Back-blogging July 2009

I seem to be on a roll!!! Sure my house is getting destroyed at a rapid pace while I waste the day away here on the computer (thanks kids)! But at least I'm finally getting caught up on this thing!!
So we spent the 4th of July weekend with Uncle Jim and Aunt Shelley up in Dallas. It was so much fun (but when isn't it fun up there?)!! Jason was on call at the hospital on the 1st, so we were able to head up to Dallas the next morning when he got off of work. It's so much nicer when we get to stay longer than a night or two with all of the driving there and back!! 5 hours each way doesn't seem like much...unless you have kids in the car with you... Eek!!!
The first night we spent lazing around the house and visiting with the family. The next day we spent some time out on Uncle Jim's boat and had a BBQ and the next day (the 4th of July), we spent the whole day BBQing, swimming in the pool and being lazy! It was great!!

Uncle Jim with the kiddos


Poor Becky couldn't seem to get away from Kristin or Katie the whole weekend - she spent most of her time with them watching Sleeping Beauty and Thumbalina over and over, coloring and swimming in the pool). I'm pretty sure that Becky has a permanent twitch in her eye from going just a wee bit crazy!! :)

Kristin and Becky


Jason begins his weekend with a new set of temporary tattoos!!


They can't resist putting hundreds of tattoos on themselves and then showing their best manly poses. The only thing they love more is getting pictures of themselves! Sheesh... ;)


Jason always seems to enjoy posing for pictures... ;)


But he's not the only one... (Hey! Get my baby out of that mess!)


Mark, Caleb, Mike, Jason and Micah doing what they do best (embarrass Uncle Jim and Aunt Shelley by letting the neighbors see them). ;)


Will it ever end??!! ;)


Aw...my little Caleb-poo...


Marissa and Caleb on the boat


Caleb, Aunt Shell, Becky and the girls are ready to set out!


I'm telling you...he loves the camera (a little too much)... :)


Uncle Jim taking the boat out onto the lake


Jason taking the jet ski for a ride


While me and Aunt Shelley have a drink...or two...


Our cute little Kristin


Me and Jason


Becky


It's too much fun for the boy - he has to take a break...


Kristin and her Uncle Mike


I don't know about him... ;)


Jason and Micah entertaining themselves


Aunt Shelley taking care of the boy


Becky and Kristin seem to be enjoying themselves


Katie watching from afar... She didn't seem to like the water quite as much...


Marissa and Katie


The kids' surrogate grandparents


Marissa trying to get Katie to have fun in the water


Jason being pulled along...


by Mike and Micah on the jet ski


Whoa! What the heck??!


Uncle Jim and Jason deep in conversation


Becky somehow escaped from the kids' little clutches!!


Me and Caleb back at the dock


Caleb and his Great Grandma Capra


Becky is stuck with Katie...again...


Jason teaching Caleb some jiu jitsu moves (I guess you're never to young to start learning) ;)


Oh Daddy - are you for realz?? ;)


Okay - I think that's enough for today...


Caleb approves of my 4th of July flag cake!


Becky and the girls at the computer watching Thumbalina for the thousandth time! Poor Becky! Little did she know at this moment that she would be spending the next 3 weeks with these monsters!! :)


On Sunday the 6th, we packed up the car and we're about to leave when Rissy joked that she was going to hide in the back of our car and come with us. Then I started thinking...we were going to be back up to Dallas in less than 3 weeks to fly out of DFW to go to Joe's wedding in Virginia... So why don't we just bring Becky and Rissy along with us??!! After 30 seconds of deliberations, we decided it was a plan and after a couple minutes of begging Uncle Jim, the girls were off and packing their bags. We had plans of some sort of 3 week bootcamp where we'd watch what we ate and exercised twice a day. Surprisingly we actually followed through with our plan and we all lost 6 pounds each!! It was SO much fun having them stay with us!! We worked out once in the morning and once at night (either using the treadmill, running the track or going to classes at the gym), we ate healthfully (except for the day we had a BBQ with some friends), we shopped, cackled and watched far too many movies. The time flew by (at least for me it did)! Who knows... Becky and Marissa might have been going crazy and were just too nice to say so!!

Jason was so excited to see that he and Mike's jiu jitsu team shirts came in the mail, he put it on immediately and requested a picture to be sent to Mike. ;)


Me and the girls


Our cute little cousin-poos


Kristin playing outside our favorite Burger joint Big'z


Katie clinging to the tree for dear life


Caleb wants to be in a picture too!!


Our poor little cousins were trapped in the girls' playhouse for a little too long... (Becky's eye is twitching again) ;)


Poor Becky went a little crazy and somehow ended up in a princess dress. :)


Becky climbing the rockwall at our gym...right before I did (it's too bad my camera battery died right after this picture...) ;)


The three weeks had finally come to an end and I spent the last couple of days getting all of our stuff packed and ready to go. We drove back to Dallas on July 24th, spent the night and flew out of DFW to D.C. the next morning on our way to Virginia for Jason's brother Joe's wedding!!! Woohoo!!!!! More on that later... ;)