Utah Trip: MOAB

 We stopped in Moab to do some hiking and it was even better than I thought it would be! It was so cool! Well, the temperature was incredibly hot, but we survived.  Cody did awesome! He loved hiking and would smile at people coming toward us so we got lots of smiles from strangers.

 Tyler was a trooper carrying Blake a good portion of the way.  Blake's not quite the hiking type yet.  Austin hitched a ride too but not as much as Blake.  I think the sun takes a lot out of Blake.

 Resting after our hike to the Windows

 I love this picture! Tyler is wearing a piggyback rider and we got stopped by so many people to see what it was that he was standing on.  Tyler just found it online and it's so nice with it being so lightweight.  We even had people who wanted to take a picture of it.

 On our hike to Balanced Rock, Austin loved seeing all the miniature balanced rocks people had made along the way.  He started collecting rocks in his bug catcher and wanted to make his own balanced rock.  He's pointing to the one he built. :)

 Just me and my chubalub!

 Tyler and Austin are up top.  Austin was quite the adventurist climbing all over the rocks up high.

 Blake was a bit more hesitant, as you can see him scooting around...

 Jumping picture!

 More Jumping!

It would be so fun to come back to Moab when the kids are older and can do some longer hikes.  This was a great stop along the way.

Utah Trip: Part Two - Santa Fe

 We stopped at another National Park in Santa Fe the evening after Bandelier to hike a trail up to a waterfall.  It was in the evening and the cool weather was perfect for a hike!  It turned out to be too long to make it all the way to the waterfall, so we just hiked partway and let the boys have fun with their bug catchers!  Best $2 I spent on the trip

Cody was just learning to sit up so we always stacked pillow around him on the bed.  Austin loves playing with him so it was fun to capture this moment.

Utah Trip: First Stop Santa Fe!

 We started our trip to Utah in the evening on June 29 and after we spent the night in Lubbock and visited the Williams(friends who used to live in Fort Worth) we made our first stop in Santa Fe.  We got up early and rode a bus up the mountain to Bandelier.  Here we are in front of the visitor center

 It was a scorcher out! Sooo hot and there wasn't much shade as we hiked along the mountainside.  In Bandelier there used to be Indians who lived in cliff dwellings.  So you'd hike along the cliff side and climb up a ladder into a little cave that the indians had carved out and lived in.

 Here's Austin, Blake, and Tyler making their way up.  It was amazing how cool the cave was inside.  It was instantly 15-20 degrees cooler than outside.  Some were small. but some were large and we could all fit inside and stand up and walk around.

 The boys loved the hike back down over the creek and in the trees

 The  boys had bug catcher nets and spent a good deal of the time on the second half catching box elder bugs and looking for bugs on this rock.  We didn't mind stopping for a rest and sitting in the shade.

 On our way back on the bus ride

 On the bus after our hike

Here we all our inside a cliff dwelling.(out of order) The entire hike was just over a mile, and I'm so glad we brought lots of water!

Texas Wildlife Preserve

 The Saturday before we left on vacation we took a short trip out to the Wildlife Preserve to test our hiking skills in preparation for the hiking we would be doing on New Mexico and Moab.

 Ready to go!

 I got to take it easy and push this cutie in the stroller.  It was humid and hot!

 Looking at the Prairie Dogs. They were so cute!

 Blake using his binoculars to find bugs and Austin taking a closer look.

Walking across a rickety bridge

The boys passed the test! We are excited for our trip to UTAH!

18 Holes of Disc Golf

 This past Saturday we drove a half hour to meet up with 2 of Tyler's co-workers in the morning to play disc golf.  Cody did great in the stroller the entire time and the boys loved finding all sorts of treasures along the way.

 I decided to skip a few holes and stay down below rather than carry our jeep jogging stroller up.  I thought this was a cool shot of the basket with the guys surrounding it.

 Austin and Blake checking out roly poly's on the Tee pad

 Tyler threw his disc in the creek down there.  Austin watched out for Alligators and water mocassins  while he climbed down to get it.

 Here's another creek Tyler threw his disc in. Oops!  He's actually really good at disc golf. :)

We scored some free Grand Slams from Denny's from the Ranger's Game and decided to use them after our long morning.  Cody got to taste his first pancake and was licking his lips after he ate it.

 Cody graduated to the jumper and he is loving it!

 Meeting Mr. Frog for the first time!

 My friend Allison made me this belated birthday cake. I was in Peanut Butter heaven for 2 weeks.  It was the best cake I've ever tasted!  I also had surprise balloons on my door with chocolate covered peanut butter rice krispy treats and homemade hot fudge from the Simmons.  My friends know me well!

 We got a kiddie pool!!! It's been awesome!

 I made a snake and insect pit for A & B.  It's been fun.

I guess I should have buckled him in.  And should not have him up on the table. Oops! #momfail.  That was the first hashtag I've ever done...and it wasn't even a true hashtag but it was fun.

Trip to Houston

 Before I go into details about the trip...This is what we call a lazy day...Also known as, Turn on the tv while I madly clean the house to prepare for company!  Also, so the house stays CLEAN before company arrives.

 I love this picture!!! We went to the PGA Tournament.  Tyler was invited through work so we got in for free.  One of the professional golfers even touched Cody so he may have special Golf Powers now. I guess we'll see!

 Over Memorial Day Weekend we drove to Houston to visit Kara and Preston and OF COURSE went to the beach!!! It was the PERFECT day for the beach.  I pretty much fed Cody all day it felt like, but I also got out and enjoyed the water too.

 Austin was in the water the ENTIRE time! Blake still was unsure about the ocean and stayed in the sand most of the time. 

 Afterwards we went to Rainforest Cafe for my birthday dinner.  It was so fun!!!

 Cody did this a few times while grocery shopping.  I just thought he looked funny.

 We took a walk to the pool on Sunday and stuck our feet in. It was so fun to just be lazy all day!

 Kara made me a delicious chocolate cake!

 Do we look like sisters?

Here was our beach setup.  It was pretty awesome! It was a fun trip! I hope Kara and Preston survive the hot humid summer down there!