Meeting Benjamin

We got to meet Benjamin on his blessing day!

Claire held him, and he ended up going right to sleep. It was super sweet.

We loved our time meeting him, and we loved seeing everyone else, too!

Pool & Park

Summer Fun - at the pool and then the park! (But I only remembered to take a picture at the park!)

Closet - Before & After

We moved into this house in February. Up until last week, I had not organized my side of the closet. It was usable for a while, even though it wasn’t organized. And then it became less and less usable. So I had to do something about it.

BEFORE

AFTER

For a number of days after I organized the closet, when I walked into it, I would ask Jordan, “Have you seen this closet?!” He would always say, “No,” and let me show it to him. How nice!

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day! We celebrated at our church’s Independence Day breakfast and bike parade. The kids loved decorating their bikes for the parade this year.

That evening, we watched fireworks. -- But Dayton was probably more excited about all of his glow sticks.

Katie’s in Town!

Katie came to Dallas, and I got to see her and her sweet kiddos! We swam, we ate lunch, we played games, we talked, and we had a blast!

I forgot to get a picture of all four of the kids together, but here are Ariana and Dayton. They played so well together “because we’re both 4!” 

Thanks for coming to see us, Katie! :-)

Ellis Family Goodbye Potluck

The Ellis family was one of the first to welcome us to our new home in Frisco last July. They lived across the street and one house over from us. They have twin girls who are about Claire’s age, so when we moved in, she had instant friends. They also had some older kids who babysat for us, so when we got home, I just walked outside and watch them cross the street. Laura Ellis became an instant friend for me, as she checked on me and encouraged me while I began teaching elementary school, and she was always there to help me with Claire and Dayton if I needed someone in a pinch. John Ellis came over late one night to give Claire a blessing, since Jordan was out of town, and Claire was sick. I so appreciate the Ellis family. They moved to Kansas a few weeks ago. They will be missed here, but I am happy for their new adventure. Before they moved, we had a goodbye potluck for them at church. I snapped just a few photos. Thank you to the Ellis family. Thank you for loving and ministering to all around you. Your example of ministering is a lesson for me. :-)

Legacy Hall

Jordan heard about this place to eat. It’s called Legacy Hall. It’s like a food court - but with LEGIT places to eat. So. Good. We tried it out one night, and we were dumbfounded. Everywhere we looked, the food looked and smelled AMAZING. It was quite difficult to choose what to try first, but once we decided, we were not disappointed.

Dayton got a waffle. With sprinkles. And syrup. You haven’t had anything like this waffle. I’m not kidding. And it only had sprinkles and syrup on it. Wait ’til you see what was on mine.

I went totally against my norm and got a savory waffle instead of a sweet waffle. It had bacon, cheese, a fried egg, and a touch of syrup. Oh my goodness. Incredible. Just the waffle itself is amazing. This one? INCREDIBLE!!! Try it yourself; then you’ll understand.

Claire got some chicken tacos.

Jordan got some Peruvian roasted chicken. And an Inca Cola. Awesome.

Speaking of Inca Cola, guess what my awesome co-worker, Keli, has?

That’s right, folks. She has an Inca Kola lunch box. Again, how awesome is that? Well, when she heard how much Jordan and Stephen loved it, she gave it to me - just like that. Jordan is super excited. Stephen is super jealous. ;-) (Just kidding)

Last Day of School 2018

It’s finally here! The last day of school! Hooray! Hooray!

Claire finished 2nd grade! Here she is before going into the McCalip’s house on the last day of school.

Trevin’s mom was kind enough to send me some pictures from the end of school party. I’m so thankful!

I had to work a half day the next day, (which was a Saturday), to get my room all the way cleaned out. After I was finished with work, we went to Chuy’s. --- For me, this picture epitomizes the beginning of summer! :-) Love it!

Arkansas 2018 - Everything Else!

On Father’s Day, we celebrated the dads there by being on vacation! And we made some shrimp fettuccine alfredo. (Jordan did not have to cook this night, but he did help by supervising the pasta a tad bit). :)

Happy Father’s Day, Bando! 

On our first trip to Hot Springs this year, the kids and some adults saw Incredibles 2. All the adults got to spend some time at the Buckstaff Bath House. And then we went bowling together.

I played my most horrible game of bowling in a long, long time. Sad.

But we all had a great time!

And we all wore fun socks!

(Yes, we’re missing Chris and Jameson; sorry, Rebecca!) :-) 

We stopped on the way home to eat at Froggy’s, which happened to be the same building where we ate four years ago - only then it was a different restaurant!

Back at the house, Aunt Mel came through with things to do. We worked on this tablecloth again. We also played card games, worked on a puzzle, and watched some of the World Cup soccer games.

The kids loved seeing Uncle Sam, Aunt Carolyn, and “Uncle” Josh.

 These guys went golfing one day.

And on their way home, they stopped at the Cooper street sign for a photo opp. (Way to go, guys!) 

On our drive home, Present and Fluffy Dog had a turn driving, and then they hung out in the front with Dad and Grandpa.