June pictures

We have been watching a new donut shop getting built the last couple months so when we finally saw a "now open" sign we immediately went in to check it out the next morning. Its such a fun store and the kids loved eating some mini donuts! 

Ever since we moved into this house we have had an abundance of snails in our front flower beds. I looked it up and apparently its a sign of having good soil but I have no idea if thats true. Anyway, Hudson loves to go outside after big rains and watch them. I finally gave in and let him make a home for one and bring it inside. Than he talked me into on more. That night Matt told me they would be fine without a lid on the container and Hudson wanted them to sleep upstairs with him. Terrible decision. The next morning "snailies" were missing and no where to be found. I am totally disgusted by snails and trucked it back downstairs while telling Hudson he better find them! He was cracking up and thought it was so funny!!! I finally put my brave face on and went upstairs to help look. We ended up finding on on the side of his bed and the other was all the way in the bathroom, crawling up the vanity. So crazy. They ended up escaping several more times, until we covered it hole-poked Saran Wrap, and then until I finally convinced Hudson that they were much happier living outside!

A few random pictures...

Hadley was gone for the day and Hudson and I had a day at home together. I told him I was going to go work out for a little bit and he decided he needed to work out too. He likes it much more than I do!

We had a big swim day! The Baker boys came over to swim at the Rose Creek pool and as soon as they left we went over to Ryan and Lisa's house to swim in their new neighborhood pool. We had snow cones, lots of sun, and lots of fun with friends and cousins.

I just cannot get over how cute and grown up this sweet boy is getting! That smile gets me every single time!

Wearing Papa's sooner hat....and making Papa proud. I'm sure it will mysteriously disappear in the near future.

Last season game with the Diamond Divas. Undefeated season and for how little these girls practice they are a pretty great little team. Its so fun that at PCAA they still play machine pitch so its been some great hitting practice for Hadley. And she really loves getting to play with her school friends!

Basketball camp with his buddies!

These two definitely have their different interests. Hadley loves all things girly, dolls, dancing, etc. Hudson loves video games, wrestling, and legos. But occasionally, Hadley watches you tube videos with Hudson and occasionally, Hudson plays "family" with Hadley. These are my favorite moments.

Another belt test in the books. Orange belt, double green tip. A big test for Hudson. Not his best but this was the hardest one yet. He will have to practice hard for his next belt, the solid green belt, but he is so excited to be working his way closer to the black belt! So proud of his determination!

Cuddling in bed, coffee with the kids, and a few more pictures before Hadley leaves for camp. Soaking up these moments and we will sure miss her like crazy!

Picking Hadley up!

We all woke up so excited to go get Hadley on Friday. Matt worked for a few hours and we planned on leaving about noon. I had the bags ready to go for our week at family camp and our night stay at Big Cedar. It was a busy day and trying to figure out what Hadley had and would only need washed as well as what I needed to take was a little crazy! We made it to Branson pretty fast and had a little extra time but not enough to go to the hotel first so we stopped at McDonalds for Hudson to get something to eat and for us to hang out for a bit. 

Waiting in line to pick our girl up! Hudson was so excited to be able to look in the gates of K-Kauai and know we would get to be there tomorrow.

So the walk down the K-Kountry hill is my favorite walk ever! My heart was beating just as fast as it was last year and I wasn't any less excited to see her.  Its crazy to think about all that goes through my head as I am walking and most of it is completely irrational for the fact that its only been ONE week! I wondered how she would be wearing her hair, which outfit she would be wearing (because as a kid I probably would have picked my favorite one for this day), if she would cry, if I would cry, if she would look taller, if she would sound the same, which friends she had made.

We turned that corner and I scanned the crowd quickly looking for our girl. Suddenly, Hudson runs forward and I see Hadley running toward us. She goes straight for her brother first, arms wide, and they had the sweetest hug. I was so happy to see that the Kanakuk photographers got it on camera.

We hugged, took pictures, met her friends, ate dinner, and shopped in the store. She was all smiles the whole time and kept hugging us. It was worth every minute of her being gone. She was happy and had a great week.

Soon they called us all over to meet in the Barn groups for awards. It was fun to hear about their week. Hadley was awarded her the words Bold and Determined. I loved hearing this about her! And how fitting that she had no idea yet she happened to be wearing her "Be bold" tank top that day! They commented on how she was a loyal friend and always made others feel good about themselves. They said she was a consistent source of joy. They gave her the friendship award which, to me, could not fit her any better!

She loved her counselors so much this year and it was hard for her to leave them. It helped when we told her we could probably come over one of the days from family camp to come see everyone.

These two have a pretty awesome friendship. I am thrilled they get to experience Kanakuk together!

We made it back to Big Cedar and Hadley crawled straight in bed. She is exhausted. Matt and Hudson had a fun fishing trip planned for early morning so we were all asleep pretty quickly!

Hudson and Matt were up at 5am to go on a guided fishing tour. Hadley didn't even move when they left and we slept in for a bit. When she started stirring I told her I was going to run down the hall and get a start on her laundry from the past week. She kept resting a bit, watched a little tv, and we hung out in between loads of laundry folding. By 10am we had it all done and were packed for camp. 

Here are some pics Matt took of Hudson fishing. He had the BEST time! Matt said he was so patient, quiet, and the guide kept commenting on how amazing he was. He said the majority of kids won't sit still and Hudson was just so determined to get lots of fish....and he did! 

Meanwhile, Hadley and I took a walk to the little coffee/breakfast shop down the street. She had some yogurt and I got a coffee while we sat at this cute little table outside and talked. She told me stories from the week and we just got to have grown up conversations. I hope to be able to do this each year. Last year it was a rush back home and we jumped right back into life. This year I wanted to be so intentional and really listen to her talk about her week. She talked and talked and I was able to just take it all in. I saw how this week reset her, how she had a new fire lit, and how happy she was. I got to hear about her sad moments and her favorite moments from week. We had no distractions and we just got to enjoy our morning. 

After our morning talks we took another walk down the trail to where Drew and Padgetts family were staying in a cabin. Abby and Katie were still asleep in their cabin and Lexi was asleep in hers as well. Hadley (our early bird) had already been awake for several hours!

We just hung out for a little while and then got in swimsuits to go down to the pool. All the kids swam for a while and we had a great time hearing about everyone's weeks!

We were meeting Laneale's family to go to Kanakuk about 4:00 so around 2 we had to get the kids out of the pool so we could get dressed and ready. It wasn't fun making them leave because they were having so much fun with their cousins and the only thing that helped is knowing we were about to go have an awesome week together and with friends.

All dressed, ready for camp, and leaving Big Cedar. They had this great look out point for pictures and the sun was at the worst possible spot resulting in a picture fail of squinty eyes!