Texas

   Last week we took a trip down to Texas to see Adam and Jane.  We have been wanting to get down there for a long time.  My work schedule never allowed for it and summer is not the time to go to Texas.  Now that I'm not working, we were finally able to take the time to go visit.  Ashlyn wasn't able to come with.  She is already missing a week of school for Disney World and I didn't want her to miss any more.  She was perfectly happy and very excited to get to stay with her grandparents and auntie and uncle.  I think she had just as much fun as we did.  We missed her like crazy, but I have a feeling she didn't miss us much. 
    We left last Wednesday.  The drive is about 13 hours, but with two young kids, we decided to break it up into two parts each way.  We made it to Amarillo the first day.  The kids both did amazing in the car.  Dawson watched his movies and Graceyn slept most of the way.  Each leg of the drive she had about 20 minutes where she got pretty fussy, but besides that she was an angel.  Not bad for 26 hours in a car!  I was pretty impressed. 
    On the way down, we stopped at the famous Big Texan for a steak dinner.  They have a 72 ounce steak challenge that I forbid Joey from trying.  It is a ton of food! We still had a good dinner there even though we didn't have a 72 ounce steak.  Joey and Dawson went swimming that night at the hotel and we all slept really good that night .
    We got to Adam and Jane's Thursday afternoon.  They made us an amazing meal and we got to watch the Broncos game together.  They next two days we spent at the trade days.  I live for going to the trade days in Canton.  I've been three times before, but I haven't gone for 4 years.  That place is just beyond amazing.  There is so much to look at and shop for.  They have the neatest stuff that you don't see anywhere else.  Dawson was a trooper shopper, and Gracie got lots of new hair bows and other adorable accessories. 
    We spent the rest of our time in Texas visiting with Adam and Jane and eating amazing food.  I swear Texas has some of the best food on the planet.  It's not the healthiest, but boy is it good.  We had some amazing meals.  We had originally planned to leave Sunday around noon and even booked a hotel room for that night.  We were having so much fun, that we cancelled our room and decided to leave Monday morning instead.  On Sunday afternoon, we went to Lake Tyler which was beautiful.
    The trip back was very uneventful which is exactly what I want on a road trip with small children.  We were all very sad to be back at home.  We had such a great time with Adam and Jane and they are always the best hosts and show us such a good time.  We are already talking about when we can plan another trip. 

The Big Texan

Here is all the food you have to eat for the steak challenge.  You have one hour to do so.  If you do, your meal is free and you get a t-shirt.  If you don't succeed, you owe $72!

Gracie loving Texas

This is the special table the steak challenge people have to eat at.  I think they do that so you can't cheat.  When we got there, there was a guy finishing a steak challenge.  He actually was able to do it, but he was hurting when he was done!

Pool time!

He loves to swim

Gracie at the hotel

Such a sweet girl

Texas has really nice rest stops with parks. The weather was nice, so Dawson got to get out and play for a bit and stretch his legs.  It was definitely needed!

Gracie happy to be out of the car

Happy girl

Dawson at the park by his aunt and uncle's house

Gracie relaxing

Gracie on her first swing ride.  She loved it.

Already looks like a pro!

One of the buildings at Canton

Dawson did not ask for one thing the entire time we were shopping.  Until he saw this gun set.  We had to get it for him since he was such a good boy. 

This kind of gives an idea of one of the buildings.  The entire place is huge and I always get lost. 

Gracie and her Aunt Jane. 

They love their aunt and uncle so much!

Dawson dancing

Sweet girl.  Every where we went, so many people would stop and comment on how cute Gracie is.  She gets a lot of compliments.  At Canton, they had these neat swings for kids.  We put her in one to try it out.  She just sat back and relaxed.  At one point there was a small crowd of women around her all exclaiming how cute she is. 

