Trying to Keep Up With My Jones'

Some big things have been happening around here. Our little baby headed to preschool last week. When I went back to work a year and a half ago, the most amazing person watched Caleb for us which was such an answer to prayer. But now the little guy is finally old enough for our church’s preschool and is dying to be around other kiddos. So off to preschool he went! Which made me realize that it was beyond time for a Caleb update! To see past Caleb updates, see all about the two’s and all about the one’s.

For his first week of school, I thought it would be fun to ask him questions and then see how his answers change every year. He’s not quite 3 yet (Next month! What?!) so I wasn’t really sure how it would go, but it did not disappoint. 

What is your favorite color? Umm… grey. 

What is your favorite food? Yogurt raisins

Who is your best friend? Maddie Moo

What is your favorite thing to play with? Dylan… Is that my cousin? 

What is your favorite animal? Zebras. Hey! We went to the zoo to see the zebras and see ALL the animals! 

What is your favorite movie? Veggie Tales

What is your favorite book? ABC book with the apple in it and the girl on it and the umbrella

What do you want to be when you grow up? Uhhhhh….. Like you. Yes I want to be like you. 

Who is your favorite person? Mommy

What is your favorite toy? My horse JoJo got me. 

This guy loved this ‘game’ and wanted me to continue to ask him a million questions. And I promise I didn’t persuade him to choose me on those answers! Daddy was in the other room so I’m thinking out of sight, out of mind. 😉

This guy is FULL of energy. Sitting still and watching a movie is not his jam AT ALL. He wants to be playing and talking. At all times. He still has so many words. And questions. About everything. 

He loves to sing and dance. Some of his favorite songs right now is Wheels on the Bus, Lift Your Head by David Crowder, and he can always go for some Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars. Safe to say the kid likes a wide variety of jams. And he wants the volume UP. I don’t think I’ve listened to the radio this loud since I was in high school and thought it was cool to possibly bust out my ear drums. Apparently the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…

He loves to know how everyone is doing and sounds like such a little grown up sometimes. He will ask ‘Mommy, how did you sleep?’ and ‘Tell me bout your day’ and ‘How are you feeling? Not super great?’ And he expects answers. 😉

He loves to be out and about and going places. He’s always asking where we are going that day and often cries when we leave places because he wants to stay. We are the kid at drop off that runs in excited but cries at pick up because we don’t want to go home. Extrovert much? 

He also LOVES a party. The good thing is that anything can really suffice as a ‘party’ to him if it includes at least one person outside of mommy & daddy. Right now he keeps asking for a party at his house just like Mrs. Lauri (because we just attended her son’s going away party at her house). He saw that tons of people came to her house and he wants in on that action. Good thing his birthday is coming up. 🙂

He is LOVING preschool. He tells me all about circle time, the colors and shapes they are learning about, and how Mrs. Paulette says to ‘zip your mouths.’ He also explained that in circle time, you can sit criss cross applesauce or legs out straight. He sits legs out straight because he tried criss cross applesauce and he just can’t do it. (This is all him reporting this.) Preschool is only 9-12 so he stays for extended day until 3 since I am at work. Let’s just say that we are still getting used to the whole no nap thing on those days. We are definitely nowhere near dropping a nap by evidence of these past 2 weeks. Little Mr. Extrovert NEEDS his rest to recharge. 

We are praying for a great year for our little guy and so excited that he is in the same building as us! We can’t wait to see all the ways he will grow and learn this year. Our little baby is about to be 3 years old on October 1st so apparently he’s determined to keep growing up…

Linking up for Friday Favorites with Erika and Andrea

Happy Friday y’all! It’s been a busy week starting to get back in the routine of the new school year to come. I have LOVED seeing all of the back to school pics of all the kiddos & students on their first days of school. How is it already that time?! But let’s be honest because I’m so ready to say good-bye to summer and hello to fall! Give me all of the boots, sweaters, and pumpkin things! 

But while we are waiting for the beautiful season of fall (or at least it’s beautiful in Colorado), let’s talk about some of our favorites lately!

