We stripped for Memorial Day

We stripped as in stripped the peach trees at the Caskey Orchards!

You know summer is here (technically three more days of school but we're there in our minds) when it's time to head down to Uncle Cliff and Aunt Sylvia's to pick some peaches!  Today we woke up to thunder and rain and by the time we got to their house it was blue skies and sunshine!  What a turnaround in weather!  It was another wonderful year and we look forward to this for months!  We picked LOTS of peaches this year and kept LOTS too!  Shawn spent about 2 or more hours just peeling and dicing up the ones that needed to be frozen right away!  

Of course the highlight for the kids was driving the Mule and possibly driving Scottie's truck...maybe...details are sketchy on that part.

We had to stage this photo because by this time, oh approximately 12 minutes give or take into picking, the kids were done and ready to move on.  We made them all pick a bucket worth and take this picture.

Me and my trusty bucket and by trusty I mean, the handle broke off and made the job more difficult.

Levi worked hard, and by that I mean, he made sure the seat on the Mule stayed nice and warm.  I will say he lasted longer than the girls....but Elle sort of has an excuse...she's allergic to the peach fuzz so after a while, she starts getting red splotches all over her face.  They go away when she goes inside...how convenient for her sake.

Stretching to reach the top branches!

The kids aren't the only ones that like to drive the Mule.  I LOVE driving  ATVs!

This was what we took home!  We picked another 20 crates worth today!  We shared with friends and neighbors!

And here's the group for one last photo op before we left.

Almost There

Summer is so close I can almost taste it!  Today we took the youth group to Austin to celebrate that school is almost out!  We wanted to give them a day full of iconic Austin.

We started with the most iconic mural in all of Austin.

As this is where the mural is.  It wasn't anything like I was expecting.  It was just in a sort of dirty abandoned-looking area.  Great mural anyway and one I've wanted to see for a few years!

Then we headed to lunch at Home Slice Pizza on Congress Avenue.  Before going in, we saw this new mural on the side of the building and had to take a picture.

Then we were able to get out on the patio and enjoy some pizza together!

After that, we headed to The Union on the campus of UT for some underground glowing bowling.  I'm happy to say that I broke 100 on the second game...by 3 points.  

Then it was time to head home and now we are all truly antsy to get past these last few days of school and get into summer!

Tying up all the loose ends

It's the end of another school year and that means one thing: ceremonies.  There seems to be a graduation from every grade now, a party for each milestone, and a ceremony for every minute thing that goes on!  Of course it feeds into our desire to be recognized for things we are accomplishing so it is kind of nice....but man they are all stacked up on each other!!  For this first installment, and yes, there will most likely be a second, I will focus on just a few things that have happened in the last week.  

The girls had their girl scout ceremony last week.  Ava officially bridged or moved up from a Brownie to a Junior.  This is the girls 4th year in girl scouts and we still love it!

Here she is walking across the long bridge ready to be greeted with a big ol' group hug as she becomes a Junior.

And here is our wacko wonderful perfect little troop!

Elle also preformed at her very last band concert this week.  It was bittersweet.  It's hard to see a talent grow in your child, and then watch them walk away from it.  She didn't dislike band...she just lost interest.  She had the ability, but not the desire and I am not about to drag her dead weight self through a second year of band, when it gets harder...oh and we now get back $60 a month that we were paying to rent the maramba that she barely practiced on.  Nice.

Her percussion teacher, Mr. Leach

Lastly, Shawn and I celebrated our 17th anniversary the other day.  We went to Austin and tried out a new Mexican food place on Congress Avenue, then went on a carriage ride up to the Capital and ended the date with Amy's Icecream.  It was a fun date and it's hard to even think we've been married that long!

Field Day

As we encounter milestones with our 2nd and 3rd borns, we have to be more intentional about capturing the moment and being involved in what is new to them.  This year we were a little less than excited about being part of field day, but knew our kids would love the time with us.  Once we arrived, our attitudes changed as soon as we saw their big smiles and we jumped in head first to everything they did.  We had such a great time with each of them.  It is rare for both of us to have a chance to be with just one of our kids.  We got to enjoy being around their friends and playing games with them.  The weather was pretty awesome too!

Levi's favorite things about field day were the free cokes and the zipline.

I'm not sure they understand how far back you are supposed to stand when you play horseshoes.  The positive was that no one was hit by the horseshoes they were tossing.

Ava's favorite things about field day were the amazing Newcomb game we played, the zipline...and free cokes.

Mother's Day Campout

One of the troop leaders got the awesome idea of doing a Glamping Mother's Day Campout.  I am getting spoiled....first pop up camper, now glamping in cabins.  I don't know if I can go back to tents.  I bet I'm going to be forced to sometime this fall....anyway, we had a wonderful weekend at Camp Texlake.  I learned to read a compass, though I would still be lost in the woods, learned how to play Gaga Ball....look it up, it's so much fun (even though I twisted my ankle...which is still swollen), learned how to properly shoot an arrow (and find them in the grass), and I also learned how many bites it takes to eat one of those giant marshmallows (6).  Sunday morning we got up bright and early and headed back home and had just enough time to get a donut on the way to church.  Afterwards my family took me out to my choice of restaurant and I was reminded that there is a reason for dates with my husband.....kids are miserable to take out to eat, especially if it's not their choice.  Other than that, I had a great Mother's Day!  And then I rested from my glamping trip with our troop!

I'm smaller than all the other Moms

Last Friday I was invited to Levi's kinder Mother's Day brunch.  They fed us breakfast and gave us treats.  After we had something to eat, Levi's teacher pointed us to the board where there were about 20 construction paper moms on the wall.  Each child had made their mom and answered questions about her.  His teacher would tell facts about the mom and then have us try to figure out which mom we were.  According to Levi, the best food I make is Chicken Noodle Soup (out of a can.)  Made me feel so great. not. He also thought I was either 80 or 18.  He said my favorite thing to do is lie on the couch.  Again, mother of the year.  To be fair though, every other kid in the class pretty much did a crummy job of answering questions about their moms too.  Sure does make me want to lower my standards since I'm pretty much best at opening an can and being lazy.  Lovely.  Happy Lazy Mother's Day. lol

I happen to be at the far right side of the top row....at least he tried to make me feel good by making me small.