Summer regional meeting

Every June, Edward Jones hosts their summer regional meeting for the financial advisors and their families. This year it was at the Lost Pines resort in Bastrop, just outside of Austin. This summer marks our 10th summer regional meeting to attend and it was by far the best location yet. We highly recommend this location if you are in need of a weekend or long weekend getaway. It has a great pool, water slide, lazy river, beach area, large kid's pool and splash pad. While Jim was at some of his meetings, I ventured down to the pool with the kids. This was the first time I took all three swimming by myself. Thank goodness for the kid's pool which was just perfect for me to manage the 3 of them.







Once Jim joined us at the pool we enjoyed the rest of the pool area. In addition to the pool, they have daily activities for the whole family to enjoy. For example, horse drawn wagon rides, petting zoo, volleyball, cookie decorating, branding lessons, worm digging, golf course, horse back riding, bike rentals to name a few. Every night from 8-10, it was s'more making time. And you know the boys were in heaven.











Having a picnic lunch on the balcony.


All in all it was a great weekend. The boys had a blast, they absolutely love staying in a hotel. All the little things they love crack me up. Getting to walk/run down the long hallways, pushing the elevator buttons, opening the room door with the card, it's all the little things they love. We enjoyed a nice weekend away and I have a feeling we will be back here one day!

Summer time fun time

We recently had our friends Dana, Jackson and Ryan over to play. The big boys had fun swimming while Sarah and Ryan took their morning naps.


They made their own water slide by spraying the slide with their water guns and then taking turns sliding down.


Lukie riding his surf board.


And of course we had to make an Icee for everyone.


After pizza for lunch we headed to Cherry Berry. A self serve yogurt place that is one of my favorites. For many reasons but the main reason--they have the flavor, White Chocolate Mousse for all of you that remember the greatness of this TCBY flavor!!


Luke loves his chocolate. I wonder where he got that liking???


Don't feel too sorry for these guys, they had their fair share of bites from us all!


On another note, Miss Sarah keeps herself busy with all the toys in the bench. Just open it up and she is entertained for hours. Ok, not hours but for a big chunk of time.


Look at that balance.


Looks like she found something pretty cool!


Sweet boy!

Giggles

Joy, pure joy!

Family Reunion

Every year the Eckel family has a reunion/campout at the lake. This year it was at Lake Jacksonville and we decided to go out for the day instead of camping like we usually do. Despite the heat and trying to keep up with the kiddos, we had a fun day and enjoyed seeing the fam.

The kids had a blast swimming.


The cousins playing a game of washers.


Jacob and Annie helping Grandpa make homemade ice cream.


Celebrating Annie's 4th birthday!


Relaxing in the stroller.


Annie, Jacob and Gabriel


Grandpa always enjoys the campout!


Sweet Luke was so wiped out at the end of the day that he fell asleep in Grandma's arms around 6:30 without dinner and basically was down for the night.


When I told Jacob we were going to the lake, he immediately said he wanted to make s'mores. He has been on a s'more kick lately. We recently improvised and melted chocolate chips in the microwave, spread them onto graham crackers and added marshmallows. So I was thrilled when he could actually make one the right way, over the campfire.


After burning several marshmallows, he finally got the hang of it. I think he was excited, what do you think? :)

Busy, busy, BUSY!

There's no question about it, Sarah is one BUSY girl these days! Having some fun in the bathroom.


Down come the cookbooks.


She climbed her way on to the trampoline.


Then pulled herself up. All while she held something in one hand!


She sat and played with the boy's cars for a good 30 minutes one day. Who says cars are for boys? ha!


To say she enjoyed putting her hands in a bowl of baked beans is the least I can say. (don't worry Rhonda-I got the Bumbo all cleaned up! haha!)


Close up!


Always has to be close to her "ya-ya". Which is the sound she makes when she is looking at Jacob and trying to get his attention. So sweet!


She is NOT going to be left out. Watch out boys!


After I got Luke a little snack, this is where I found him eating it. Looks comfy!


Just to show how much Jacob has grown since last summer when he last wore these pajamas. Look at the length of those pants! ha!


I am one blessed momma!!!

Trophy time/ Summer time

This past Sunday marked the last day of sports for Jacob for this season. He played one last baseball game to end it all. He received three trophies this year and he is so excited about them. We are in need of getting a shelf in his room just for his trophies.

One from the soccer season...


Soccer picture


One from the TOT basketball program he did through his school...


TOT picture


And one from the baseball season...


Baseball picture


After sitting out in the heat at 2:00 on Sunday for his last baseball game, I was happy to see the season end when it did! Now that sports and school are over we are excited to officially be in summer.

What says summer more than a homemade ICEE?


And a pool to cool off in the backyard.


And what says summer time more than a sweet girl dressed in a white summer outfit.


Welcome summer, heat and all!

Hail Storm 2011

Two days before we left for our trip to Disneyworld, we had a massive hail storm hit Prosper in the middle of the night. The tornado sirens were going off, the Town of Prosper was calling to warn us, the winds were howling, power was out and then it all started. We quickly got all three kids up and with us and waited it out. When the hail started, it sounded like we were under attack. It sounded like the hail would have been baseball size but turns out it was a little smaller than golf ball size. It hailed for about 5-7 straight minutes. I was just waiting for our bedroom windows to come crashing in, it was so loud. And then...it just stopped. Everything, the storm had passed, thankfully.

We were one of the lucky ones. We only lost one window and it was just the outer pane so it didn't break all the way through. Our insurance company estimated our total damages to be around $22,000. We need a new roof, two new garage doors, new side door going into garage, new gutters, shutters power washed and restained, new light fixtures in the front, power wash and restain on the backyard playset, broken window replaced, white beading on almost all windows to be replaced, and repair done to outdoor A/C unit. I'm sure I've left some items off but this is what I can remember for now.

This is the house that is two doors down from us at the end of the street. They face the West which is why they lost every window in the front.


There is a constant sound of roofers being heard. If it's not a close neighbor, it's a house down the street, or one in the neighborhood.


The roofing companies have been so busy but we finally got our roof replaced this week. It took them two full days. Starting at 7:00am both mornings and finishing both nights around 8:30. Let's just say we weren't home much these two days.




Our new roof! Now on to all the other items that need to be replaced and fixed! Fun times!


Now, having said all this, I will say that our situation isn't even worth mentioning when I see on the news all the devastation there is due to tornadoes, flooding and earthquakes. My heart breaks for all the thousands of people that have been affected. I thank God every day for keeping us safe and I will deal with the hassle of all these repairs with a new attitude!