June Adventures

We didn't waste any time getting our summer started once school got out. On June 1st Kyndall and I kissed Matthew goodbye and set off on our first road trip of the summer. We would be spending the next 12 days in Tallahassee and we were SO excited about it!

Kyndall is the best little traveler and I suppose it's because she's never known any different. We've been making the long trip home since she was 6 weeks old. The trip from Texas to Florida is about 14 hours and we made it with only three stops which I thought was pretty good!

One of our stops at a rest area in Louisiana. From Texas to Florida we passed through FIVE states!

June 1st also happened to be national donut day and I would be an awful parent if I allowed this day to pass without indulging for the sake of the holiday. We waited until we got into the edge of Tallahassee before stopping at Krispy Kreme and to my surprise even at 10:00 pm the hot sign was still on and the line was out the door!

The next morning we were up early for our annual family reunion at my Grandma's house in Two Egg. FL.  I didn't take many pictures that day but I did get these of me and my sister and our kiddos.

We celebrated my Grandma's 80th birthday a few days early and surprised her with this cake that I had made in honor of her special day.

As is typical for summertime in north Florida, one minute it was a bazillion degrees and the sun was shining and the next minute there was a torrential downpour happening. Once the lightening stopped, the kids played in the giant puddle that formed under Grandma's pecan tree. I remember splashing in this same puddle when I was a little girl.

Attending Sunday morning service at the church I grew up in is always special

Kyndall and Wyatt wanted to swim and throw water balloons after church. I told them to hold their balloons up where I could see them and this is what Wyatt did....boys! 

Each June we schedule our trip to Tallahassee around Vacation Bible School at my parents' church. Kyndall has been going since she was in pre-school and she looks forward to it each year. Here they are on the very first night, excited to bring their offering money for the boys vs. girls competition.

Monday morning we rode along with my Mom to take Easton to his appointment in Gainesville to be fitted for his reshaping helmet.

She was totally grossed out by this replica of the bones in our feet. She will never be a nurse, that's for sure!

Kyndall was a big help in keeping Easton entertained and still while they took the necessary steps to have him fitted for the helmet.

Night two at VBS...Kyndall took a liking to one of the youth workers, Skylar, several years ago and she looks forward to seeing her again every year.

On June 5th we drove back over to Jackson County to take my Grandma out to lunch for her actual birthday. My aunt, uncle, cousins and even Grandma's brother and sister in law all joined us which I thought was nice. Most of them were on their lunch breaks from work so it was quick but special.

Each year Kyndall likes to go to Lifeway and pick out a bunch of Vacation Bible School themed accessories for the week. I took her and Wyatt and walked out nearly $100 poorer but at least they were happy with their finds!

It was extra special having two of my high school girlfriends bring their kiddos to VBS and Kyndall enjoyed having Lily Kate and Elijah in her class all week.

We had a special visit with sweet Emmie Rose who was barely a week old. Emmie belongs to Shelby, whom I used to babysit when she and her twin sister were just toddlers!

Can't get enough of my sweet nephew and those cheeks!!

A rare moment when Wyatt and Kyndall were sitting next to each other without arguing. They love each other more than anything but they sure do act like brother and sister most of the time!

Another night of VBS

 Hanging out with Easton during Bible School

We had lunch with my childhood BFF Amber and her kids and it was extra special because it was my first time meeting her newly adopted daughter, Abi. She is a long awaited answer to prayer for Amber and her family.

Frozen yogurt as a reward for good behavior

Swimming in Grammy's pool

Terrorizing all the lizards

My Dad never gets in the pool but somehow Kyndall convinced him to get in with her...and not only did he get in but he agreed to a hand stand competition! Ha!

More babies! I also got to meet my friend Betsy's new addition, Charlotte. Three brand new baby girls all in a week's time gave me a major case of baby fever!

Bowling date with Betsy and her boys

Vacation Bible School each night made for a pretty exhausting week and I think you can see it all over Kyndall's face here!

Lunch with my sister and our sweet friend Sarah

While we were in Tallahassee my Mom had some professional photos taken of Kyndall, Wyatt and Easton. This was my favorite one of the three of them!

On the last night of VBS my in-laws picked Kyndall up and whisked her off to Panama City Beach for their yearly beach trip, just the three of them. Kyndall's friend Abigail happened to be at the beach with her Grandparents too, so they spent a lot of time playing together.

Nonie and Poppie treated her to mini golf, go karts, shopping and dinners out. She is one lucky little girl!

 Once they returned, Kyndall spent a few extra days at their house in Thomasville

More of Easton and his CHEEKS!

The sweetest, happiest baby there ever was!

I snuck Easton his first taste of a dill pickle....Isn't that what are Aunts are for??

