Friday, July 29, 2016

4th of July in Texas

We spent the week of the 4th of July in Texas again this year. Our first few days were spent in Leakey with the Rodriguez family. We shot fireworks on the 4th. Jackson and Mitchell helped with the display. They both had a blast and only got minor injuries. Really they both just got sparked enough to learn to be careful. We also floated the Frio river, played on the ranch, and celebrated Taylor's first birthday! Everyone was excited. I enjoyed watching Audrey drink in the smell of the cake, Mitchell help his little brother blow out his candles, and Jackson grin from ear to ear watching his baby cousin investigate cake for the first time.

It didn't take long for Taylor to dig into the cake and enjoy driving Mickey around on the icing while singing the hot dog song.

Taylor loved his presents and playing with family. There were lots of giggles and laughter, especially when Mickey did his songs and dances.

If that wasn't enough fun, both kids became go-kart drivers while we were there. Not something that was easy for me to watch! Mitchell taught them to drive...he can't reach the brake, which means they only know one speed, fast. Audrey almost crashed once, and when we had her stop so we could talk to her about how to be safe, we pointed out that she almost crashed. Her response was, "But I didn't!" We all couldn't keep ourselves from laughing since she said it with a huge grin on her face. Watch out world when this one gets her license!

We spent the remainder of the week in Fredericksburg with my Dad and the Money family. We went swimming and checked out the local farmers market and their vineyard. The kids loved playing together, and we had a wonderful time visiting and helping out however we could.

We wrapped up our visit to Texas with a visit to one of our all-time favorite restaurants in Austin, Trudy's. It was even better than we remembered! Great way to end a great week!

There are more pictures in the album.

Tuesday, July 05, 2016

Spring Baseball

Yes, I know it's summer. Yes, I'm always behind on my posts these days, but I want to capture these moments so I don't forget! This spring Jackson played baseball. The opening day ceremony was really neat. All of the teams stood around the field, said the pledge, and sang the national anthem. Then their special needs team, with the help of their mentors, threw the opening pitch. It was a great way to start the season.

The season was a tough one for Jackson's team, the A's. We had a new team that had several first time players. I was amazed at how much they improved over the course of the season though. In addition to learning the basics of the game, they started player pitch part way through the season.

Jackson was persistent and resilient during practices and games. He steadily improved throughout the season, and most importantly, he enjoyed playing!

There are more pictures in the album.

Memorial Day Weekend

The annual Stone Family Reunion took place over Memorial Day Weekend. We made the trip from CA to be with everyone. It's always so fun to catch up and see what has changed and what has stayed the same each year.

We started with a visit with E's grandparents and mom, as well as a visit to the Mudbug Festival where we enjoyed some crawfish, art displays, and good music.

We always have three hosted events during the weekend. Aunt Dottie has everyone to her house for an evening of BBQ and fun. Susan hosts brunch the next morning, and we wrap up at Uncle Ronnie's for swimming, karaoke, and fajitas. I only took pictures at Susan's house this year, which means I captured the annual puppet show organized by Aunt Carol. The younger generation loves this part of the weekend!

We managed to get a large group picture this year, and we had almost everyone there!

I also played with a new-to-me lens while we were there. There were lots of beautiful flowers to take pictures of!

There are more pictures in the album!