Gavin's 6th Birthday

Gavin turned 6 on August 28 and we had a special time together as a family with him.  I have officially learned my lesson in that the end of the summer, the beginning of the school year are BUSY for us and for the 2nd year in a row Gavin didn't have a birthday party with friends (mom fail) because time just got away from us.  That didn't stop him from LOVING his day all about him.  The morning started off with his birthday breakfast, the kitchen decorated, a special lunch, and cupcakes brought to his school.  He got to open all his presents that night with us and couldn't open them fast enough.  He loved showing things off to Miles and Brooklyn and happily shared his gifts with them.  

We are loving this age with Gavin.  He continues to show maturity, has a strong ability to care for others, shows compassion, and LOVES being responsible!  He makes us laugh daily and sometimes has the funniest expressions ever.  He loves school and has SOARED in first grade.  He enjoys sports, reading, and his love language is tied between gifts and quality time!  We love our big guy!

Gavin was surprised with a set of drums and fell in LOVE!  He had been asking for drums for months because he wanted to play for worship at our church (how sweet) so we went with it.  Eventually, our hope is to get him lessons and we're praying he has a passion for this instrument years to come! 

First Day of First Grade

Gavin started first grade this year in Borger, Texas.  Most of the grades are split up into different campuses so this year he moved to a new school, Gateway Elementary.  He was super excited about moving up and going to the "big school".  Throughout the summer when we would talk about him going to school he often prayed that he would have friends in the same class, while mommy prayed for a GOOD teacher (we had a rough one in kindergarten). 

The night before school, Gavin picked out his clothes, made his lunch requests, set his alarm clock- he asked us if he could start waking up on his own- we didn't oblige, and semi went to bed early!  As usual, we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast as a first day of school treat and off we went! 

I had a baby sitter come and stay with the two little ones at home so my morning time could be focused and devoted to Gavin while taking him into school.  He was able to meet his teacher and see his classroom a few days earlier at meet the teacher, but I still wanted to be able to walk him in!  

Brooks met us at school and we brought Gavin in together!  You could tell Gavin had mixed emotions-- it was a new place and he wasn't all that sure about it, yet he was excited and eager to go!  After a quick picture he hugged and kissed Brooks and walked in his class.  It took a minute of me watching to make sure he got his backpack put away and found his seat that I realized I didn't give him a hug and a kiss.  I debated on going into his room, but decided against it and instead held back my tears, said a prayer for him, and walked away.  

 

After sitting in the pick up line for an hour, we got Gavin and he said his first day was GREAT!!  Two of his really good buddies are in his class (such an answer to prayer) and he loves his teacher!  He talked all afternoon about all the new rules, the new places (gym, cafeteria, and huge library) and couldn't wait to go back tomorrow!

Here's to a great year in first grade! 

Our summer in Borger

For our time in Borger this summer we stayed busy.  However, we also spent a lot of days at home playing, goofing off, and just being together!  I loved this season of life and the kids ages.  They really do great together and enjoy being with one another!  The little ones loved having Gavin home from school.  

Here's some highlights of our time in Borger:

- 4th of July fun (see other post all about our fun day)

- We bought a blow up pool to have on hot summer days, which was a HUGE hit with the kids!  

- The kids found a turtle wandering the neighborhood so he came and lived in our backyard for a week or two, until one day we came home and he was gone.  They loved looking for "Foxy" and generally found him walking the fence daily. 

-  Naptime meant alone time with Gavin, which I realized how much I've missed that while he was in school!

- Lazy mornings meant fixing your own breakfast.. check out Brooklyn's willingness to pour her own bowl of cereal.

- MILES spent time teaching Brooklyn the ends and outs of timeout and the need to obey mommy's words (I think he's had lots of practice)

- The kids took swimming lessons and did an amazing job learning important skills.  Besides the water being freezing-- they loved it!

Our church had VBX and we had an awesome turn out.  It was held in the evenings and an absolute blast.  Brooks signed he and I up to be in charge of and work the games portion of VBX!  That meant we saw ALL the kids and got to play with each one of them!  The best part was that Brooks didn't realize he had business meetings in Houston that week and unfortunately he missed out on a few evenings!  This picture describes me after one of those nights... I sent this to him via phone without a caption!  While I was exhausted and it was hard word, it was a BLAST and we loved living our old camp days together playing with all the kids!

A few times we needed to go to Amarillo so I made sure to let the kids have some fun!  I'd bring a baby sitter with us and we'd go to Chucky Cheese in between running errands.  The kids would have a blast and would be exhausted on our way home!  

We potty trained Brooklyn, which wasn't THAT hard, except trying to teach her only boys teetee outside standing up!  She still hasn't figured that out!