My parents' dog Albert is like an old man. He doesn't care for the commotion and chaos that comes barging into his typically quiet little world when we show up and invade his space and I can't really say I blame him! He used to run and hide and never seemed to care for the kids but lately he seems to have taken a liking to Kyndall. One morning while I was getting ready I peeked into our room and found this sweet but rare sight.

This is my FAVORITE road in Tallahassee and it's one of the things I miss most about Florida....TREES!

On our last day in Tallahassee we met up with Matthew's cousin Sarah and her daughter Rachael for lunch and some shopping at the mall. These girls have so much fun every time they're together, which I just wish could be more often.

On June 13th we loaded up and made the 14 hour trek back to Dallas. We had a GREAT time in Tallahassee and we packed in so many fun activities while we were there. We were sad to say goodbye but knowing we'd be coming back in mid-July made it a little bit easier.

The same day that Kyndall and I drove back to Dallas, Matthew left Dallas heading to west Texas for three days to work. So although our paths wouldn't cross for a total of two weeks, he was thoughtful enough to leave us a sweet card and some treats which we were very happy to find upon our arrival home after a long and tiring day on the road. There were fresh flowers on the counter (my fav!), cheesecake in the fridge (also my fav!), a pantry stocked full of groceries, clean sheets on the beds, a freshly vacuumed house and even a little prize for Kyndall. He is so good to us!

Nothing says "welcome home" like a freshly made bed and vacuum marks still in the carpet. Acts of service is definitely my love language!

Since Matthew was out of town, miss priss got to sleep in my bed which is a rare treat. The morning after we arrived home she slept until nearly noon!

Waking up to puppy snuggles

When Daddy is out of town we do crazy things like eat cheesecake in bed at 10:00 at night

And we have breakfast in bed

And we eat lunch out

After missing several weeks of gymnastics, she was happy to be back at it

Reunited with Daddy after two whole weeks!

First thing on the agenda...pool time

Matthew and Kyndall and Ashlyn and her Dad put on a show for me

Two peas in a pod

Father's Day weekend arrived and we showered Mathew with his favorite things. His parents sent him this Georgia hat and we were able to Facetime them as he opened it.

They also gave him a Starbucks gift card and beef jerkey...they know the ways to his heart!

My crafty girl transformed this ordinary gift bag into a Georgia themed gift bag just for her Daddy

She picked out this key chain several weeks prior and bought it with her own money. It says "Matt" on the other side and she was so proud of it!

She also made him this pencil caddy with shells she found at the beach

Matthew LOVES crazy socks so Kyndall and I bought him a whole bunch, including a pair 

with waffles on them...my personal favorite!

Kyndall and I wanted to do something extra special for Matthew this year so I pulled some strings and got my hands on some AMAZING VIP tickets to see the Texas Rangers play the Colorado Rockies on Father's Day. It was mine and Kyndall's very first MLB game and although she and I nearly melted into puddles from the heat and had to retreat into the shade more than once, we enjoyed doing something that we knew Matthew loved so much. I also took one for the team by agreeing to eat Father's Day Brunch at the Waffle House. For all the dance recitals, piano practices, hair tutorials, tea parties and other girly things he's endured over the last few years since becoming a Dad, it was the least I could do. We are so grateful for all he does for us!

Brunch at the awful waffle

Season ticket holders get into the stadium before anyone else

We had great seats, 12 rows up right behind home plate

 Kyndall was excited to get autographs from some of the players and I was proud of her for sticking it out in the extreme heat to wait patiently as the players walked by on their way to warm up

We got free hats and although they were less than fashionable, they definitely saved us from some serious sunburns during this 2:30 game in the middle of June!

Taking a break for a snow cone

When it's a million degrees outside you get desperate...desperate enough to agree to buying a $25 fan that sprays water.

Working hard to get on the dance cam!

HOMERUN!

We had a great time despite the heat, but we were all excited to get home and end our Father's Day celebration with a dip in the pool.

Random pictures of what it's like to wake up with dogs in your bed...

These two have an entire king size bed yet they want to be right up next to my head all night long. Why??

On Saturday mornings we all sleep late and then Kyndall eventually comes downstairs and jumps in bed with us.

Last month when Kyndall accepted Jesus into her heart, my sweet friend Lisa said she wanted to send her a special gift in the mail. She was so excited to receive this Willow Tree angel which she promptly took upstairs and found a special place for on her vanity.

Summer nights playing card games on the patio are some of my favorite nights

Recently Kyndall has jumped on the Lego bandwagon and she used some of her leftover Christmas money to buy a set. She was excited to show me this heart she made, completely on her own without looking at a pattern. I was impressed! 

Toys R Us officially closed its doors nation wide last week and I had heard there were some really good deals to be found. We didn't score anything great, but we did walk away with this toilet game for $7....oh joy.

Matthew had some extra vacation days to burn so we decided to take a long weekend and check out San Antonio. We kept hearing what a neat place it was so off we went for a weekend adventure.