Daddy is home and we are LOVING it! Caleb is still constantly checking that when Daddy goes out the door, he’s coming back the same day and not 16 days later. So we have made sure to get some good family time in to enjoy that we are all back together. (And before the craziness of the school year begins.) Its for sure been a favorite! 

We’ve gone to the amusement park with the youth group…

Gone on a family hike….

And we went to the splash pad in downtown Denver.

Last weekend, some of our favorites came to visit.. G-Daddy & Mimi! 

We got lots of good time in at the playground…

The little guy schmoozed them into taking him for a bike ride…

More playground action (because someone has SO MUCH energy)…

And then the big event was riding a train!! We went on the Royal Gorge Railroad which is a 2 hour ride on a steam train that takes you through a beautiful part of the mountains. 

We had reserved seats but then you can also walk to the open-air car and walk all around. Both inside and out, there were people over the speaker explaining everything that you were looking at. It was so great! 

We all LOVED it! I’m not really sure if G-Daddy or Caleb loved it the most. We might just have to call it a tie with their silly faces…

Back at home, the little guy had deemed Mimi the reader of the stories every night…

When you have breakfast with the grandparents, you get to have a drawing contest and eat the silliest pancakes ever…

Our last night together we had a great dinner at one of our favorite places, the Farmhouse at Breckenridge Brewery. 

It was such a great visit and good-byes are never easy for the little guy. He’s still asking why they left and when they are coming back. 😉 Obviously, the visit was a favorite! 

So now it is time for another weekend and we are ready to have some more fun! Happy Friday everyone! 

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci.

I have always been so thankful for the town that I grew up in because of its diversity (and it’s great football team but that’s not the point of this post). I was never aware of the exact percentages of each ethnicity represented, but I know that it was pretty diverse between White, Black, Hispanic, & Asian. At times in school, I would even find myself the minority in some of my classrooms but these were the people that I had grown up with and all that I knew. I never knew any different. Going off to college, even though it was not an all-white college, I still remember being surprised at how many white people were everywhere. Now I find myself in Colorado in a land of white suburbia (or so it seems). 

And here I sit for the past year while watching the news and reading the articles full of racism, hatred, and desperation in our country. It absolutely breaks my heart and sickens me. However, I have the privilege (the white privilege) of crying while sitting safely on my couch because this is not my reality. As sad and horrible I find it, I do not know the heartache or worry of watching my teenage son walk out the door while I fear his safety in situations where he should feel safe. I will never know the angst of my family being treated less than just because of the color of our skin. And these are just the everyday occurrences. This does not even count having to endure watching a hate rally while horrible people exclaim that they are the superior race, not my own. No, I will not know how this feels. I can only try to imagine and fathom the heart-wrenching emotion that comes with all of this. 

But I can’t sit silently. Silence indicates that I am okay with hate being spread to certain people in our country. Silence indicates that even though I may not agree with them, I don’t care enough to say or do anything about it. Silence means racism moves one step closer to winning. No, I can NOT sit silent. As a follower of Christ and a person that does not believe anyone reigns supreme over anyone else, I am called to action. I am called to love. 

It is clear in the very beginning of the Bible that we are ALL made in God’s image (Genesis 1:16). In Acts 10:34, Peter says, “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” If God does not show partiality, why do we as people feel like we are able to do that? Are we claiming to know better than God? In John 13:34, Jesus commands us “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” He is commanding us to love like He loves, which includes showing no discrimination over anyone else (James 2:9).

As we read and study Scripture, it is clear that we are being called to show love to EVERYONE. People that are different from us. People that may not be easy for us to love. That means loving and praying for the people that are consistently victims and also for the people that are the attackers. This does not mean it’s a love that excuses behavior, but one that holds them accountable to those behaviors and prays for transformation of hearts. 

So how do we do this? I do not even begin to know the answer to this. I’ve been in a safe little bubble for so long so it’s hard to even know where to start doing my part for reconciliation. But I do know that there are people I love and people I don’t even know that are hurting. 

