August was incredibly busy for us that I was so hoping September would be a month to relax, slow down, and just get settled. YEA RIGHT! September was hoping!
Miles and Brooklyn started "school" at a local church for a Kids Day Out program. They both go together on Thursdays all day, which is my one day a week that I'm kid free to get anything and EVERYTHING I need to get done. They both love KDO and have done very well!
Gavin had been asking me if we could go to the gas station for an Icee, which I can't find on this side of Texas, so I found a recipe on Pinterest and spent the afternoon drinking Icees in the backyard! The kids loved them and they were simple to make!
We keep finding bugs around our house, which has sparked curiosity in our kids! They aren't scared of them the way I'd like them to be!
Brooks has been spending a lot of time getting our house put together and doing projects left and right! We ended up getting a new dishwasher thanks to Sears Labor Day Sale and because after only 3 weeks in the house, we were over the dishwasher running constantly because Brooklyn kept turning the knob! Not to mention the baskets inside had broken pegs and didn't hold a lot of dishes! After 3 weeks in the house we also decided that the white tile in the kitchen and laundry room HAD to go. I was cleaning, sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping the floors every single day because they were so dirty from the kids and I just couldn't take it anymore! We wanted to save some money so Brooks took a jack hammer and ripped it all up! We had a HUGE mess in the kitchen, but it wouldn't be long before the new tile was installed! The only down fall to this was keeping the kids out of the house and away from the construction.
In the midst of fixing up our house we had our first, non family visitor and it was sooooo fun and an unexpected surprise when my friend since childhood called to say she was driving through Borger from Colorado and wanted to stop by! We had a great time catching up with one another! It was also hit me that we were back in the states and visiting with people is possible on a whim!
The next weekend, my cousin, Hope, was getting married and I was fortunate to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. The kids and I loaded up in the minivan and headed to Lake Charles. Brooks had to work and couldn't get off so I was left to go by myself. We live 14 hours from LC, which meant I had a LOOONG day of driving, so we left Borger around 7am. Our kids are awesome travelers (even in cars) and did really well. I fixed Gavin his own bucket of toys, snacks, portable DVD player with his favorite movies, and a few surprises. I kept the little ones toys and snacks close by me so that I had easy access for them. It just so happened that my brother and sister in law were flying into Dallas the day before I was driving through so we made arrangements for my sister in law to stay and I'd pick her up the next day so she could help me drive to LC. Well, due to delays and weather, my brother ended up staying in Dallas, too so when I picked them up, he was nice enough to take over driving for me! We made it to LC around 9pm Thursday night. Friday and Saturday were filled with wedding festivities that I was apart of so my kids stayed with my parents. Our baby sitter from the summer drove in from Baton Rouge to babysit my kids and help my parents when needed! She was such a life saver. Hope was absolutely beautiful on her wedding day and it was so fun to be apart of it all with her. Gavin went to the ceremony with my parents and the little ones made an appearance at the reception. Miles and Brooklyn spent some time on the dance floor, which I'm pretty sure they've never heard music like that before nor have they been around dancing. Not sure where they got their moves from, but they had fun! Gavin on the other hand... lasted 25 minutes until he was out!
By Sunday morning we were on the road again heading back to Borger. This time my mom was riding with me and was going to stay the week at our house! Once we arrived, I found our brand new tile fully installed and I loved it! My mom and I spent the week decorating the house and getting things put together now that we were fully moved it! I don't have any pictures from the week because we pretty much worked the entire time hanging curtains and pictures on the wall, the painters were painting the downstairs rooms and we just stayed busy!
The day my mom flew back to Lake Charles, we had more visitors come visit us... this time it was Brooks' dad and his wife Juli. We hadn't been with them since Bran and Kate's wedding in May so it was great to see them and show them where we live! They brought presents for the kids ( a purse and wand for Brooklyn, Power Rangers outfit for Miles), including Gavin's birthday present ( a real BB gun), which he was sent on a hunt around the house to find it.
While Grandpa and Gammy were visiting there was a huge Tri County Fair in Amarillo that weekend so we drove down to check it out. The kids had a blast. It was so much fun for them. They all rode rides, went to a petting zoo, watched a horse show, ate funnel cake AND cotton candy (that was a first) and had a blast. The weather was perfect and the kids napped in the car going so everyone was happy and pleasant. The boys even caught a bear show at the fair. It was really neat! The kids loved playing with their grandparents
Two days later Brooks had to go on a business trip for a week. The kids and I had a low key week. I cooked all their favorite foods, we watched a movie every night before bed, we went to the park a few times, and just had fun. I didn't want to have to do anything that put pressure on me or added any more stress! We had a great week but really missed daddy. One morning I woke up and rolled over and found my boys sound asleep in my bed, where they got up at some point during the night and snuck in! It was sweet!
