Harley

Wow what a storm we had Monday night!! We thought the house would blow down but turns out it was just our side fence =) Not knowing the fence was down Jared let Harley out into the backyard in the morning. An hour or so later when we went to let him inside we realized what had happened. What a bad bad feeling!! We threw the kids in the cars and set out in opposite directions to find him. After an hour or so of searching Jared found him 2 doors down under the shade of the neighbors tree just lounging!!! We must have driven by him a million times in that hour! In hindsight we should have walked the street first.

7 1/2 years and 2 kids later Harley has inevitably taken a backseat in our family. Sometimes having to wait a long time to get his breakfast...that is until Andrew started feeding him! But that brief time of fearing that he was gone has put him right back in the front seat with his head hanging out of the window =) We love you Harley!!!!

Guess all the yelling of his name inspired M because she got his name down perfect today! So cute even though she has had the stomach bug the last few days. Ugh!

Ray Michael Bevel

I haven't forgotten that 4 years ago today I lost my cousin Ray in Iraq.

I didn't open a great coffee shop to remember nor did I create a meaningful Moment of Silence. I don't have eloquent words and pictures like my brother Shane nor do I have an incredible video to remind others of his ultimate sacrifice.

I could list dozens of other ways his family and friends choose to remember and honor him. Each are perfect in their own way. This is how we honored and remembered today.

We flew our flag this week and when neighbors asked we told his story.

We wore our pins today and when those we came in contact with mentioned it we told them of our brave Ray Ray.

We visited Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery and left flowers on the graves of Glen Dale Hicks and Jacob Raul Lugo in loving memory of Ray and all of those who gave their lives.

We prayed for all of Ray's family and friends and their still daily struggle to grasp the loss of a dear young man.

And I shared with each of you who took the time to read this blog entry how much we loved Ray and how incredibly sad we were to say goodbye. Sometimes the numbers and news stories are overwhelming and hard to grasp. But this story was personal and I thank you for letting me share.

Godspeed cousin Ray.

Wow! Time Flies! What's for dinner?

Goodness gracious...it has been a long time since I posted. So to take the pressure off feeling like I need to somehow recap the last 6 months let me start with something simple.

Dinner. Whole wheat pasta, avocado and watermelon. Simple, easy and fairly healthy. Still debating if all of this outweighs the mess that follows.

Hope this finds you all doing well and enjoying the new season. We are loving this weather!!

Crazy week of Fun!

Wow!! What a week?! We started the week on Sunday watching the Lady Bears play Green Bay at the AA center. Both kids did great and had fun...oh and looked very cute too! On Tuesday we headed back to the AA center to watch them battle A&M...and lose =( McKinley slept through the second half and I stood up in the back. Partly so she could sleep, partly to keep me calm and partly to avoid the extremely obnoxious A&M fans that happened to be sitting close to us. The Lady Bears won 3 of the 4 games against the aggies. Too bad this was the one they lost. It was super fun to watch and as always...Sic 'Em Bears!

Riding the Dart Rail to the AA center

Cute kiddos!

Legoland in Grapevine had just opened on Wed so of course M, Andrew and I decided to go on Thursday?! Andrew had a blast with his friends from school Grant and Lily.

Waiting for the elevator to take us into Legoland!

4D movie...Bob the Builder

(Grant's shirt says "Lock up your daughters!") Ha!

Lego Ride with Laser Gun. M was a little bit scared, I think...

We certainly couldn't let that be the end of our day so after dropping M off with Papa and Gabby we headed out on a "date" with Andrew. Babe's chicken for dinner, ANOTHER ride on the Dart Rail and Toy Story Disney on Ice!! It was nice to be able to focus on one kiddo, to really take the time to talk and listen and be "tuned in!" Andrew had a blast but was exhausted by the time we got home =) Felt a little bad for his teacher this week, but she said he did great at school even with the late nights! Whew I am tired just remembering this week!!

Ahhh...aren't they handsome?

Riding the elevator up to the train station. Steady....Steady

Watching for the train

It's here! That expression is priceless.

Mommy and Andrew

Love this picture