Family Recharge!

Hi Guys! (As Preston likes to say)

Since you checked in last, we've been having a little family recharge! We spent Memorial Day in Houston with my parents, Jay, and Danielle. We took everyone out to a peach orchard and had a blast picking, and tasting, lots of fruit. Preston was really into it! Then we met my Aunt Pam, Uncle Gerald, Nate, Kristin, and Ian for lunch in Bellville. It was so great to see them and visit for a while. We don't get that opportunity very often anymore. Then we drove back to Mom and Dad's for a fantastic dinner and dessert. Jay and Chris looked up a Peach Cobbler recipe and were very successful at pleasing all our tastebuds with our fresh picked treat tucked away in the cobbler. We ate every last bite so it was definitely a do-over. We also celebrated Danielle's birthday while we were there. Dad cooked her a gourmet breakfast at her request. On our way home we stopped by Ikea to pick up the kitchen cabinets for the church building. Let's just say I hope we don't visit there again any time soon. After 5 hrs. we finally hit the road to Lafayette...in a pretty bad mood. The boys were terrific through it all, otherwise I might have lost it.

that's a mouth and face full of peaches!

Then this past weekend we went on our first family vacation! We took the camper to Lake Fausse Point State Park for 3 days. It was so restful and fun. Besides the fact that I forgot to pack the coffee. I'm not sure Chris will ever forget that one. OOPS! We had some friends over for dinner the first night. Then the rest of the time we just took it easy. Preston really enjoys the water playground there, and Chris and I like it too. We went for walks and took Preston to the playgrounds. When Preston napped, we napped. It was great. No cell phone reception. No work. Just a family time recharge. Aaaaahh.

breakfast is not breakfast without COFFEE...oops I'll do better next time

Maggie, ready for bed

bath time, camping style

Chris taught him to look "real close" for the water, and then when it comes back on it'll squirt him in the face. He loved it!

As for the boys, Preston keeps us busy and laughing. We're making some progress on the potty. We went swimming at Mike and Barb's last week and he was swimming all over. It tires him out too, so that's a bonus. His latest adventure involves the rod we all have in our closets that are useful for holding our clothes. Preston thinks they are for swinging and making monkey noises. He's been swinging and hanging upside down from his for a couple of weeks now. I decided not to discipline him for it. Sometimes he just won't stop climbing no matter how many spankings he gets. So anywho, Mike and Barb were over visiting with us, and I can't hear Preston in his room. I knew he must be up to something, and soon enough we hear a loud crash and commotion. Then Preston is saying, "uh-oh, uh-oh, What happened??" Sure enough he comes walking down the hall with the rod. Lovely. Of course, he thinks Daddy can fix everything, so he brings it to him. And Chris does fix it. Maybe next time we'll just keep it out of his closet. Preston is into whatever Chris is doing. He likes to help push the mower and cut the grass. He also wants to help make coffee, work on things with tools, and empty the trash. Chris taught him how to pretend he's fishing while we were waiting in Ikea. Its pretty cute. He casts his line, reels slowly, jiggles the line, then reels fast when the fish gets on, and shows us how big his catch is. He does this all the time right now. He's also informed me that we have no fish in our toilet; however they are in the bathtub. Whew, good to know. Chris built his rope ladder in the back, but I haven't gotten any pictures yet. Preston has quite the imagination, and tells me the funniest things. For example, one day during lunch he looked out the window and said he saw Elmo climbing the tree in our backyard. Oh, and he's really getting into pretend play too. I'm not sure how many times a day I hear the question, "What's that?" I understand he's curious, but before long he might know more than I do. I think the what's that? stage is easier than the why? stage. Another one of his favorite is "Where goin?" He knows where we're going, but likes to ask anyways.



Clint is fantastic. He enjoyed our camping trip also. He's had a few bad teething days, and no teeth yet, but nothing we couldn't handle. He's Mr. Flirt right now, and smiles at everyone. He makes it so difficult to get a laugh out of him. Chris and I try and try and then he lets out the smallest chuckle with the biggest smiles. Silly boy. When he's going to sleep, he insists on pulling his blankets over his head. So as soon as he's out I go pull them away from his face. As sweet and happy as he is, he's got a temper you wouldn't believe. He usually looses it once or twice a week. It doesn't take too much to calm him down. He's eating babyfood already. He loves it, the little piglet. So far we've tried green beans and carrots, and he enjoys them both. He also loves taking a bath. He splashes everywhere and gets Preston. Preston thinks its pretty cool. We got him to stop sucking his fingers for soothing. Every now and then he'll suck a thumb, a finger, or a toe. Whatever is closest to his mouth! But he takes his pacifier to go to sleep.



We're excited that Chris has been home in the evenings lately, and especially excited that we got to spend 2 weekends in a row with him. Now, we're looking forward to seeing his brother and family that will be arriving in Louisiana next week. We have plans to go camping with them, and I'm sure we'll pack in lots of other fun things while they are here.



Lots of love



Shell