Ever since we moved back to the USA, Brooks has been itching for us to go camping and it just so happens that we live somewhat close to Colorado and New Mexico with lots of camping grounds nearby. So after all the work Brooks had been doing around the house he was ready for a break and decided he was ready to go camping. Now, I was all for going camping. Other then "camping" at Brookhills 2 week sessions I'm pretty sure I've never been tent camping so I didn't know what all to expect. I did tell Brooks that I didn't know what we needed or what was important for camping so he was responsible for taking care of EVERYTHING and he did! It was fun to see how excited he was to plan and prep all the supplies and meals and get things together for making it fun for all of us. The day after Brooks got home from his business trip we headed to New Mexico for our weekend of camping. That morning I ran to Walmart and got our kids each 1 long sleeve shirt and a light jacket just incase it would get cold on us. I wanted to be somewhat prepared incase the weather turned on us. I even bought Brooklyn a pair of tennis shoes since all she had were sandals and crocs.
It took us about 4-5 hours to get to the camp ground. The kids were awesome travelers and it helped that they napped half the drive! While we were driving up the mountain I felt my window and it was cold. I asked Brooks what the outside temp was and his car read 60 degrees. I was a little worried thinking I hope it doesn't get cold and he said it'd be fine! Once we arrived we set up the tent quickly because the wind was picking up. We found a great spot near a lake that had a table, fire pit, and bathrooms, which made our time camping a little more comfortable. The kids were getting pretty hungry so while Brooks started our fire I made everyone sandwiches. The kids ran around our campfire, climbed trees, and pretended they were deep in the jungle. As the sun went down the temperature dropped. When I say dropped I mean by 7pm it was 45 degrees. There was a sweet, older couple in their RV next to our spot who came over and said hello and asked if we were prepared for the cold weather that was coming through? What? She then explained that it was projected to get down into the low 30's by 2am. Hmmmm... I looked at Brooks and then looked at our kids. They were already wearing every single piece of clothing I packed them for our 3 day trip including pajamas under their jeans, windpants over their jeans, shirts, shirts, long sleeve shirts, jackets, and two maybe three pairs of socks per child. Wait, Brooklyn didn't own a jacket and she had to wear Brooks' hat to keep her head warm! I was terrified for our kids and couldn't handle the thought of how cold it was going to get and how unprepared I was for this type of weather, but decided we would hang by the fire, stay as warm as we could, and then bundle everyone up with blankets in the tent once it was bedtime! I did make sure to have a smile on my face and enjoyed our time together despite the cold temp. I wanted to make fun memories and remember this time together. The kids really didn't seem to mind how cold it was and just played around. Brooks was loving every minute we were out there and kept saying how he always imagined taking his family camping one day! Before going to bed we made smores and told stories and laughed by the fire! 
Night time was freezing. I'm pretty sure Brooks and I hardly slept. We kept getting up making sure the kids were covered and that they were okay. They made it through the night never waking up once. Well, Brooklyn did a few times but that was because she was sandwiched between Brooks and I to ensure she was kept warm. I don't think she liked having us touching her. Brooks was smart and warmed some rocks up from our fire and brought them into the tent to serve as heaters, but the only issue was he didn't wait long enough for the rocks to cool down and burned the towels they were wrapped in. We tried it again later and spread the heated rocks around the tent, under the kids, and that seemed to add some heat. Without sounding like I'm complaining, it was cold. We were all really, really cold. But we made it through the night!!
When morning rolled around, we made a fire and started breakfast. The wind was horrible the day before and all through the night, but it finally stopped, which made our day so much more enjoyable and helped the cold not feel as cold! The kids loved getting to help cook their toast and eat by the fire! We made ourselves some eggs and bacon! Brooks even thought to bring his tea kettle and tea strainer so we boiled water and made coffee. We needed it after our night of no sleep.
After breakfast we decided to go for a hike in the mountains, which the kids loved. The views were breathtaking and it was an amazing area to walk through! We managed to cross a stream on logs and jump over huge trees that had fallen. We let the kids take turns leading us and they were so proud of themselves. The boys collected as many sticks as they could and carried them everywhere. They used them to swat at tree branches, push shrub out of the way, and to protect us from any wild animals that might find us! It was still pretty cold, but no one was complaining.
We made lunch after our hike and cooked hotdogs and brats on the fire! Gavin brought his BB gun and he and Brooks went shooting. Miles was in a tree half the time and Brooklyn just roamed around or played inside the tent. At some point Brooks and I realized we needed to make a decision whether we were going to stay another night and risk it being just as cold or if we wanted to just head back home. The sweet couple offered to let us use a comforter they didn't need to help make our night time more bearable. Ultimately, we decided it would be better if we went home. We had a fun time camping one night and playing during the day, but knew we weren't prepared for the severe cold weather and it was just better for us to try another time. So we eventually packed up our camp ground, loaded the truck, and went back to Borger. We all slept great in our beds with the heater running that night! I can't wait to go camping again, honest! I'm all for going when it's warmer outside and really take in the sights and surroundings!
