A few Sundays ago, B left for youth camp, and I took all three kids to East Texas. To say that was crazy is an understatement, but Mom and Ken met me a little past Longview on the way there, and Mom got in the car with me for the remainder of the trip, so that really helped. We left right after church and lunch at home, so Felicity took her nap in the car, and Avaree watched movies. Brandt screamed a little and napped a little! ;) On the way back, I was on my own. That was difficult and crazy, and I'll never do it again! ;) However, I do love being "home."
We got to Mom's late on Sunday night and went straight to bed! So, Monday the girls were up and ready to play! They started with a little gardening! ;)
….then, a little fishing!
Look at those fisher girls! ;)
Look at that happy face!
Brandt enjoyed some time with his great Maw Maw! :)
Sweet buddy enjoyed helping make breakfast!
Then, he got ready to go outside! :)
We have been blessed with so many sweet little hand-me-down outfits from friends! I love this rash guard and sun hat!
Brandt and I sat outside and watched the big girls play!
Sister loved swinging, of course!
Then, Mom Mom blew up the slide/pool! Last summer, Felicity didn't do much with this, but this summer, she was all about it!
La La had a blast! For some reason, she wanted to wear her life jacket at first!
Sliding fun in the shade!
Little sis!
My handsome little buddy!!
Felicity got very brave and started sliding!
So fun!
…and, then, Felicity took off the top of her rash guard. This girl is a hoot!
Little brother loved the jumpy that Mom Mom got for him!
He especially loved being entertained by his sisters!
Avaree loved playing the drums for him!
Action shot, of course!
Little brother was enamored with Pop Pop!
Bath time! Liz had a bathtub seat from when Bryer was little, and she let us borrow it!
Little sis was clearly thrilled that brother (now affectionately referred to by her as "Bubbie") was in the bath with her!
That evening, after a really full and fun day, Mama took Avaree to town to meet Niecey! Avaree was heading over to Papa and Niecey's for her "special time" with them. We were parked in the parking lot waiting on her, and Avaree wanted to "hold me." I pretty much never say no to that, and then she wanted to take a picture! Love my big girl so much!
It's always hard for me to let her go, but that night I got a video from Niecey (and I took a screen shot of this part of the video, so that I would have a picture, ha!) that showed Avaree chasing, talking to, and then holding a chicken after collecting eggs! I love that she gets to experience so many neat things! She fed the cows, the fish, and the chickens, gardened, cooked, went to Bug/Butterfly Camp, checked out books from the library, played with her second cousins, went on a boat ride, and so much more! Papa and Niecey mostly take videos though, so I don't have pictures of all the fun that she had, but she can certainly talk about it! :)
The next morning, little brother was enjoying checking himself out in the mirror! ;)
…and Avaree was feeding cows! :) I think this is Punk that is eating from her hand, but there is also Molly, Mabel, and Fefe!
…chasing chickens! hahahah!
A little later that morning, Brandt and I sat outside and watched a storm (aka outer bands of Tropical Storm Bill) roll in!
….and then I got to FaceTime with this most handsome guy while whispering (since I was holding a sleeping brother)! :) I missed him sooooooooooo much. This mama does NOT like to have her family split up, and we were in three different places this week, so that was hard on my heart! Alas, we have amazing technology that makes being a part so much easier!!!
For the first time in YEARS, I got to be with my Lulu on her birthday!!! She turned TWENTY-TWO while I was there! I was ten when she was born, so even though she's a grown up and a wonderful mommy and wife, she will always be my baby! It's crazy to think that she is 22! Here she is holding my littlest baby! :) Brandt just lit up every time he saw her! :) We are so thankful for alllll the clothes that she has let us borrow!
We also got lots of good quality time with our Maw Maw!!! Maw Maw and Brandt became BFFs, and Maw Maw has always called Felicity her "sunshine," so it was so neat to see those relationships deepen and grow! She loved rocking them both! :) And, yes, I did bring them clothes to wear, but they both prefer to be naked! ha!
After Brandt's bath, he and Maw Maw matched! ;)
Aunt Paula, Brandt and Maw Maw!
Meanwhile, I got a video of Avaree stomping in the puddles with her new rubber boats that Papa bought her! Apparently she had stepped in a cow patty the day before! hahaha! Now, she asks to wear these boats all the time. She calls them her "farm shoes!" ;)
Little brother is not a good night sleeper. He's just not. He's precious, and we absolutely adore him, but he does NOT sleep at night. It was even worse that usual while at Mom's house. I took this picture and sent it to Brandon that night. It was time stamped 4:22 AM. WHO IS THIS HAPPY AT 4 AM???? Only this kid. He was in the crib in my room, and Felicity was in the crib in the room next to us, so I didn't want to let him happy scream or cry and wake her up! So, we had a lovely visit for a few hours in the middle of the night. The night lights in the room that I grew up in are pink, so that made this picture look crazy red in the middle of the night! :)
The next morning, Papa sent me these pictures from bug camp! I could not believe my girl was holding a giant worm! Apparently, she also put worms all over Papa. I was told that he had worm earrings at some point! haha!
Papa is a Master Gardner, and his organization was sponsoring this awesome camp through the A&M Extension Services! So, he and Avaree got to go to camp together every day! It was just 9-12 for three mornings, but she had an absolute blast, and she learned SO much. We even came home with two caterpillars, a butterfly garden, and several other things! :) She's already requested to go in 2016!
Meanwhile, Brandt fell asleep as Maw Maw sang to him while watching another storm move in!
Liz found her old phone, and she sent me this picture of Avaree and Grandaddy. It's still beyond strange to go home and him not be there. I don't think I'll ever get use to it.
I wish I could have seen him with my baby boy!
We had a great time at Mom Mom and Pop Pop's, but on Wednesday, after Felicity's nap, we packed up and headed to Papa and Niecey's house! It was pouring down rain, but Felicity was SO READY to see her "Lala!" :) We got to visit with Aunt Connie, Uncle Kenneth, Colton, and Keller! It was pouring down rain, so Avaree and the boys played "Go Fish!" They were hilarious!
That night, Brandt watched Niecey make no-bake oatmeal cookies!
….and Avaree had to supervise as well!
The girls played like they were in a train in Papa and Niecey's entertainment center!
Little bud didn't sleep well again (I ended up taking him to the doctor the next day, and it turns out he had an ear infection.), and he wouldn't even nap! He sure looked cute though!
Speckles was very much afraid of Felicity but in love with Brandt! I think she appreciated that she could snuggle next time him, and he would not chase her! haha! :)
Little bud sat in Papa's chair while he and Avaree were at bug camp Thursday morning!
Felicity started not feeling well and was covered in little bites that morning, so when Papa and Avaree got home from camp, we loaded up and headed out! First, we measured everyone in the bunk house and tried to get a picture with Papa! Someone was NOT having it!
Avaree got her picture with Papa and her caterpillars though!
I adore this picture! So sweet!
Thanks for taking my big girl to camp, Papa, and for helping her have so many fun adventures at the farm! She says she's a farm girl now--strong and courageous! ;)
Avaree loved her time with Papa and Niecey, and she still has two more special visits to go! :) We loved our time in "the tall tree forest" and can't wait for more fun with our grandparents!
Once we finally got home on Thursday evening, our sweet Daddy had cleaned the house and had dinner on the table for us as he was walking out the door to go back to church. Oh how we love our Daddy! I was so happy to have us all back together again! My happy place is definitely with my family!
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