So to my friends that this is your terrifying reality everyday, tell me what I can do. Forgive me for my lack of action in the past. You already have my love and my prayers. But I know you need my actions. Teach me. I AM WITH YOU. 

And to my white friends, step up with me. It’s time we stop sitting idly by and hoping that everyone can just get along. To those that are Christians, you don’t even get that option. God is clear in how He has called us to live this life. Let’s do just that. TODAY.

‘There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:23

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.” Romans 12:9

Welcome back for round two! If you missed the first part about our trip in Houston, you can check that out here. Or you can ignore that altogether and just read all about the part of our trip in Dallas/Fort Worth. But first let me just say that last year when we did this trip, I tried my best to see as many people as possible that we miss immensely. This year none of that was really able to happen due to a stomach bug, a crazy acting little guy, and a super exhausted mama. As much as we would have loved to spend that time with everyone, sometimes plans just don’t work out. 😦 But there’s always next time, right?? 

So on Monday morning, we packed up all of our things and 3 children. This of course only took about 4.2 million hours because it takes about a bajillion things to travel with 2 toddlers and a baby. But then we were ready to go! We had already planned to stop in Huntsville which is where my sister and I both went to college because we promised the littles that we would let them visit the big statue. They were PUMPED to go see the big Sam Houston. Or Uncle Sam as Caleb called him. 

They thought the face statue was so silly and loved looking up his nose. They are obviously very mature 2 year olds. We made this stop last year and Y’ALL. Look at the difference in these kiddos. 

Seeing the actual statue blew their minds…

We took our now annual picture in front of the statue. And let me just say that it was the epitome of herding cats. And we love the new addition to our picture. 🙂

There’s a cute little visitor center house that has a lot of cute games so we let the kids run some energy out. Thankful it was overcast so we got a bit of reprieve from the feeling of being on the surface of the sun.

This year we decided to actually go visit our college campus. We picked up some lunch and took it to campus for a picnic. And let me just say, college students thought it was just totally normal for three children and two moms to be hanging around. Especially when I ran through the student center with the two bigger kids because someone was exclaiming that she had to go to the big girl potty. #allthelooks

Then it was back on the road! By the time we arrived to their house, we were all DONE. Tears may or may not have been involved… and not just by the children. 

The next day, Ashley and I both did not feel super great. She was able to rally a little better than me but I was pretty out for the count most of the day. Thankful for my sister, bro-in-law, and of course Maddie that kept my little guy entertained while I felt like death. I’m sure baby Dylan did his part too. 

The next day we were all back to normal and headed to the place where you take children when it’s 100,000 degrees outside. Story time of course! 

That evening, we did the next reasonable thing to do. Swim!!

The next evening, I had the opportunity to have another girls night. We kept it low key by just hanging out at one of our houses. But my bestie is pretty much the queen of hostessing so it didn’t look the least bit low key and instead all kinds of adorable.

I also got some girl time with this little one before the big girls showed up. 

Just sitting on the couch and talking with these friends was so needed. They have always spoke so much wisdom in my life and people that I know pray fervently for me. I am beyond grateful for their friendships. (And beyond sad to miss seeing one of them!)

While I was hanging with them, Caleb was having the time of life with Maddie Moo in a splash pad. #squadgoalz

The next day we did a bit of shopping to get Maddie ready for school. The whole crew in a cart together was quite the experience. 

We then did lots of playing and pushing around baby Dylan. 

That evening, Uncle Chris became a hero by taking us all out for ice cream at a cool nitrogen sub-zero ice cream shop. I’m not even going to pretend to really know what that means but there was smoke and the kids loved it. 

The next day G-Daddy and Mimi came up for a visit as one of their many stops on their road trip! Let’s just say, that gave the kids all the feels. 

The rest of the evening more of our family came over for a shrimp boil. It’s rare for us to all be together, but we sure love it when we are. We know that it would make Meemaw and Grandad very happy. 🙂

Then Sunday was our last day! Uncle Chris started it off with a fun farewell drive around the backyard. In their pajamas because we like to keep it classy. 

