Celebration in Texas!

First Swim with "Swimmies"

Whew! What a whirlwind our lives have been these past few weeks. As of this evening we are all home safe and together again as a family. What a good feeling! Kai and my trip to Texas was nothing short of awesome! This year was my sisters 40th birthday so we were thrilled to be able to celebrate our special days together (typically it's a birth month, so we had to pile in alot of things in a long weekend!) We had a direct flight and it was very nice to have a vacation with my little boy. He was so well behaved it felt like flying with an adult. We got to Texas and met my sister, brother in law, & kids. James and Lisa also flew in and joined us. Kai had an absolute blast with his cousins. In fact, their ages made it perfect for us adults to hang out and catch up. It truly was a vacation for me.

On Friday, my brother in law hosted a Mexican Fiesta 40th Birthday Party for my sister. He had phenomenal food catered from a local gourmet Mexican restaurant, donkey pinata, homemade frozen margaritas, virgin strawberry daiquiris (for me!) and topped it off with an awesome Mariachi Band! These guys were the bomb! We spent the evening socializing, dancing, eating, and getting silly (as you can see in some of the pictures) Then for my day, early Saturday am, my sister and I woke up and went and had massages and enjoyed tea in the 104 degree Texas weather. We hit some local shops and completed the night with everyone at a Hibachi Steakhouse. Luke sent me flowers and had his "gift" mailed. It was a new stabilizing telephoto lens for my camera! I was quite shocked! I guess he's really wanting me to take good photos of our kids(-:

Me and my boy

Cousins

Having fun with the pinata

Me & My Sisser

Loving on James

Soon to be "sisters"

Dancing to the Mariachi Band

Kai sipping his Daquiri

Princess turns 40! Other Princess turns 20(-:

Birthday girl late-night wardrobe change

Night Swim- one of the highlights for Kai

Aria had a great time at Grammy & Papa's and seemed to adjust well. I missed her a lot, but the reunion between her and Kai was the absolute best. When she spotted us in the airport she started running, shaking with her arms in the air and a huge smile on her face! She and Kai spent the next hour holding hands and talking. Very heartwarming as a mother(-: Luke arrived safely back home today from Malaysia and we are now catching up laundry and packing up again. This time we are headed to Grand Haven for a long week/weekend of R & R to celebrate the Coast Guard Festival. We have such a great time every year. In the midst of our busy lives, we had an offer on our home while we were gone. More to come on that later. In the meantime, enjoy your weekend and thank you for your prayers. A BIG thanks to Tami & Dave for such a fun vacation! I miss you guys!