Blueberry Goodness

Thursday evening we headed up north to pick some blueberries. I LOVE picking fresh fruit. It is probably one of my favorite things. John is always a good sport to take us all on these adventures. And the kids seem to enjoy themselves too. We actually improved in many areas this year compared to last year:

1. I remembered the camera.

2. Dallin actually picked some berries.

3. Abigail was a REAL picker this year.

4. Connor is big enough that he did not need to be carried ...

a much cooler experience for John.

The berries were amazing! There were hundreds of berries everywhere! And the bushes are just high enough so that you can hide from the sun behind them (making things a lot more comfortable). And let's be honest you can't beat the price... only $1.50 a pound!!! We ended up picking for about 45 minutes and took home about 6.5 pounds of blueberries. So, if you haven't already picked some blueberries and you live in the Houston area... you really need to head on out to the Moorhead's Blueberry Farm. We love it!

And to finish things off... the kids were so excited... the snow cone lady was there!!! Hooray!!!

Snow cones for everyone. It doesn't get much better than that.

Off to the "orange" section we go...

Dallin was so excited about the "holes" that were just his size. He spent most of his time picking and eating from underneath the bush :).

Abigail was quite the picker this year. She really tried hard to find the biggest and best berries she could.

Connor was pretty funny. He really loved the maze of berries. Off he would go through the rows... after a few minutes we would call him back ... and he would come "toodling" out of some bushes with a few berries in hand. Most of the berries in his bucket we couldn't keep. Most came from the ground. :) Anytime you would bump the bushes berries would fall off.. and Connor thought those were the berries to get :).

Enjoying snow cones as a family. Yummy!

Now it is time to make lots of yummy blueberry treats.

Happy Father's Day!

WE LOVE OUR DAD!!!

John and his kids

We had a great Father's Day [at least I think we did.. :)] We started with a great breakfast - eggs benedict - one of John's favorite. I quickly put some ribs in the crockpot and whipped up some homemade ice cream. Then off to church we went. Poor John.. ending up helping in nursery... thanks, Sweetheart for filling in :).

After church, we had naps, gifts and dinner preparations began. We had a feast for our Dad. The biggest hit on the menu was baby back ribs. John is a little picky about his ribs (I know, I was taking a risk)... but he LOVED them! Dinner was a success!!!

I think my favorite card of the day was Abigail's... it is really amazing to watch your child grow- and to see them really understand things.

While I was busy in the kitchen that morning, Abigail climbed up to the top shelf in her closet and pulled down her poke-a-dot box with her treasures in it. She found a pen and a card. Here is what her card said:

"Thank you Daddy.

Thank you for playing, jumping, smiling, hugging, eating, swimming,

but most of all loving with me!"

I don't think anyone could say it better!

Dallin was also so proud to give Dad a "tie" sugar cookie he decorated in Sunbeams. It was adorable.

We are truly blessed to have such an amazing man as the father of our home.

John, you are an amazing father and husband. Thank you for always making us a priority and loving us always. I know you are a great Dad, because your children know you love them "millions!"

The Fathers in our Lives

Just wanted to thank our fathers on this special day for all their love and support.

We love you both SO much!

We are so blessed to have you in our lives.

While Daddy was away....

We had good friends come to play!

Thanks Wadsworth Family for making the trip and spending some fun filled days with us!

We had a blast! From late nights chatting it up to our crazy adventures with all those kiddos... We had a great time!

Wednesday night my kids could hardly wait another minute for their friends to make it. They were all so excited it took quite awhile for them all to fall asleep :).

Thursday we loaded up all the kids in the van and headed out to Surfside Beach. We had a great day in the sun.... and despite the sunshade drama (we were never able to really get that thing up right)... the dead car battery... and some sunburns all around.... We had a great time!

All the kids loaded in the van...

Back Row: Dallin, Abigail, Connor

Middle Row: Calais, William, Alcott

Playing in the sand

These two little ladies were on those boards ALL day! They love the water!

Cristina and William.... so cute!

The littlest.... playing in the shallow water.

William

Bathtime ... Boy Tub

Bathtime ... Girl Tub

Friday we decided to see the new exhibit at the Space Center - Star Wars. These little Wadsworth girls LOVE Star Wars! It is really cute! The were loving all the things to do and see.... and yes, the moms had to push it and try to take all 6 kids on the tram to see the big rockets. Things were going pretty well (they were really tired at this point), but when two of them (Dallin and Calais) crashed and fell asleep on our way to stop two - we decided we better call it ... there was no way we were going to be able to wake up sleepy kids and make them walk for another 20 mins to see rockets. :) And despite the fact that we wore the kids out... I think we all had a great time!