It was off to the airport and there’s no pictures of the tearful good-bye because seeing two 2 years old cry about being separated will just about break your heart.

After he calmed down, we managed to have a fine time in the airport while we waited to go home. It is his second home after all.  

Although we were so sad that Daddy wasn’t home yet, we made the best of the next two days until he arrived! And kept up with him thanks to technology. 

He came home and then our lives were complete. 🙂 Don’t mind us while we are out having fun being all together again! 

Newsflash: Texas is HOT in July. Like the surface of the sun hot. And I’m pretty sure that I am the only one in the world that plans an annual trip there IN JULY. You may think it’s because I’m insane (and maybe I am a bit) but it’s actually because that’s when Nick goes to Poland for a million days. So I pack up our toddler and off we go to Texas. (Side note: What age are you not a toddler anymore because I feel like we are at that point? Tears.) 

First we had to say goodbye to this cutie…

Then we were on our way (2 days later!)…

Our first stop, Houston! The reunion between the cousins was too adorable for words. These two are 5 weeks apart and distance hasn’t done anything to their sweet bond. 

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We then headed to Nanan’s house and reunited with her (& baby Dylan)! I am thankful to have a mom that supports Nick’s annual trip by flying us to Texas. That may seem silly, but receiving that help and distraction can go a long way while he’s out of the country. You rock Mom! 

We decided to go out for dinner to a Mexican restaurant that I miss and sit out on their fun patio! When I suggested this, I forgot patio weather in Texas is over by mid-June. But we sweated through it and made it work. 

It helped to end the night at the splash pad. You better believe us adults thought real hard about jumping in too! (And yes that is my son looking real classy running around in a swim diaper. We had his bathing suit but the heart wants what it wants.)

The next day we headed down south to see different people! We drove through our hometown which we haven’t done in YEARS. Last year when we came to Texas for this trip, there was just 2 kiddos in the backseat and now baby Dylan gets to sit smack dab in the middle! I think the big kids don’t mind one bit…

We headed to Galveston to take the kids on a ferry ride! We grew up riding the ferry with our grandparents and we figured what a fun way to ride a boat for FREE! Mimi and G-Daddy met us there for the festivities. 

Dinner was next at one of our faves, The Spot! Seafood right on the ocean? Yes please. 

We were all pretty hot and exhausted after the day so we said goodbyes and headed back north. 

On Friday, Caleb and I got to hang with Nanan! We had lunch with the Nana (where we failed to take a picture), went shopping and had an amazing home-cooked dinner. My bestie Katie came over to join us which made Caleb VERY happy. He even asked her to do night-night time because he’s got game. 😉

The next day was more shopping (my mom’s love language!) and then during nap time, her and I got to steal away for mani-pedi time. For the year and a half I lived near my sister and mom, we got to do this all the time. It’s DEFINITELY missed big time. 🙂 We were pretty busy enjoying all of the things to take any pictures. 

That evening, Nanan and Stevey had a night with Caleb to allow me to go see some of my favorite girls. We laughed a LOT which was so good for my heart. Friendships have been one of my biggest struggles since moving to Colorado so I always feel so grateful when I am with girls that have known me and loved me for years. 

The next morning, I took my little man over to my friend Jen’s so that way he could play with her girls. And of course anything for more girl time. We looked over at one point and these two were holding hands…

Y’ALL. Quinn moved her lunch and chair all on her own so she could sit near Caleb. Insert all the heart eyes here. Needless to say, he had himself a great morning. And duh, I did too. 

That afternoon, my sister and her kiddos came back after a weekend trip to Louisiana so the cousins were reunited once again. And all was what right in their worlds. 

Nanan and Stevey busted out the sprinkler and made their days even better. 

The only way they had the guts to run right through the water was by holding hands. Power in numbers and all. After playing outside, it was time for jammies and chill. 

It was also time to say our good-byes to Nanan since she would be gone at work the next morning when we would be waking up to head to Dallas. 

