Heard Museum Day

I found a Groupon back in April for a Heard Museum membership that was so cheap, so I had to get another membership.  It had been a couple years since our last one expired, so we were able to sign up as new members and get an even bigger discount.  Even if we only go one more time, it will have paid for itself.  We had to go before August 1st when the Groupon was set to expire.  So we hurried and went Thursday to make sure we met the deadline.

Braces Off and Free In-N-Out

Eliza got her braces off.  It's just Phase One, which means she'll probably need braces again in a couple of years to finish the process, but she was sure glad to get them off.  She had also gotten a bridge expansion device put in the roof of her mouth last year, and that also came out.  She was very glad to have that out of her mouth finally!

In-N-Out cookout trailer was offering free In-N-Out at the Sachse Library, so we met up with Paige and her kids and got ourselves some free lunch. It was hot and the line was long, but we were glad for the free food!

Six Flags Trip

Eliza and Jonah had earned a Six Flags ticket from their reading, and I went ahead and bought Travis one when I bought myself one. I took these three to Six Flags for the day and we had a great time. Although, I have decided that I really don't like amusement parks anymore. I loved them when I was young, but now I'm old and all the walking and standing was hard on me. Plus it was really, really hot.

A favorite ride wa the Mexican Sombrero.  Another favorite was the Conquistador, the rocking boat ride.  We split a funnel cake and had some Dippin' Dots.  We rode the Runaway Mine Train multiple times.  I think next year, if Westley has his license and I feel comfortable with him driving there, I will send him with the kids who earn it and I can stay home in my cool house.

Another Fun Week

Nathan was told to get ready to go outside to eat an otter pop, so he got on his shoes and socks.  It's summer, what are you going to do?

We went to the dentist and I told Nathan he had to open his mouth to show the dentist his teeth.  He was very ready to show the dentist his teeth and walked around the waiting room of the dentist's office with his mouth open for about five minutes until his name was finally called.

Westley had a band section party and was asked to bring something.  So we made another fruit pizza and he made it have the That Wylie Band logo on it.  It looked great (and tasted great) but being teenagers, they preferred chips and candy, so there was a lot left.  Lucky for us, we got to eat the leftovers!

Willy found a fun hiding spot in our house--underneath Nathan's crib.

Busy Week

This week in July we had some things to do.  On Monday, we went out to a park in Mansfield, between Dallas and Fort Worth, to watch Corey play softball for In-N-Out.  It was really hot and we only stayed long enough to watch one game and eat some free hot dogs. 

On Tuesday, I took the littlest ones to a book party at the school library that the new principal had put on.  Nathan was obsessed with the stuff leopard.  Also, a woman in our ward is now our school's librarian, so that's exciting for us!

On Wednesday, the date was 7-11, so the convenience store 7-11 had free slurpees.  We happen to have a 7-11 on the corner near our house, so we walked down there and enjoyed the free slurpees and then walked home.  Westley was at a friend's house and Corey was at work, so they did not come with us.

On Thursday, we went swimming, which we did the other days, but I took some pictures on Thursday.  Annmarie is getting so good at swimming.  Next summer we can work on getting Nathan to swim and then all of my kids will be swimmers!

Sunday Nathan was all tuckered out.  I cherish these moments where he falls asleep on me because it just doesn't happen very often anymore.  He is growing up so fast and soon won't be a toddler anymore.  I will miss those chubby baby cheeks and his warm snuggles.  I wish I had enjoyed these moments more with my older kids when they were little.  It goes by so fast!

New Puppy

So far our new addition to the family, Willy, seems pretty mild-mannered and calm.  He doesn't like to leave the house even when the door is open, which is crazy.  He doesn't like to take walks either and rolls over onto his back every time we try.  Strange.  But he's a cute dog.

Baskin Robbins

Nana sent us gift cards for Baskin Robbins about a year ago and we finally remembered we had them and got around to using them.  She sent a $5 card for each of us and we pooled them together and got what we wanted.  It was a fun evening, but mostly, the gaping stares at such a big family coming in for a treat.  We are such an anomaly everywhere we go!

Jonah Awesomeness

Jonah was looking pretty cool in his open Hawaiian shirt with white undershirt and backwards baseball cap and khaki shorts, so I had to snap a photo.

Jonah built himself his own set of LEGO Avengers.  He really can be quite clever and I loved how he built the Hulk.

4th of July 2018

We aren't big celebrators of Independence Day and didn't actually go see fireworks anywhere this year.  But we did do a mile walk/run in honor of Jordan with Adam and Eve and their family and Aunt Paige and her kids.  We just went around Adam and Eve's neighborhood for the walk.  I managed to snap a few photos of Annmarie and Elliott holding hands before one of them tripped the other and they both fell over.

I made a delicious fruit pizza, which is really just a big sugar cookie with cream cheese frosting and fruit.

We went to In-N-out for lunch with Paige and her kids.

Nathan's Foot

When I got home from my trip to Arizona, the first thing that happened was finding out about how Nathan had injured his foot jumping off some furniture upstairs.  He kept limping and whining about it, so we took him to the doctor.  There was no fracture, but they splinted it.  The splint came off about five minutes after getting home.  He was very patient at the doctor's office and we were glad there wasn't anything broken.

A Trip to Arizona

For Mother's Day, Corey booked me a flight to Arizona to stay for a week with my parents, kid-free!  The week scheduled was the last week of June.  I flew out on a Monday and stayed the whole week, flying back the following Monday.

While I was there, both my parents still had to work, but they both took off a day to spend all together, plus another half day for more time.  I got to see my friend Lindsey and have some lunch with her.  I got to see my friend Shar who came to my parents' house for a meal and then we went out for dessert.  And I spent time with my friend Martha, who was also a friend of my brother Jordan's.

We went out to Queen Creek (now San Tan Valley) to see the house that Corey and I lived in with our kids from 2005-2009.  The tree out front has really gotten big and is now pretty shady.  Too bad the shade is on the street and not the house!

We went down to Tuscon to see the new temple there and to also eat at a restaurant called Guadalajaro's.  The food was so good!  I think Mexican is my favorite ethnic food.

We drove up to Flagstaff and beyond to see the Sunset Crater, a volcano up there.  We went through Prescott on the way there, drove through the old mining town of Jerome that is situated on the side of a mountain, Sedona where we stopped for a picnic lunch, and back down to the Phoenix area by way of Payson.  The drive was really beautiful.

It was a great break from reality, but then I had to face reality again.  I hope I can make a trip like this more often, or maybe a girls' trip with some friends or the women in my family, without kids. Thank you, Corey, for the great gift!