4th of July

Original title, huh? ;)

We once again spent our fun filled day in Longville. I seem to always post about being there, but it’s just where I usually find time to pull my camera out (and yet I never seem to get any family pictures.)

As soon as we arrived, Brayden got right to his favorite activity…riding the mule.  On this rare occasion, he allowed Mackenly to ride too.

Brayden would ride this all day if someone would drive him. It’s pretty easy to convince his Paw Paw. ;)

He also loves running around outside, petting/feeding the horses, and getting dirty. We rarely go in our yard at home, so he takes full advantage while we’re out in the country.

 

Mackenly had on a lot of accessories today. :) She and Brayden are in cahoots and they run around like mad people when they’re together.

Zach with his Mohawk!

 
Fooooood! :)

Later in the afternoon, after running the mule dry and blowing bubbles, Brayden and Mackenly enjoyed a summer treat…watermelon!

  

Sticky smooch!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Independence Day!

Lately

I know, I know. Blogging slacker over here. I had good intentions, but oh well.

We went on a trip to Houston for our anniversary. We happened to wander into the Apple store, and came out with this:

I’m a happy girl.

On Father’s Day, we went to church, then ate lunch with Jason’s parents. Afterwards, we headed to Longville for some country fun.

Don’t they look 15 in those pictures?! When did they get so big?

On Monday, we went to Prien Lake Park to celebrate Eva's third birthday and to take some pictures. We’re so blessed to have so many sweet family members, and family members that are Brayden’s size. Brayden loves playing with Eva, and they are so cute together!

Another post coming soon!

Three down, forever to go.

“Real love is always fated. It has been arranged before time. It is the most meticulously prepared of coincidences. And fate, of course, is simply a secular term for the will of God, and coincidence for His grace.”

Three years ago today, I walked down an aisle and met my best friend at the end. We had no idea what we were getting into and no idea what the future held, but we loved each other and that was enough. Since then, there has been tears, fights, laughter, inside jokes, three houses, five jobs, and one baby…but the love still remains. It has been a crazy journey, but I wouldn’t dream of journeying with anyone else.

I wish I had our pictures from high school scanned into the computer, but those were before my fancy digital camera(s). These start in 2005 and continue to now.

Our first “this is really for real” date - Hoe Down 2005

 

 

Happy Anniversary, my love. Thank you for helping to make me a better person, Christian, mother, and wife. Can’t wait to see what our life has in store for us.

Our Weekend

On Friday, our little man had his theatrical debut in his school’s end of the year program. They have been working super hard on their songs and the cuteness was top-notch. We were sitting waaaaay in the back and I couldn’t manage a good picture, so this was the best I could come up with. He’s the one in the while in the middle.

 

On Saturday, we headed to Longville and spent the day with (my) Maw Maw and PaPaw, Aunt Peg, Zach, and Colten. I spent almost every weekend of my childhood running around outside and exploring, and I’m so thankful Brayden is also getting these experiences. He walked all over the pasture with PaPaw, petted the horses and cows, swam in the pool, and picked some vegetables out of the garden.

Country life comes with a price…Brayden took a tumble down some concrete steps and now looks pretty pitiful. And yes, he is milking the “bobo’s” for all they are worth.

This evening, I was craving a snowcone so we went and got one…Brayden’s first ever! I got [sugar free] wedding cake for him, because it was clear and didn’t stain (which wound up being a super smart idea…to say it was everywhere would be an understatement). He really enjoyed it and we’ll definitely be enjoying more of these bad boys as the temps continue to rise.

 

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Fore!

 

Last Saturday, we took Brayden to play Putt Putt for the first time. He hadn’t been feeling well so we thought getting out of the house would be a fun treat and may make him feel a little better. He cooperated for all of five minutes before throwing multiple fits and we just decided to go home. Oh well, it was cute while it lasted! Hopefully we’ll be able to go again soon.

 

Birthday/Mother’s Day Weekend

Sorry if you happened to catch that last post. Our super sweet husband/daddy figured out my blogging woes and downloaded a program called “Windows Live Writer.” Blogging is easy peasy now! I was testing how it worked and was SO glad to see how easy it was!

Anyway, this weekend was full of celebrations! I (Kristen) celebrated my 24th birthday. Fortunately I’m still at an age where I enjoy birthdays. :) We had lots of super yummy cake, fun times with family, and gifts! I finally got Lightroom and have been playing with it all weekend.

 

I’m so thankful for my super sweet little family. They make the days brighter and I definitely don’t deserve this much love/happiness. I know it’s mushy, but it’s ok to feel mushy every now and then. :)

On Sunday, we celebrated Mother’s Day with all of the fabulous mothers in our lives. Jason and I were both blessed with amazing mothers (and grandmas/aunts).  I’m especially thankful for the examples they’ve given me as a mother. Their love and support mean the world to me. We could never give back all what they’ve given us.

    

And this little boy? Words can’t even express how thankful I am God entrusted me with his little life. He’s the funniest, sweetest, and most lovable little man in the world. He definitely has his defiant moments, but he inspires me and teaches me every day. Sometimes I pinch myself because I can’t believe he’s ours. I strive everyday to be the mother he deserves.

Hope everyone had a Happy Mother’s Day!

Easter Re-Cap

I know, I know. Easter is old news. And I have...6 weeks? of catching up in the blog world. I have GOT to find an easier way to upload pictures, because the way I'm doing it now takes for-ev-er and most of the time it just isn't worth it.

Now, on to Easter.

We kicked off our Easter celebrations with an egg hunt the week before. Brayden did ok at egg hunts last year, and definitely improved some this year. He was more concerned with watching the other children and opening the eggs and eating the way too sticky/sugary candy inside.

He was also greatly obsessed with the Easter Bunny. For some reason I always expect him to be nervous and shy around strangers/characters, but our little man was totally smitten with the big furry rabbit. Who knew?

He collected about 5 or 6 eggs on his own, and was given a few eggs by and older girl (her mom made her, lol). Overall, he made out pretty well. (Especially considering plastic eggs just litter your house AFTER Easter)

For Easter weekend, we started out on Good Friday spending time with the Berryhill side of the family. Brayden got to play with Eva, Noah, and Nicholas and Mackenly on Mimi and PaPaw's new swingset. He ran around all evening and wore himself out.

On Saturday, we headed to The Bellon's house. Brayden played with Haley and Luke, hunted more eggs, got a baseball lesson, and pocked eggs. And wore himself out again.

On Sunday, we dressed in our Easter best (pictures to come soon) and went to church. Afterwards, we headed to Longville to wrap up our Easter weekend'o'fun. We hunted MORE of those darn plastic eggs, ate, petted horses, rode go-carts, played with bubbles, ate, swam, and ate.


We're so thankful for our loving and gracious families! And the most important reason for the "season," Jesus. Easter 2011 was a success!