It was sad to see this part of our trip end because we had so much fun! There is never enough time to do all of the things and see all of the people. And definitely more difficult with no car and a 2 year old’s schedule. So until next time, Houston! 

At this point, we were getting to FaceTime with Nick a good bit! Half the time it looked like this because it was night time there (which throughly confused the little man), but we loved hearing his voice anyway. 

So off to Dallas we went! We still had a week left of our trip so be sure to keep a look out for that recap next. Unless you’re just not into an obnoxious amount of pictures of my family which if that’s the case, feel free to avoid my next post. Because let’s be real, more of that will be coming… 

Happy Friday, y’all! Since our summer has been so super crazy and I clearly haven’t been keeping up by blogging about EVERY. SINGLE. THING. so today I thought I would bring it to you in a hot random recap kind of mess. So hold on tight for the favorites of this summer brought to you by…

1. Let’s start WAAAAAAY back in May. Nick and I celebrated 5 years of marriage and planned a whole mountain getaway to Glenwood Springs. However, snow happened so we ended up in downtown Denver for the night. Well several weeks later, we finally got that weekend getaway. {Major thanks to my amazing boss/friend and Caleb’s best grown-up friend for hanging out with the little man that weekend. You’re a true rockstar.}

2. While we are talking about May, Caleb and I got away for the weekend to Texas to celebrate Uncle C & Aunt Kaylyn’s wedding. The little guy was the most adorable sign holder I ever did see. 

We also had a lot of fun in the sun (and pool) while we were there. Because it is Texas after all. 

3. Fast forward to June and it was full of VBS craziness and camp craziness. Another fun thing that happens EVERY June though is my birthday. 😉 It’s no secret that I love birthdays so this year I thought it would be fun to experience Colorado’s infamous Grizzly Rose for country dancing. Might as well try to get any kind of Texas feels that I can, amiright?? Thankfully we had plenty of people that obliged and came along for the fun. 

4. A HUGE thing that happened this summer was Caleb moved from his crib to a big boy bed. This is the first real transition  that had me all kinds of teary eyed. My baby is now a big boy and he LOVES it. He hammed it up by saying bye to his crib by giving hugs and jumping like a crazy man. 

Then he immediately crawled into his big boy bed and deemed it ‘comfy cozy.’ 

It’s been a pretty easy transition and the little man has slept even better since the big move. I am VERY MUCH relieved. These aren’t the best pictures in the land, but we have changed the colors of his room to red, blue, & white instead of the lime green & navy from his nursery. The poor kid still needs a bed skirt but his big boy room now has a new bed, new dresser, new rug, & new bookcase. It’s definitely been quite the makeover that we decided to embark on in the craziest season of our family. We plan so well. Ha! 

5. Last big event of the summer to cover is that we took Caleb to his first ever Rockies game over Father’s Day weekend! We lasted six innings with two of those eating ice cream and two of them with me & him at the playground. We consider it a win. 😉

WHEW!!! Is anyone even still with me?! As you can tell, we have been GO GO GO all summer long! The adventure doesn’t stop yet. Our family is gearing up for some more travels so look forward to hearing all about those sometime before Christmas time. (Kidding. I promise to do quicker.) 

Here’s to the rest of the summer as it’s flying on by! 

Linking up with Andrea and Erika 🙂

For the 4th of July this year, our little family of three along with Nick’s mom and sister piled up in our car and headed for the mountains. Nick likes to point out that since we’ve known each other, we have not ever spent this holiday in the same exact town. The places we have celebrated include St. Louis, Fort Worth, Houston, Fredericksburg, Aurora, Littleton, and now we can add Aspen/Snowmass to that list! 

So Aspen/Snowmass was where we were all headed and all of us were super excited! Well one of us would have preferred the beach, but she figured hanging out with us far outweighed having to endure the mountains. 😉  I grew up near the beach so going to the mountains is still so much fun to me. With Nick’s crazy summer schedule, it made way more sense to stick closer to home which everyone agreed. So off to the mountains we went! 

