry pie

Projects with Gma/Nana

Rockin on deck all by himself ;)

Rylan is really enjoying the perfect temperatures up here. We have spent most of our time outside. I will be sad to leave the normal temperatures next week. At least we will have gotten through about half of August by the time we get home!

Putt putt

Fun in the waves

A little piece of heaven...

Lovin' on Lucky

Monkey man

Ashlyn and Ry at Geenfield Village

The boys playing Sequence for kids

MI fun!

Rylan and I had a great week at my parents house in Allen Park. My mom and nephew Ben picked us up in Midland on Monday. We all went to Bronners Christmas store in Frankenmuth and then ate chicken dinner at the Bavarian Inn. We left with my childhood favorite frosted raisin bread, which I've been munching on all week :).

My best friend Katie, and her daughter Ashlyn, came to visit on Tuesday and stayed through Thursday. We, and the kids, had a great time visiting. Our time together included a trip to the park, lunch and ice cream in Wyandotte, visits with GG and Mr. Gump, and a fabulous trip to Greenfield Village. While at the Village, we rode on a train, Model T car, horse and carriage, and the carousel. Ry and Ashlyn really enjoyed each other and lots of hugs were exchanged.

Rylan also was reintroduced to some of my family that he has not seen since he was 3 months old. He adored GG and Mr. Gump! We were at their house or them at ours each and every day. He was really sweet with GG, giving hugs and kisses, kicking the ball with her in the yard, and thanking her "for this" (chocolate peanut butter fudge that she made for us). We also had a short visit with my Aunt Margaret and Katie. In addition, we were able to spend an evening with my Aunt Janet and Anna from Colorado, and Grandma Honey (my Grandma).

Today we all packed up and headed Up North to what I consider a little piece of heaven. Lucky and the boys have been playing since we arrived and I look forward to the next week and a half!

So far I have enjoyed many of my favorites: Frankenmuth buttered noodles, frosted raisin bread, the Gumps, GG's homemade peach pie (bless her heart), Olga's, my sweet Grandma, and now the best part...Up North! (I love how most of my favs are food ;) )!

~sarah~

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A Busy Week!

Today we concluded our Sunny Days Camp and swimming lessons.  Rylan attended Sunny Days at our church this week.  It lasted from 9-1 each day.  He continued his second week of swimming lessons so we went right from camp over to swimming.  It was a busy week and he has been exhausted, but he has done great! 

Rylan and I leave up north on Monday for about 2.5 weeks.  Unfortunately, J won't be able to join us because he starts his MBA program, but we do have a babysitter for Saturday night so we can celebrate our 7 years together before heading to MI. 

There will be some more swimming videos posted so you can see the progress Ry made in just two weeks!  We plan on continuing with maintenance lessons once a week until next summer so that these new skills stay fresh in his mind!  He should be a pro in no time ;)!

Swim lessons...

Well we just finished our first full week of swim lessons.  It has been really cool to see the progression of the daily lessons.  I just posted a couple of new videos of Rylan going under the water to grab dive sticks with Jason in our pool.  Big progression since a week ago he was not even of fan of really holding onto us in the water because he did not want us to push him under :).

Summer Fun!

Summer is going by decently quick, although there have been some long, hot, smothering days here in Katy.  Thank God that we are fortunate enough to have a pool.  That is the one thing that can get us outdoors during this heat.  We having been swimming LOTS lately.  Rylan will begin his first formal swimming lessons in two weeks.  He is going to be in a class that will meet for thirty minutes every day for two weeks.  After those two weeks, I think we will enroll in weekly maintenance lessons so that we can keep him going.  He does really well in our pool, but we want him to be a little more comfortable if for some reason he finds himself under the water unexpectedly.  So the goal in two weeks is for him to be able to make it to the side of a pool...keeping our fingers crossed.

Tomorrow we attend our third of five Kindermusic classes called the Zoo Train.  He really seems to enjoy it, but what 2.5 year old little boy doesn't enjoy animals and trains?  Each week, the class gets on a train to meet different animals.  We dance around the room visiting the corners where new animals are discovered.  The kiddos have time to play with different instruments and hula hoops, along with making a craft each week. 

On Tuesdays you can find us at Fulshear Library, which is a TINY town west of here.  They have an amazing toddler time hour that includes reading books, singing, dancing, themes, and a craft.  The best part is that it is free and continues throughout the year.  We will continue to go there as well during the school year.

The Thursday and Friday of Father's Day weekend, the three of us took a trip to Sea World San Antonio.  It was an absolute blast!!!!  Rylan had so much fun!  We arrived around 4 p.m. on Thursday and attended three different shows.  The look on Rylan's face when he first saw Shamu was absolutely priceless!  I have never seen so much amazement in his eyes before!  It was really touching.  Friday found us at a couple of different shows, the waterpark, and the log ride.  The log ride was hilarious as Rylan screamed happily going down the hills and getting wet!  We exited Sea World to have a late lunch at the famous Rudy's BBQ and then headed back to our hotel and took a river cruise around the River Walk that evening.  We returned home on Saturday and went to our favorite restaurant for Jason's birthday and then had a nice relaxing Sunday/Father's Day/birthday.

So long from Texas...keep smiling! 

Check out the new pics and videos!