San Marcos River

One of the best activities in Texas is floating the rivers in the hill country! That's really hard to do with little ones though. But with mom and dad's help, we were able to do a little bit of that this past weekend. We went to a campground just outside of San Marcos and spend two days swimming and doing small floats on the San Marcos River. The kids loved it! At first Jaxson was scared to get it. Somebody told him they saw a turtle, and that stopped him in his tracks! But we eventually convinced him no turtles were around and once he started swimming he didn't want to get out. Sydnee was my little fish. Somebody stayed on the bank with her to play and swim, but by the second day she was fighting to be in the middle of the river with everyone else. She's my fearless one!





Grandpa would take the kids up to the furthest end of the campground, and they would float down to the other end. Even Sydnee went for a ride in the boat.

Shaye's Special Day

Shaye was baptized in the Katy, Texas 3rd Ward. Sam baptized and confirmed her. Grandpa and Brother Frank Tracy, the Bishopric member, stood in on the confirmation with him. It was a great day! Shaye looked beautiful in her white dress, and we appreciate the example she is for all of us. I rely on her so much to help with everything from taking care of the little ones, to running errands around the house. I don't know what I would do without her. Grandpa gave the talk on baptism, with help from Jaxson, and Nicole said the talk on the Holy Ghost. The Spirit was very strong, confirming the choice she was making was right. We know she will continue to grow as a beautiful daughter of God and it won't be long till we are taking family pictures in her third white dress!

Baptism Guests

Being brand new to the ward, we didn't know if there would be many people at the baptism. But we had a good turnout and are so grateful for all the people who came to support Shaye. She was sad not to be able to get baptized in Bartlesville with her best friends, but it turned out great all the same!



Ben Simiskey is a good friend of ours that also grew up in Lake Jackson. He and his boys live near by. The whole family enjoyed visiting with him again.

Sister Sharolyn Thayer, Shaye's CTR 7 primary teacher. She was nice enough to say the opening prayer for us.

Shaye Turns 8

Shaye's birthday fell on a Friday this year, so family came up and we celebrated on Saturday. We had a nice lunch of pork tenderloin, fruit, salad, and potatoes and opened gifts. It was nice to have family close to celebrate with her this year.




As always, Shaye got plenty of great gifts. She fell victim to advertising, and has wanted one of these pillow petz every since she saw their commercial. She calls her pig Cuddles! She also cute some cute outfits, music CDs, DVDs, and summer items. Little Sydnee was wondering where her gifts were, so she took over this swimsuit as hers!