We stopped in Vail along the way to bip around for a bit. 

We then headed to ‘our new house’ which Caleb named our home for the week. He was a big fan of our mountain condo in Snowmass to the point where we were a little concerned that he thought we moved there permanently. But with views like this, you couldn’t really blame him.

We then headed out to explore Snowmass! 

The next day was the 4th! We all dressed up in our patriotic gear and headed to Aspen for the 4th of July parade. 

It was definitely pretty hot for the mountains so as soon as nap was over, we headed to the pool. 

That evening, we celebrated like all good Americans by grilling hamburgers. The next step would have been watching fireworks but unfortunately Aspen had to cancel them due to fire danger. Considering the little guy goes to bed at 7 pm, it wasn’t the most awful thing in the world. 

Plus, the next morning we were up and at it early to go hike the Maroon Bells! 



The hike to Crater Lake with a view of Maroon Bells is beyond gorgeous! Nick and I did it a few years back when we visited Colorado and it’s still one of our favorite hikes. 

We went at the crack of dawn last time so it was only Nick and I on the entire hike. Also, even though it was August, it was chilly enough to wear a hoodie which was MARVELOUS. Definitely NOT the case this time but the view makes it all worth it once you make it. 

We had a fun time enjoying the sights while Caleb played with rocks. Ah, the simple things. 

The hike back was great and the little guy was just so exhausted from all the work he did. He asked me to carry him at one point and I was glad to say that’s a daddy’s job on a hike. Major props to Nick for taking on the burden of the heavy load. 😉

That afternoon we headed to Aspen to walk around. 

We spent the evening back in Snowmass eating at a fun restaurant enjoying the mountain views. Also, we had to get in another gondola ride. That was definitely a favorite of the little guy’s… right next to riding the shuttle bus. There was one that would pick us up at the top of the slope at our condo and drop us off at the bottom where all the shops are and vice versa. Caleb thought this was the greatest thing! However, instead of being able to say SHUTTLE bus, it came out as STRUGGLE bus. Which of course we all thought was quite hilarious because a lot of these comments were made by him.. 

‘I wanna ride the struggle bus!’ 

‘Are we all riding the struggle bus?’

‘I wanna drive the struggle bus when I get bigger!’

It’s just so hard to correct someone when it’s just so dang cute. Just like him calling every moment prior to this exact one as ‘lasterday.’ Stay little forever, Caleb Jones. 

Im pretty sure one of Caleb’s favorite parts of the trip was playing games with JoJo and Aunt JJ. JoJo brought kid card games and taught them all to him. A lot of ‘Go Fish’ happened and Caleb actually understood it. So sweet to watch them play together! 

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It was such a great getaway to the mountains to celebrate our country! It does not go unnoticed that we are able to celebrate our freedom thanks to all of the incredible sacrifice from our military. I am beyond thankful for all that they do! And for their families that also endure sacrifice by being left behind for the sake of our country. We are so grateful. 

Hope everyone had a fabulous Independence Day! 

This summer is FLYING BY!!!! We are so busy doing all of the things that I’m having a hard time recapping all of the things. But I plan on doing just that because this is my way to remember just how crazy busy and crazy fun this season of our lives are. So maybe I’m being a bit selfish and blogging more for me than for you. So feel free to skim away. 😉 Today I am linking up with Erika and Andrea for Friday Favorites to share a favorite week of the summer so far… CAMP!!!

So last year I blogged all about our love for student camp. I have gone every year with Nick since we’ve been married, including the year that I was seven months pregnant. In Texas. In the heat. So that should show all in itself how much I love going to camp. Last year was Caleb’s first time to go (outside of the womb) and seemed to enjoy it. But this year he was old enough to LOVE IT. Our church went to Fuge in Glorieta, New Mexico this year. Caleb and I headed up a couple days after our church group went so it was a 5 hour road trip with just the two of us. 

