June

Dearest Jax and Colt,

We took zero time getting into summer relaxation mode!

Baseball wasn't ready to break though...

A fun bowling date!

More baseball

Pool play date complete with overly dramatic facial expressions

Did I mention there was some baseball?

Justin's new truck needed our stamp of approval ; )

The dramatic face strikes again...

Remember that time that I said dogs don't belong on furniture?!?  LOL!

We've always had a no sleepover rule but we made our very first exception and y'all were pumped to spend the night at the Vaughn's house!

And look closely because these are the only track pictures you'll probably every be in.

So, back story:  This summer is the shortest break from school we've ever had so you two decided not to continue with swim team.  I was fine with that but I did ask if you wanted to try anything in place of it.  Jax, you came up with the idea of doing track.  It's similar to swim team in that there are only a handful of meets.  Well, baseball got in the way of most of them so this was the only meet we could actually attend.  And praise the Lord for that!  It was LONG and HOT and you ran for a total of less than 1 minute.  Now we all know that track is not the sport for us but I'm so proud of you for trying it.

As the temps started to really rise, you two brave souls told me I could shave your heads.  ::gasp::

And we showed off your new dos with a mini-photo shoot at a beautiful park nearby.

I love summer days with y'all!!!!

May

Dearest Colt and Jackson,

May was exciting for so many reasons!  First of all, it's the end of the school year so there's a buzz in the air that's palpable.  On top of that, we had some experiences that were much anticipated...

First up was Mother's Day

Mid-month we sent y'all to stay with Grandpa and Grandma so we could fly to Cancun!  We celebrated Justin turning 40 with a fantastic fiesta!

Unfortunately, the beach was all sorts of yuck but the guys had some fun with the seaweed mover ; )

Us ladies had our own beach fun despite the mess!

It was fun spending our days at our resort's pools.

The good times didn't stop when the sun went down though.  Our resort had a silent disco and it was too fun for pictures!  The only shot I managed to capture was this one of your dad and me wearing our headphones mid dancing.

Sand volleyball was exponentially more difficult after a few days of all inclusive eating and drinking!

Of course we filled up a bottle with beach sand on our last night there and enjoyed a fancy French restaurant before returning home to you two.

I was still on a vacation high but JT was in Dallas so Michelle and I had a double date with our man.

And we didn't want to be the only ones having all the fun this month so we took y'all to our favorite animal shelter at the end of the month.  Our intentions were to allow both of you to pick out a dog and come home with two dogs from Operation Kindness.  However, it turns out that your heart was still broken from the loss of Senji, Colt.  The experience was quite emotional and was too much for you.  So I took you to the back garden and we sat on a bench while Dad and Jax toured the facility looking for "the one".  We played with a few different dogs and we were struggling to make a decision.  Then, "Little Larry" came out and it was a done deal.

On the drive home, we agreed to change his name to Striker in homage to both baseball and soccer.  Striker took no time fitting in with our fam!

Lastly, we hosted our peeps for a Memorial Day dip and I made a note to wear my straw hat at next year's party!

C'mon, Summer!!

April

Dearest Colt and Jax,

April started in one of my favorite ways - - -  with bluebonnets!!

Soon came Easter and Grandma successfully spoiled y'all yet again!

And what's Easter without a soothing paraffin wax?

We made time for a fun Family Game Night but this game is harder than it looks!

Colt, you were a precious ant in the 2nd grade performance.

Of course, there were plenty of sporting events...

And someone lost his two front teeth!!!  #cutenessoverload

The month ended with the BIG 1-0! Turning 10 is a big deal so we started off with special pancakes.

You also got to play in a game on your actual birthday, which is pretty much your idea of a perfect day!

That night, we took some of your friends to watch FC Dallas play.  The brief rain shower didn't spoil our celebration!

They took you onto the field at half time and honored you with your name and face on the big screen!

It was such a great way to celebrate you, Jackson David.

Thanks for the best 10 years ever!