Vacation: The Grand Canyon

Kris and Ted, his dad, rose early to take David and Anna for a daybreak hike down into the Canyon. They were pretty excited about this!





The views of Canyon were spectacular in the dawn light. They passed few hikers at this cool time of day, but certainly saw their share of wildlife.






Here are the mules making their way down.

Vacation: The Grand Canyon, Part 2

While Ted, Kris, Anna and David were hiking, I stayed at the room with Thomas and Daniel and let them sleep in. We enjoyed hanging out together when they finally woke up.





After breakfast, Thomas and Daniel were rearing to go exploring themselves, so we went on a mini-hike into the Canyon, and then we walked down to the train depot. We had to wait awhile for the train to come in.




Here we are waiting...


And more waiting...



Finally the train arrived!


Ready to go hiking!

Kris, Ted and I took David and Thomas on a trip up to see Hermit Point, which consisted of several stops and different views of the Canyon. We saw some amazing views of the Canyon, as well as many points where the Colorado River is visible.






Grandpa with his talkative travel buddy.


The little brown triangle is the river.



What a great time we had at the Grand Canyon! We headed out the next morning, but not before I got to witness the sunrise over the Canyon. What a beautiful and magnificent sight! Thank you, Father, for giving us the opportunity to witness this marvel of your creation!

Vacation: On the Way

July 21st at 5:30am marked the beginning of our trip to California. The first day, Kris' parents and we headed via caravan for Albuquerque, NM, otherwise known as "Alberturkey" to those of us 5 or under. We had to officially say "Hi" to "Alberturkey" for our friend and neighbor Erin who was born there. We had a great first day, but few pics. The next morning, we started a little later, headed for a two night stay at the Grand Canyon. Here are a few pics of our stops along the way the second day:


The sign behind Anna caused her a bit of distress, and she was happy to get back in the car.


Our little Cheese wasn't scared though!


Thomas kept his Pokey and Duckie close at hand.


Daniel was so sweet when he was sleepy. He would take his lovies (Monkey and Mo Mo and blanket) along with his pacifier (Nee nee) and cuddle up, as still and quiet as can be.


Happy to be at the Grand Canyon!








Indian Gardens...someday maybe I'll make it down there, or farther!


We enjoyed a relaxing dinner with a view of the Canyon.


"Daniel, can you smile for a picture?"
"Sure, Mommy! Cheeeeeese! (Wait! Let me lift my shirt so you see my belly button before you take the picture!)"


On our walk back, we saw several deer in the parking lot beside the lodge!


We couldn't believe how close we were to them!


Enjoying an evening ice cream treat outside our room at the Maswik Lodge. (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!)

Our trip had a great beginning. This was a definite answer to prayer...Every good gift and every perfect gift is from God.

Joshua Caleb

July 15th marked the first birthday of our darling little nephew Joshua. We can't believe it's already been a year since his birth! He is precious, and smiley, and I wish we could be around him more. We celebrated in Houston with family and friends at El Tiempo, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, and one of Joshua's favorite too, so I'm told!

Girlies with Sillies

We had the joy of seeing our dear friends the Newtons (minus Luke) for the morning. The girls really enjoyed having "girlie" time, a little too much, probably, because I had to force coerce bribe encourage Anna to include her brothers, who were feeling left out.


Dress up!




I think they were getting married here, but I'm not positive. And just in case you are wondering, that is a doll house chair on top of the stocking cap that Anna is donning.

It was wonderful to see you, Gabrielle. Thanks for coming! Hopefully you can stay longer next time. We can't wait to meet the newest little Mr. Newton!

July 4th

Our fourth of July was relaxing in Tyler with Mom and Dad. Lots of swimming, eating, and we ended the evening with fireworks. It was fun!

Here are a few pictures of us eating...

Thomas Turns Four!

Happy Birthday to our sweet Thomas! (Perhaps when he's fourteen he may not want to be called sweet, but he's so thoughtful and in tune with what others are doing that I just can't resist calling him sweet right now.)
For his fourth birthday, Thomas requested that our family play miniature golf together. He did not realize that golf outside at the beginning of July was not such a fun game, so we opted to visit Amazing Jake's at Collin Creek Mall, where we played a game of putt-putt in the air conditioning.






Hole in one!


Mr. "I-Don't-Miss-A-Thing"

We ate the buffet first, then played golf, then rode on the go-carts (Kris and Thomas) and the bumper cars (Anna and David) before finally, - or so we thought - heading downstairs to sing "Happy Birthday" and eat chocolate rocket cake.





As it turned out, the manager was the kind man wo retrieved the rocket cake for us from the back refrigerator, and upon discovering that it was a birthday celebration, he gave us 4 cards, with $10 to spend on each of them, for us to use upstairs on the games. He also awarded 40 tickets to Thomas to "buy" something in the prize shop. So instead of leaving, we spent about 2 more hours playing the bowling game, the go-carts, the merry-go-round, the flying airplanes (as opposed to the ones that's don't fly - you know...) and bumper cars, and more bowling, more go-carts, and more airplanes...you get the idea. We thought we'd never use up the cards! It was a lot of fun, and we were so thankful that the Lord blessed our family with a fun day and an unexpected surprise for Thomas' birthday. And then, as we were leaving, a woman gave us four HUGE lollipops that she won and did not want! It was quite a memorable and fun day. And it reminded us of the love that God daily lavishes upon His children. He gives and gives and gives, even though we are so undeserving, and when we think (and know) He's given so much already, He gives us more. It makes us want to be a blessing to others in the same way, and never forget His lovingkindness toward us.
And thanks again to Kris' mom for a dinner of Chick-Fil-A, the perfect finish to a full day!