We just returned from Seagrove Beach, Florida (right beside Seaside) and had an absolutely fantastic time. It was the first time that we weren’t ready to come home while away from home; that’s how much fun we had. No computers. No phones (we brought them, simply chose not to use them). No major cooking. No working out. Our little family, the beach, a pool, and two sets of good friends (steven & dora manuel and jesse, chelsea, jackson and their-soon-to-be arriving baby boy robertson). What’s not to love, right? The kids surprised me and Mark with an easy car ride both ways (we did stop at LSU to have some decent baseball/running activities with them). They loved seeing the swamps of Louisiana and the passing through the tunnel in Mobile — sorry Mississippi, not much to offer. The beach was seemingly swarming with “marine pests,” also known as jelly fish. The kids near us at the beach were catching and throwing them into buckets. The boys loved it. Mark and I took note of our own new sights while passing through the southern states; for instance, the Lion’s Den, a strip joint right outside of Lake Charles which actually had a picture of a lion mounting a lioness on its sign — ah, America the beautiful. Anyway, here’s some pictures.
“It was times like this when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.” – Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
In near future days each of you will grow up, evolving from your seemingly happenstantial lives as children into your destinies as adults. These days will become glimmers in your imagination, pictures and ideas grown from stories of yourselves told and retold, or otherwise lost somewhere in your conglomerate pasts. But today, I want you to remember. I want you to remember the ways that your dad tells you stories and listens to yours; the times that he comforts you when you’re scared in the night; the way he laughs when you make silly faces at him; how he sometimes lets you skip taking a bath or brushing your teeth; how he watches your favorite Transformers scene for the millionth time, pretending like it’s the first; how he loves the Lord and teaches you about Him through his love for you, helping to form you and root you into your destinies.
I love parenting with you, Mark. Happy Father’s Day: you’ve earned it.
(thanks kmdfoto for the pics)
Mark and I traveled to Kansas City last week (hence the recent hiatus from posting) to see some good friends, “witness” a wedding, and enjoy some time together without our three giggling buffoons (thanks again, mom). While I certainly indulged in the simpler, cleaner, quieter life for those few days, it confirmed what I always assumed was true: life is still better with them, chaos and all. Here’s some pictures.
Last weekend my parents rented a really nice lake house west of Austin for our little (actually, not so little) family. Burke, chafed from his floaty, needed some baby powder in his nether-region. (The baby powder belonged to Kristen.) So, Saturday night, after I had bathed him, he requested the powder from Kristen saying, “Kristen, I need some more sugar for my penis.” At least he wasn’t trying to taste it. Below are some pics from our fantastic weekend (minus the sugar-coated penis).
