Hanging at McCools

We had a doctor appointment for Harper in Dallas at the beginning of August.  Thankfully it went well and she is 100% better!  Afterwards, we headed to Kristen and Brian's to hang out and swim for the afternoon.  It was Cody's first time to meet Ellie and get to hold her.  She was about 6 weeks old.  It was also Paige's first time to snuggle with her and get a cousin picture.  It's funny to think that soon they will be practically the same age and size because right now they look so different!  Ellie still hasn't chunked up, she's long and lean.  And Paige has rolls on rolls.  But I just can't wait to see how much they love each other as they grow up.  We swam in the pool and it was a lot of fun.  Paige decided she didn't really need a nap and wanted to swim.  Harper had the best time swimming and loved going down their slide.  She loves swimming, especially now that she has had swim lessons this summer.  I loved just getting out there and relaxing in the sun.  It was the best. 

Visit to Austin

We went to Austin the first week of August to visit Eric and Dane and the Lulfs.  Erin was home for the second half of summer, after spending the first half doing evangelism training in Florida.  Andrew had moved back to Austin to go to ACC and work after spending the last year or two working as a deck hand on sailboats.  Tim was selling outdoor kitchens and Tina was still doing her insurance printing.  They were all doing so well that we had to get down there and introduce them to Paige.  

We left early on Monday morning and picked up Carleigh in downtown Dallas.  We made it to Austin in time for lunch at the bus with Eric.  We got to the Lulfs that afternoon and put Paige down for nap. We just sat around and talked and hung out and had a great time.  I love being there.  It's like another home for me.  I still know their house phone number by heart.  I got to hear all about Erin's year and her plans for her senior year in nursing at Samford.  Plus, her best friend Sarah's wedding was that weekend so I got to see all the details for that.  They loved getting to see Harper so big and reminded her of her booty shaking from last year.  They got to love on Paige and play with her and feed her.  She was pretty good the whole way there but started teething pretty bad that evening.  We tried putting her to bed at 8, but picked her back up at 9 so Cody could run to the store for tylenol.  She finally went to sleep at 930 and of course woke up at 530 the next morning.  

The evening, Eric and Dane came over to hang out and have dinner.  They came and just talked and laughed and we had the best time.  I love when I get to just relax with my brothers.  It doesn't happen often but it's the best.  They stayed all night and I think they had a good time just relaxing too.  They both work so many hours and so hard.  They played with Harper and she loves to act crazy with them.  At one point, Dane and Harper were upstairs just hanging out watching The Princess Bride.   

The next morning we woke up and just got to hang out with the Lulfs.  We chatted all morning and ate good food and played around the house.  Midmorning, Cody took Carleigh to hang out with Eric on the bus, Tina stayed with Paige while she napped, and Erin took Harper and I to the neighborhood pool to swim for a bit.  After nap time, we headed to Eric's house to hang out for the evening.  I had asked Eric if he wanted to go with me to get a tattoo.  I had been thinking about it for awhile and had decided to finally get one.  We went to a place by his house and it was definitely nicer than I expected it to be.  I was totally nervous about it but it turned out to be ok.  We even took the girls in with us because it was only going to take about 15 minutes.  I had a picture of what I wanted and he sketched it and drew it.  Yes, it hurt like heck, but it took all of 1 minute.  I really like my tattoo, but that's a whole other post.  After that, we went and had dinner at Eric's.  Dane came over after work and his roomates were there as well.  Eric loves to just grill a bunch of meat and veggies so we had a huge spread.  It was nice to just eat and talk and hang with them in their environment.  Around bedtime, we changed the girls into their pjs and headed home.  It was a decent drive and both girls did great.  We dropped Carleigh off at midnight and made it home about 1am.  For a quick trip, it was a great one!

Lake Getaway

We promised Taylor that we would take her for a special getaway before she left for college.  We wanted to stay within a few hours drive so we could go and get back in time to pick up the girls.  They were going to stay with Kristi and Gary that day so we could drop them off as we picked up the sisters.  We decided to go float the river in Austin.  We even talked about good food places, going to Gruene Hall, and visiting the brothers.  But as we discussed time, we would have to leave at 6am, to go to my parents, get to Austin by noon, float the river till 3, have dinner and drive straight back so we could get the girls by bedtime to get home by 10pm.  It was going to be a 8 hours of driving for 4 hours of fun.  Not the best plan.  So the day before, Kristi offered to see if we could go to their friends lake house in Gainesville.  The McMullins were in their small group and were always such gracious people.  They let us got to their lake house and just hang out for the day.  Plus, it was 1 hour of driving compared to 4.  It was perfect!

