Spring Break: The Sweet Spot

I've been running mach 2 with my hair on fire and have not been posting as much as I'd like to on this here blog.  I'm a few weeks late but I'd be remiss if I neglected to write about our recent ski trip in Colorado.  You often hear people talk in travel terms as either taking a "Vacation" or a "Family Trip" to delineate the situation and set the stage for the type of experience they had.   For us, our spring break trip was what I have been referring to as the "sweet spot". We still have all four kids attention in the car (I'm certain this window is coming to a close with Peyton on the cusp of teenage-ville), but we shared stories and laughed, played games and listened to audio books on the round trip journey.  I can say without hesitation that we had the best road trip thus far for our family...it honestly was a blast!

We played different games and I had some small prizes that they seemed to enjoy getting when they won.  I'd tell them 10 Fun Facts about the big cities we drove through and quiz them throughout the trip (it was a fun way to learn and pass the time).

The beauty that is God's creation is truly spectacular!

Almost the entire drive was along I-40 from Fort Smith, Arkansas all the way to Albuquerque, NM and is part of Route 66.  I'm always looking to make a memory so I TripAdvisor-ed some fun restaurants and found the most adorable little diner where we stopped to take in the scenery (which was beautiful!)

Adam humored me and made a few stops for posterity.  One of those stops was in Texas at the Cadillac Ranch.  There were all kinds of people spray painting and  taking pictures, so we fit right in traipsing out into a huge field to take pictures with old Cadillacs that are rammed into the ground.

And when one is in Texas, you must eat like a Texan, right?!  We definitely enjoyed our steak dinner!

We decided to do something totally different this year and drove to south west Colorado and skied at Purgatory in Durango.  It was very family friendly, kid friendly and easy to get around. We enjoyed our time there.  The kids all had a refresher course in ski school the first day so Adam and I enjoyed a date together doing one of our most favorite things.  Peyton and Lawson joined us for Day 2 and then Emerson and Ava Jane got in on the last two days.  It was a bit surreal, having always imagined taking trips with our kids and teaching them to ski, when we were all on the six seater lift.  Adam and I were all smiles as we sat making a memory with our little family.

The kids had a blast and  enjoyed skiing.  It's something I can see us doing for many years to come.

Our dare devil Lawson, taking a little break in the snow.

One afternoon we split up Adam, Peyton and Lawson then me, Emerson and Ava Jane.  These two cuties did a steep blue with me that included moguls and they conquered the mountain without falling!  I was super proud of these two little people!

My time with the big boys was so so sweet--a memory maker for sure!

Watching the big brothers ride up the mountain together...made my heart just leap with joy.  I pray that they are always good friends!

We had great weather, lots of snow, played games (Dutch Blitz is quickly becoming a favorite right now), watched movies and pretty much enjoyed the heck out of our week spent together.

We enjoyed meals together and warming up around the fire pits.

I will treasure the memories from this trip and the time we had together.

Happy 10th Birthday Lawson

Lawson is our spunky, funny, creative and kind second son who turns double digits today!  How can it be that we have had ten quick years with this sweet one?!  He brings fun to our family with his desire to have frequent dance parties and to keep us laughing with his jokes.  He feels deeply and gives the best hugs for sure.  He makes friends easily and is a go with the flow (fly by the seat of his pants) kind of kid.  He's always up for an adventure or doing something creative whether that's building a fort in the woods, building Mine Craft worlds or of late, making family videos on the iPad.  He tells us he'd like to either be an inventor or an architect...I do believe he could do either of those jobs very well!

Lawson James, ten years ago when I first laid eyes on you, my initial comment to your daddy was, "he has such skinny legs, just like G-Dad's!"  I can't believe today, how big you are and how strong you have become.  You are still quite skinny but you are scrappy.  You enjoy playing flag football, basketball and soccer with friends and have a good time doing it.  Your family enjoys cheering you on and watching whatever sport you play.

This boy brings a smile to my face with his insights and comments about spiritual things.  He is learning how to apply the word of God to his every day life and the situations that the Lord presents him with.  Things don't always come easy for Lawson but he pushes through the struggles and we are so very proud of the young man he is becoming.  Perseverance and self control are areas we see him growing in.  Lawson we couldn't love you more.  You are a precious young man and we are so grateful to be your parents!

This picture is a fairly good representation of Lawson's lease on life....to have fun, no matter what!  Whether we're at the lake, at home, on the ski lopes, with friends or family, you always have a good time, making memories and having fun!   We are thankful for you today, Happy Birthday Bud!!

Emerson's 8th Birthday Party

Emerson's birthday is right after the Christmas break and I always seem to need a few extra days to get invitations out, so we had a belated laser tag party that I think was well worth the wait!

I'd seen an advertisement for Rock Town Mobile Lazer Tag and I couldn't have been more pleased with Coach B, he was amazing!!   From the online reservation to creating a great "battle field" and showing the boys how to use the real-deal-holy-field guns--scopes and all--was a momma's dream--easy peasy, lemon squeezy!!  Rock Town Mobile Lazer Tag touched base with me thru email to confirm the party and then checked in a few days before the special day with a confirmation text--they are an excellent company that I would highly recommend!  My boys were in heaven and Coach B blew my boys minds when he set up the .50 caliber de-commisioned weapon straight from Iraq that he had retrofitted to be a lazer gun.  To say the boys (and Adam--who has prior military service) were impressed, is a complete and total understatement.  (Side note: Coach B and Adam had both been to Iraq and were deployed to some of the same Forward Operating Bases in Iraq during OIF 3.)  He literally just finished doing events for Alabama, the Razorbacks and Clemson's football teams--if he's good enough for those athletes he was MORE THAN ENOUGH for these 8 years olds!  Seriously, if you want to have fun, contact Rock Town Mobile Lazer Tag

Coach B was the total bomb!  He was energetic, fun to be around and had the boys complete and total attention from start to finish!

He had quite a cache of weapons for the boys to choose from!  The blue gun was for the birthday boy!  (Notice each gun has its own scope to look through.)

Coach B helped guide the boys on where to hide and how to be creative in order to accomplish the missions he set up for them.

These two fellas make me smile!

This little cutie patootie even got in on a little of the action.

One of the activities Coach B had the boys do was a "quick-draw" style mission where he had the guns one step out from them and they had to quickly grab it and shoot their opponent.  Maddox ended up being the winner on this one!

Another activity was where he challenged the boys to be the first man to get to the tent "alive"--that winner won $10--and Wesley won that round.

Adam may have had as much fun as the boys did!

Isn't this little-nephew-sniper of mine the cutest you ever did see?

With cupcakes from the Cupcake Factory, Chex Mix and green chocolate balls for "shrapnel", pretzel sticks for bazookas and Whoppers for "bullets", I'd say it was smiles all around for these tasty treats.

I think it's safe to say Emerson had a blast!  He's literally been talking about it all day today.  Though it was quite cold, we stayed warm with the hot chocolate and hand warmers.  We thoroughly enjoyed celebrating with you Emerson Clark Head.  Daddy and I sure love you bud!  Happy Birthday!