The Dallas Museum of Art...First Tuesdays of each month is free at the DMA. They have all kinds of activities for kids, a great cafe, and of course, the wonderful exhibits. So, my mom and I took the kids to the DMA this week. Julia even got the chance to participate in the storytime they had. They also have a wonderful sculpture garden that the kids played in. Lots of fun! Thanks for the great idea, Mom.

Summer...If I haven't mentioned it lately, this summer has not turned out exactly as I expected. It has been good but just not really as quiet as I thought it would be when the kids got out of school. And now we are 3 weeks and 2 days from the first day of school. Jacob is heading to 3rd grade with all that entails and Miss Julia is going to be our big Kindergarten girl. Look out world! It looks like I will be substitute teaching again this year which I am excited about even though I was hoping one of the fulltime school positions would pan out. Julia's Tinkerbell backpack has been bought and other than new shoes for Jacob, haircuts, and maybe a new pair of jeans, I think we are ready to rock-n-roll.

Week in review...We started out the week with a bang. The Littlefield's came for a short visit on their way to Colorado to visit family. The kids and I went to mom and dad's in Dallas for a day or so to catch up and hang out. Jacob had his last week of swim lessons at our neighborhood pool. We finished up the week by going to a bbq at our friend's, The Sherlocks, last night to celebrate Travis' graduation from the Ft. Worth Police Academy. Way to go, Officer Sherlock! He's a big dude from Nebraska. I wouldn't want to meet up with him on the business end of a gun or baton. We got to watch part of his training video last night and it was quite entertaining to watch part of what they had to go through in training. I know both he and Pam anxious to settle back into a routine and have some real downtime for a change. He has been in training for the last 7 months. Wow! How many of us could go through such labor intensive training for that long? I get tired just holding up the vacuum cleaner when John is cleaning our vent returns...ha!

Have a good week and God bless!

Happy Anniversary...Ten years ago today, John and I were married. We had a wonderful celebration and enjoyed having so many people there to help us celebrate. I look back on all the pictures and am amazed at all we have been through. Hard to believe it has already been 10 years. Happy Anniversary, John. I love you.

Ride 'Em Cowgirl...Several weeks ago we stopped off at our friend's, The Littlefield's, for a visit after seeing family in Oklahoma. Julia was enamored with Patrick's cowboy hat and stick pony. So he loaned it to her for a couple of days since they were coming down to TX shortly. Never to be separated, here is a cute picture of her with her "horse".

A Few More Pictures from 4th of July...if they weren't so darn cute, I wouldn't have to keep posting. Love those squirrelly kids!

More 4th of July pics...

July 4th...It has really been a whirlwind summer. Much faster than I thought. Hard to believe we have only 6 more weeks until school starts. Anyway, the Elliott's went back to Marlow, OK (John's hometown) for 4th of July. We had a really great time visiting with lots of old friends including the Terrell family who put up with us for 3 days...ha! And of course, the kids just loved staying in a hotel with a pool...ha! It really is the little things. Marlow has the largest 4th of July celebration including awesome fireworks in SW Oklahoma. They have a parade, games/rides/etc. in the park, and the wonderful fireworks show with live music. Julia had her first pony ride in the park. She loved it but wanted to go faster...surprise! John took the kids all over town to show them where he went to school and to show them all the history of the Marlow brothers since the town is located right on the Chisholm Trail. It was really interesting. Jacob is a country boy at heart and would move there in a heart beat. We even took the kids out to the old farm so they could see where daddy grew up and lived. Luckily, the current owners were not there so we could walk around a bit. I stood lookout when they went in the backyard. Just have to say...I would not be good at a life of crime. I was so nervous the whole time...ha! Guess that's a good thing. But the kids got to see the handprints made on the old back porch by grandma, big daddy, greg, chris, and john. Jared isn't on there since he wasn't born yet. Hard to believe so much time has passed. It was a really great weekend celebrating our country, freedom, and friends. Happy 4th of July!