Mile High Birthday

Last weekend I took a quick trip to Denver to see "the Hudson."  I was there by 7:30 PM on Friday and stayed until 9:00 Sunday night.  It was a great weekend.  Hudson is 7 months now and is so cute.  He sits up, eats real food, and is a sweet happy baby.  I am so proud of my sweet daughter and the wonderful momma she has become.  Since she found out she was pregnant- she finished her education degree, moved to Lafayette ( 7months pregnant), bought a house, had Hudson, and moved again 4 months later.  She has done all of this with grace and joy.  They are in temporary housing as they wait for their house in Lafayette to sell and Brooke has made a wonderful home for Travis and Hudson.  We had a jam packed weekend seeing the beautiful sights of Denver.  We went to a lovely brunch at Simms Steakhouse with the best view of Denver for Brooke's dinner.  Look at this view of downtown Denver:

We also saw Buffalo Bill's grave and the wonderful view of the mountains. 

We spent alot of time at home just enjoying our time together and resting. 

It was a wonderful weekend. I miss my daughter so much. I never thought she would live so far from us.  If they have to live away, they couldn't have picked a more beautiful place. Today is her 24th birthday!  Happy birthday my sweet girl.  I love you!

Here are some old pics- enjoy!

Brooke's birth.  Kirk's dad never thought he would have a grand daughter.
Kirk never thought her would have a little girl. Such a happy day!

Con Man

Con Man- that's the name we used to call Connor.  Well he is all grown up.  Connor is now a junior in high school and the apple of his mom and dad's eye- well when the grandbabies are not in town.  This week was no exception- it is homecoming week and with him in the band, there is always lots of activity.  So Wednesday was the parade. 

Connor is the last one

Wednesday night he was an escort for Ana,  a homecoming nominee.  They are going to the dance tonight.

Connor and Ana as the Homecoming Court was presented.

Thursday night was the game.  Westwood won- they are undefeated this year and it is the best season of all the 12 years we have had a student at Westwood.   We are having so much fun with Connor.  Kind of makes me sad to think I only have one more football season left at Westwood.  Enjoy your day friends.  I am in Denver with my beautiful Grandson Hudson this weekend.  Kirk will have to mange the homecoming dance festivities without me and I am sure with this being his 12th  homecoming dance with kids he can!  Okay - I did make the mum and order the corsage.  All he has to do is get Connor money, follow Connor over to Ana's house and snap the pictures.  He can handle it!

Beautiful Ana and Connor

My Little Drummer Boy!

Count Your Blessings, Bella

Ahhh Sunday!

After a full weekend of football ( Westwood and Texas games), band competition, and family dinners- it is time to rest.  After church this morning, we all came upstairs and fell fast asleep.  The dogs are even tired.  Callie and Maggie are asleep in the front room and Buster is asleep in here.  My Mormon friends used to not even go to places that were open on Sunday- just family time.  There is something to be said for that and the peace and quiet in this room as I type.  My favorite Bible Verse is:

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7

That is something I strive for- the peace of God- I also try to live my life with that verse at the forefront.  I am reading an interesting book called UnChristian which is about young adults (19-29) leaving the church and why.  It is really helping me understand that age group and the changes in society over the last couple of years causing them to seek God in other ways.  I have had some disappointments in my life as my children do not always follow the path in which I want them to take.  Each time this really causes me to be in unrest and out of sorts ( you can just ask them ).  I just worry for them until I decide to give it to God.  Well recently I have given a few things to God and I have to say on this Sunday at this time I feel the Peace of God! Praise Jesus and thank you for Sundays.  I think I will go back to sleep!

Here are some updated photos of my Blessings:

Hudson in Denver- so beautiful

Finley and Carter having a donut date with their mommy! ( Luci Smith's Photo)
They are getting so big!

My three Boys- still sound asleep! The flash woke up Buster.

Family Time

We drove up to Dallas to see the grand kids this weekend.  I had all three together and what a blessing it was.  The original plan was to watch Hudson while Travis and Brooke went to some of Travis' company activities.  They are all Aggies and were going to the Arkansas game and needed us the watch him .  Luci and Jeremy decided to come down to see "the Hudson" and enjoy  Great Wolf  Lodge in Grapevine.

There was a show here a couple of times a day and story time at night

What a jam packed weekend.  We met Brooke and Travis at the hotel on Friday and took Hudson to eat at Rainforest Cafe with Jeremy, Luci, Finley, and Carter.

We all wanted this dessert.  It was a volcano and came with a sparkler up top!

Jeremy and Hudson at Rainforest Cafe.  Hudson is looking at the monkeys over Jeremy's shoulder.

 Finley and Hudson had a sleep over at Bella and Pop's hotel room. We all had breakfast Saturday morning at the hotel- what a special treat to have everyone together.  All the boys and Brooke went to the game.  Jeremy and Kirk went to the game as well and sat on the Arkansas side. Luci and I had all three kids and set off to Grapevine Mills mall.  What an awesome place for kids.  We did Lego Land, the Aquarium, and this jumping loop for Finley.  We even were able to get the kids to take a two hour nap.  We considered ourselves rock stars getting three kids down in one hotel room.  We had a family dinner in the sports bar during the Texas game and another sleepover for Finley.  The next morning we said goodbye to Brooke and Travis and went down for a final swim at the water park at Great Wolf Lodge.  I recommend this area for all families.  There is so much for the kids to do. I definitely can see us turning this into a family tradition.

Brooke, Travis, and the Hudson before the game- yes Brooke did graduate from UT- but you know love  is strange at times.  I even have a picture of Travis in a Texas shirt but he would probably never talk to me again if I published it.

Sweet Luci and precious Carter

Legoland

She is Fearless!

I could just eat them up!

Sweet Loves!

 Great Wolf Water Park

 As an added bonus to this already fabulous weekend.  We stopped in Waco to see Kirk's mom and were surprised that his brother's family was visiting too.  Ross and Debbie have been so special in our lives- Kirk is 18 months older than Ross and has always considered him his best friend.  As with all families, it is hard sometimes to get together.  We sure do love seeing them and treasure our moments together.  They have three precious children - Hunter, Brianna, and Lauren.  Debbie is a fabulous mother and does a great job of getting the family together.

What a wonderful weekend!  Lots of Blessings and things to be thankful for.  I am left with this quote tonight as a think back of my weekend....

Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life!  ~Albert Einstein


Count your Blessings, Bella

Pecan Street Festival

One of Kirk and mine's goals this year was to participate in stuff that is "Austin."  This means festivals, draft house, Conan's Pizza, bats, Lady Bird Lake, 6th street music, and Lake Travis to name a few.  We are doing pretty well, but still like to stay on the couch over the weekends.  Well by Sunday last weekend we had decided to attend the Pecan Street Festival.  This is a great festival on 6th street deep in tradition and well for lack of a better word "Austin Weird".  We walked the vendors and heard some live music.  We settled on a view from the balcony at Iron Cactus and had a blast.  Enjoy the view: