hello, goodbye...

As mentioned in our previous post, my Dad has been home on vacation from Iraq four about a month now. During this month, we have tried to spend as much time as possible with him because, once he goes back, he will be there for six months before he comes home for another visit. We try to take advantage of every opportunity to spend time together and of course, these opportunities usually include lots of food. So, par for the course, we had a BBQ/cookout at my parents house this past weekend. It was an opportunity for Dad to show his skill's on his new grill, as well as to hang out together, talk, laugh, swim and of course, eat way too much. It was also, what we thought at the time, Dad's last weekend here. However, he surprised us all on Sunday and said that he was going to stay an additional week. Yay! Anyway, I think we all had a really good time together and I hope these are the times Dad will think about when he is far from home and our family.

Here are some pictures from this food fest:

Dad ~ loading the grill

Mom & Dad cooking buddies

workin' the grill

she wanted a picture of her under water...

The bathing beauty

J-Dawg tearin' it up on the last day of summer break

Bella begging....

and Mom giving in

This is what happens when you don't wait 30 minutes after you eat to get back in

Bella can't figure out what they are doing...not sure if I know what they were doing

again...not sure what they are doing

finally, dinner time!

dessert!

Mom, Gennie, Dad, me & Jack (the dork giving the thumbs up) Thanks Madi for taking this picture. Yesterday (Monday, Aug. 24, 2009) was another important day for our family. It was Madison's first day in 6th grade! Jack and I have been a little apprehensive about this year all summer. However, Madison has been looking forward to it and in typical Madi style, she had a positive attitude going into this new year in a new school. She was beaming with excitement the night before the big day and couldn't wait for school to start the next day. Jack and I prayed that it would not be a short lived excitement and that she would not be horrified her first day when she got to school and realized just how different things were and how much bigger the 7th and 8th graders were. During our drive to school, I tried to build her up as much as possible but, she didn't need much of a pep talk, she was ready! A little nervous but, ready.

Madi ~ grabbing her supplies

Our good luck & love you hugs!!

O.K. no comments on my rough look here. I'm still in my workout clothes from our 6am jog! That's my excuse. However, Madi looks adorable!

Let's go already!! a little tired but, happy to be on the way finally!

I was thinking about Madi non-stop throughout the day and couldn't wait to pick her up to hear all about her day. So, when it was time, Bella and I got in the car and waited in a line about a mile long to pick her up. Bella waited patently for her sister though our wait was long....

Sitting pretty in her seat.

Madi ~ waiting for us to pull up in the 105 degree heat.

I asked her right away how her first day went and she said "AWESOME! I can't wait to go back tomorrow!" She was so happy and still positive about the year ahead, that's what Jack and I (along with our family and friends) had been praying and we all couldn't of asked for a better day for her! New 6th grade student ID = Big Time Madison was also happy because all of her teacher's are "girls". I'm not sure how important it is that all her teachers are "girls" but, it was sure an answer to prayers that she didn't spend any portion of her first day stuffed into her own locker or learning firsthand about things like swirlies and wedgies! (OK, I'll give you three guesses as to who might have slipped this sentence in here but, I bet you only need one!) But seriously, we admire her for her courage and her ability to find the silver lining on the seemingly gloomiest of clouds. She's pretty awesome, we think!

So, this week we say goodbye to Dad/Papa and Madi says hello to a new year as a 6th grader. Can't wait till Dad's next visit and can't wait to see what the school year brings for our ray of sunshine!

What is the sound of a lone bear clapping its butt-cheeks in the woods?

This past week we have all been enjoying this last bit of summer as much as we can. Olivia's Dad, Paul, has been home from Iraq for a visit for about a month now and during this time, we have enjoyed visiting with him and Olivia's mom, Polly. We had Olivia's parents and her sister, Virginia and our nephew, Jason over for dinner last night and even though Olivia thought she burned the potatoes, we had a really good time and everything turned out great. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures, we were too busy burning, I mean cooking, dinner. Madison has also really been enjoying time with her Papa while he is home. We made an unplanned trip to Krause Springs, a really nice resort area just west of Austin in Spicewood Springs, Texas, last week. Krause Springs is a resort/park area with huge cypress trees, a spring-fed swimming pool (more on that later), a cliff covered with ferns, and just below the cliff are swimming holes and a creek. It's privately owned by nice folks and very well kept. We were really surprised at how beautiful this place was.

Madison and Jason just as we arrived...

ready to cool off! You might remember this picture of Madi from our post, she wears impatience nicely earlier this week.

The pool area from afar...

A view of the swimming holes from atop the cliff....

One of the many beautiful Cypress trees that have been soaking their roots in the springs for hundreds of years...

A view from the rocks beside the swimming holes....

Madi, Jason and I are in the far corner exploring. We had it pretty much to ourselves and found turtles, squirrels, and minnows all enjoying the springs.

Here's the waterfall...

It was a little crowded during our visit with others eager to get out of the 100+ heat for a little while. Jason and I really wanted to try out the tire swing but, the line was too long to wait. Looked like these boys enjoyed it though...

Next, we headed up the cliff walls and back to the pool at the top. This man-made pool is also fed by the springs and let me tell you...it was really, really cold! It couldn't have been above 65 degrees and it took a lot to not scream like a wee girl when I worked up the courage to finally jump in.

Olivia wouldn't get in but, I did convince her to put her feet in for a bit. Jason, Madi and I got out and headed up to the butterfly garden with Olivia before anything permanently froze off. We were again surprised at how beautiful the garden was and Olivia really enjoyed the chance to see soo many butterflies and flowers.

Unfortunately, very few of the butterflies were patient enough to land for a picture but, she still really took some nice pictures to share, I think. By the way, if you laughed at the zen-like title of this post, congratulations...you are learning, Grasshopper. If you found yourself confused and more than a little frightened, open your mind and spirit, seek harmony, or consider buying a summer vacation version of Mad-libs. Madison picked hers up a couple of weeks ago and gems like this are waiting on every page.