We were out of town the last three weekends of June. Be prepared to be photo bombed!
First up, we traveled to Austin to see Brett's cousin and his family, who have been doing mission work in Ireland the last two years. This was our first trip with Blake, and we left on a Friday. A Texas road trip is not one without a stop at Dairy Queen, right? Jameston loved his DQ blizzard (this trying-to-eat-dairy-free momma sure wished they served lactose-free or soy icecream)!
Unfortunately, he got carsick not one hour after the above picture, and the blizzard ended up all over his shirt. Poor fella! He's inherited that carsickness from me :-( Here he is without a shirt, to cool off, and sporting his X-marks-the-spot band-aids on the boo-boo he got two nights before...the boy had a rough week!
One we arrived, Jameston got to play with Ashlyn, who is exactly one month younger than him. They met when they were babies here in October 2009,
and really hit it off this time!
Mr. Blake loved spending time with Papa!
Ashlyn and JW had fun playing in the sand,
(While Daddy and Blake relaxed in the hammock)
riding the scooter,
dancing on the porch
singing,
playing the piano,
playing ring-around-the-rosie with Jacob,
and hamming it up with all of the other second cousins who made it for the weekend!
GiGi, who now, at 93, has 21 great-grandchildren. Posing with her six children
We had a great time while we were in Austin! Next up, we headed to Wichita Falls to see my sister and her family before I started back to work. To say that Jameston and Apsen had a great time would put it mildly. Case in point:
Even Blake had fun :-)
Aspen was very observant about the baby and wanted to be around him a lot. She got in some good practice, which is great since she will become a big sister in October or November, depending on when her little sister decides to arrive!
All three kiddos (Blake had fun, I think :-)
Cousin time is the best!
Story time with Aunt Lynnlee
The next day we hit up the playground before it got too hot
While in the Falls, Blake enjoyed his time with his auntie,
and we met up with my cousin, April, and her boys, and two of my friends from high school (but I forgot to take pictures...mommy fail)
Headed home and fast asleep...
Both boys traveled great! I was worried, since I was traveling solo while Brett was working in Florida
The last weekend of June we went to the mountains in New Mexico, but we made a stop in Plainview to see Brett's grandparents. Four generations of Winters' boys:
Blake with Brett's grandma, Memaw. She's the most amazing person I know!
Here she was with Jameston in December of 2009
The next morning we drove the remainder of the drive...it was raining when we arrived. Such a nice break from the HOT weather in Dallas!
One morning, it was in the upper 40's!
The kids made quick friends again with Autumn and Kalyn, who we saw last at Christmas
The first morning, Will Ed and I took the kids on a hike (about three miles round-trip)
It was full of great scenery,
A lot of discovery for the kiddos
and even some fit-throwing as we approached nap time! But we made it to our destination :-)
One of my favorite pictures of the trip: Ruby and Jameston leading the pack back to the cabin
Back at the cabin, we had fun doing nothing! It was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of life (and technology) and relax!
Blake lived up to his onesie caption with two blow-outs one night in his pj's...makes for a memorable time when you are traveling with limited luggage!
Cousins dancin'!
Brett enjoying some Blake time
The kids enjoyed the pool at Aunt Karen's and Uncle Dub's house!
All the kids loved on their newest cousin!
We loaded up and headed back on Saturday. Here are my road-trip partners and our set up:
I would pump, give Blake a bottle, and then we would stop to burp him...time-saver on the road, especially when we traveled 2,000 + miles!
We had a blast seeing family over the three weekends,
but we were ready to get home after all of the traveling. Looking forward to our trip to the beach in August!
