Up, Up, and Away!

Up early, up and moving, and away we went to see an amazing sight of hot air balloons launching over Lake Travis on Saturday!  While striking out at the first surprise for the boys, thankfully the second donut shop was opened.  Next came the sunrise and with that came the inflation of the balloons aka the "envelopes."  Although our boys are early risers, waking them 1.5 hours earlier was definitely worth it! 

"Fire!"

Now that takes a lot of hot air to fill!

"Mom, we have too much to see to look at the camera." 

This man, a former colleague of W's, likes to blow hot air!

The boys have never sat so still!

The view of the basket and balloon remind me of one of my favorite movies, "Up!" 

Notice that the crew is wearing life jackets in case they must land in Lake Tavis!

The day was quite a high flying adventure!

Even this big kid got to experience the basket, with bended knees! 

Papa's 60th Birthday Brunch

With Gigi and Papa in Alaska over Papa's 60th, we decided to have a belated birthday celebration for our old man at the JW Marriott in San Antonio.  What an awesome brunch with a bunch of cute kiddos!  Papa enjoyed the celebration with his crew and we were thrilled to gift Papa with the 35,000 music files from his dear friend and music lover, Woody!  It was a special surprise that W. has been working on for a while now.  We were thrilled that A & A complimented our gift with a snazzy new iPad so that Pa can "jam" to these amazing tunes while using it, just as Woody once had.  In a sense, my dad's dear friend was there in spirit celebrating this monumental occasion with us all!  Love you dad and may you continue to enjoy the music of life! 

 Guess who is behind the camera??

 Love these 3 amigos!

 T, "Do you think I can escape left since they aren't watching?"

The after party included a block party!  W.E.e.t. love you, Papa!

Getting Hitched at Texas Old Town!

What a joy it was to see such a special union this past weekend!  Many events led up to this important day and nothing, not even a few sprinkles, could stop these two from getting hitched!  So thrilled for this couple and all that marriage will bring!  As dad once told mom, "Come and grow old with me, the best is yet to come!"  I'm thankful for the blessing that is marriage!

 Mr. & Mrs.

  

Our 'lil man

 The boys CAN clean up

Gigi and Papa with the boys

 Do blondes have more fun???

 Love this family photo of us all dressed up!

 "When will the girls be here to dance?"

 What a beautiful maid-of-honor and twin sister of the bride!

 The bride's first love...her daddy!

 

 Proud of this lovely lady for her beautiful speech and ability to run the show!

 Their crush all night

 Both our folks made it until the last few couples on amount of years married!  So thankful!

 Cheers!

 Dancing dou

 E is already asking when the next wedding is...

 Excited for this side of the family and the recent engagement of their son to a beautiful & sweet girl!  More wedding fun in the future!

Thankful for this couple and the love that they have shared for over 37 years!

 Since this wedding venue, Texas Old Town, was the same place that we got married over 7 years ago, we decided to check out the exact location where we exchanged our vows.  It was so fun to relive the memories of the excitement, ceremony, and even the reception.  We MAY have even crashed a wedding to get a close up view...What a special night in may ways!

Mr. & Mrs.

Mr. & Mrs. George P. have officially been married and what a wonderful weekend it was to celebrate their love with so many who love them.  The wedding weekend started off with a fabulous rehearsal dinner at Trattoria Lisina.  The  meal was amazing and truly one of the best rehearsal dinners we have ever eaten! 

 

The beautiful bride and groom at the rehearsal dinner

 The Averyt siblings

Nana and her handsome boy

 Sans bambinos:  the Grigsby's

Let Freedom Ring!

Yet, another year has passed with tons of fun and excitement.  Unfortunately, we have also let our blog pass us by for another year...So, here are some shots from our July 4th fun at Lake Louise!  Thank you for hosting us, Uncle "Bobber" and Aunt Lulu!

 Sunrise and snuggles with Uncle "Bobber"

 The kids just slip sliding away

 Nana and Travis easing into the lake

 He's still got it...W. skiing the slalom course.  Notice "Mona's" legs in the back!

 E's first waterskiing attempt.  Always remember to tell you child to let go of the rope...

 "Howdy Y'all!"

 "Let's do this!"

B-Bob is a brave man

It's Independence Day!

I love July 4th and always have.  The chance to be with family, enjoy some good food, and watch fireworks is so much fun!  What a blessing to have such freedom here in the U.S.A.  Thankful that we live in a land of the free only because of the brave.  We should never take for granted the freedom of our land!

This year we were invited to celebrate at a number of gatherings.  As we traveled Texas from Temple to Spring to College Station, we got to see family and enjoy many fun times together!  Check out the pictures below:

 

At Nana & B-Bob's Oasis in Spring

With the A family in our red, white, and blue!

Daddy and E. pulling mommy on Lake Louise

After 2+ years without skiing, the slalom ski was calling my name!

W. totally brought it completing the slalom course on his first attempt!

Can you believe that these beauties were within a ATV ride away?  

E was talking about his Papa and his love for the Longhorns when spying them.  

I guess now that A&M has transferred to the SEC they are free to roam!

I can promise you that nothing was in my scope in this opportunity to learn and shoot a gun.  Thanks to Uncle R & Aunt L & B-Bob for sharing your knowledge and insight into shooting. 

Uncle R and his "pardner."  They were quite a team having fun at any and all times!

Red and white and a blue bucket.

 

Nana and her water boy!

 

Uncle R and B-Bob holding E's hands to the launching pad aka the dock for E's big jump!  Speaking of launching pad, we had the opportunity to meet a NASA astronaut while at Lake Louise.  Richard Linneham came out to watch a friend ski but I can tell you that the conversation could have gone on learning all about him and his experiences.  Having spent 58 days total in space, he is a highly recognized and notable astronaut who now works with A&M.  After meeting him, there was talk and time spent reminiscing about  the work that W's grandpa once did with NASA.  What an exciting day for us all!

So thankful that the "sky is the limit" for the potential of this boy!