Memorial Day Weekend

Better late than never, right???

We had a ton 'o fun over Memorial Day weekend.  We squeezed a lot into 4 days - traveling all over East Texas.  We had several fun adventures!  :)

Adventure #1...  Ziplining

Wade's mom has talked about how much that she wanted to go ziplining for well over a year.  She has mentioned it in conversation and sent us youtube videos - always saying how much fun she thought that it looked.  For her birthday in April, Corey & Leigh Ann and Wade & I all got her a ziplining adventure!  A ziplining Grammie - isn't that fun???  :)

We went to New York, Texas Zipline Adventures on Saturday to let our crew do some zipping.  The boys and I stayed behind to watch, while Terry, Marsha, Leigh Ann, Corey, and Wade zipped through the trees.  They had a great time, and we really enjoyed watching them.  The place is owned by a family that lives onsite.  The lady and her teenage daughter were so sweet to my boys - playing with them and getting them popsicles.  I'd highly recommend them for all of your ziplining needs.  ;)

 

 Wade zipping through the trees  :)

  

The grounds were so pretty - lots of trees and elevation changes.

Adventure #2...  Kimi & Joe's Lake House

Wade's Aunt Kim & Uncle Joe have a lake house that was only 30 minutes away from the ziplining place.  They spent Memorial Day weekend there, and were sweet to invite us to come for the day.  We had a fun afternoon with them on the lake!  Wade, Clayton, and Drew had a blast riding in the boat and on the jet skis.  I chatted with family and got to hold Audrey Girl a bit, and Owen napped the whole time.  We all enjoyed ourselves immensely.  Thanks, Kimi & Joe for letting us spend some time with you at your place.  :)

Adventure #3...  Fun on the Farm

There is a sweet family at our church that owns a blueberry & pecan farm in East Texas.  They were camping on the farm over Memorial Day weekend and were kind to invite us along.  We didn't camp, but we were thrilled to join them for the day on Sunday.  :)  Grammie & Papaw were sweet to keep the baby so that we could spend the whole day without worrying that Owen would get too hot or need a nap.  Thanks, Grammie & Papaw!

The boys had a ball fishing, catching frogs, tromping around in the woods, going on a "hayride" (minus the hay - due to allergies), and just being boys.  It was so fun to watch them in their element.  I don't think that they have ever been as dirty as they were that day.  Ha!

Clayton caught several fish, and he was so proud!  He finally got to the point where he could bait his hook, cast his rod, and reel in his fish all by himself - a self sufficient fisherman.  Wade was pretty excited about him reaching this milestone.  ;)

Teeny tiny frogs that Clayton thought were way fun...

Even Drew caught a couple of fish.  He was not nearly as willing to touch his fish as his big brother.  Ha!  He is definitely my cautious child.

Cute kids fishing off of the deck

I think Wade got approximately 2.5 minutes to fish by himself before the boys were asking for help.  Bless his heart - he is such a good Papa.  :)

The Harris' have a garden (separate from the pecan trees and blueberry patch) for squash, beans, blackberries, etc.  They were so kind to send us home with lots of fresh, homegrown fruits and veggies.  Soooo yummy!!! 

Hayless Hayride - a good time for the kiddos  :)

 We picked lots of blueberries! 

My friend, Stephanie, is a preschool teacher and she comes up with the best activities for the kids.  She froze a bunch of trinkets in ice and had the kids hammer and chip away at the ice until they got the toys out.  What a fun way to cool off!

Our boys were worn flat out by the time that we left.  They fell asleep so fast and slept hard the whole way back to Grammie & Papaw's house.

Adventure #4...  Fishing in Papaw's Boat

We spent Monday having fun at Grammie & Papaw's house.  Wade & Terry took Clayton fishing on the boat in the morning.  Wade texted me this picture of Clayton's first catch of the day.  He said that Clayton caught it and reeled it in all by himself.  Pretty cute.  :)

Drew and I met them on the shore after they finished fishing, so that we could take a spin out on the boat.  Drew was determined to wear his crazy sunglasses that he got as a prize at the farm.  He looks quite 80s in these pictures.  Ha!

It was such a fun weekend!  We did not, for one second, however, forget the meaning behind Memorial Day.  We had several long conversations with Clayton about what Memorial Day means.  We are so grateful for those who have given their lives for our freedom.  Having a close friend that fought in Iraq has given me a whole new appreciation for our soldiers.  Hearing him talk about his time in the Army gives me chills - I cannot even imagine...  Those men & women put their lives on the line to ensure that America remains the land of the free.  Their families wait for them and pray for their safety as they are literally living in a war zone.  We could never thank our military (past & present) and their families enough!