Mike and I drove to San Antonio to visit Sam and his family for Thanksgiving. We left early so we could go "camping" near the lake with them. We also went early so that Mike could help Sam replace the old tile in the two upstairs bathrooms with a new tile stamped vinyl laminate flooring.
The weather has been pretty great here during our trip. It's been partly cloudy with cooler temps for sure. We left for the lake rather late on the 20th and settle into our "cabin" (an older trailer house) not far from the lake. The next morning Mike and Sam decided to go back to Sam's house to start busting out the old tile in the bathrooms while the rest of us stayed back at the lake house to keep everyone away.
My favorite part of the camping trip was taking the boys out to the lake the last evening we were there. The weather was perfect after it had drizzled during the day and the rain clouds had cleared. I loved watching Joey and Eli in and near the water. Eli was excited to run into the lake even though it was COLD. And Joey loved walking in the sand and searching for little seashells to collect. They are two of a kind and both such beautiful and endearing and beautiful boys with inquisitive and creative minds.
The guys got all the old tiles and baseboards out and the new materials installed in 4 days, including clean up! That was super fast, and Kiley was so happy with her new bathroom floors. Sam and Mike did a great job on the bathroom project and saved time and money by doing it themselves.
I helped Kiley with the shopping, cooking, cleaning, and childcare while the guys worked on the bathroom floors and ran errands to Lowes's and Home Depot. Kiley and I did our own share of shopping at Target, H.E.B., and Walmart.
It has been fun to be with the kids at home in their own element doing their own thing. They are such amazing kids and so full of energy! And I appreciate what a good mother Kiley is. She has her hands full with three active little ones and a baby on the way. But Kiley is a loving, patient, nurturing mother who teaches her children the gospel and helps them learn how to do things on their own.
I loved reading stories to the kids at night before they went to bed. I loved making them pancakes and watching them play. I loved giving them hugs and kisses and tucking them into bed. And I loved hearing Joey tell the story of The Three Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf from memory. I helped in fill in a few details, but he did an amazing job, and he is an excellent reader. Smart boys for sure and very sweet.
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Photos of our camping trip:
Eden loves the water and gets excited to take a bath |
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Eli loves Legos and is building a robot with his new set
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Joey on the floor of the trailer house with his
Micro Machine toys and sea animals
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| Eli is really amazing with Legos. Here is his finished robot. |
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Eden, our sleeping beauty
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We saw families of deer in the woods near the lake
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Sweet boys, Joey and Eli enjoying the lake
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Sweet children at play
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Eden loves little dolls and babies
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These boys are creative
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Sam and Kiley's Christmas tree
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We made pumpkin pie and an apple pie and tarts
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Joey on my laptop writing a story about animals
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Sam and Mike worked on two bathrooms for four days
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Pretty finished bathroom floor and baseboards
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Sam and Kiley took us out for dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse
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| Joey, Eden, and Eli doing their art work at the kitchen table |
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Time for our simple but yummy Thanksgiving meal
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We had ribeyes, corn, sweet potato casserole, asparagus, and rolls
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| Kiley and Sam, our musical kids |
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Eli and Joey in their matching glow-in-the-dark shirts
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What a happy, beautiful girl
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