Jammed Packed Labor Day Weekend!

Labor Day weekend just screams, "Fill me up and do as much as you can in three days!" We were faithful to oblige, so here are some highlights from the weekend!

Friday night we celebrated my 32nd birthday at my dear friend Amy's house. In lieu of eating out, Amy was sweet enough to open up her beautiful home to host a game night in my honor. What better way to spend the evening eating treats, laughing, telling stories and playing games. I especially liked the idea of game night b/c it offered a chance for fellowship with some of my favorite ladies and we could relax without worrying about taking up a table too long at a restaurant or something. What a great night we had....late into the evening.

Jocelyn, Tammy, Alba, Amy, myself, Sandra, Candice and Rachael

my dear friend Jocelyn and the cheesecake she made from scratch!

My sis-in-law, Candice, on her actual 30th birthday, 2 weeks post baby Abby! What a trooper she was - so thankful she got to come too!

The next morning we anticipated the arrival of the Pereira family. Kristi used to teach with me at NBCA and she and her family now live in Waco. The last time we saw them, Cayden was just 12 months old, so we had yet to meet their sweet kiddos. Mrs. Pereira is a mommy now too and it wasn't that long ago when we were teaching together, hanging out with middle schoolers! What a treat to get to see them, however briefly.

Hermann, Ruby, Kristi and Hudson

Our 3 kiddos....Hud will be 3 in October I think

We have several pics together just like this one! Love her!

After the Pereiras left, we headed to Canyon Lake to meet up with some family to celebrate Grandma's 75th birthday. Since Uncle Bubba's house can accommodate a ton of people, we planned a big sleep over complete with lots of food, a birthday celebration, and game playing into the early morning. I don't remember the last time when I had laughed so hard.

Happy birthday, Grandma!!!

Matt doing the honors

Make a wish!

Cade serving the ice cream

Mck!

Matt and Emily

silly Corey

Ha, I hadn't bathed yet and my hair was kickin'
Matt was giving me a hard time, rightfully so!

We headed home Sunday afternoon and enjoyed a quiet and slow Monday together as a family. Although is was super busy, it was super sweet to get to see and spend time with family and friends!

Fun at the Riedel's

Ok, so this is totally last season, but nonetheless, it's definitely post-worthy material. Let's count those babies ...1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8!!! Eight kiddos, all together with one (so actually there are 9) not swimming since well, she's like 3 months old! The mommas of these kiddos have been my dearest friends since high school and some since junior high!

sweet baby Anna!

Here's our crew....and Jamie doesn't have babies just yet, so the numbers are bound to grow. I don't know who else will have more babies at this point and for us, the jury is still out. Since Abby is preggers and due soon, so our little brew will be at 10 by the end of the year. We should go camping together...like in 5 years!!!

We had the pleasure of staying that night at the Riedel home. It was the first time we've been able to spend some good time together. Cody (Kim's husband) was out of town, so it was just Kim and I with our 5 kiddos. Luckily, Kim's house is run like a day care in that her house is spacious, and she has the best snacks and toys for any kiddo. For the most part, the kids got along well and we enjoyed seeing them all interact together.

Mck enjoyed mimicking Lizzie

All matching per size (both sets are 6 weeks apart)

this one little baby item was their favorite toy...which, by the way, even little Maddie was too big for it

snuggle time!

Happy 4th birthday Cayden!!!

Happy birthday little man!! The Jumpy Place!!!!

The birthday boy!

Grandma, Aunt Emily and Granny

Aunt Candice and Aunt Ginger

Cayden and his best friend Gracie

cousin Jon and birthday boy

Uncle Brent and Mck

"happy birthday to you"

kisses please

Cayden and his long-time friend Josiah

Mck got "stuck" on top and daddy just had to go get her

Uncle Corey and Haley

Aunt Emily and the kiddos

Grandma and Granny

A sweet night with the Pooles

A few weeks ago my sweet cousin, Jennifer, and her family made their annual river trip to New Braunfels. This is the first year they've brought their kiddos along, so naturally, we brought ours too. We took them to our favorite restaurant, Logan's, and afterwards headed to the park to let the kids run wild. Since we only get to see them about once a year, we loved the chance to catch up and love on their family. I feel like I could just sit and talk with her about life and marriage and kiddos and nails and toilet training and sewing and well, practically anything. I wish we all loved closer, but until then I will treasure our time together and look forward to seeing them again soon!

Our 4 kiddos..well, until baby #3 comes for Jenn in February

Daniel, Jennifer, Brooke and Dustin
Her kiddos look so much alike - just adorable!

Jenn and I remembered us swinging on a tire swing out at Nanny and Pawpaw's house when we were young...and now our kiddos are doing it too. Love this picture and love the Poole family!

July 4th weekend! Part 2

headed to the pool!

On Monday, July 4th, we spent the day with our very good friends the Naquin family! It was a special treat since the dads got to come too, which usually it's just Jocelyn and I with the 4 kiddos. We were sure to bring our lunches and camp out at the YMCA all morning, leading up to nap time. Ha, just about everything revolves around nap time!

Jocelyn and Josiah

Josiah - how photogenic is he?!

this is a good napping spot, right?

After heading home and getting our beloved naps in, we met up with the Naquins at Mamacita's for dinner. I think it may have been our first time eating out all together. Joc and I get to go out alone sometimes, we've met at Chick-fil-la several times for family night, but this was our first real dinner out all together. Gotta say, it went pretty well with 2 toddlers and 2 preschoolers. At least they like mexican food, so that helps!

After dinner, we headed to our 3rd stop of the day with 1 more to go. Since we had some time in between dinner and when the fireworks show started, we headed to the park to burn off some energy. We were hoping to get some snow cones, but they were closed. What?!! So sad, but we promised ice cream to the kids once we got settled in later for the show.

The 3 big kiddos holding hands with Mr. Ken on the way to the park

some serious negotiations going on here

looks like they came to an agreement

I'm not wearing a festive shirt like them, so I didn't get to be in the picture :(
secret: Corey's shirt is from last year

Once it was getting close for show time, we headed to Kyle and got a good spot to watch some fireworks. Kyle was the only place, besides I think Georgetown, that was still doing them. Had the show been any farther away, we would've missed them. Nonetheless, we made it there and the kids loved the ice cream, good friends and beautiful fireworks. Too bad you only get to see them twice a year. For months after new years, Cade would include fireworks in his prayers, so hello mom, you can't miss opportunities for fireworks. And, how much longer is he gonna care? So, we made it happen and it was a great show!

ice cream - somehow, he ended up with his own

cute picture...wish it would've come out better

at least I'm wearing red and white!

the Naquin family!!!

my sweet friend Joc