My doll baby

Sisters

   Ashlyn and Graceyn already have such an amazing sisterly bond.  They truly love each other so very much.  Graceyn's entire face lights up when she sees Ashlyn.  I swear she misses her when she is in school.  I am so close to my sister and I am so glad to have two girls to share the same special bond.  Ashlyn has already promised to teach Graceyn everything she knows.  She is already working on teaching Gracie her letters.  I am thoroughly enjoying their relationship grow and deepen.  I love my girls. 

They love reading together

It's awesome having an older sister to read to you. 

Cuddle time.  Ashlyn is always wanting to old Graceyn. 

My favorite girls in the whole entire world!

State Fair

  On Friday, Ashlyn didn't have school.  We decided it would be a great day to make our yearly trip down to the state fair.  We could not have picked a better day to go.  It was opening day, so it wasn't crowded at all.  We usually get stuck going on the weekends when it is super busy, so it was so nice to go without all the crowds.  The weather was also perfect.  The fair is in Pueblo which can often get pretty hot.  Pueblo in August can usually be a very hot and not so nice experience.  This year, it was overcast and only in the 70s so it was great!
    We had a great time looking at all the 4H exhibits.  The kids saw some baby animals which they enjoyed.  Ashyln got to see some kittens and decided she would like one for Christmas.  They also had kangaroos and dingos to see.  We always have such a nice time at the fair and this year was no different.  Here are some pictures from our day:

Always our favorite part: looking at the decorated cakes

Ashlyn had to take her picture next to the Frozen cake

The kids got a kick out of the Lego exhibits

Playing in the bean box

   We happened to stumble across these Coke machines.  They were the neatest things in the world.  You were able to each print two Coke cans with your name on them.  We made one for my mom, and one for each of the kids.  They can't drink Coke, but still a cool memento.  

Posing with their cans

   Every year we pick one fried food to sample as a family.  This year, we let Ashlyn pick.  She chose fried cookie dough.  It was pretty good.  It really did taste like cookie dough.  I didn't get much of a taste because Dawson and Ashlyn quickly devoured it!

The fried cookie dough

Licking the powdered sugar

First bite

Yum!

All gone in a matter of minutes!!!

Dawson

   I have been wanting to write a post about Dawson.  I have written about Ashlyn a lot with school starting, etc and Graceyn and her monthly updates, but I feel like I haven't talked about Dawson enough recently.
    Dawson is our sweet boy.  He is such a joy to be around. He is one funny little boy too.  I swear at least once a day he says something that has Joey and I laughing.  Last week, we were all getting ready to go on a walk.  Dawson informed us, "I'm not going on the walk.  I'm staying here alllllllll by myself...with daddy".  Joey and I thought that was pretty funny.
     Dawson is such a boy.  It is amazing how different he is from his sisters.  He is into all things boy.  He still loves Thomas the Train, but his tastes seem to be growing up a bit.  He loves Transformers and Ninja Turtles.  His biggest new obsession, is Legos.  Joey had all of his old Legos from when he was a boy.  We moved them up to Dawson's room.  Dawson can spend hours just putting them together and taking them apart.  He seriously always has a Lego in his hand.  Not so much fun for me, as I am constantly picking them up around the house.  We have also been really  working with him on the importance of not leaving them out where his baby sister can get them. 
     Dawson is a smart little boy and every afternoon we work on his preschool workbook.  He is doing a great job of learning his letters, numbers, colors etc.  He is constantly surprising me with how much he knows.  He is an eager learned and is always very excited when I tell him it's time to do his school work. 
   Dawson is just a great kid to be around.  He is very laid back and does a great job of entertaining himself.  He's always playing some made-up Transformers game.  My sister and I always agree, that out of the five kids, he is the easiest to watch.  He is just a good, sweet little boy.  He does still have his typical three year old tantrum moments, but they are usually short lived and he does a great job of taking some alone time and apologizing without any prompting.
    I just love Dawson so very much.  He has been such a wonderful addition to our family.  With Dawson around, we literally never have a dull moment! 

