July 2018

Another super busy month! Probably our busiest yet.  My good friend Jennifer and her family came to visit.  We went to Schlitterbahn and had a blast!

Our kids got along just great.  Kate and Cole were reunited as best buddies.  Kate is my little flirt.  She loved chasing Cole around the house. 

We went to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch together as well.  It is fun having company visit because you do the touristy stuff in that area.  Unfortunately, we have been so busy with home repairs and work, we have hardly done any touristy stuff.

Kate hanging out the window hoping to see an animal.  They were sparse with the temperatures already so high at ten o'clock in the morning!

Jane feeding the goat.  She wasn't too sure about it at first.

Jennifer made it to an Orange Theory Fitness class with me as well.  I think I got her hooked! Wishing Fort Hood had one or were in the process of building one. Boo.

Finally finished our fixer upper in Kirby.  It looks really good! Bryan did an awesome job.  He put in all new windows, tiled the kitchen and bathrooms, carpeted the three bedrooms, applied vinyl flooring to the living areas and hallways, painted the kitchen and bathroom cabinets, repainted all the walls on the inside and outside of the house (after putting up new siding).  We changed out the light fixtures and counter tops. Practically brand new house!  Now on to find some renters...  

After I finished my last day of work and Bryan cleared from Fort Sam Houston, we made our way towards Utah.  We stopped at Arches National Park.  Kate already asked to go back! Yay!

Balancing Rock

Love that my kids enjoy being outdoors.

My courageous mother and father took on watching the girls for 10 days while we went to Seattle to Portland race and Alaska.  The girls were in great hands.  They got lots of toys at the store, loads of attention, lots of macaroni and cheese, pool time, cousin time, baking lessons, and riding bikes around the neighborhood.  Both have asked to go back plenty of times since!

Started our 200 mile one day ride from Seattle to Portland with Bryan's sister Becky.  It was a pretty cool morning and super light at 4:45am!  Bryan stood by my side the whole time.  The farthest I had ridden over the past few months was 80 miles, so this was going to be pretty tough.  Good thing most of the ride was in the shade and the weather is much cooler than Texas'.  It was tough, but quite the accomplishment for both of us.  

Unfortunately, this is the medal we got for our hard work.  It is a patch! I was hoping to add something cool to my collection.

Our total time was about 14 hours, but our riding time was about 11.5 hours (I think).  The group: Melanie, Anna, Audra, Becky, Bryan, and Rebekah.

After the race, we took a bus up to Seattle to catch our flight to Alaska! See the Alaska post for more details.

When we got home, we made sure to have a birthday party for Jane.  She turned three while we were away, but I told my mother to not do or say anything so we could celebrate when we got back.  Before we left, we told her we would have an ice cream birthday party.  She LOVES ice cream almost as much as her daddy, so she was so excited!

Then we celebrated my dad's retirement.  We rented a boat up at East Canyon Lake with all of the immediate family.  It is the first time all the siblings have been together at the same time in a LONG, LONG time.

The girls LOVED tubing!

My whole FAM DAMILY!! We are actually missing Joan and the kids, but so glad Brandon was able to join us for the day.  Here is to a fun month and retirement!