Using the Force

They all really loved launching the rocket.

Calais eating some astronaut ice cream. Yum.

Dallin riding the space toys.

Eating some cupcakes and watching a movie.

Even when we weren't on an adventure ... we were still partying hard at home. The kids played hard... watched movies... jumped on the trampoline (thanks Cristina for showing us Tucka-Tucka... Dallin loves it!) ...and ate lots of yummy treats! And of course, the Mommies had fun too :). It is always fun to see old friends!

Thanks Cristina for making the trip! We really had a great time!

Hope we can do it again ... soon :).

Our Little Ballerina

Abigail was able to participate in a little dance camp this summer. She loved it! She let me know that ballet was her favorite. She really enjoys dance... so hopefully this is something that we can continue in the fall. It is so fun to watch her thinking so hard :).

Thanks Ms. Tricia for a fabulous class!

Blue Bell

We took advantage of our Dad being home Monday afternoon and headed out to the Blue Bell Factory. We must really like factories :). We have been to Tillamook, Harry and David, and Blue Bell. I was glad John was able to come. I have been planning on making the trip with the kids this summer, but when I found out it was only open M-F... John was a little disappointed he would miss out... so this worked out perfectly.

It is always fun to see how things are made - especially in such mass quantity. I think the kids enjoyed themselves.... however, I think their favorite part was the free ice cream at the end of the tour :). I decided all I need to make fabulous ice cream is a blast freezer. :)

Our Cute Little Tourists

Connor wasn't too excited about sharing his ice cream with anyone until he realized they would share back too. After the initial shock of Dallin's and Abby's spoons in his ice cream - he was excitedly dipping his in everyone's too.

Abby was really excited about this flavor... Crazy Cookie Dough. Crazy is what it was... cake batter ice cream with brightly colored cookie dough chunks. I think Abby had the best description when she said ... "It looks like play-doh!" Play-doh or not.. it was still yummy and she gobbled it right up.

Dallin was super pleased with his selection...

the good old standard... Rainbow Sherbet - Can't go wrong there.

It was a fun afternoon. We were all glad we went.

The kids are always so good to put up with our crazy adventures.

Lost Pines Resort

... Possibly the BEST family resort I have ever seen!

Lucky for us, John had a conference this past weekend in Lost Pines, TX and we (the family) were able to tag along. Boy are we glad we did! What a fun place! From sun up to sun down there were constant activities (FREE) for the family to enjoy. Some of the activities included: face painting, hay rides, wagon rides, bike riding, smores every night, outdoor movie (every night), scavenger hunts, etc. There was more than we could enjoy. And, of course, they had a fantastic water park... lazy river, beach area, water slide, toddler area with splash pad and 1 foot pool... there was also an adult pool area (we didn't see much of that).

Every night we enjoyed complimentary smores and an outdoor movie with popcorn. The kids thought they were in heaven and never wanted to come home. One night we even went on a stargazing tour. It was lots of fun! I really can't say enough about this fabulous place! And one of the best things... our Dad was done each day by lunch time!! Hooray!!! We seriously had a great time together.

Family picture on the hay ride

Floating in the Lazy River

Connor was so tired on Saturday that he just fell asleep in his little yellow tube.

Connor loving the splash pad area for kids.

The kids loved the water slide... they could have done this ALL day :).

Riding bikes while Dad was in his conference.

We quickly decided the bug wasn't the best for Connor and went back for the trike (which I have to say was awesome!) I was able to push him like a scooter, because his feet couldn't reach the pedals. This way we were able to keep up with the other two :). We actually rode the bikes everyday we were there. John was even able to join in the fun on Saturday.

Abby loved sitting on top of the Longhorn.

Face Painting

Smores... Yummy!

Outdoor Movie on the Lawn

Checking out the river

Basketball time

Abby and Dallin love this game! It is actually pretty funny to watch them play.

Connor enjoying his breakfast.

We quickly learned we really couldn't afford the restaurants there on the resort property and ran to the grocery store for supplies.

All tuckered out.

You know the kids have had fun when they sleep in until 9am!!!

Thanks John for letting us tag along! And thanks to UTHSC for picking such a family friendly place. We had a great time as a family.