O The Things She Says....

Kendall is just 2 1/2 years old now.  Kendall is very independent and very strong willed. Two personality traits that I think are important but at the same time can be very trying!! Here lately we have had some pretty interesting conversations and I wanted to write them down so I won't forget them!!
Conversation #1:
(Kendall is brushing her teeth in front of the mirror. She gets to go first and then it's Mommy's turn. This morning I was running late.)
M: Ok Kendall brush brush we are running late.
K: K Mommy (Kendall meanwhile is just sucking off the toothpaste)
M: Ok Kendall it's Mommy's turn
K: Kendall raises her hand and while looking in the mirror she says "In a minute Mommy!"

Conversation #2:
K: I want Jacob (her best friend from school)
M: Jacob is eating supper with his mommy. You can see him tomorrow at school.
K: I want Dabby
M: Dabby is working. You will get to see him tomorrow too.
K: (with a big pouty lip) I just want my boys!!
Where exactly she got that I have no idea!!

More Birthday Fun!!

Today we went to another birthday party. This party was for Jacob (Kendall's best friend from school) and the theme was Cars! It was at the Children's Museum in downtown Bryan. I have never been there before, and boy have we been missing out!! 

They had tons of stations to participate in including a painting station, a grocery store (with an actual computerized checkout counter), a music room, a train station, and a building station. It was the neatest place! I'm definitely going to take Kendall there to escape this summer heat!!

My battery died (I really need a new camera) almost as soon as we got there. So I only got a couple of pictures.

It was nice to see Kendall interact so well with all of her little friends from school! I sure hope for Miss Cindy's sake they all don't get sick of each other by the end of the week!!

Sea Animal Birthday Fun!!

Today Kendall and I went to a birthday party for her friend Elijah. Elijah goes to Kendall's school. It was at our history museum and was a sea creature theme. It's sad to say but I had never been there before. I was really impressed! They had a lot of neat things there and it was a great place for a party!!
The workers gave a little lesson about the different sea creatures..

Next we did a couple of crafts..

Followed by a game of rescuing sea turtle shells..

Then it was lunch and cupcake time!!

We had a great time and I'm definitely going to keep the museum in mind for Kendall's next party!!

 The Sweet birthday boy!

This was our attempt to get all the classmates together!

They weren't so sure of the bear!!



Fathers Day Weekend!

Our Fathers Day weekend started on Saturday when Justin's parents came over for supper. Justin grilled some delicious steak kabobs. I made a green salad and a fruit salad to go with them. It was a great meal! My in-laws had been in Mexico all week so Kendall was excited to see them again.

 Kendall & Pappie opening presents

Grammie & Pappie brought this hat back for Kendall.

She would not take it off!!

Sunday morning Kendall and I got up early and made Dabbie special waffles. Using the blender was a little traumatic but overall we had a great time. And yes, Uncle Ryan, we used our aprons!! We then spent the rest of the morning relaxing.

Kendall was so proud of her card. She kept pointing to the "letters" that wrote!

We then headed over to Houston to meet them for lunch. We had a wonderful lunch of chicken & rice casserole, spaghetti casserole, salad and bread. Kendall especially liked the spaghetti!! We then all relaxed, watched golf and took naps!! We had a great time, especially since we got to see Grandma Shirley again!

 Uncle Ryan & Justin enjoying a tense golf game!

 Kendall was putting Papo to sleep!

Kendall and her Papo!

Great Grandma Shirley, Papo & Kendall.

Grandma pointed to Papo and told Kendall that he was her baby. Kendall looked at

Grandma and very serious said, "no, he's my baby"!!

Justin's relaxing day abruptly ended around 7:00 when he got called in to work. Because of the horrible grass fires going on around us, he was needed to help with the evacuation process. Please keep all of those families in your prayers!

Happy Fathers Day Dabbie!

Your girls love you very much!!

A New Career

For the past several months, Justin has not been satisfied with his career in agricultural. So after several weeks of thought, discussion, and prayer, Justin decided to pursue a new career...a fireman!!

I know, quite the jump!! But I should mention that his dad has been a fireman for 20 years so Justin has definitely been exposed to the life as a fireman.

