Around the U.S in 18 days- First Stop CO

On our way to Utah we made a pit stop in Fort Collins to see my parents.

 My parents beautiful house all decked out for the Fourth of July

My mom is the Sno Cone Queen-  She has every flavor you can imagine and is always willing to whip up a sno cone for whoever stops by on a hot summer day.  This is my cousins Raylenes kids, who came to pick raspberries and of course my little Rylan!

Next stop, UT!

Summer in Austin

I have oodles of photos and stories to blog about and I dont want to get behind as this is the way we document our life....

We went for an evening out in downtown Austin.  I love Austin! Have I ever mentioned that before?

First we took Rylan to this awesome BMX track located in the heart of downtown Austin. It truly is a childs dream. The city provides hoses and shovels to keep it kept up.

After playing around at the track we went to a Restaurant called "Bacon" everything they serve has something to do with bacon.

And to burn the final hours of the day we went to one of my favorite parks downtown, Butler Park for a little lights and splashing!

Cowboy boots go with anything

signs of the times

Sticky hands and elbows, rainbow colored mustaches and beards--yay! Popcicle season is here!!!  We have had this tradtion for many summers...In those final moments of sun, between dinner and bedtime, when the kids are slightly restless but not ready for restful slumber we do what Texans do best, front porch sittin'! The family gathers with popcicles in hand and sit and enjoy the cooling down of the day and the final moments of the sun before it sets.....Then we take the rainbow colored sticky boys in for a bath, brushing of teeth, books, prayers and bed!

This is how we roll...

Ahhh, the sweet smell of homemade cinnamon rolls!  This recipe was from a friend and her source obtained it through quite sneaky ways, but none the less, I have no guilt making them!!  They are heavenly!!  If you want the recipe -email me, I dare not post it publicly....just in case it was a propietary recipe.... reagardless, the best homemade cinnamon rolls evvvver!

What makes these even better is my trusty side kick who has mad cinnamon rolling skills!!

Memorial Day

It was true Americana at its finest as we sat outside in the beautiful Texas contry side with Cicadas chirping, the smell of sunscreen & bbq, and the sound of early american rock n'roll...In deed we felt very grateful to be enjoying such a wonderful day in such a wonderful country!  It is because of the many men and women who faught for this country that we can enjoy this kind of life today!  It was their moral courage and commitment to families and nation that fueled their strength. 

We had a wonderful time at the Gardiner homestead.  Softball, swimming, zipline, laughs, and good food, LOTS.OF.GOOD. FOOD!....(you see the Williams and the Gardiners dont mess around when it comes to food!)

This is a walking stick that is the size of my four arm...not sure something that size should still be considered an insect..

A grass hopper the size of my fist....

The playhouse

the horse swing

 

Ren is crazy and loves to jump off the rock ledge

Rylan's favorite question is "Do I look cool?"  and as you can tell, he does!

The big slide with Dad....

The handoff

The catch

Yay!! We did it!!

This is the swim competition...Yes we had swimming races...I know it looks like they are doing syncronised swimmin...but for the record it was actually a tie! 

 After a long day of play, time to chill in the theater for a movie....