Brenner Turns 2

Our little Brenner is now 2 years old!  I was in Waco with the boys and Kayla and Caroline.  We were able to celebrate with my parents and grandparents. 

The boy who loves to wear hats has a new one to add to his collection.  Doesn't he look great in green and gold?

Mamaw and Granny got to sit by the birthday boy as we all sang to him.  He relished the moment.

Papa had to help him blow out the candles.  The smoke blew back in his face, which made him a bit nervous.  Then Papa cut him a piece of cake but Brenner opted to put his spoon in the whole cake pan and eat from there.

The Gorham/James grandchildren

Swim Meet

Caleb had a swim meet last week.  He's been swimming year round since the age of 3.  The older he gets the more I see a resemblence to his father.  They are shaped the same.  They stand the same.  They swim the same.  Kayla and Caroline were staying with us so they got to come watch him compete.  I think Caleb enjoyed the cheering section.  Caleb competed with his friends Emily and Andrew.  He swam freestyle and breast stroke at this meet.  I'm looking forward to many more swim meets!

Lake Fun with the McCollums

4th of July weekend was probably the last time they'll be taking the boat out for a while.  The lake is dropping 1.5 feet a week which makes it hard to get out when you're on a cove.

You can see how low it is from the view off the boat.

Well, our friends (and neighbors) came over on Sunday to go out on the lake with us.  The McCollums have family in Horseshoe Bay, which is very close to Spicewood.  Their oldest child, Hunter, and Carter have played soccer and baseball together for years.  We had so much fun playing on the lake.  Above is Caleb and Carter on the lake learning to ski.

The dads get to hold the rope while the boys ski.  It's quite a workout for them as well.

Hunter and Caleb had fun doing it too.

Next was time for tubing.  We got the 4 big boys out there together for a leisure ride.  Then we got Steve, Caleb, and Cory out there for a real tubing ride.

And then in an insane moment I let them take my precious baby out there.  Brenner was more than happy to get out on the tube for his turn.

Bren seemed to be half terrified and half thrilled.  I'm sure this is the first of many tube rides.

What's an "almost 2 year old" to do next?  Go on the Sea Doo of course!

And then a ride with Daddy.

A dip in the water was also on the schedule.

After many hours on the lake we all enjoyed dinner back at the house.

Jaci (can't believe we don't have any pics of her or me!) made some yummy 4th of July strawberries.  It was a fantastic day on the lake!

4th of July Parade

Brenner and Grammy all dressed for the Spicewood 4th of July Parade!

Last night and this morning the boys helped Grammy and Grandpa decorate their bikes for the big 4th of July Parade in downtown Spicewood.  The boys were so excited to be part of such a fun event.

Don't they look so patriotic?

Brenner was loving the car Grammy borrowed from her neighbor.

Funny thing though... we drove down to the start of the parade only to find no one there.  Who would have guessed the 4th of July parade was actually on the 4th of July and not the 2nd of July?  Apparently Grammy and Grandpa didn't quite get all the details figured out.  So, we came back home and had our own parade.

T Bar M Camp Grounds

Steve and I drove to New Braunfels on Friday to pick up Carter from T Bar M Camp.  He was 5 hours away from us, but only 5 minutes from Shanan and Shannon's house. 

We were very impressed with the camp grounds!  Lots of fun things for the boys!

They have overnight campers, day campers, and even an area for families to stay.

Who wouldn't love this tree house?  And the putt-putt underneath!

The boys loved the pool!

Above is the #1 camp rule.

We met up with Carter in the sanctuary after watching a slide show and hearing all the cheers and chants from the campers.

Carter got an award for showing "consideration" all week at camp.  His counselor had many nice things to say about each boy.  They played lots of games and also had times for devotional.

I think Carter and Cole have started a new tradition!