Texas Summer

These are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip to Texas. Nikki arranged for the McKowns and Regers to get away for a few days our first week in town to Cedar Lake. We packed tons of leftover treats and food from the BBQ, loaded up the toys and tots - and headed out for some much needed R&R. The weather had been super hot and sticky so we were VERY glad to be right on the water. Our two day, two night stay was a huge success and the boys did very well. We even had dual naps thanks to tons of water play to tucker them both right out. Jack and Little Tom perfected casting thier fishing poles --- while Nikki and I perfected total fear of all cicadas in the dark. We stayed in this adorable little yellow house that used galvanized metal for the interior of the roof. Cozy - yet very comfy too. I'm looking forward to making this an annual trip.

Cavallo Paradiso

I was lucky enough to be invited to go horseback riding this past Saturday with my girlfriend Lori. We drove out towards Palagonia to the new stables where she nows keeps her horse Aprile. The stables are incredible and the horses are all gorgeous! Lori now spends almost all her free time either riding, grooming, or loving these horses. The man that owns the stables does not ride that often anymore and Lori is helping him to keep them training. I only hope to be invited back again soon. They had over 30 horses, puppies, kittens, chickens and more! I would love to take Jack out thier for an afternoon. Seriously - paradise!

Labor Day JOY!

We had friends over for some KBobs today and the kids all had a great time. It is such a blast to watch them fun around and be so silly. This bike was one we aquired in Colorado for free - and it is by far the most valuable item in Jack's toy collection. They all take turns going around the driveway and it is usually Matt or Phil behind them pushing them at maximum speed to increase thier little toddler high. Just look at thier faces - you can tell that fun was had by all.

Morrills or Morals?

We flew out to visit the Morrill Clan between our familiy visits this year. Matt and Erin have the absolute best spot on earth to raise little boys. We spent our days fishing, riding four wheelers, swimming in the lake and taking walks around the property while picking and eating wild raspberries. We also spent our nights (after the boys were all tucked in and safe) playing Euchre and drinking wine. We miss the Morrills so much but we try to pack in as much as we can in the short time we see them each year. All three boys got along VERY well and seemed this year to be true friends!

Way to go OHIO!

We spent three of the most idylic weeks of my life in Ohio this summer. Jack and his cousin Cash got along so well this year. Cash is ALL action ALL the time and we all loved watching him go full tilt boogey each and every time we were with him! We were also lucky enough to spend quite a bit of time with Matt's friend from CU Josh and his family. Josh and Meredith have a daughter named Ella that is close in age to Jack. The bottom picture captures one of my all time favorite moments in life.

Jack, Cash and Ella had been playing at Grandma Inky & Grandpa John's house all afternoon. Each year Grandpa John brings in a TON of sand for the kids to play with over the summer. We decided to let them all play in the sprinklers in order to A) cool off and B) cool down. They all just stripped off thier clothes and had a blast in the sprinklers. Ella had kind of been checking out the boys and thier "junk" since this was all new territory for her...unfortunately Jack decided to show her exactly how it all works "down there".

NYC

We started off our travels this summer with a 5 day stay in NYC. Our hotel was in the East Village and we spent the majority of our time in Central Park. I would love to make this an annual detour each and every summer. We had a fantastic time! What a great place to go through jet-lag too! Our very first night in town Matt struggled to sleep and instead wandered the streets and snapped a whole slew of great private moment city pics.

There are 22 playgrounds in Central Park and I believe that we may have stopped and played at every single one of them. Our diets this week consisted of soft pretzels and hot dogs...YUM!!!

Cardboard Rules

I was out of town in Vicenza last weekend with the track team so the boys we home alone. We recently purchased a new mattress for Jack and Matt used the cardboard box to create a city filled with roads, rail lines, stores, schools, and even an airport. Needless to say - JACK LOVES IT! He's taken all of his toys out to the patio and played nonstop for days on end now.