4th of July - Belton, TX style

Its hot and dead in Wichita Falls, TX.  There is a no burn ban and a drought problem.  Thus no fireworks or sparklers allowed.  And its hot- did I mention that?  I mean, Hell is not this hot.  So, we decided to head a bit south to central Texas.  Belton to be exact..actually ON Lake Belton.  Kirk's family is from there and his parents have a house on the lake.  This was our view every time we went out back.



Now you know a husband and kids could not just look at that lake.  No way.  They had to get in it and play..Ride on the boat:



Get pulled behind the boat:  Go Jack Go !!!



Go Sophie- you can do it !!



Even Jon got in on the action.



When riding on the boat or being pulled behind it wasn't enough they had to go do things that scare a mama to death.  Good think I was not there.  I am not for cliff diving at all :

 

We did other things while there also.  There was tons of food to be eaten.  Lots of family: aunts, uncles, great aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents etc..lots of family and friends.  We even went to our first drive in theater to watch Despicable Me 2.



And to top it all off we hit the Belton 4th of July parade.  Good Morning America ranked it in the top 10 of  4th of July parades.  It was long and hot.  But we did it like troopers.



It was a crowded parade with tons of entries.  I'll let you sit back and enjoy.

We are home from Belton now..but I know we will be back down that way often.  Now Texas get I-35 fixed already.

Leaving North Carolina - just for two years.

Its that time.  Time for this family to pack and load up and head on down the road to Texas.  Hubby has the chance to get back in the cockpit again.  He gave up the plane to chair fly so we could get the two big boys graduated in NC.  Time for his dream to continue. We are leaving for 3 years and I'm building it as an adventure for the little kids.  We are renting our house out and moving to base housing for our adventure.  It will be hubby, me, and younger kids plus dog in Texas.  Unfortunately for this worried mama- the two older boys will remain in North Carolina.
Jon said goodbye to his job at the nursery- Big Bloomers.



We all went and had lunch at Josh's new job- the Red Sofa.  He is assistant chef there so we stopped by to say goodbye.  Hate leaving him there with us all gone.



Then we said goodbye for now to our belongings..



Until Texas....

Graduation- another one off to college- Jon's day

He did it.



The second son- Jon is off to college.  It was a tough year but we all made it through it together. I'm so proud of him and so excited to watch his journey in college..he's off to Boone, NC - go Appalachian State University !!!




  Way to go Jon..



We made it through graduation- barely.  Tropical Storm Andrea hit us right as graduation started.  Yes, we had 2.5 hours of pouring rain.  The kids were soaked, their caps got ruined and most pictures were impossible because the rain was so heavy.  But, it was definitely a night they will NEVER forget.
Now only 2 more kids to go.

Jack's turn

Sophie had a recital.  And Jack had awards day and did track for the first time.
Awards day totally surprised him and he was so happy when he got that medal.

Track was his calling.  He enjoyed it so much.  I'm sure we will be looking for more track in Texas.

It was all about Jack.  I love that little man...

Awards Day - Jack

Way to end the 4th grade boy.  Awards day. 

Always proud of you. Love you little man.

Strawberry love...delicious

Its strawberry season here in North Carolina. We love it when this season happens.  The kids, especially the princess are lovers of fruit.  So it rocks when we can pick it and it is so much cheaper and healthier.



They each filled their full bucket.  I also filled one.  Yes, we got over 15 lbs of strawberries.  yummy



Jack loves strawberries that are warmed by the sun.  He eats more this way than once they are at home.



The rows are loaded with berries.  See how Jack is overseeing to make sure that Sophie gets the "right" ones.



One last check to make sure there isn't a real big one still out there.



One last berry for the road.
Gosh I love strawberry season.  I love the berries.  But more than that - I love watching my kids eat them and get so excited to pick them.
Summer is wonderful in North Carolina.  I am going to miss this wonderful state for the next three years.

Josh is 22