My very handsome little boy

I told him to make silly faces, and this is what I got.  Too cute!!!

Graceyn at 5 Months Old

This picture does an excellent job of capturing our girl's sweet personality

  Our sweet, sweet little girl turned 5 months old this week!  I just can't believe she has already been here five whole months.  She is truly such a sweet and incredible little girl.  We all just love her to pieces.  She is such a happy girl and always just smiling away.  I think since she is the youngest, she is very laid back and does a great job of just going with the flow.  The only time we see her upset is when she is tired or hungry.
    Graceyn seemed to do a lot of growing up this past month.  She has become so mobile!  She loves to lay on her stomach and move around.  She manages to move different directions and I'm always amazed by how much she can move.  Ashlyn is working very hard on encouraging her to crawl by placing her favorite toys just out of her reach so she will grab them.  She's getting pretty good at it.  She rolls both ways now and is just a little rolling machine.  That girl sure loves to roll!  She also loves her toys. She's at the age and stage where everything goes into her mouth immediately.  She has also become so good at grabbing things.  I often have her on my lap when I'm eating and I have to make sure everything is pushed far away or she will grab it.
      Graceyn is growing like a champ.  She won't be officially weighed until her appointment next month, but I know she is growing like a weed.  She just loves to eat and eats like its her job.  She is showing some signs of being ready for solids, but we won't start those for another month at least.  I'm sure she will be a great eater with solids too!
     Sleep is still touch and go with Gracie.  She naps like a champ.  She takes two good naps at home in her crib each day.  She goes down so easily.  She will usually sleep for 1-2 hours.  Her night sleep is still a little touch and go.  On Saturday night, she went down around 8:30 and didn't wake up until 4:30.  I even woke up at 1:30  in a panic because she hadn't woken up.  Last night, she went down at 7:00 and was up at 11:30, 1:30, 4:30, 6:30.  Boy am I tired today! She is just not a consistent sleeper at all.  I know that she will become more consistent with time.
     Gracie is drooling like crazy, but still she has no teeth.  I keep feeling every day to see if a new tooth has popped up.  Still no teeth yet.  She loves to chew on things, so I'm thinking it will be soon.  I am really hoping teething doesn't bother her much like Ashlyn.
       Some of Graceyn's favorite things this month are: being sung to (especially "You Are My Sunshine"), reading books, her sister and brother talking and playing with her, her jumper, her swing, laying on the floor to play, any and all toys, reaching and grabbing for things, taking baths.
    Graceyn's dislikes this month: being tired, being hungry, when she is first strapped in her car seat, her sister being gone all day at school (the way Gracie looks and smiles at Ashlyn truly warms my heart).  
    We just love our baby girl to pieces and thank God every day for blessing us with her.  I took her usual monthly photo shoot.  They are becoming more challenging because she just wants to play with the props. 

She wanted that sign so badly!

She had to sample the sign.  The red mark on her face is from the nap she took right before the pictures. 

Exploring

On the move

Disney

   We are going to Disney World in a couple of weeks.  I honestly don't think we could be anymore excited about it.  This trip is really special because my entire family will be going.  There will be 12 of us going all together!  We are going to have such an amazing time and make some pretty incredible memories.  We started a count down calendar two months ago.  We have had a great time watching the chain get shorter and shorter.  Since our last trip, Disney had started a new program where you use special bracelets called magic bands to get into the parks, buy food, etc.  We have anxiously been awaiting for the arrival of our magic bands and yesterday they came.  I think we are even more excited now.  Now we just start the fun, yet time consuming process of getting ready and packed for our big trip.  I plan on taking a billion pictures as usual and writing detailed blog posts again. 

Our countdown chain is getting much smaller!!!

So excited to open the box

Look at that smile!!!

Ready to open

There are the bands.  They are so cool!  Ashlyn's isn't in the box because she will be staying in her grandparent's room so it was sent to their house.