Can you even believe it’s August and summer is already ending?! Pretty much all the things I listed on why I was excited for summer have already come and gone. It’s seriously so crazy! I really feel like I blinked and July was just plain over and done. I think most of that was because our family spent about zero time at home in July. Nick led the student missions trip to Poland which took him away from us for sixteen days. (Yes, I counted. And yes, that’s half a month. And yes, I’ve been this dramatic about it pretty much the whole time.) So Caleb and I did the only logical thing and went to Texas. (For only part of it.. I wasn’t THAT dramatic.)
*So just be prepared for picture OVERLOAD on this post of all of the things and all of the people.*
Thanks to coffee and Mickey Mouse, we were ready to fly to Houston!
We were greeted by Nanan and got to have dinner with her & Stevey, Aunt Ley Ley, Uncle Chris & Mamoo! (This is of course what Caleb calls these people and not their real names.) We stayed with Nanan and discovered all of the toys! Thanks to Maddie, we had our first introduction to babies and strollers.
The next day we spent the day with Katie and Jen and her girls at the pool and Jen’s house! (And we sure did eat this cake that endured a fall at the grocery store and looks like something that would haunt a child’s nightmares. Because cake.)
That night we made sure to get more snuggles with Nanan! And little man made it his mission to make her read at least 20 million books to her. Like she argued.
Friday we had more fun meeting up with people, all which I failed to document. Just imagine pictures of a breakfast at Chick-Fil-A where Sarah, Emily, and I caught up in the play area while Caleb (somewhat) played. And then imagine pictures of lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant with Nana and Bunkie. (It’s fun to now take Caleb somewhere that I used to always meet Nana for lunch during college!) That night we went with Nanan & Stevey to dinner and then the splash pad!
So it’s no secret that Caleb has NOT loved the water this summer which has blown our minds. A friend mentioned it may be different in Texas because it’s obviously hotter there and the water isn’t as freezing. Well she was right! He absolutely loved the splash pad in Texas, but still not the pool. Guess you win some, you lose some.
On Saturday, we participated in my mom’s favorite hobby.. Shopping! To say my mom spoils her kids and grandkids would be an absolute understatement. She’s the BEST. And we did stop a moment to send Daddy a selfie to remind him what we looked like while he was having an awesome time in Poland. 😉
That night my mom was even more awesome and watched little man so I could have a girls night with some of my very best friends. Jen, Katie, and I had already planned it before I came in town and then Jess ended up being in town for the night too! SO FUN!! Jess is a fantastic photographer and I always love looking at her photos so it was super fun (and hilarious!) to do our own little mini photo shoot. I’m pretty sure everyone around us thought we were crazy, but obviously we really cared a ton about what they thought. Laughing with these girls is the best.
On Sunday, we had a family lunch so Caleb got to spend more time with Nana. He sat right up there and told her about all of the things.
After lunch, Nanan took the kiddos to the children’s museum. Pretty sure they could have stayed there all day long!
It was then time to tell Nanan bye. 😦 Lots of tears from everyone.
We then stopped by Amy’s to see her new house and let Caleb embrace his country side.
The next morning it was time to start part 2 of the trip! DFW!!!!
Once we told these two trouble makers that they weren’t driving, we headed north and stopped by our alma mater for the necessary picture with the infamous statue. (The pictures of them looking up at the statue are my fave. They’re thinking WHOA!!)
Since it was about a million degrees outside, we hopped back in the car to finish our road trip. It started off like this..
And ended with us all feeling like this…
Ash dropped us off at the Gonzalez’ house where Caleb was able to re-enter boy land!
The next morning began with all of the kisses for baby Sophie.
These boys could have doted on her all day. And who could blame them?! Look at the sweetness of this cutie!
Our days plan consisted of our girls coming over with kids in tow for fun and a picnic on the lawn. Crazy to see how big all of our kids are all getting!
And even though it was definitely still Tiff’s birthday month, she planned a birthday surprise for me. Talk about a fantastic best friend!
I love these girls so incredibly much and miss them immensely! (We hated not having our Amanda with us too.)
That night it was time for Joe T’s! (Maddie Moo was more concerned about baby than taking any kind of pictures.)
On Wednesday, we were back with Ley Ley, Chris, & Mamoo and it was time for them to show us their new house! Someone had his own personal tour guide.
That night I got to catch up with a friend that Nick likes to take credit for. Natalie, how did we not even take a picture?! Maybe because the coffee shop was so cute and I wanted to fit into their hipster ways without showing my age (even though I’m obviously only 29). 😉
The next morning, Ash and I along with the kiddos made the trek to Aledo. And ANOTHER picture fail!! This one makes me real sad because we got to see so many people that we haven’t seen in forever (and kiddos we had not even met yet!). That will all change at Christmas and there will be SO MANY pictures taken!
That evening we finally got our picture act together at dinner with the fam. Such a blast to have so many of us together!!
On Friday morning, we headed to Dallas to see Aunt JJ!!! Her church has an incredible kids area so Caleb and Maddie were all about it.
Spending the day with Aunt JJ was definitely a highlight for this kiddo! (Although he was still very confused why JoJo was not there with her.)
While he got cuddles from her, Aunt Rae got cuddles too! (She’s a quick one though.)
That night Ash and I got a little crazy and decided to go to a movie at 9:50 PM!!!! Don’t worry, coffee happened beforehand. Nothing like a bunch of moms out way past their bedtimes living it up!
The next day we spent time at our Aunt Janie’s so she could see the kiddos play. Last time we saw her they were crawling around her house.
We were all pretty exhausted by this point. Even the kids were starting to do strange things…
It was then time to go home the next day. We were sad to leave and even more sad that Daddy was still not going to be home when we got home. Caleb did feel like a rockstar getting to ride an ‘AIRPLANE!’ after seeing them fly by all week.
Our flight kept getting delayed, little man didn’t feel great, and to top it off our luggage was lost.
But we are happy to report it was finally found YESTERDAY.. Over a week later and just when I had given up hope!!!! (Thank you EVERYONE that helped out in any way possible with borrowing things or buying us new things.. You don’t realize how much you pack until it’s gone! Y’all are incredible!)
And guess who else is home?! This guy!
We are SO HAPPY to all be reunited! They had an absolutely incredible trip and so excited about everything the Lord is doing in Poland!
Little man and I also had a fantastic trip in Texas! And although it seems like we saw so many of the people, there was still so many people we DIDN’T get to see. 😦 I hate that there’s never enough time. So if we didn’t see you, make plans to see us at Christmas because the Jones crew is coming back!!
Trying to Keep Up With My Jones' 