Usually, we watch the local fireworks on Mark’s birthday, July 3rd. But this year, they were done on June 30th. Not a big deal to us. We packed up, braved the threatening storm clouds and headed out.
This was the year I finally remembered to hit up the dollar store and grab up all sorts of fun glow in the dark things. The glowing orbs are actually glow balls and were an instant hit!
Just because she is adorable…and doesn’t have a neck brace.
I took Saturday afternoon off from the NF Forum and went a few blocks down to the state capital! I was told this was one of the must sees in Austin. It did not disappoint. It is definitely Texas-sized
In their congressional area.
ON the front lawn of the capital.
There were statues all over the grounds. 
A rotunda that was added when they needed more space (instead of building out, they built down and added over 600,000 square feet underground.
The chandeliers spell out Texas and there are Texas stars everywhere.
This was the governor’s house. He was not there but I got to hear him speak later that evening at the forum!
When we got the “official” diagnosis for Emmie, I joined a group of some pretty amazing moms. Moms who have walked through fire themselves. Moms who have carried their children through fires and up mountains and through valleys. I didn’t know when I asked to join what a life line of support these women (mostly moms, some grandmoms and some even dads) would mean to me and to our family. I introduced myself living in the fog of the diagnosis and many, many hearts and virtual hands reached out, lifted up and loved on me. Little ol’ me. A complete stranger until that one paragraph and that one sentence: My daughter was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1.
These moms have lifted us up, prayed for, sent messages, and suggestions as we have walked these two years with NF.
In June, we pooled our skymiles together and I headed to Texas to actually meet several of these warrior moms.
This is our Georgia crew with the amazing Dr. Wolf in the middle of us. Every other year, the NF Forum (for families who are dealing with NF) meets up with the NF Convention (the professionals who are dealing with NF). This was the year. Dr. Wolf ate supper with us and then spent the next several hours listening, agreeing, discussing all of the ins and outs of our kiddos NF issues.
Renie was the very first NF mom to message me and has continually poured her heart in to our family and lifted up countless prayers for Super Ems. It was such a blessing to finally see her face to face!
This is part of my tribe. Part of my people. There are a lot of horrible things about Facebook, but this group of moms right here is above and beyond what is good!
Children’s Tumor Foundation is working hard to fund research to give us a world without so much fighting. Please consider signing up to walk or join our team!
I took an adventure on my own in June. I texted Mark throughout my travels. This is how it went down:
Me: Mark, I’m waiting to board the plane. There is a guy sitting near me with shifty eyes and he keeps landing on me. Please pray he isn’t sitting next to me.
Me: Oh my goodness, there is a lady carrying an urn…AN URN!!!! There’s a dead body flying with us.
Mark: Not a body. Just ashes.
Me: She has it casually tucked under her arm like it is a book.
Mark: Maybe it’s her security urn, like a blanket for some people.
Me: “Oh this? This is Bob. He travels everywhere with me. Dontcha Bob?”
Mark: Such a nice traveling companion, so quiet, a good listener.
Me: The flight attendant at the gate says, “I hope you all are flying some place cooler than Georgia.” Texas Ma’am. I’m flying to Texas. It’s the second level of hell in Dante’s inferno. What in the world made the forum planners choose Texas in summer? “I know guys! What wouldn’t be more fun than hanging out in Texas in the middle of summer?”
Mark: Can you see me at the gate?
Me: Nope. I see a wall of plane.
When I made it to my layover this went down:
Me: Grabbed breakfast and made a cat friend. Guy on tram grabbed the two poles between him and proceeded to lean forward as far as possible. Got to his stop, stood straight slowly with eyes closed and got bags and walked off. Guy beside him kept looking at him and shaking his head. I had to bite my lip not to laugh.
Mark: A cat friend?
After finding a frappucino to ease my weight…
Me: Did you know that while you wait for your flight you can practice your CPR skills?
Mark: CPR?
Me: Yes. Cardio pulmonary resuscitation.
And I scored an upgrade on my car!
I don’t think Mark will ever let me travel alone again. He missed out!
Our May and June weekends were super busy. I mean really busy.
We kicked June off with a trip to Papa and Grandmere’s where we met a masked man…
The kids zipped away on the zipline. Hands down, one of the best investments for our super active crew.
There is a fun creek in our hometown and we chose that as a quick meet up with Aunt Yaya and Uncle J and one of the kids’ nephews.
Aunt Yaya and I kept trying to figure out why we had never been out to the creek. The water stays cool year round which makes for a fun, refreshing trip. It’s perfectly wide and just deep enough to wade in.
And it has rocks to skip.
Or just to sit in.
Cousin E found a crawfish and with that captivated the attention of all eight of his cousins.
During this trip, we also squeezed in a family reunion at a local lake.
We all climbed to the top of the silo. That’s my kids way at the tip top.
I even climbed to the top…and took this picture.
It’s always fun to meet with family and hear stories of everyone.
And see my kids be goofy.
Mark and I celebrated 16 years of marriage on May 20th and the next day we celebrated the marriage of some friends. They had a beautiful wedding and welcomed formal attire. This meant that the girls wanted to get dressed up and several of the boys followed suit.
