The Hughes: September 2010

When I saw the weather all week was going to be sunny with highs in the 80's I decided that we must spend as much time enjoying this weather while it lasts. So, what better way to enjoy the weather than to go to the zoo, or kazoo as Katelyn called it. We called up our good friends Jennie, Heidi and Lylah, loaded the car and off we went.

We arrived to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco right at lunch time so we had a picnic lunch on the grass outside the zoo.

Then we headed inside to see all the animals. We saw giraffes, elephants, monkeys, lions, and an orangutan. The orangutan was right up to the glass, which you can see in the picture. It was very strange being that close to an orangutan! Katelyn wasn't having any of it, she was scared!

We had a great time visiting with good friends and the girls all had a good time playing together. Katelyn and Heidi are already good friends and soon enough Lylah and Adelyn will be good friends too!

In August we took a family vacation to Colorado with all the Hughes. It was beautiful country, wonderful family, lots of laughs, and one amazing vacation!

PawPaw decided to write down all the funny things the kids said during the vacation. Here is a funny one from Katelyn, When we got in the van, Katelyn said, “Can you buckle me in?” When the van finally arrived at home she said, “Can you buckle me out?

This vacation was the first time for Adelyn to fly and she did great. She slept a little, talked a little and maybe cried for 30 seconds total! Katelyn was great too, she is a flying pro! We flew into Denver where we met up with SaSa. We then drove to the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park.

There we met Nanny, PawPaw, James, Stormi, Caleb, Micah, and Ellie. They drove from the great state of Washington, yes that's right, they drove! I can't believe the kids played in their carseats after spending that much time attached to them in the car, but they did!

The mountains where amazing, breath taking, truly painted by the hand of God.

We did so many activities, I'm not going to list them all, I'll just highlight some of our favorites. I think the part that tops the list for me was just hanging out in the cabin with all the family. The Hughes are so dear to us and it is always a blessing to see them. Nanny and PawPaw are always fun to be around!

My two sister-in-laws are just beautiful, both inside and out. I am so thankful for having such sweet ladies in my life and aunts to my sweet kids.

Sarah is a special blessing to us and all the kids LOVE their SaSa.

James, Stormi, Caleb, Micah and Ellie are such a sweet family who we can have so much fun with, learn from and love so much. You just have to watch out for James while you are playing Putt-Putt, he is sneaky!

Caleb is so active and a little shy. He was so cute with Adelyn, he wanted to hold her and was so gentle and sweet. He was also the master Wii player! One morning I was having Caleb, Katelyn and Micah make up their beds and here is what Caleb said, “We can’t make our beds – we don’t have our magnets.” (his reward system that they use at home).

Micah is, as Nanny puts it, a bull in a china cabinet and truly as sweet as can be. He makes the funniest faces and says the funniest things, like- "Look there is PawPaw and spit-up (his nickname for Adelyn)." Another time Pawpaw was trying to hold Micah and Katelyn’s hands going down a steep hill so they wouldn’t crash and burn. Micah gave his opinion when he said, “Four and five year olds don’t hold hands.”

Ellie is such a little lady but won't take the big kids messing with her. She knows how to stand-up for herself! She is very independent and is a beautiful little girl!

Life is so busy for our family these days- it was so wonderful to just slow down and spend time with each other. (oh and notice the outfit. Nanny made Katelyn, Ellie and Adelyn coordinating outfits- adorable!)

Katelyn had a blast playing with her big cousins! She tried to keep up with them and did a pretty good job. She was the messiest she has ever been and had the most bruises she has ever had from falling trying to keep up! The big kids did lots of exploring the YMCA grounds.

Adelyn was her usual laid-back self this vacation. She spit-up all the time, hence Micah's nickname for her.

One night we had a campfire where we roasted hotdogs, made s'mores and enjoyed the great outdoors.

We also enjoyed a few games of horseshoes. I'm pretty sure I lost every game I played, but Nanny and PawPaw know how to play!
Jared, James, and Stanley took the big kids fishing one day. I don't think they caught anything though.

We went into town several days and went down this huge slide. The best I can describe it is a slide on steroids! I won't venture to guess how high it was, but it was high. The kids enjoyed the slide and I must say, so did I!
We also went to ride the go-carts. Katelyn LOVED it! She had the biggest grin on her face the whole time. It was precious to watch the excitment in her face!

One afternoon Jared and I took Katelyn to go on a pony ride. She rode on Shortcake and loved every second of it.

We also played a little putt-putt. Adelyn participated in this sport... Okay, so really just sat in the carrier, but she did spit-up on the green right as PawPaw took this picture.

One afternoon we went for a big photo shoot with the whole family. Here are a few of pictures from that afternoon.

This vacation was so special not because of all the things we did (although those were fun), but because of the people we did it with. We love each and every one of the Hughes! I'll end with a quote from Caleb: Our last night in the motel Caleb stayed in Nanny and Pawpaw’s room. Right before going to bed he said, “Can we go back to Colorado again? We said, “Yes, probably, someday.” He shot back with another question, “How many more sleeps?” I agree Caleb, how many more sleeps until we get to go back!!!