The weather was gorgeous and Brooks had a few weekends opened for us to work on our landscaping.  I'll be completely honest... other then going and picking out plants and buying the soil and mulch, Brooks did it ALL!  He has a better vision and idea for it all and gardening has NEVER been my thing so I let him have at it!  It all looks awesome!

Something I did do was unpack our LAST box from our shipment from August 2013.  We've had our shed out back full of junk and odds and ends that had no where to go and didn't need any immediate attention.  I pretty much neglected it all since it was out of sight out of mind, but Brooks was ready to build cabinets in the garage and we needed to move some of that stuff into the shed, which required it to get some attention.  It felt GREAT getting that taken care of and to feel like we were officially moved in... after a year of living here!

Over all, it was a great summer in Borger.  

4th of July

We have been so busy during the summer that we felt like we were always going and going.  Originally, our intentions for the 4th were to drive up to Denver and spend some time in the mountains with Brooks' dad and family, but we were just so tired from traveling and going and doing things, we needed a little R&R for the 5 of us!

So, we found out about a local, small town nearby having festivities all day including a parade, kids activities, shopping, etc and decided to check it out!  We loaded the kids up and off we went! While searching for a place to land during the parade we stumbled upon an open area, that just so happened to be in the midst of a family reunion gathering.  The sweet family graciously let us stay in their "spot" and randomly introduced us to all the cousins, grandparents, kids, etc.  Random, but we had a great spot to watch the parade.  In the beginning our kids just watched as the trucks and trailers rolled by, but eventually they got out there and started catching some candy.  The weather was HOT, so the kids would go out to the street, catch a few pieces, then come back and sit down, take a drink, and go right back out! After the parade we grabbed lunch at one of the booths, went to a few activities, and then decided to take a drive through Palo Duro Canyon.  We're hoping to go camping there sometime and wanted to check the place out.  There were some incredible, amazing, breathtaking views and we can't wait to spend a weekend there!  

 

 

The car ride home... Can you tell they had fun?

After naps and relaxing at home, we went over to some neighbors of ours who the husband works with Brooks and they have 4 kids so it was sure to be lots of fun.  We grilled hamburgers, the kids played in the jump house and riding bikes, until it was finally time to shoot fireworks.  Right behind out house, literally, one street over isn't city limits so our friends had the perfect place to shoot fireworks and see everyone on our side of town shoot theirs, too!  The kids had a blast taking turns lighting roman candles, throwing snappers, and watching the BIG fireworks fly!  Brooklyn, like with any loud noises, didn't appreciate how loud the fireworks got and so she eventually stayed on my lap, shaking, with her ears covered! The boys, they were loving the fire and watching stuff "blow up"!

 

Happy 4th of July! 

Grandparents dropped in

Back in June, Brooks' dad and his wife Juli came to visit us and the kids had a blast with their grandparents.  We spent our Saturday going to a local festival in town where the kids got face paintings, had lunch, and played a few games.  

The rest of our weekend was spent playing at the house, grilling out, and just hanging together.  We love having family come visit us!!  

Visit from my BFF

Having lived overseas for 3 years, I understand the importance and the need for getting to see friends when the opportunity arises whether I was coming to the states or now, someone who is coming from overseas!  So when my best friend, Steph, told me she was flying to the USA in March I just knew we had to get together.  Our initial plan was to meet up the night she flew in since Brooklyn and I were already in Houston for her tests, but some of Steph's out of town family was visiting Houston and it just would have been easier on everyone to try another time.  BUT, Borger is a long drive from Houston and we were heading back within a few days of her arrival so, Steph, being the best friend that she is..... worked it out with Micah to get a plane ticket for her from Dallas (where she was visiting other friends) to Borger and I gladly jumped at the chance for her to come and visit us a few weeks later!!  

I picked her up at the airport and after hugging her neck, I reached for Jake and saw he was wearing a shirt that said, "Big Brother"... I screamed right then and there in the airport pick up line!  I had kinda been waiting for them to announce something, but also wasn't sure it would be then!  So it was a great, fun surprise!!    We had dinner that night at the house and just caught up on all of lifes happenings.  My kids were beyond happy to have their Aunt Steph and Jake at their house and we let them play til pretty late!! 

The next day I took Miles to school, but kept Brooklyn with us to let her and Jake have some time together.  After running a few errands, we took the little ones to lunch at our local Pizza place that allows has jump houses.  Since it was a school day, we were the only ones there with kids so they had the place to themselves!  Those two ran around squealing, laughing, chasing each other, and having tons of fun jumping on the bounce houses.  At some point both Steph and I were in the jump house with them, and began throwing them around!  They had a blast!!  

The rest of our time together was spent playing at the house, outside and just being together.  We miss them so much and miss seeing them on a daily basis.  Life sure has changed for us after living together for 7 years and now just getting to Facetime and have occasional visits.  Can't wait for their day when they move back to the USA!!