4th of July weekend FUN

We had a very busy and very fun 4th of July weekend!

We headed out Saturday morning and traveled down to Schertz to spend some time with my Grandma. We enjoyed hanging out with her for the afternoon and then we had some great fried catfish and awesome onion rings at Clear Springs Restaurant for dinner.

Sunday we headed to Fredericksburg for the rest of our weekend plans.
We got into town and did a little shopping on Main Street.


My boys weren't thrilled about shopping but they endured and we got a great lunch at the Fredericksburg Brewery Co.


We then headed to Luckenbach to enjoy a laid back afternoon under the big oak trees with good music and great friends.





Walt Wilkins, Jason Eady, and Robyn Ludwick did a song swap.
We enjoyed music, fun stories, and cold beer! Doesn't get much better!!

Ethan had a blast exploring Luckenbach. He loved "playing" this guitar sculpture and chasing the resident roosters.


After the music was over an impromptu game of Wiffle Ball was started up. The base lines were drawn, bases laid out, teams picked and then it was ON!!
So much fun on a Sunday afternoon!


Monday was the 4th and we headed back to downtown Fredericksburg for their 4th of July parade. Ethan enjoyed seeing the fire trucks, waving to the floats, and of course he went crazy for the horses.


After the parade, we found this coin operated horse ride in front of an ice cream shop. Ethan climbed up and was sitting there checking it out. We slipped a couple coins in and Ethan didn't know what to think when the horse started moving! His face lit up, he held on, and LOVED the ride!!


We grabbed lunch at Rather Sweet Bakery (which has great lunch and AWESOME desserts!!) and then we headed back to Luckenbach for
Live Free and Fly 4th of July Celebration
hosted by the Wilkins Family.
Hearing Tina Wilkins sing God Bless America is one of my favorite moments of the day!


We celebrated the 4th here last year

and it was great to be back with family and friends again this year.

We feel truly blessed to have the freedom to gather with friends and loved ones and celebrate this way. We are thankful for the men and women who serve our country and for those who have helped make this possible!!

Lions and Tigers and Bears

and Monkeys and Elephants and.....

We took Ethan to the Ft Worth Zoo last Saturday for his very first Zoo experience.


He loves animals and was enthralled with each exhibit!
His favorite was definitely the monkeys because they were the most active. He would laugh as they would swing from the ropes and play with each other.


He also liked watching the Elephants.

We had to go back to see both the monkeys and the elephants one more time before we left.


He had such a great time and was so excited the entire trip. When we got back to the car he crashed before we were even out of the parking lot of the Zoo!!


Here's some shots of the other fun animals we saw.

Rhino


Meerkat


Zebras


Giraffe


Lazy Lion


Penguins

Lovin the Lake

Sunday afternoon we loaded everyone up, and headed to the lake for the afternoon. This was Ethan's first time in a boat and he was very excited!!

He did a great job of wearing his life jacket the entire time.


Feeding the ducks on the boat ramp with Daddy


Trying to figure out how to drive the boat!


Hanging out with Momma.


Wind in his hair enjoying the cruise.


We get to use Uncle Jared's boat for the next couple months while he is away for work, so we are looking forward to more fun in the sun!!

2nd Birthday Brought to you by the Letter E & the Number 2

It is so hard for me to believe that we celebrated Ethan's 2nd birthday this past weekend. I feel like it was just a couple months ago that we were having Barnyard Bash for his 1st! Ethan loves Elmo so we decided to go with a Sesame Street theme this year.


Getting the decorations together was fun.
I made the treat bags and filled them with fun Sesame Street themed favors.

I also made a couple banners to go with the theme.


In keeping up with last years cupcakes I decided to make Elmo, Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, and Big Bird cupcakes.

I also did a candy bar and had Letter E and Number 2 cookies!

Elmo had his Goldfish and Cookie Monster had his cookies.
We all enjoyed lots of snacks and yummy hotdogs!



Ethan enjoyed his cupcakes!


Playing on the swing set from Mommy & Daddy and Nana & Opa

Opening lots of fun birthday presents!


Loving the new tractor from Pops!!


It was a GREAT 2nd birthday party and we were so blessed to have lots of friends and family to share it with!!

Under Construction

We decided for Ethan's 2nd birthday it was time for a playset! He LOVES to slide and be outside so we figured this would be perfect. We were able to find a great deal on a playset and luckily Zack had some help from some of our friends to get it all set up in the backyard.


Ethan watching from in the house.
Very eager to get out there and help finish putting it together.




Power Tool in hand ready to help!



Ethan checked out every inch of the new playset!
Up the ladder

Down the slide

Swing

Monkey Bar

Rope ladder

Rockwall

Picnic Table


I think that this is gonna be a hit!

Birthday Walk

This past Friday at Ethan's school they held his Birthday Walk. This is a special event they do for the birthday boy or girl to celebrate their big day! They have the birthday boy hold the earth (a globe) and walk around the sun (a candle) to represent the year it takes for another birthday.

They also show pictures from a timeline of birth to the current birthday. He was very proud to show the pictures of the different things he has experience in the past 2 years!


Big Boys in Little Chairs!



We took cupcakes for Ethan to share with his classmates.


Ethan was very excited to have Great Grandma Schmidt, Nana, Opa & Uncle Jared there to celebrate his Birthday Walk.




Big HUGS!