To do this Justin first needed to be an EMT. It was best for our family for him to continue working at his current job, so he would work full time during the day and then come home and study at night. There were many days he would get up at 5am and then not to bed until midnight that night. He did all of this without complaining! He knew what he needed to do and just did it.

He finished with his EMT schooling at the end of May and has now started his fire school. He will be completed with that in mid August.

To get more experience on the medical side, he quit his job in agriculture and joined the St. Joseph EMS. Today was his first day. He is so excited and I'm so excited and proud of him.

His new schedule is 24 hours on and 48 hours off. It's going to take a little organization to work out his schedule with my on-call schedule, but I know we will make it work!!

 Isn't he handsome??

I just love a man in a uniform!!

Good Bye Party

Last night we went to a final good bye party for our dear friends, Adam & Megan. The party was a lot of fun but at the same time, very bitter sweet. Adam and Justin started out as work colleagues, and very fast became close friends. It was the same for Megan and me.

 Megan & me

Justin & Adam

They decided to move back to North Dakota to be nearer to family. I understand that completely, but it doesn't make the move any easier!!

Megan & Justin being silly!

Through Megan & Adam, Justin and I have met and become friends with some other great couples. It was nice that we all got to get together and celebrate Adam & Megan!!

 Brooke, Carrie, & Megan

 Erin, Megan, Brooke, me, Carrie, Lindsey

 Some of the guys

More of our group!



To the Hilperts: We love y'all very much and will always treasure your friendship. We can't wait to get up there to see snow!!

This is one of my favorite picture of Kendall and Baby Abby!!

Photography & an Art Showing

Today the family and I went to the Arts Council to view an art and photography showing. We didn't know the artist, but he does amazing work!! They were so beautiful to see.

The photographer, Webb Davis, being showcased is a dear friend of ours. He and Justin have been friends since high school. Webb is an amazing photographer and it's always fun seeing his work.

Kendall loved the paintings! She kept saying "wow"!

This showing was all about the Cayman Islands. Boy, were there some amazing photos!!

Kendall loved this fancy choo choo train!

Of course I didn't get any pictures of the art, photos, or of Webb, but I did get some pretty cute pictures of Kendall and Justin!!

There were these little statues outside the building.

This was as close to giving the goose a hug as Kendall would get!

Isn't she precious??

Family Fun Night!

Justin's grandma, aunt, and cousin have been in town, so last night we went over to my in-laws to have dinner and visit. They had picked up Kendall from school earlier that morning and took her shopping. When we saw her, she was wearing this...

 She apparently picked this headband out all by herself and walked around

the whole mall with it on! She also rode the "alligator" (aka escalator)

in Macy's 8 times!!

Cousin Julia had also taught Kendall to say "just charge it" and "credit card". Kendall even had the flip of the wrist movement down!! I'm pretty sure our shopping trips will never be the same!

We had a great meal and an even better time visiting and being entertained by Kendall.

 Great Grandma Geneva, Pappie, Kendall, & Grammie

 Aunt Kelley, Kendall, and Julia

Kendall was quite entertained by Pappie's flashlight!

Class Reunion Part Two

Saturday morning we all went to the annual Santa Fe Trail Daze Parade. It was so fun watching all the little kiddos collect the candy. Kendall loved the parade... except when all of the fire trucks had on their sirens. Kendall covered her ears and said, "that's loud...sshhhh be quiet!!"

Jace & Kendall eating their suckers



Kendall & Jodie!



That afternoon we went over to the quilt show and the city park. There were some beautiful hand sewn quilts there!!

At the park there were a few of those bouncing toys so we headed over there. However, the sun was shining right on them and they were so hot. Of course I didn't have any socks to put on Kendall. Jace and Kendall jumped for about 30 seconds and then wanted off!

Later that afternoon, we headed over to Krista's house for our class reunion. It was so nice seeing everyone and catching up. We had 15 out of 31 (yes, I said 31) of our class show up. We thought that wasn't bad at all!!

Class of 2001!

I just love the expressions on both of their faces!

Sunday morning Kendall and I got up really early and headed back to Amarillo. This time when Kendall got on the plane, she sat right in her seat, tried to buckle herself in, and said "let's go airplane"!

I had a great time back in my hometown. Though I love living in a "big city", I will always have very dear memories and a special place in my heart for my little town. It was a great place to grow up!