Ceili Rain picked out her hair do in the early afternoon and with the help of a neighbor’s curling iron, I was able to pull it off.
This kid is growing up way too fast.
So is this one! My kids are good lookin’
Such a little man.
These three are missing the fourth member of their team of destruction. But they are still adorable.
Do you think he knows how cute he is?
We’re nearing teen years with this one.
And this girl is a young lady now.
Zoe asked for a Gibson tuck and a braid on the side.
Ya’ll. Have you met Mark’s twin?
After the vows were said and we rejoiced in their new covenant, we danced the night away. Well, until everyone was exhausted.
Well, the sea lions. Our local zoo just opened a new exhibit of sea lions and an harbor seal. They had a preview week in May and it just so happened to start on the day we came back from vacation. And the zoo just so happened to be on our way home.
Getting there was our motivation to keep trudging and not stop except to fix sandwiches for lunch.
We got there early and decided to trek over to the botanical gardens and try out the new splash area. It did not disappoint but we made a few mistakes. First of all, it is a far, far walk to the botanical gardens. Sure, they have a tram but there was a line and we thought, “Oh we can make it.” We had a large shopping bag full of swimsuits and towels, an umbrella stroller and a 4 year old who was too tired to walk the whole way. Mark carried him. I pushed the stroller. A kid carried the massively heavy shopping bag.
We made it to the gardens and then had to search through the gardens to find the splash area. The gardens were beautiful but there was absolutely nothing telling us how to get to the kids area.
Then Ceili Rain stubbed her toe on the brick edging in the garden. It ripped the skin off one of her toes. Did you know that toes can bleed about as bad as lips? Well, they can. Her flip flop was covered. We probably left her dna all over the garden. I had zero band-aids because we left everything in the car but the basics. A brief stop and we wrapped the foot in one of the towels, Mark picked her up (she’s 7 ya’ll…not a light toddler) and made it to the splash area. Mark went with the big kids while I searched for a first aid station only to be told that I had to find a person in a green shirt. In the meantime, Ceili Rain found a sweet park attendee with a band-aid. After she was bandaged up, and everyone was changed, we were all set to go.
We made a pit stop at the carousel.
And there were lots of tears. Every time we went to the zoo when Emmie had the halo or brace, she refused to ride the animals. She loved the carousel but she was content to sit on a bench and ride around in a circle. So, we would sit and smile at others and wave. But, then we went this time. I started to sit with her on the bench and she said, “No.” And pointed to the animals.
She chose a panda bear and smiled and laughed and waved. Mark and I both about lost it. Our little Super Ems was gaining even more confidence. I had to look like an idiot crying while she rode, but if we could only show everyone how far she has come. How many battles she has fought. It was definitely a triumphant moment for us to witness.
I don’t think any of us ever outgrow the carousel!
Then, we finally headed to the sea lion exhibit. And ya’ll. This was so spectacular. They have a viewing area above and below the water and some very social sea lions who were swimming right by the viewing window over and over.
There were some other sea lions who just wanted to sun bathe.
We had a wonderful time, made some great memories and headed home completely exhausted.
After being blessed with a generous gift, we decided to combine anniversary and special day gifts to surprise the kids with a trip to Pirate’s Voyage in Myrtle Beach. I tried to video their reaction but they faked it. My kids don’t really freak out with fun surprises. Oh well.
They had an awesome time though! And we loved the meals!
We arrived early to check out the souvenirs and watch the pre-show. It turned out to be very entertaining, especially when the giant sea lion meandered up on stage.
The kids are already talking about going again. Mark and I have to let our pocket books recover first!
We were able to take a mini-vacation the day after Emmie’s birthday. Mark is saving up vacation for Y the Brave trips. But, we managed to squeeze in a three day getaway.
Although it was a little cold, we had a blast!
This girl thought the sand and waves hitting her feet were awesome.
On Sunday, Zoe and I were not brave enough to get in the cold water. So, we headed down the beach for a walk and then hit the outlets for a quick trip (our gigantic skillet needed to be replaced and the outlets were conveniently close by).
While we were walking, we noticed a large group of people. As we got closer, we realized it was a baptism. The congregation was Spanish-speaking. We stood close by and listened to them praising God and watching the new believers be baptized. It was such a beautiful scene!
We also saw several dead jellyfish. Pretty neat being able to see them close up. We studied ocean animals this year in Science. Now we got to study them up close.
My partner in crime on the beach.
membership! Ya’ll a zoo membership is one of the best deals for a large family. One visit really does pay for our membership. And it makes a great last minute field trip.
There are quite a few gorillas at our local zoo and this particular April day, they were super social. Several of them were quite interested in Emmie.
She was quite taken with them too.
We picked up a strong man, Malachi on the trip too.
Choo-choo
I have got to remember to get these pictures when we get there rather than when we are exhausted and ready to go home. As it is, this was the best we got at the end of a very fun, long day. After I snapped a couple of pictures the child who is visibly distressed (names hidden to protect embarrassment later) cried louder, “You didn’t take our picture!” Um, yes, I did. You just can’t tell because you were in curled up ball of over-exhaustion happiness.
These girls!
