Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Chicken, Airplane, Soldier

Swim lessons are here! The boys are having fun and Allie and I are enjoying playing in the pool while they learn. Well, Spence learns when he decides to keep his head above water! Coleman is a great swimmer, so he's learning some new strokes now.

That's a band-aid between her eyes! She fell out of her chair today and thought she needed a band-aid to make it better. I don't think it made it better, but it sure did make it funnier!

Spence practicing his "chicken, airplane, soldier" (which is what his teacher calls the moves for the breaststroke)

Coleman working on his breaststroke leg moves

Little boy in the pink goggles!

Jump!!!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Pretty Sunday Dress



My sweet smile

My cheesy smile

My giggly smile

Hope you had a smiley day too!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Hesitantly Hopeful

I've been doing something nonstop for the last 6 1/2 years: changing diapers! And while I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to change all those diapers, I'm hopeful that this stage is coming to an end. Allie seems ready to potty train. I'm just hoping that her high intellect wins out over her strong will! The other day, as she was standing there naked, I asked her where big girls go potty. She pointed to the carpet and said, "There." When I said no, she walked over to the tile and pointed down and said, "There." Better, but still no good.

She's been going on the potty off and on for the past 3 months or so. But I really think it's time to buckle down and get her trained. So tonight we went to Wal-Mart and let her pick out some new panties. I picked up some cleaning wipes, stickers, candy treats, a bottle of insanity-be-gone, and a jumbo size box of patience. We're all set! I was thinking about trying a 3 day potty method, but we don't have 3 days in a row that we're home all day! Tomorrow I'm going to set the timer and lead her to one of the 6 strategically placed potties around our house. (We have 3 toilets and 3 potty chairs.) We'll see how that goes!

And just in case you've forgotten or you're new here, I. Hate. Potty. Training. Did you hear that Allie? Go easy on Mommy. Your brothers sure didn't!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

It's Always a Great Day...

...when this gang's together!

Paul David and Judson, we had a wonderful time at your house! Can't wait to see you again!

Saturday, July 09, 2011

Colorado Vacation Slideshow

Pictures from Cadillac Ranch, the cabin, Breckenridge, Royal Gorge, and Pike's Peak.

Home Sweet Home

We had an awesome family vacation in Colorado, but it's nice to be home! On the way to Colorado Springs, we stopped for the night in Childress, Texas. The next day we visited Cadillac Ranch, where an eccentric man with lots of money has half buried 10 Cadillacs in the ground and people spray paint all over them. There was no gift shop or anything, and the only souvenir we got was some spray paint on Coleman's shorts! It was really a pretty neat place!




We arrived in Colorado Springs Friday evening and visited with Uncle Brent and Aunt Dre for a while. The next day we left for a cabin outside of Breckenridge where we met Grandpa and Grandma. The cabin was actually more like a lodge. The paddle boats and pool table provided lots of entertainment.





On July 3rd we went into a town to see fireworks, but because of the dry conditions, they were cancelled. That was OK though, because on July 4th we got to play in snow! That was a first for me and my Texas kids! We drove into Breckenridge and took the gondola up the mountain. Gale, Brian, Brent, and Coleman rode tubes down the snowy mountain. Then we all played a little in the snow.





We stayed another night at the cabin then stopped by the Royal Gorge on Tuesday. I thought you just walked across a bridge and that was all. I was wrong! We walked across the bridge, ate lunch, bought souvenirs, watched a magic show, hiked through an old west town, took a cable tram across the gorge, rode an incline train down to the bottom of the gorge, and rode a merry go round. There was so much to do there that we ended up spending most of the day.




Wednesday, the five of us and Gale and Rita went to Pike's Peak. I was pretty nervous since the last time I was there I got pretty nauseated at the top. It's a little higher than Southeast Texas there. Like 14, 110 feet! We took the train up and all did well. On the way back home we drove through The Garden of the Gods. It was rainy so Brian and I hopped out of the car for a quick picture, but we didn't let anyone else get out!


We left Thursday morning and drove to West Texas and stayed with my uncle and aunt. I hadn't seen them in years, so we had a nice visit. We arrived back home Friday night around 8:3o, not a moment too soon! It was a long long drive, but we had a great time. After I recover for about a year I'll be ready for another vacation!

I Need a Vacation From My Vacation!

2,500 miles and we're back! We drove to Colorado to see Brent and Dre. Gale and Rita came down and we had a wonderful Pik Family vacation! The pictures in the slideshow are from the drive, Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, the cabin outside of Breckenridge, Breckenridge, Garden of the Gods, and Pike's Peak.