We stopped somewhere around Temple, Texas for lunch at this restaurant which Kyndall got a kick out of since her Nonie's name is Jody.

Just outside of San Antonio is a little town called Gruene, Texas which is full of cute little shops and restaurants so we stopped to check it out. Right away Kyndall spotted our state flower which she tells us is the prickly pear cactus. We had no idea, but apparently she's really been listening in school! Public education for the win! Ha!

We browsed through this unique little craft garden that was full of all kinds of whimsical creations.

More prickly pear cacti 

We browsed an antique shop and she had no idea what these were and when we told her she couldn't stop giggling! The thought of a phone being attached to a wall completely blew her mind.

Gruene Hall is the oldest dance hall in Texas and it's where many famous musicians got their start, including my favorite...George Strait.

Inside Gruene Hall

It was REALLY hot so we sought out this old fashioned soda fountain and treated ourselves to a cool treat.

Kyndall found a "brief case"

The oldest bakery in Texas

Of course we had to try it out!

We made it to San Antonio and checked into our hotel before exploring the Riverwalk

Dinner at Casa Rio, the oldest restaurant on the Riverwalk

Kyndall loved feeding the ducks

We took an evening riverboat ride in order to get the history of San Antonio

We were two tired girls by the end of the day!

The next morning we checked out the infamous Alamo

For me, it was quite underwhelming but I'm told that as Texan this is some kind of right of passage so at least I can mark it off my list.

When you are too cheap to pay $30 for the professional photo, you screen shot it with the watermarks and all! Ha!

Kyndall insisted on listening to every word of the audio tour

Still listening intently to her audio tour like a good little tourist

Throwing every last one of my pennies into the fountain....

Lunch on the Riverwalk again

Once again Kyndall fed most of her lunch to the ducks...

As I was scrolling through my pictures this one made me laugh. I had handed my phone over to Kyndall to take our picture and this is what she got. Are we terrified of something??  Did someone call our names?? Did a famous person just walk by and shock us with their presence?? Neither of us can remember why we were looking so concerned but this is what you end up with when your photographer is a 7 year old!

At the end of the day we treated ourselves by indulging in $30 worth of Ghirardelli chocolate ice cream.

Surrounded by chocolate

By that night we were all beat from all the walking so we paid $5 for 30 minutes in the massage chair and each took a turn!

A quick dip in the hotel pool to end a fun day

Breakfast at the hotel before heading back home Sunday morning. Kyndall loved that they had Texas shaped waffles.

The dogs were very happy to be picked up from the vet where they were boarded all weekend!

We spent the next two weeks packing in as much fun as possible before we set off on yet another road trip. As much as I love to travel in the summer, having some downtime with no agenda and no plans is probably my favorite thing about summer.

An impromptu Monday night dinner out after gymnastics with friends

Followed by a visit across the street to Buc-ee's for desserts

I'm so glad we decided to extend out patio a few months ago because I cannot even count the number of afternoons and evenings we've already spent out there. We especially love eating dinner out there once the sun goes down.

It's also great for crafting

Summertime means trips to the donut shop for breakfast

We enjoyed a girls day out lunch with our friends Ashlie and Maley Elaine. In another week Maley will be welcoming a baby sister!

Haircut day for the dogs

Pizza night!

Since we had several days with no plans I took Kyndall to the craft store to pick out some projects to keep her from saying "I'm so bored" 2835 times per day. She ended up convincing me to buy her the ingredients to make slime, which I regretted almost immediately!

She also bought new acrylic paints and some wood figurines to decorate, including this jewelry box which turned out really cute!

Another day, another form of slime to be made--This time it was glitter slime.

Sweet Huckabee

She also decided she wanted to jump on the Lego bandwagon but when I priced them and realized how expensive they are I told her she'd have to spend her own money on them, especially considering how much I had just dropped on craft supplies! So, she gathered her money and off we went to find a set of Legos.

We were excited to receive this invitation to cousin Wyatt's 4th birthday party! We'll be driving all the way to Florida just to be there for it and Kyndall is over the moon excited about the fact that it's a Greatest Showman themed party--Her favorite movie ever!

My sassy girl

Much like her OCD mother, Kyndall likes to have things organized so she convinced me to buy her these containers so that she could separate her Legos by color.

Friday night golf practice at the sporting goods store

Recently Kyndall has figured out how to play football on Matthew's PlayStation and the two of them will sit up in the playroom for hours as he teaches her all his football strategies. He loves it because he finally has someone in the house who is eager to learn the game of football!

Each Saturday morning these two head to the Waffle House for some daddy/daughter time. They've been doing this since before she could even walk and I love that they are carrying on the tradition.

Nothing makes this girl happier than an Icee and a salted pretzel from Sam's! 

June was a fun-filled and BUSY month and we made some great memories! July will be just as busy with a road trip to Tennessee and Florida, Vacation Bible School and finally, our CRUISE!