Granddaddy visits

My dad flew to Texas for a quick visit last weekend.  

Collin got some snuggle time in.

We tried the famous kolaches from the Czech Stop in West, Tx.

We enjoyed some good meals and are grateful granddaddy made the trip to see us!

more beach pics

We spent most of our time near the pool on this beach trip.

That is just the season of life we are in. Babies crawling and putting everything in their mouth do not mix well with sand.

Owen lived in the pool. He improved so much on his swimming in just this one week at the beach.

He loved wearing his goggles and swimming for the dive rings.

Collin did a little floating in the pool.

but really preferred his morning naps by the pool. 

Granddaddy had the touch. Really, I don't know how he did it, but EVERY time he would lull him to sleep.

It got to be a joke by then end of the week, when he would just take him and get him to sleep.

We were thrilled that we got to meet up with Laura and Ryan Burton and their sweet baby Alley!

It had been too long since we have seen these dear friends and it did our heart good.

Cool dude in his shades…this lasted all of one second.

We had to go to Dewey's for dinner one night. It's one of our favorites right on the water.

The boys rented bikes one day.

Played games in the game room. 

Owen really got some great quality time with his dad this trip. These two were big buddies, always doing something together from swimming to going to see Planes Fire and Rescue.

We had some beautiful sunsets.

We enjoyed going out for some great seafood as well as cooking out on the grills at home.

Mama with her crazy boys.

Family picture.

To sum it up, it was a great vacation.

Collin's first trip to the camp

Waking up to this view never gets old. 

Nor does snuggling in a big comfy recliner with a little one. 

Owen was so genuinely excited about everything at the camp this time.

Almost like he was seeing or experiencing it for the first time. 

He waved so hard at those barges coming down the river until they honked their horn.

Granddaddy loved having his boys with him at one of his favorite places in the world. 

We truly love our time here, and I know as these boys grow up and get older we plan to spend a lot more time in these woods. 

David's already dreaming of hunts with his boys.

But there is plenty of fun to be had before they get old enough to hunt. 

We rode through the woods looking at how the river changes, the wildlife, the seasonal changes in the woods and the trees that surround us.

My dad took us down a trail that I had not been down in a long time. He tried to keep it cut so he could ride Pop back to it to see this tree. It was one of Pop's favorite trees.

The tree is a Cherry Bark Oak and rare for this area. 

And that's the kind of son my dad was to his father. The kind that would make a road to bring his dad back there to look at a tree that he knew was important to him. 

I can't help but think of Pop when we are in those woods, and I love that my boys will get to enjoy what he loved so much.

(cypress in the Chastain swamp)

Owen had a big time.

And there is still enough little boy in him to have fun picking flowers with his mama.

We picked this big beautiful bouquet of yellowtops and took them to Grandmama. She adored them and the little boy who brought them to her.

Christmas fun

We have loved receiving so many Christmas cards in the mail from friends and family. We hung them in the kitchen so we could enjoy looking at them all the time. 

Owen had a great time decorating/eating his gingerbread house.

We were thrilled last week when Granddaddy decided to come and visit us for the weekend. We did not know we were going to get this visit but were so grateful for this time with him. Even a cancelled flight could not stop him, he just took off driving and made it here 10 hrs later. He wasn't going to disappoint his buddy or his very pregnant daughter. It really made it feel like Christmas having some family here to share some fun with. 

Owen picked this hummingbird feeder out for Granddaddy to hang at the camp on the river where it is not uncommon for him to have 16 or more hummingbirds feeding at once.

Granddaddy also had a gift for his buddy.

If you don't know this, Owen is obsessed with Legos. 

This cargo plane/logging set was a great one.

Daddy and Owen made crockpot peanut candy.

Owen thought M&Ms and sprinkles would be a nice addition. 

It really was a great weekend, we did a little shopping, ate some great food and really enjoyed being together.

David and Owen even decided to put some lights in our tree on Christmas Eve.

Such a happy tree to come home to.