We got midmorning and just sat around and chatted for awhile.  We had lunch and finally made our way down to the lake.  I'm not a huge fan of lake water, but I love to lay out.  But when we got down there, their dock had a diving platform on top.  And since everyone else was doing it, I decided to also.  Cody didn't want to jump at the same time, so he went first.  Then, we were going to go together, and I couldn't do it.  So next went Carleigh and Taylor.  I went last, but it took a lot of guts.  We did it again and this time Cody and I went together.  It was so fun!  After that, we just relaxed on the big tube and laid around.  Cody, Carleigh and I kayaked across the lake.  Taylor napped.  And we just had such a fun afternoon.  After awhile, we went back up to make some snacks and relax.  I made a pineapple cherry dump cake and we almost finished off the whole thing.  We played Apples to Apples and laughed at all the dumb things we said.  It was perfect.  

We made dinner and ate it on the road to my parents house.  We hung out with them for awhile and then left for home at bedtime.  It was a great day.  I can't believe Taylor goes to college soon!  We will miss her so much but I know she is going to have a blast!

Our Farmhouse Table

We had talked about building a farmhouse table when we moved into the house.  But we were so busy, that we just used our former dining room table.  But we also took Harper out of her high chair and it took her a long time to learn how to get up on the tall chairs and how to sit without falling off.   So now with Paige, we decided we needed a lower table.  And since it's summer, we do all the projects we can.  So Cody did some research and we found a table we liked.  He built it in about two days and it cost about $100.  He also built a bench to go along the wall with the window.  We stained the table top to match the rest of the house and painted the legs white so they would stand out against the wood floor.  Last, we found some chairs online and got super lucky that they turned out to be the exact right color and texture and are fabulous chairs.  I love this table and I am so excited to finally have it.  Plus, I think Cody did such a phenomenal job!  It is absolutely perfect!

Midland

We have been wanting and promising to visit Nikki in Midland for awhile now.  But then pregnancy, holidays, Paige, school, and summer youth stuff.  We never were able to make it work.  She called at the beginning of July and wanted us to come visit.  Todd was going on the youth mission trip for their church and she wanted some visitors.  It was especially exciting to visit because they had just gotten the boys.  Michael and Caleb, 2 1/2 and 1.  They were adopting them and had gotten the boys in March.  It was the best blessing God had given them because these boys are the sweetest, most precious boys.  We got to spend three days just hanging out and catching up and getting to know each others family.  Two mamas, 4 babies, 2 dogs, 3 days. 

We drove up Sunday after church so Paige could nap.  Sadly, she didn't really sleep but she was so quiet and good the whole time that it didn't matter.  We got there just in time for dinner and bedtime.  Sadly, Paige didn't sleep well while we were there.  She woke up a lot and just talked and I was afraid of her waking Harper (we were all in the same room).  So I got up every single time to put her paci back in.  I didn't sleep well the whole time and was exhausted.  The next day, we just hung out and played outside and swam in the kiddie pool.  The kids were all getting along and intrigued by baby Paige.  We had dinner and bed and she and I just sat up and chatted for awhile.  No matter how much time passes, we always just pick right back up.  It's always easy with us.  The third day we decided to go to the park and then play at home again.  Then, after dinner, we got some frozen yogurt and the kids loved it.  We left the morning of the fourth day, in time to get through the metroplex before rush hour traffic.  Thankfully, the drive was smooth and we made it right on time.  I wasn't sure how Paige would do since it was too early for her nap, but she just ended up sleeping her long nap a few hours early.  She slept 4 of the 6 hours home, which was awesome!  I alternated between music and podcasts during the drive while Harper played with toys, colored, and watched a movie.   

We had a great time and I am so in love with those Gatlin brothers.  Love my sweet friend who is also the best mom!  Until next time...