German Fest 2011

I have mentioned before how cool it is that my sister, Sara, moved a lot closer to me a couple of months ago. We decided that our families should meet half way a couple of weekends ago for German Fest which is held in Muenster, TX every year. We had a really good time after not having a clue what to expect. They had a fun playground that the kids enjoyed and a great troop of performers that were meant to entertain the kids, but I think we all enjoyed them. We LOVE German food and I was thrilled to get some yummy sauerkraut and German potatoes. I would say the highlight for some of our group was the amateur wrestling they had going on. I personally found it hilarious and Claire, Jacob, and Allan were totally into it yelling and cheering as grown men in speedos threw each other around. There were great bands playing and a lot of cute vendors set up around the fairgrounds. We ended the day with a mini roller coaster ride. Asher and Claire had a blast on it and Ainsley only enjoyed it about half the time then she was ready to get off. All in all it was a fun day and we were really glad we went. I just love that we live close enough to Sara that we can have these fun little weekend get togethers.

Backyard Camping

A couple of weekends ago Allan made a little dream come true for Claire...she finally got to go camping, it was in the backyard and it
was perfect. They went fishing at the local pond where Claire outfished her daddy 2-1 and she was so proud. When they got the tent all set up I brought out their camping snacks, snapped a few pictures, then they were ready for me to head back inside so they could get on with their camping party. They told stories by flashlight and I could hear a lot of laughing. When I snuck back out at 9:30 they were both out cold cuddled up in their sleeping bags.


I am in awe of what an amazing father Allan is to his children. They are so incredibly blessed to have him in their lives and I have no words for how blessed I am to partner with him in this parenting journey. He is so great at making his children feel loved and celebrated. They are always his top priority even when he is exhausted. It meant as much to me as it did to Claire for him to make the effort to put up a tent in the dark and sleep outside all night after working all day. Thank you Babe for all you do for our family!

I think that there will be a real camping trip at a real campsite in the somewhat near future, at least for these two. I am not sure Jacob is ready for sleeping in a tent just yet ;)

Easter 2011

I love celebrating Easter! I love that Claire is getting old enough that we can really start to talk about the true meaning of Easter and how thankful we are that God chose to allow his one and only son to die so that we all have a chance to be saved through grace. This is the first year I think Claire has really started to understand what Easter is all about. We also love our family traditions that go along with the holiday, putting out the kid's Easter baskets and Easter shoes to be filled with treats is one of them. This was an odd year for our little family because we went to church on Saturday night and then didn't have any extended family to hang out with on that Sunday. We decided to have a low key Sunday with a hike at the lake and a little rest time before our friends, the Tallos, came over for dinner and an egg hunt. Although it was an unconventional holiday for us it was a great holiday that we really enjoyed.

I loved watching Jacob, Claire, and Ava searching for their Easter eggs. We love our friendship with the Tallo family and are so blessed they are in our lives. Thanks for spending your Easter evening with us!!