Liam Stripe test

Getting his third stripe from Mr. Lopez.

Pretty proud of himself! We are proud of him too!
This stripe test was tough and very physically taxing. These kids worked hard for an hour at a full cardio work out.

Hewy Yellow Belt

Hewy's class.
Hewy is on the far left, Henry is in the middle-ish.

Hewy's first board break was a Forward Thrust kick.
Mr. Lopez signed his board for him.

Hewy with Mr. Lopez after he earned his Yellow belt.

Hewy's first (three) stripe test

Each month the boys can "earn" a stripe on their karate belt. They have to show that they know how to do what has been taught and show discipline and respect to themselves, the class and the teacher. It's such a proud parent moment to watch my boys "earn their stripes."



Hewy seems pretty proud too.

"Bow Run"
It took me awhile to learn what Mr. Lopez was saying at the start of class after the class lined up - but now I know, "Bow Run" means bow and run to your place one at a time. I know it seems silly that I didn't know. But he says it in a loud-quick way. Anyway - this Hewy Bow-Running. :) Look at the expression! Here I come watch out!

This is line up before BowRun.
They line up by rank, highest belts first, then height and if he is being really serious, by stripes.

This is self defense. You see Mr. Lopez approach him, grab him, Hewy does his moves, then pushes him and runs. I love these moves more than anything they have learned.

Oh yeah my birthday

I had a birthday in July too.
Officially mid-thirties.


My kitchen savvy kids (and husband) made me breakfast in bed. Purple pancakes, peach syrup, bacon, scrambled eggs in bacon grease and chocolate milk! And a square of "good" chocolate.

My parents fixed me a yummy dinner the might of my birthday.

My friends hosted a Crown birthday lunch for me the day after my birthday. I must say... I have super sweet, creative, thoughtful and giving friends.

July bits

Okay - almost caught up with the back log of events and pictures. Let's see what have I got left?



Our Stake hosts a pretty awesome 24th of July gig here in San Antonio. The pony rides are always a hit. However this year, Noble and Liam were too-cool-too-big so they didn't even give the sweet ponies a second look. They all played softball and ate lunch. The bounce house kept falling down but they all loved the spinning apple thing.

Grandpa and Hewy

We have had a virus or two go through the family the past few weeks. One day when Joseph was not feeling well he only wanted Noble. It was so sweet to see my oldest comforting my youngest and my youngest only want my oldest. So sweet.

And this little guy - will be one year old next month.
He started walking while we were in Utah.
He jabbers and talks and uses baby signs.
He can now stand up from sitting.

Fredericksburg Peaches

I have lived in Texas for five years (+ one summer) and this is my first year picking peaches in Fredericksburg. Why have I not done this before? Because this was the first year someone asked me to go along with them. The Dunn's joined the Pearce's and Tobler's for a Friday out a couple weeks ago. They are beautiful right? And let me tell you they were yummy too.

Farm Visits

One day we visited a couple farms while we were in Utah. But these were not the average farms. See if you can spot the difference(s)!


Farm 1; located in some one's side yard, was complete with: Great Dane, Kangaroo, sheep, Canadian Geese, Llama, pigs, pheasants, turkeys and roosters.

Farm 2 was off the beaten path and a little quirkier than farm number one. Here we stayed in our cars, vans or trucks and drove around to see animals such as: emu, horses, donkeys and Bison. Perhaps more interesting than the animals was the melted ice cream that they ate (the horses in the top right and taking a drink) or the smelly dead fish pit. One of those experiences you can't stop thinking or talking about because it was that different.

Family Love

Hewy and Daddy

Joseph and Sophia

Daddy and Joseph

Momma and Hewy

Hiking the "Y"

On the mountains in Provo is a HUGE "Y" that stands for BYU and you can hike up to it. "Someone" had the great idea to hike it on this trip to Utah. Okay, it was me. But I wanted to do early morning, but all the early morning were taken by golf, so we didn't get started until ten. I got half way up and said, I am not enjoying this! Too hot, too steep. But all the boys made it to the top!


Cute boys overlooking the valley.

About a mile and 1,000 feet switchbacks.

Hiking up with the cousins and at the top.

The reward after was ice cream at the creamery.

Radom things we love in Utah

The Canyon House
Alec's Parents house in Vivian Park, up Provo Canyon.
(look closely Noble is in this picture)

Bridal Veil Falls
Like most American Indian Legends, this waterfall has a sad/tragic legend that goes with it. I won't depress you with it. But it is named Bridal Veil because it looks like a Bride's Veil.

"The Bean"
Living Science Museum at BYU

The Creamery.
We made it here twice on this trip to Utah!
mmm-mm

Ryan's Wedding

One of the real reasons for the trip was that my nephew, Ryan, was getting married, in beautiful Midway, Utah.


These are Ryan and Amanda's little boys. They drove the tractor down the aisle before their big sister, the flower girl. So Cute!

Ryan and Amanda

My Dad and Brother

My Dad with his three kids.
Dick, Dixie, Lisa and Rich

Road Trip!

I am not a fan of road trips. Have I said that before?
I do my best to make the tolerable for the kids and adults. This road tip to Utah and back I made them each a drawstring bag to keep small items in, a hanging bag that they could keep "their" stuff in (like gum, candy, pencils, etc) and everyone brought a pillow. We were packed tight, but comfy, with all the goodies, activities and people. There was a goodie bag for each child every few hours and snacks to keep mouths busy! I also encouraged lots of stopping and not only to go potty, but to stretch our legs and do/see something.


Road trip snap shots.

One of the stops going to Utah was Roswell, New Mexico. We had to drive through it anyway, might as well have a look around. Even the McDonald's is spaceship shaped. We visited the UFO museum and got several license plates for our license plate game in their parking lot. People from all over the country are interested in Aliens!

Also on the way to Utah we stopped at Four Corners. We went out of our way to stop at Four Corners. And guess what - the monument was under construction and we couldn't even stand in all four states at one time! However, it is on a Navajo Reservation and I had a Navajo Taco made by a Navajo and it was super yummy. Perhaps not worth an hour out of way trip to eat a really great taco, but we had to make our own shining light with what we had.

Coming back to Texas we stopped at this arch and it's a short hike up to it from the road. It's between Moab and Monticello Utah. It was a nice way to stretch those growing legs of our boys!