I know I look excited but that was more a mixture of fear and anxiety on my face. But guess what? The little guy did AMAZING. And he didn’t touch a single electronic. Now that is not me bragging saying I don’t believe in electronic use to pass the time on a road trip. That’s me saying that I know my child well (and his lack of being able to watch a movie in it’s entirety) and if I had pulled out the DVD player, I would have had to listen to him for 5 hours to keep changing the DVD. And with it only being me and him in the car, that just was not possible. So to avoid meltdowns, we avoided that route altogether and it still worked out! PTL!!! 

We arrived just in time to greet our church group and watch a killer game of volleyball and ultimate frisbee! Where our group may or may not have been the teams to get killed. 😉 Caleb was SO excited to be able to run around, see his daddy, & play with the students. As soon as they left two days prior, he immediately told me, ‘I REALLY REALLY miss Daddy.’ And that was 5 minutes after they left. Do you think that makes me look forward to the sixteen days Nick is in Poland? I think not.

That evening we had a prayer walk that consisted of an hour of walking around to different areas and praying about different things. Nick and I were able to switch off with Caleb and be able to fully participate in the activity. Because believe it or not, our 2 year old was able to stay quiet that entire time and even shush us at parts because people were praying. To say I was impressed with the little guy between the 5 hour road trip victory and this prayer activity all in the same day would be a complete understatement. I probably would have bought him a brand new toy and let him eat ice cream for dinner if he would have asked me at that point. But thankfully he’s not quite old enough to know when I’m an easy target yet. Ha! 

This was him playing with a car quietly at the very end of the prayer walk. It brought tears to my eyes to know that he is being exposed at such an early age to students learning to grasp and engage the Gospel right before his eyes. He understands that they are praying to God which makes him want to pray too. That in itself makes a 5 hour road trip worth it. 

If you’ve known Caleb for even just a hot minute, you know he loves to dance. So worship time was definitely his jam. He even swindled a glow stick from a Fuge staffer to get his groove on. 

The leaders went into Santa Fe while the students had their own bible studies the next morning. The little guy is a huge fan of Mrs. Kathy. I’m pretty sure he would be more than happy to go home and live with her. 

Then it was time for MEGA!!! Watching students do a crazy relay which includes being covered in sprite, flour, and baby food may have been a bit confusing to a 2 year old…

He definitely didn’t mind the ride afterwards though. 

Every evening, Caleb and I were only able to go to the worship part of the service and leave for bedtime as soon as they started the message. 

I was pretty bummed about missing this because I always love being apart of what the students are learning and then getting to discuss it with them afterwards. The Lord made it very clear to me through those walks back to our room that my little guy is my mission field right now during this season of our lives. I was able to ask him questions of why he thinks we were at camp and what the students were learning about. He also asked me questions and then we had the opportunity to pray for the different students. It became such a sweet time that has even continued as we’ve come home because he picks a different student every night that he wants to pray for. It may not be ideal to bring a toddler to a student camp, but those conversations and prayers alone makes me so glad I did. 

The next morning was our last morning service and we were sad to already see it end. Caleb exclaimed all the way home, ‘I just REALLY REALLY want to stay at camp!’ (Do you notice a theme here?) And I don’t blame him. The kid had a blast. 

A really fun part of the week was seeing so many familiar faces from our old church in Texas. Getting to catch up and being shocked by how much older students have gotten was such a great time! I just wish I would have taken pictures with everyone! 

All in all, it was a fabulous week and I’m already looking forward to next year!!

Before we know it, Caleb will be in this group pic as a student! As much as that excites me, it also makes me want to freeze time. So for now, I will enjoy all of the sweet times that I have to miss out on certain things because of our little guy. I’ll take his snuggles and thousands of questions any day. 😉 

So if you know me even a little bit, then chances are you know my life has been ALL VBS recently. Last year for VBS we had the best time being submerged underwater.

And then this year we were Galactic Starveyors in outer space! 

Last year I had all the feels because it was Caleb’s first ever VBS and I absolutely loved seeing my own child have a blast and learn all about Jesus. Well this year it was even more fun since he was a year older and was able to participate in even more! I can’t wait until he’s the actual age for VBS and gets to experience all of the things. I know that he will love it even more than he already does (which is a pretty bold statement).

