Trip to Texas

   We kicked off our summer with a trip to Texas.  We wanted to go out and visit Adam, Jane and the boys, but because of my summer school schedule, we were pretty limited to when we could go.  We decided to go shortly after the kids got out of school.  I wanted to go in late May instead of early August because I figured it would be a little cooler.  

   As usual, we drove down there.  I was a little nervous how Emmy would do in the car.  With a five month old baby, you never know how they will do in the car that long.  Emmy is truly the easiest baby in the world and she did amazing. Most of the time we didn't even know she was back there.  She barely cried at all.  She really is the best car baby we could ask for.  We decided to break up the drive on the way out there.  We left in the late morning, stopped for lunch and stretched, and drove to our hotel for the night. The hotel was a great stop and the kids loved getting to go for a swim.  We were all ready for bed that night and were up bright and early to make it the rest of the way to Tyler.  

Ashlyn swimming at the hotel

    We had such a wonderful time in Texas.  We got to spend so much time with Adam, Jane, Owen and Blaine and it was so nice.  The kids had so much fun with their cousins.  Since we don't get to see  them too often, it is always so neat to see how the boys have changed and grown.  It was hot, but it was not unbearable and we spent a lot of time outdoors. 

Dawson eating lunch

More eating. We do A LOT of eating in Texas.  

   Adam and Jane's favorite brewery, moved to a different, bigger location and we just really liked it.  It is huge and they had some neat areas for the kids.  We went there two separate times and had a really good time.

Cutest twins in the world!

The other DeLorme family

Owen

Ashlyn enjoying her root beer

Gracie was beat and even managed a nap in the heat!

The brothers

Emily loved Texas

Great spot for a photo

The new True Vine. It is so cool

Great picture

   Luckily, there was a lot of water to cool us down while we were there.  Adam and Jane live near a really neat park with a splash pad. The kids had a great time splashing around and cooling off.

Cooling down

Beating the heat

Poor Emmy was too little to splash around

    Jane has a good friend that lives right on the lake. They have a beautiful pool and on Memorial Day, we went over for some swimming and lunch.  The kids loved getting to swim and the scenery could not be beat.  We had a great time.

Emmy's second time swimming.  She loved it!

      We also spent a lot of time at Adam and Jane's house just hanging out and letting the kids run around and have fun with their cousins. They love Owen and Blaine so much and had such a good time with them.

Blaine taking Gracie for a ride

Such a strong boy!

   Texas gets lot of rain, so they actually get to sell fireworks.  Joey bought some to set off and the kids had a great time since we don't get to do fireworks in Colorado.

  One day, Adam and Jane had to work, so we decided to go to the local science museum.  The kids had gone before, but I had never joined them.  It is a pretty small museum, but it was so neat and we had so much fun there.  When we first got there, there was a school group there.  It was kind crowded and frenetic at first.  We stayed a bit, then left for a lunch break.  When we came back, there was no one there and the kids had the place to themselves.  I think stayed there almost the entire day. The museum has a town area with different pretend play areas that I thought were so much fun.  They had a grocery store, doctor's office, bank, court room, restaurant, etc.  The kids just played their little hearts out. We will definitely be visiting this museum every time from now on.  

    Another day, we went blueberry picking. We had gone the summer before and we really enjoyed it.  The blueberries we picked were so, so good and I wanted to go again.  We got there first thing in the morning, but it was still very hot.  We also went pretty early in the season and the berries weren't quite as ripe and plentiful as they were the year before.  The kids burnt out pretty quickly, but I was bound and determined to get some berries and I picked for quite some time.  I definitely have a new appreciation for farmers!

At one point in the car trip, all four kids were asleep at the same time.  It didn't last long, so I had to snap a picture.