Our Weekend In East Texas.

Thanks to both of our families for such a wonderful time this past weekend. Thanks to my parents for being such great hosts, and thanks to the Rogers for making the long trip to Lake Palestine.

The babies (really toddlers now) are so lucky to be surrounded by so many people that love them. Their lives are filled with a great amount of laughter, happiness, and fun! I know how much joy they have brought Brian and I, and can only imagine how our extended family feel. It was often brought up in conversation this weekend how blessed we really are. It is so amazing to be a part of a family that is so incredibly supportive of every aspect of their growth and development. I am so thankful for all of the love they receive and know that every second of it is enriching their lives and giving them every opportunity to become the best people they can become. To be surrounded by such good people can only lead to having a wonderful life.

I am learning quickly, however, that vacation with three kids is a lot different than my previous vacations. It takes quite a bit to pack, drive, organize, and keep the right balance between "fun" and "too much fun." Before the difference between fun and too much fun was a hefty hangover the next day....Not so much anymore. Late nights have been traded for early mornings. I'm pretty sure I got up a few times at the same time I used to come home... But it's all worth it and I can say everyone (especially these babies) had a fantastic time.

After breakfast each day we took their new safety harnesses for test runs. They work pretty well. I'm looking forward to the day when I can handle all three myself instead of using the stroller to get them in/out of places. Three kids and two arms doesn't work so well, ya know? They love being set free to roam the great outdoors. We picked a lot of wood and pine cones out of Jack's mouth, however. That boy will eat anything. Bennie's the best right now, Jack likes to stop and look at every tine speck of dirt, and Lily kind of looks like she's had a few cocktails. It's funny how their personalities are. Bennie will just follow you and go anywhere you go. Lily wants to go where SHE wants to go and you better follow or you get yelled at! I have no idea where she got that from.

Here's the little Bennie Bear checking out the great big trees with PawPaw.

Here's PawPaw in front of the Dogwood trees with the boys. Lily was a getting a little worn out and caught a ride on Dad's shoulders back to the house.

Here's Jack on MawMaw and PawPaw's new giant dock getting ready for his very first BOAT RIDE on Poppie's boat! Notice the regulation life jacket and sun hat. Thanks Mom and Dad for gating in a large play area for the babies. It was great hanging out in the shade on the water and I can just picture all the fun times ahead.

Here's MawMaw and Nonnie with their grandbabies. You have no idea how difficult it is to get them to all look the same direction at the same time.

Jack and Lily loved being out on the water right off the bat. Bennie, not so much. He pretty much spent the whole first half in my lap in the back seat. Here he is, right after we took off, realizing that he's not in Kansas anymore....

Now it could have been the allergy meds I had given him, but after we stopped the boat and let him walk around a bit, he seemed to be fixed. He his my cautious boy, so it's hard to tell which was the case.

Jack was all over the boat and having a fantastic time. Here he is up front with Brian and the super bubbles!

And Lily.... This picture says it all. She had so much fun she didn't want it to stop. In fact, she was convinced she would have even more fun if we would let her check out the water, which we didn't, and she was not a happy camper about it. She spent the last few minutes in a full-scale melt-down.

Here's Jack reassuring Bennie that this is SO MUCH FUN!!!

And, we all got a good laugh at PawPaw when we were getting them ready for bed. Do you see something wrong with this picture? (Come on Dad, you knew I couldn't let this one go!)

All-in-all it was a great trip. We filled each day with lots of eating, visiting, and fishing for the guys. I even managed to fit in a nap or two. Maybe next time I'll sleep in?

By the way, this is what TOO MUCH FUN looks like... While I was hoping the car ride home would be relaxing because they would be tired that didn't seem to be the case. The good news is that all of us were so happy to be out of the car by the time we got there that bedtime went well. We all went to bed early to recover from our trip.

We did manage to catch some sort of little bug this past week so keep us in our thoughts and prayers. We've got a lot of snot, coughing, and wheezing happening around here that I hope ends soon. We took a trip to the pediatrician today and it's nothing serious just a little virus. Let's hope we shake it soon.