Travel time

I am so lucky! I am Malaysia bound! I get to go on all of these trips that my awesome husband wins.
 I am so proud of Derek!  He works really hard and does a great job. I know that his work can be stressful and difficult at times, but I think he is great at what he does.  He won his sales trip this year and we are headed to Langkwai, Malaysia.  We will relax on the beach and then make a pit stop in Hong Kong on our way home.  Here is where we'll be in a few days.  

Please keep us in your prayers.  I always feel a little anxious when we leave the kids and when we are going so far away.  We will be gone for 10 days and that is the longest I have been away from the kids. And pray for our kids and parents watching the kids.  I'm sure they will have a blast with grandparents in charge.

Sports Mania!

Barrett is into all things sports right now.  He really has a one track mind! So, of course he wanted a sports party to celebrate turning 7.  We had his party at school in the gym.  The PE teachers planned everything and it was according to Barrett- " the best party ever"!  It was a little rowdy for me with 11 boys running around, but he was thrilled and thats what matters.

After the party, we raced to swim team practice.  Then we went to Target for Barrett to buy a Wii.  He has been saving his money  for a while and had enough to buy one. Then we went to dinner at Mighty Fine.

Of course, we played Wii when we got home.
I can't believe Barrett is 7.  It seems so crazy!  I'm sure I'll say it every year, but time does fly by. Barrett is such a joy.  He is fun and happy.  He gets along with others and has many friends.  He is Mr. Social!  He is caring and considerate of others feeling and doesn't like others to feel sad or upset.  He is competitive and likes to win. He likes math and numbers and building things.
Here's an interview of Barrett:
favorite sport: basketball
favorite team: Miami Heat
what do you want to be when you grow up? basketball player and football player and baseball player
one thing I learned this year: to be a good writer
one thing I'd like to learn to do: play tackle football
favorite thing to read: Magic Treehouse books
favorite food: donuts

Moving On

Our very close family friends, the Walker's are moving!  We are so excited for them to begin this new journey, but we will miss them! They were the first people we met on our first Sunday at church after we were married almost 12 years ago.  We have made so many memories together!  Our kids love each other. Brooklyn can't decide if she is going to marry Tate or Grant. They are wonderful friends to us and we love them so much!  We had a going away party for them and had a fun time just hanging out with many of our friends from church.  Here are some snapshots of the night.

Poovey

Last week, Brooklyn brought home the class animal, Poovey the Penguin.  He spent a few days with us.  She was thrilled to have him and took really good care of him. Here are some of the things Poovey did in during his time with us.

Donuts at HEB

Lunching with friends

Going to the library

Playing Barbies

Snuggling with Brooklyn

Swim lessons

Dinner out 

Eating french fries

Eating a hamburger

Playing Wii

Brooklyn's Pre- K Celebration

Brooklyn had her preschoolcelebration at school. She got her diploma and did a little performance.  She was excited for her little ceremony.  Brooklyn is going to be going to pre-k next fall, so we are excited she has one more year before she goes to Kindergarten.

 Brooklyn and daddy

 Brooklyn with her teachers, Ms. Holly and Ms. Meshelle

Brooklyn getting her diploma from Ms. Heather

Singing  We Love You Lord

Brooklyn and her friends singing

Brooklyn and her buddy Jacob

My little girl is growing up!

Derek and I just returned from a trip to England. We had a fun time together exploring London and seeing the English countryside. Here are some highlights from our trip.
Saw Windsor Castle

The crooked House in Windsor

Some fish and Chips

Rode the tube

 Ate and Ate
And met up with our friends, Lauren and Tyler for drinks and dinner.  So fun!

Sticky toffee pudding- yum!

Did lots of typical touristy things like riding in a double decker bus, seeing the red phone booth, Harrods, macaroons, tea, and tried to figure out how to get where we needed to go...

Even saw one of these-

Big Ben

Talking in a famous red telephone booth. I had to- my service got turned off

 Relaxed and walked through several parks

Saw the Tower bridge and went to the top

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Traitors Gate at the Tower

Went to Westminster Abbey. It was right after the royal wedding and the flowers were still in the church.  It was very cool. Lots of really old tombs.

Saw the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace

Went to many pubs

We had a great time together and can't wait for our next getaway.  Thanks to everyone that watched the kids for us, it made everything possible!