A chance to dress like an astronaut? He’s all in. 

We are so blessed to have an amazing team of women that are super gifted in the decorating department. They transformed our church into an amazing scene of a backyard looking up at outer space. We were all big fans! 

I had the awesome opportunity to have the same role as last year and lead with the same amazing person. I pretty much love getting to serve with this girl. 

The same two crazy characters showed up from last year, except now in outer space. 

It takes a special person to be friends with Astro Nick and Magnolia is the girl for the job. 

Our awesome staff even got in on the fun and dressed like crazy people everyday to greet all the kiddos! There’s just something about VBS that brings out the fun in people. 🙂

Not only did Caleb love all the fun VBS activities, he for sure loved that his bestie was there. And she even loved having him there too because let’s just let it be known that it’s usually Caleb doing all of the hugging of Hava, not the other way around. Definitely a win for the little man.

We added a Friday night celebration this year and Caleb LOVED getting to participate in all of the dancing. 

None of VBS would have happened without our amazing children’s ministry director. I am beyond grateful to have her as a boss, a friend, and a pseudo-grandma for our little guy. It’s safe to say that our family LOVES us some Ms. Lauri. 

The work that goes into VBS is a bit crazy and a whole lot time-consuming, but it all becomes worth it when 57 kids decide that they want to live for Jesus forever. I would gladly give up sleep and some brain cells every year to keep teaching kiddos that Jesus loves them deeply. THAT is what VBS is all about!!! 

Until next year!!! 

On May 19th, Nick and I celebrated being married for FIVE YEARS. For people that have been married a lot longer, this may seem like such a minor thing. But to us, this is kind of a big deal. Last year I blogged all about our wedding which is still by far one of my very favorite memories. Getting to be married to Nick Jones is by far one of the greatest joys of my life. Together we have conquered three cities, two states, and the cutest little two year old ever. (Or maybe he’s conquered us.. hard to tell.) 

Nick was a rockstar and coordinated a whole getaway for us to celebrate, including accommodations for Caleb. Insert all of the heart-eyed emojis. However, Colorado had a different idea and it SNOWED. On May 18TH. I’m just not real sure what world I live in where it snows at the end of May. So although our trip to the mountains got rescheduled, we were still able to get away to stay a night in downtown Denver. Huge thanks to our amazing friends for keeping the little guy for a sleepover. We love you Fowlers!! I’m pretty sure he had just as much fun as us, if not more. 😉

Our first stop was a coffee shop in a really cute area. Nick made it clear that he did not fit in with the very hipster environment that was happening around us, but we still had a ton of fun. We laughed about the first time we ever hung out at a coffee shop and he ordered a smoothie. I sure am proud of the progress he’s made. 

This guy makes me laugh on the daily, even if he says that I don’t laugh at his jokes anymore. I think it just challenges him to always be thinking of newer and funnier jokes. 😉

After that we headed to our hotel and even got upgraded for our anniversary. Can’t get mad about that! We had a great view of Coors Field which was of course Nick’s favorite part. 

We looked up a restaurant online that was close to our hotel since we are just so in the know of all things downtown. We did take an Uber so we are trying to remain somewhat hip with the hop. 

The place was fun and low-key which we were all about, especially on such a snowy day. And selfies just because. 

You know it’s your anniversary when the hubs will then let you order room service just because you want dessert. Laying in bed while watching TV and eating {over-priced} dessert is just living the dream, amiright? We are just so fancy. 

The next morning, we got to sleep in as much as our bodies let us now. We then headed to Union Station to get coffee because it’s pretty much my favorite place ever in Denver. 

If you’ll remember, we celebrated our anniversary there last year too. But note that we did NOT need boots and coats. 

We then headed to Snooze, one of our favorite spots to eat brunch. Breakfast pot pie? Yes please. 

We super enjoyed our night away to celebrate 5 years of marriage! And now we have a weekend away in the mountains to look forward to. Win win!