Cutie gets a Cut

Paige got her first haircut on August 17th.  Our good friend, Nora Robinson, is a hair stylist so we were able to do it at her house.  Paige was pretty excited and talked about it all afternoon - she was gonna get a hair cut!  She sat in the chair ok.  She wasn't perfectly still, but she didn't fuss about it either.  Nora just trimmed her hair a little to freshen it up and even the back out.  Paige has the most beautiful hair.  It makes me jealous! :)  Its so thick and full of body.  I hope it stays that way.

Look at that face, she is so adorable!

And here are a few pictures I have taken here and there of our Paigey Poo!  She is so sweet and beautiful!  We just love this little girl.  

Any time the beaters come on her and Syd come running.  They know there's something good on the end of that spoon. I was at the sink rinsing a few dishes and turned around to find her - up on the counter, she couldn't wait any more to have a taste.

One More Day of Fun

Two weeks before school started we headed back to Galveston to go to Schlitterbahn.  I had promised the kids we'd go since last year.  When we first got there it was much smaller than the original Schlitterbahn in New Braunsfels and at first I was disappointed, but then we realized how perfect it was.  The big kids, there were 2 other families with us with older kids as well, were able to roam the park by themselves.  It was small enough that they could find us if they needed to, so we played with the little kids.  The lazy river was my girls' favorite.  It had small rapids and we rode it many times.  We stayed till the park closed, and some wanted to stay longer!  I only got a couple of pictures snapped with my phone...

Crystal Beach

We needed a fun trip for the kids.  By August, summer was starting to get long and they were in need of a fun day away.  So we took off on a Saturday and went to Crystal Beach.  It's just a fairy ride away from Galveston.  There are always seagulls that come to the back of the fairy as you take the 20 minute ride across.  We brought some bread and the kids had fun feeding them.

The two little girls always love the beach.  (well, so do the bigs)  They take off running and splashing and start enjoying themselves as soon as we get there.

My little surfer girl.  With all the swimming Syd did this summer she got pretty tan.  And with her blonde hair, Sam always says she looks like a little surfer.  She is full force at the beach - loves it!

The big kids are always busy building sand castles, skim boarding, and swimming together.  That's why I love the beach - the kids play all day and I get to enjoy watching them have fun while relaxing a little myself.

When we were done, the fairy ride back to the main island was the perfect time to change clothes and then we were off to dinner at Rudy's Barbecue, a Texas favorite.  It was a great day!

Happy 35th to Sam

On August 4th Sam turned 35.  He had to take Jaxson to football practice in the morning, so us girls did a little decorating and surprised him with donuts and a celebration.  

Later that evening we went with our friends, the Boyers, to the Brothers of the Sun Tour.  It was a Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney concert.  It was so good! There were two opening acts and then Tim and Kenny played for nearly 2 hours each.  It was probably the best concert I have been to.  They were excellent!

For his birthday, Sam wanted a cowboy hat.  Yep, he is proud to be back in Texas.  He has embraced it completely.  He now has a hat to accompany his 2 pair of boots.  He went down and bought one for him and one for Jaxson that day.  He knows I'm not a big fan (I didn't sign up for the cowboy life! :) )  but since it was his birthday I did my best to accept it!

Hangin'

Aunt Colie came to visit us for a few days this month.  The kids did their usual fight for all her attention, and she was full of energy to play with them as always.  They love whenever she's around!

And we went to Austin with some friends for one night.  It was completely last minute, but a fun retreat for a night.  We ate dinner Friday night at Sandra Bullock's restaurant Bess Bistro.  Its always good.  And then we went out for a while that night.  Saturday we only had a few hours to do some shopping and then we had to get home to the kids.

Andrea and Brandon Martin

Lance and Esther Boyer.  Esther's 40th birthday was just a couple weeks away so we made this trip a bit of a celebration for her.

Shaye's Big 10

July 9th Shaye moved in to double digits!  10 years old!  She wanted a swimming party so we did one on her birthday.  She had 8 friends over to eat, swim, and play, and then 4 of the girls spent the night.

Even with all her friends here, Shaye took time to play with Paige.  Paige just loves her big sister.  Whenever Shaye comes home she runs to her and yells Shaye Shaye!  Shaye is such a big helper.  She watches the little girls a lot and  makes sure they're okay whenever she's around.

Some things we would like to remember about Shaye at this age:

- She loves music and is often dancing with her ipod.
- She enjoys running and will run along side when we take the kids for a bike ride.
- She likes to watch tv too much. :)
- She is really getting into shopping and isn't interested in toys.
- She likes to draw and paint and be creative.
- She still sleeps with her yellow blanket she has had from birth.
- She has a terrible sweet tooth like the rest of us!
- She's becoming more independent and is often upstairs on her own or in her room.

Deep Sea Fishin'

Sam got a group together and went out for this year's deep sea fishing trip on July 2nd.  A handful of dad's from our ward went with him and everyone took along a kid or two.  Jaxson had a great time as usual. 

Unfortunately, a big storm had recently come through and the seas were pretty rough so a few people spent the day sick.  But they got a big catch!  And we'll have fish to enjoy for months.

Sam and Jaxson went out on July 3rd with Sam's dad.  Luckily neither of them got sick, and they had 2 successful days.