Better Late than Never - Part 1

Yes, it has been almost a month since we went on vacation to Texas. And yes, i am just now getting around to posting about it! Sad, i know but things have been crazy busy and there is so much fun to be had that blogging keeps getting pushed down on the priority list! But i didn't want to miss posting about our trip if for no other reason than to preserve the memories of the fun we had!!

Uncle Eric, yours truly, hubby, Brayden & Colby

and you can see part of the ice cream cake Culka made the boys!

It was about a 10 1/2 hour drive to get to John's parent's house which was stop #1 on our trip!! It was a pretty uneventful drive and both of the boys handled it well! It was late when we got in so we said our hello's, let the boys play off some of their cooped up energy for a little while and then got to bed! The next day was spent just being together and enjoying each other! The boys ran and played ALL day long and had a blast! There was lots of exploring, getting dirty and FUN just being boys!! They caught snakes, bugs, explored, had water gun fights, and enjoyed the tree swing that daddy and uncle eric made.

Uncle Eric giving Brayden a little pep talk after a tantrum! =)

Uncle Eric and Colby in a water gun fight!

The next day, John's parents had a birthday party for the boys at Chuck E Cheese! The boys were very excited and it was lots of fun to see so many friends and family! A good time was had by all...adults and kids alike enjoyed the games! Papa Culka and Uncle Eric won LOTS of tickets for the birthday boys, which they thoroughly enjoyed using and me and Culka enjoyed not having to clean up or doing any preparing for the party!! ;) The boys got lots of great gifts and had a BLAST!

Papa Culka and Uncle Eric winning LOTS of tickets!!


Blowing out the candles!


Brayden opening gifts


looks like he likes what he sees!


our bday boys w/ Chuck E.


The Miculka's - June 09


Culka & her boys!

Our last day there we visited John's grandparents. It is always such a treat to spend time with them....they are so sweet and such a beautiful picture of a lifetime of love and family! My only regret is that i didn't snap any pictures while there and will have to make sure to do that next time. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and playing and cherishing our time together!! Evelyn, Jimmy, & Eric~ Thank you so much for having us and for everything while we were there!! We had such a good time and can't wait to see you guys again!!

Up next i will post about the next leg of our trip which was visiting my family in the San Antonio area!! Now i'm off to enjoy some summer fun with my 3 favorite guys!! =)

Yup...

i am alive!!! haha! Things have just been crazy! Here is a super quick bullet point list of whats been going on......i AM going to make time to post more this week and get caught up!!

*We had a fantastic trip back home to Texas! Busy but we got to see lots of friends and family and we had a great time celebrating both boys birthdays!

*I am now the mommy of an 8 yr old and a 4 yr old. Unreal. How did that happen??

*I am now officially in survival mode trying to make it thru my first Florida summer! Holy heat and humidity batman......i thought i had a general idea what i was up against having grown up in texas but boy was i wrong! Pray that i make it!

*Hubby and I are lost in a world of coupon-ing and scoring deals...its addicting....more to come on this soon!

*I am facilitating a bible study this summer for military wives (starting tuesday) and i am nervous, excited, anxious and completely humbled that God would use me in this way. Prayers for His will to be done thru this wonderful study would be greatly appreciated!! Seriously...me?? I feel so unworthy but what a blessing this will be for my walk with the Lord....i will HAVE to rely on Him completely!! Without Him i am not qualified or capable! And i pray this will be a huge blessing to the women who will be there!!

*I am in the process of trying to get into a routine now that summer is upon us and Colby is out of school! And yes....blogging will be a part of that routine!! Posting twice a week is my goal~i believe that is realistic and do-able! I am a planner, perfectionist and over thinker. Lately i have realized that i had very unrealistic blogging goals for my life as it is right now and so i would get stressed that i wasn't living up to my self imposed "quota" and so i would just not blog at all to avoid stressing over the fact that it had been so long etc etc etc. Yes, i realize i am crazy! ha! So for the sake of my sanity i have re-evaluated what is do-able for me and have set new blogging goals for myself! Feel free to tell me what a kook i am-i know it and promise you won't hurt my feelings! =)

* We got to church this morning with plans to attend the church picnic this evening and got home from church with plans for friends to all come to our place instead!! So an impromptu bbq it is!! I should probably wrap this up and get to slicin' tomatoes and onions, makin' tea so everyone has something to drink, and makin' sure we have everything we will need!

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their weekend!! Look for pictures and a summary of our visit to texas later this week!!