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After 14 hours in the "ManVan" we stopped in Cameron, Missouri and found this hotel with a water slide! The kids unleashed all their pent up energy playing in the pool, we ate pizza, and off to bed for another long day in the car tomorrow!

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The "ManVan" the night before our big road trip! We are ready to go, I think...

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As I went outside this evening to do one last look before going to bed, I found this little fellow in our frog fountain!

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Me, playing with a wide angle lens, but not getting the distortion I'm looking for! Need to work on this! I want to get shots of the kids like the dogs with super big heads! Special, I know!

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Zak oh so very carefully and precisely pouring icing on his cinnamon bread!

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Another exhausting day at Six Flags! The good thing is that we went with lots of friends and had a great day together! We got there around 10:30AM and left around 10:30PM after the fireworks! We have never stayed past 5 or 6 and now I know why! Holy smokes, all our dogs were barking, if you know what I mean and we were all so very tired! We all slept in til 11:00AM the next morning!

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No photo again! I stink :(

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Gracie in all her cuteness calls her lone freckle her "pickle" Gosh, once again smiling here!

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oh my goodness, no photo again...

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No picture :(

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Welcome Home Joey!
Our good friend is finally home after spending a year in Korea. His wife had a big welcome home party for him at their home today and this is how my boys welcomed Joey home! But don't worry Joey got even, as Coop jumped in on him he hit his chin on Joey's head, of course he hit the steel plate in his head and now Coop has six fractured teeth and a chipped tooth! Fun times!

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Happy 44th Birthday Troy Boy! I love you!

We had a very relaxed and easy going day with no life or body altering experiences occurring like last year when Troy got his first mid life crisis tattoo. We just went out for dinner at an all you can eat crab place! Troy was in heaven!

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I love this photo! On the day before my dear husbands 44th Birthday, he still plays like a boy! Our kiddos absolutely adore their father when he is being playful and I absolutely adore him when he plays with our kiddos! We were spending the day on the river! So much fun with tree swings, tubes and Texas style snorkeling!

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Found this baseball size moth in our doorway this morning!

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New bikes for the boys!

The boys earned new bikes with their hard work this past school year. They both were on the A or A/B Honor roll and both recieved commended test scores on their TAKS tests! Way to go guys! I am so very proud of you!

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Gracie's portrait of her parents! Not to bad for a three year old!

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My sweet little girl! I was in my closet folding clothes while Gracie was taking a bath and she says to me, "Look at me mama, I'm Santa Claus. Ho Ho Ho!" She certainly brings a smile to my face so many times everyday!

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No picture :( Geesh, I stink at this!

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We went down to the river to swim this afternoon with friends! This is a new area for us and maybe a new favorite! Just check out this tree swing! The tree is humongous and the kids had a great time flying from it! Go Coop go!

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Just another day in paradise... uh er um I mean just another hot, sweaty, fun filled, exhausting day at Six Flags! This is one of the kids favorite rides, not only do you get soaked riding it, but you can also get soaked standing on the bridge at the bottom of the drop off!

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No photo :(

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My kiddos playing with a friends kiddos at a spring fed swimming hole! Love it here! The water is so clear and cool! Just what we need on hot summer days!

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A new favorite in our house. A strawberry blueberry smoothie. Here's the recipe: 1 cup strawberry yogurt, some strawberries and blueberries (fresh or frozen), some cranberry juice(or your juice of choice), and some ice. Mmmmmm...

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Troy and I spent the day with friends on the bike. We rode to Luckenbach, Texas. What a nice ride and a relaxing afternoon listening to good country music and sharing stories with friends!

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Congratulations Guys! So proud of you both! Coop was promoted to senior blue belt and Zak was promoted to blue belt!

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We celebrated the first day of summer vacation at Six Flags!

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Last day of school! Praise the Lord, Hallelujah, that is the last school bus ride for the year!

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Such sassy girls! Melissa, you and I are in so much trouble!

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Congratulations Cooper! Your Mom is so proud of you! You are growing into such a special young man! Today you were awarded for citizenship, A/B honor roll for the year and being commended on your Math TAKS test! Can't believe you are on the last few days of your third grade year! Way to go buddy! I love you!

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So here's my sad story with a happy ending :o) A few weeks ago one of the kids unzipped my camera bag. Unbeknown to me I picked my bag up and my 24mm lens fell out and hit the driveway, gasp! A piece of the plastic broke and I thought for sure the focus was now messed up! I felt horrible and sick to my stomach about it as I try so very hard to take good care of my gear. Well I played around with it and it seemed to be not as sharp as it used to be :o( So I took it to a local camera guy who is Canon certified and he told my it looked alright! So here is a shot of Troy out in the parking lot of the camera shop and yes it is still tack sharp! Can you see Troy's pores? (no, well you can in the 100% crop) Anyway I guess my psyche just needed to be told it was ok! Silly I know, but what can you do?