Spring Break 2016: Camping Day 1

We loaded up the van and headed out Saturday morning to go camping at Huntsville State Park. I was so excited to go camping again!

We arrived first and set up our tent. This was Lincoln's favorite thing about camping.:)

 Soon our friends arrived!

Carley, Katie, Joshua, and Jackson

Deb, me, and Heather

Our campsite was right across from the fishing dock= Perfect!!

Lincoln's pole was the one that caught the most fish!

"I'm not tired!" He fell asleep while eating animal crackers.

Soaking up the sunshine and reading a good book while Lincoln napped away on me and the big kids played with nerf guns!

 

Pudgie pies for dinner-

Two thumbs up from Jackson!

Roasting marshmallows for smores was a nightly tradition.

We ended a great day with worship songs around the campfire and the kids played hide and seek. 

Jackson turns Seven

How can my sweet, rule following boy already be 7?

Big day for the birthday boy on his "real" birthday! Donuts for breakfast, special  lunch with Mommy, favorite dinner cooked at home, and final basketball game.

The following evening we celebrated with Aunt Midge and Uncle Dan and a few friends.

Jackson asked for a swimming cake!

I planned a few Minute to Win It games for the party. I was worried the kids wouldn't like them, but it was an absolute blast! Everyone was so into it. We gave everyone 3 points for attempting the game and 5 for completing the challenge. Then, they chose prizes at the end.

We ate pizza first, and then got right into the fun. 

Cookie Face was hilarious to watch.:)

Fierce and serious competition for Stack it Up!

M&M transfer requires serious concentration!

Stack Attack and Defy Gravity also brought many laughs.

Cake time!

Aunt Midge did a great job again!

Love my boy!

I asked him what his favorite activity was at seven and he said swimming! Of course:)

Jackson,

I love you from your head to your toes. You are a lot like your mommy. You love having a plan and making a list. You are a great swimmer, reader, writer, big brother, and a help getting ready for school in the morning. I love the fight and perseverance you have when swimming and doing something that matter to you. I love watching you compete in the pool. You are a natural, and God has given you a great ability. I pray you use it all for His glory. I love being at school with you. I feel like I get a little more time with you and get to be apart of a lot of school activities. You have a heart that likes to give. Sometimes your brother and you are best friends and other days you push each others' buttons. You love to be outside running around, playing basketball, football, baseball, but your also love to be curled up reading a book. I pray you continue to grow with your relationship with the Lord, and that you would follow His plan for your life. I can't wait to see how God will use you this year. Happy Birthday sweet boy!

Love,

Mommy

#hartzeveryday2016 Week 10

Day 64: We love Jackson and had a great time celebrating him!

Day 65: No big fish tonight, but what a beautiful evening!

Day 66: This is how we do haircuts!

Day 67: Because everyone else is watching it!

Day 68: Love Dr. Henry! So blessed and thankful he is leading our district!

Day 69: Enjoying the sweet moments along with the crazy!

Day 70: It was a Blokus and Playdoh kind of night!

A Few More

A few more pictures from our time with Papa and Grandma that never got posted.

So glad they finally got to watch Jackson swim!!

Beautiful weather called for hot tub time!

They also got to cheer him on at a basketball game!

Jackson loves playing pretend, doing puzzles, and reading with Grandma.

And of course, some fishing with Papa!

So thankful for our time together with them! 

#hartzeveryday2016 Week 9

Day 57: We celebrated Jackson's birthday with Papa and Grandma. He asked for books! 

He's my boy!!:)

Day 58: Always hard to say good-bye. We had a great 2 weeks with Papa and Grandma!

Day 59: Shout out to the best husband and daddy! I had strep again.:(

He took the boys to church, made me a smoothie, fixed the van, let me nap, is making diner, and much more. This isn't a one time thing, he is always taking good care of us. We are blessed!

Day 60 (March 1): Math Night at school with Daddy!

Day 61: We voted!

 Day 62: Cutest cat in the hat I've ever seen!

Day 63:Happy Birthday Jackson!

Great Wolf Fun

We decided to take a few days off of work and head to Dallas to celebrate Jackson's birthday with Papa and Grandma at the Great Wolf Lodge.

Had to make a pit stop at Buc-ee's!

It was super nice checking in on Thursday. We pretty much had the place to ourselves Thursday and Friday. The boys wasted no time getting in the water.

 Lincoln had a blast and spent most of his time going down the blue slide.

 Big difference from when he went 2 years ago!

The boys loved their bunk beds in the Kid's Cabin and wolf ears!:)

It was so fun to go on the big water slides with Jackson. I love watching him be so brave and his face as we went down the big drops.Of course, Jackson loved the ninja course on the lily pads! 

The family that swims together has fun together!!:)

What a blast we had! Great time together as a family and with Brian's parents.

We were all exhausted by the end!! 

 Reading his birthday books from Grandma on the way home!