Labor Day Festivities

My sister flew to Houston for Labor Day weekend, so we went to see her Sunday right after church. We left about 2pm and as we were headed out, we driving towards the biggest smoke clouds we had ever seen. Nelson and I kept staring at it wondering if it was a fire or a tornado it was so huge. We were pretty sure it was smoke, hence the lack of funneling....but couldn't believe how enormous it was. There is basically one road out of here to Houston/ College Station, but it was closed due to the fire, so we were directed down and had to go out of our way a little ways to head the right way. (On a side note, this fire is the famous Bastrop Fire in Texas, and today, 5 days later when I am writing this post...it is still burning. Also the detour we took was closed the next day and burned all the way down and across the road.) The fire is a horrible disaster for people in that area, it is terribly sad. But on to happier news. So my sister came in town, and my Mom and Bill came down to Houston to see her and us too. So we all met at my Dad's for a good 24 hrs. Angie's BFF Taryn and her kids brought her over and we ate and played on Olivia's (her oldest daugher) stilts...ha! Somehow I pictured them way high off the ground like a clown in the circus...but no fear, they were very low to the ground. :) All the kids tried them out. They had lots of fun.

(Olivia and her stilts)



(Taryn & Ryder)






On Monday, we went to the mall to get Ryder a Build-A-Bear. My sister has bought them all one over the years, and it was Ryder's turn. (And Nana's :) Ryder was so different than when the girls got theirs. He was happy to participate and thought it was so fun. :) Everyone....meet "Ruff Ruff."





Ruff Ruff loves baseball as you can tell, and plays whenever he is not fighting Ryder for the ball and bat. :) After the mall we had a yummy lunch at the Olive Garden before we all departed ways.


(Mia sucking the lemon through a straw!)

It was a short visit, but fun to see everyone nonetheless.



On an extra note, we brought home a toddler bed from my dad's house and Ryder loves it. He won't sleep in his crib anymore. He does pretty well, except Naptimes are a fight, but we are working on it. :) Isn't he so cute?


(for some reason this one flips it self...just turn you head to look! :)

Seaworld

Well, we are definitely getting our money's worth of our fun cards. :) This is the 3rd time we have been to Seaworld this year and it is so fun. This time we went with Nelson's parents, Jane (sister in law) and her two kids, and Jackie (sister in law) and her hubby. Although it was still quite hot, we survived. But by 5pm we were "plum tuckered out!" Here are a few pics of our adventures.

OklAhOma!

This past weekend we went to Oklahoma for a baby blessing of this cutie pie


Rawlins & His mommy and Daddy


and a baptism of this cutie pie.


Kassie & her sisters and cousins

We had so much fun visiting Eric and Emmalee (my sister in law and her hubby) and their 5 kids! We used to visit them often when they lived only 2hrs away....but we don't get to now since it is 8. But it could be worse. :) The kids couldn't understand why it was so far away. :) We left Thursday night and got there about 1am. The kids were all excited you can imagine it took them a long time to go back to sleep. Luckily, none of them were going to school the next day. (Well Emma went for most of the day). Anyhow, Friday we hung around, went swimming in our hotel pool and waited for the rest of the family to get in. We had yummy Cafe Rio pork dinner and just visited. Then Saturday we went to the baptism, played games, and just had fun. Sunday they blessed little Rawlins, their first boy, and then everyone but us headed home. We planned it that way so we could have some time with them ourselves. :) We played some fun games and bonded over the usual...treats and drinks. :) We had so much fun visiting them and were sad to leave. I don't know when I will see those little cuties again (not talking about you Eric), but I hope it isn't too far down the road.


Here are some pictures of our weekend.

Jumping on Tramp


Rawlins in the cute outfit his Auntie Allyssa made him. :)


Allie & Kason


The 3 Babies...all the same size...Poor baby Pearl, she is the oldest and the smallest by a tiny bit. :)
Kason (almost 4 months) Pearl (Almost 6 months) & Rawlins (almost 2 months)




This picture I had to take because Ryder NEVER plays with dolls...I don't know if it was lack of boy toys or what, but he gave in and really enjoyed feeding this baby. Usually he hugs them for a sec and throws them. While at Em's he found whatever he could to use as a bat and ball....he even used a Barbie as a bat once. At least he is all boy. (And may still be a good dad one day.) :)



The girls playing outside.


Grandma & Grandpa Cluff With baby Rawlins


The Thacker Family


Kason & Rawlins (2 months apart, but the same size and same weight!) :)



Now we are home and back to our routine....and I am at home with these cutie pies all day.


and little baby Kason...

School

Here are my babies on the 1st Day of School!




Here they are the 3rd Day! (I know, there is no rhyme or reason to the madness.)Notice, Sienna had to get in just one! :)

Happy 6th Birthday Mia!

Happy Birthday to my 3rd Child. :) Mia turns 6 tomorrow. We Celebrated her birthday on Saturday with friends and family! She wanted a "Toddlers and Tiara" Theme...well, she likes the show, but it was my idea. :) Mostly decorations anyways...so we dolled her all up and made her look like a princess and made her a fun cake. She had a great time! I think it was fun. Luckily, my children know right from wrong and that the kids on the show are pretty naughty and over spoiled, but it is fun to see them get all spruced up. Funny though, after I put Mia's makeup on, she thought it was way too much. :) GOOD GIRL. :) We had lots of fun with everyone who came, and missed those who couldn't!
Happy Birthday Mia! Time flies in a blink.







Here is a slideshow of the festivities!

Moments

Kason & dad...playing around.




One day after swimming, Ryder decided he was pooped and just needed some R&R..which for him means "Doe-wa" (Dora). So he just laid back and relaxed, and showed his little brother how to do it. :)

Austin, a little at at time.

Today we decided to go "out on the town" if you will. We haven't had much of a chance to do a whole lot here in Austin. We are working on it a little at a time. Yesterday we went bowling since it was "Break the Record" day and everyone could bowl for free. After bowling, we went to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. It was fun to see the pictures and history. Of course the kids were too young to really enjoy it, so after we basically "ran" through 3 floors of Texas State History...all I could think was how grateful I was that it was a Family free day and we all got in GRATIS. :) It was still a good day and we can mark at least one thing off our list. :)

3 Months Old

My littlest Boy is 3 months old today. Oh how time goes by in a blink. We sure think he is adorable. He loves to smile and coo. He can be very social...almost too social when he should be eating! We love him to pieces!