Wesley's 5th Birthday Party

Since we were in Oklahoma for Wesley's true birthday weekend, we celebrated last weekend. This was the first year Wesley got to pick some friends to invite. We set the number at five friends and his picks were Brenner, Caden, Eli, Joel and Joshua (all church friends). Joshua couldn't come because of a soccer game. When you threw in siblings and parents, it was quite a crowd! Misha and Gin-Gin came as well. Wesley chose Lightening McQueen as his theme. I started asking him months before his birthday what kind of cake he wanted and his answer was consistent, so that's what we went with.

There wasn't much structure. Gin-Gin worked hard on preparing a little art project to do with the boys, but trying to get the boys to sit down long enough for something like that was hopeless. They basically just went wild and had a good ol' time being boys. No one was seriously hurt. :) We didn't do gifts at the party, but afterwards the boys got to open a few things from Misha and Gin-Gin.

Labor Day Weekend

Over Labor Day weekend, we took another Oklahoma trip to spend time with John Mark's side of the family. Last year's accommodations were more hotel-like, so after the kids went to bed, there wasn't much option of adult time since someone needed to stay in the room or very near the room where our kids slept. This year, we had a four bedroom cabin, so everyone got their own little area, but we also had a common area for hanging out after kids went to bed. It was a really nice place with plenty of space to run around and explore. There was a lake nearby where we could swim, too. Sadie, Wesley and Curtis had a blast together as always. 

The cabin had a huge wrap-around porch complete with a nice big porch swing.

Wesley and Curtis felt sad for this dead tree, so they were trying
to help prop it up and keep it from falling

Wesley's actual birthday was spent at school and then we immediately hopped into the car to travel to Oklahoma, so we had a little family celebration the day after we arrived. Golly provided some fun Lightening McQueen cupcakes which was Wesley's theme of choice this year. More birthday celebration in the next post!

One of our activities was riding a little train around the woods. Curtis is still really infatuated with trains, so he loved this.

We also visited a little museum about the history of the area. 

Our best attempt at a family pic

Wesley's First Day of Kindergarten

Wesley started kindergarten this year! He turned 5 years old on his fourth day of school, so he's probably the youngest in his class, but he is also the tallest. It is definitely an adjustment, but overall he's doing well. He was very excited his first day!

Curtis wasn't so pumped about the situation

Curtis is finding things to do while brother is at school. John Mark and I get multiple daily invitations like, "Do you wanna play trains with me? That would be fun!" :)

Thorne Visit and Hawkins Family Reunion

Wesley and Curtis finally got to meet their cousin Mavry in August! They have loved to look at pictures of her for the past 6 months and the occasional Skype/Face Time experience, but I don't think they were ready for how exciting it was going to be to actually meet her. Mavry wanted to explore Wesley's face by touching and Wesley was quite happy to oblige. We met up with the Colin, Lela, Mavry, Misha and Gin-Gin, and even Colin's parents at a hotel the night before the Hawkins family reunion in Brownwood. We went out to eat at Underwoods and went swimming at the hotel that night. John Mark stayed home for this part to take care of our sick dog and to get some extra time to work on a paper. 

Saturday was reunion time at Lake Brownwood. I hadn't been to a reunion since before Wesley was born, so it was good to see some family. The boys loved getting to swim in the lake. They also got to experience their first boat ride. Wesley even got to drive a little!

We headed to Austin to spend the night with Mimi after spending most of the day at the reunion. We had a nice dinner with the rest of the family there. 

Colin went back home after the weekend so he could work, but Lela stayed longer to see some friends in Austin. Then she and Mavry came to spend a week at our house! One of our activities was going to a nearby farm to get some raw milk and such. It was a family friendly place, and we enjoyed getting to pet and feed animals.

Misha and Gin-Gin came to our house for Lela and Mavry's last weekend in Texas for one last visit.

It rained and rained that Saturday and Lela took the boys on a splashy run around the block while Mavry napped. It was a fun visit. Wesley and Curtis are still talking about when they get to see Mavry again. They really missed her after she and Lela left. We're looking forward to seeing them again during the holidays!

More July

Aunt Marla and Uncle John got a group together to go see the Peter Pan production in Dallas at the end of July. Some people weren't able to make it, so they invited Wesley and me to tag a long! We thought Curtis was a little too young to sit through it, so he and John Mark stayed home for naptime. They joined us afterward in Dallas for a nice dinner. Curtis still got to take part in Aunt Marla reading time the night before, though!

Wesley loved the show. It really was a wonderful show. Cathy Rigby played the role of Peter Pan, and she was truly amazing!

Some other July activities: 

The boys washing their truck

Playing checkers on the porch at Cracker Barrel. 

Curtis had his own rules.

Wesley was proud of his tool belt fashioned from a mardi gras necklace

Yummy milkshakes in fancy glasses on a hot evening