Zing Zang Zoom

We are squeezing every last drop of summer out this week. Lamar and I both go back to work on Monday. We've had a wonderful summer, but I'm sad to see it over so fast.

Last night we went to the Ringling Brothers Zing Zang Zoom Circus. We got there a few minutes early, so we were able to walk down on the floor and see some of the performers.


Once the show started, the girls were so serious. Landrie was so funny because all of the stunts made her nervous...especially the tight rope walkers. She let out a huge sigh of relief every time they made it to the other side. Karsyn was cheering and screaming anytime something happened--she was her usual wild self!

The concensus was that the elephants and tigers were the favorites. The motorcycles from last year weren't there which were my favorites, but all in all it was a great show!

I could barely get Karsyn to sit still long enough for any pictures...Lolly isn't choking her, I promise!

The Finale!

Trying to get a family picture at the end - not happening as usual!

Soakin' Up the Sun

Monday and Tuesday we took our final mini-vacation of the summer. We went to Bastrop to visit the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort. Wow! What a fun place. The girls were in heaven with swimming pools, a lazy river, sandy beaches and more. Pictures don't do the place justice OR how much fun the girls had. I can't wait to go back again!!!

A Weekend Away - UPDATED

Last weekend, Lamar and I went to our 2nd Coaches Outreach Retreat. CO is a Bible Study just for coaches and they offer marriage retreats throughout the summer. They have them in several locations including Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Alabama. Last year, we went to New Braunfels and this year we went to Lone Wolf, OK. Our plan is to go to a new one each year...that is, as long as we have someone to keep the girls! The girls went to Camp Gigi while we were gone and had a blast!!!

The happy couple!

A view of our hotel from one of the many hiking trails

During our free time we went paddle boating. It seemed like fun at the time, but it was SOOO hot and there wasn't any breeze at all! This picture is from the dock and we had 30 minutes to make it to a small rock about 200 yards away and come back. It took nearly the whole time to do it!

We also drove to a few of the random small towns (Hobart, Altus, Blair and Roosevelt). We rented a boat Monday afternoon and went to see a movie in the smallest theatre I've ever been inside! There were only about 100 seats in each movie.

We loved our 5 days away, but I've never been so happy to see the sign below! I missed my girls!!!

I had to have my "Walk to Remember" photo. This is the Red River, so I was in 2 places at once - Texas and Oklahoma. I'm a dork, I know!!!

Summer is quickly winding down for me. I go back to work on August 2nd so we'll be cramming in as much fun as possible over the next 2 weeks.

**Updated to add - I met a blog reader IRL (in real life) while at the retreat. Kristy from The Owens Crew and her husband Joe were our small group leaders. It was such a funny moment when she asked "Are you the Kirk Krew?" We laughed and laughed!

4th of July

The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays! I love the family time and the fireworks!! We always eat with my parents and then walk to the Boys Ranch. You can usually find us in the same spot at the park too, so we always sit with our good friends.

This is the only picture I got of the girls together! They are getting less and less cooperative for pictures.

Sweet Friends ~ Landrie & Channing!

Landrie in awe of the awesome fireworks show!

Lake Weekend

Saturday we went to Lake Whitney with one of my friends from Junior High and High School. Her family has a beautiful house.

Sunset Saturday Night

We spent most of our time in the pool, but after dinner we took a Jeep ride around to look at the houses.


The girls loved riding around and swimming like "mermaids" all day long!


They should have been exhausted from all the swimming, but Karsyn kept us cracking up with her excuses to get out of bed. We finally put her up on the top bunk where she couldn't get out!

It was such a nice getaway and I loved getting to spend time with MaryAnn!

Mommy's Helpers

We made fruit pizza the other day for a family dinner at Lolly's House. The girls helped put the fruit on.

Karsyn loves to make patterns and Landrie loves fruit, so this was fun for both of them. I think when it was time for dessert, Karsyn took all the fruit off and just enjoyed the cookie and icing.

Singer/Songwriter - Updated w/ Video

Landrie has been writing a lot of songs lately. This is what she wrote tonight:

I am new because I know everything about God.
I want to talk like Him
I want to walk like Him and look like Him
We all want to be just like God.
I know you. I love you.
We are together and I know that you like me.

Her "theology" isn't all correct all the time, but whose is??? I am just proud that she has a concept of who He is and wants to know more.

(She performed for us, but told me that she didn't want it to go on facebook. I never promised it wouldn't go on the blog...)

The Jokester

Landrie has always liked to tell jokes, but until recently she would miss the punchline completely.

Here's a few of her newest ones:

• Q: What do you call a chicken in Antartica?
  
• A: LOST!
  
  
  
• Q: Why did the gum cross the road?



• A: Because it was stuck to the chicken's foot.
  

I love her quirky personality. She cracks me up!!! I'm loving 6 1/2!

**Pictures are self-portraits by Landrie

Tie-Dye Beach Towel

I started teaching my craft class to middle schoolers last week. We started off with an apron so the kids could tell me about themselves through their drawings and so we'd have the apron to protect or clothes for our other projects.

I found our project for this week online and it seemed easy, fun and something that any age would enjoy.

The supplies:

• White "beach" towel - I bought 27" x 52" white towels from Walmart $2.50
• Simply Spray Fabric Paint - Hobby Lobby $24.99 - kit says it will make 24 shirts
• Contact Paper (must have adhesive back)
• Pencil
• Paper towel
• Scissors

The first step is to sketch your wording onto the top-side of the contact paper. **I messed up and used a marker that bled once it got paint on it, so make sure to use a pencil or ball-point pen.

After you sketch it out, cut it out. Before I stuck it to the towel, I laid the letters out to make sure I centered it and spaced it evenly.

Next take the backing off and stick it to the towel. Make sure to press down on all the edges so paint won't bleed through.

After all the letters were stuck on the towel, I moved the project outside.

Scrunch up the towel, to get the tie-dyed effect.



When you're ready to start painting, fold up a paper towel and start spraying on it before you move to the towel. This will prevent the paint from dripping.

I painted 3 colors and then spread the towel out to see if I missed any spots. I still had more white showing than I wanted, so I re-scrunched it and added some more color. You can do this several times to get the desired effect.

Paint will pool up on the letters, so you need to wipe the letters off before you peel them off.

Here's the finished product! It needs to dry for at least 30 minutes and you're supposed to wait 72 hours before washing.

This was so fun and easy! With supervision, it would be an easy kid project.

BFFs

We are blessed with great friends. Growing up we lived next door to the Cheathams. Lolly and Tina were and still are BFF's nearly 25 years later! Now, their grandchildren are also BFFs!!!

Landrie, Channing, Campbell & Karsyn

Landrie and Channing at their Kindergarten Awards Day

Lolly with Karsyn and Gigi with Campbell at the Leopards soccer game!

Lolly and Gigi with Landrie and Channing