Our Home - August 2006

our front yard

the playroom

kitchen/dining/living areas utility and craft roomoffice and workout room
boys bedroom
master bedroom
master bath

There is another bedroom and bathroom, but this gives you a little glimpse at where we spend most of our time. We love our house and are looking forward to decorating and remodeling a little more as time and money permit. : )

Views from Our Backyard - August 2006

Well, we don't have any mountains outside our windows, but we can't complain about the view. There is a cotton field directly behind us, so we get to see some great sunsets! Danny took the picture above as a thunderstorm was approaching one evening. If you look closely you can see the Big Dipper in the middle of the sky above the storm.

Little Bunny Colter - August 20

Colter really misses Wyatt when he's at school, so we try to make those mornings a little extra special with trips to the store, visits to the clinic to see Daddy and fun playtime with Mama. I took this one morning when we pulled out the dress-up box. He was having lots of fun!

Legacy Play Village - August 18

After a day on ER call, Danny gets the next afternoon off. We took advantage of one of those afternoons and took the boys to Legacy Play Village in Lubbock. They had so much fun climbing, sliding and swinging. They especially liked the "big curly tunnel slide."

The Morrow's Visit - August 16

Our good friends from Waco, Wendy, Aaron, Micah (below with Wyatt), Emma Shae (above with Colter) and baby Mallory, came to visit us on their way back from Colorado. Wyatt and Colter were very happy to see familiar faces and we all enjoyed visiting and catching up with each other.

Wyatt's First Day of Preschool - August 14

Wyatt was really excited about his first day of preschool! He goes to school (which is actually at our church!) on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings for about 3 hours. We are truly blessed to have a wonderful Christian-based preschool in our little town.

Wyatt's New Bicycle - August 12

Colter was really wanting to ride Wyatt's tricycle, so we decided it was time to get Wyatt a "big boy" bicycle. Colter is happy to have the tricycle and Wyatt likes that his bike is "just like Daddy's."

Colter's Tigger and Blanket - August 10

Colter loves his blanket and his Tigger! When he wakes up he is usually drags one of both of them out of bed with him and carries them around for a little while. He found the drawer where I keep the extra blankets and extra Tigger, so now it is common to find him asleep in bed with all of the blankets and both Tiggers! : )

Brotherly Love - August 6

Just some cute pictures of the boys. They really do love each other! We continue to pray that they will always be best of friends.

Jen's 30th Birthday - August 4

I celebrated my 30th Birthday with Danny, Wyatt, Colter, my parents and all my siblings at my parents house in Lubbock. It is so nice being close to family!

Noni and Papa's House - August 4

The boys love playing in Noni and Papa's backyard! It's only an hour and 20 minutes from our house to their house. It sure beats the 6+ hour drive we had from Waco!

Playground Philosophies - August 1

Wyatt and Colter have a serious love affair with anything that involves climbing up and sliding down! Wyatt, our analytical one, can tell you all about the different kinds of slides he likes (straight, bumpy, curly, tunnel or a combination!). Colter, our fearless one, doesn't realize he's almost two years younger than Wyatt, so he tries (and usually succeeds!) to do everything that Wyatt does. They are both adventurous, but their approaches are very different. I'm curious to see how their "philosophy of playgrounds" translates into a "philosophy of life!"

Welcome Reception - July 28

The clinic and hospital hosted a welcome reception for our family a few days after Danny started work. The announcement for the reception was in the newspaper and on the bank signs. We were starting to feel like local celebrities! Over 100 people came to introduce themselves to us and welcome us to the town. The hard part now is remembering everyone's name, but we do feel very welcomed!

Summer Fun - July 17

Swimming is one of Wyatt and Colter's favorite summertime activities. Danny took them swimming at a couple of hotel pools while we were on vacation, so they were both very excited to have a pool in our backyard when we returned to Dimmitt!

Our Yosemite Adventure (Day 14) - Home to Dimmitt

We drove all the way from Flagstaff to Dimmitt, about 12 hours, on Sunday, July 16. It was a long last day of driving, but we were all ready to get home. Despite the long hours in the car, we were so blessed by this time away. It was a chance to reflect and relax after three years of residency, a chance to see some spectacular scenery, a chance to reconnect with dear friends, and most importantly a chance to grow closer as a family. We are so thankful that God allowed us this opportunity to just get away and enjoy each other!

We were in the car for about 50 hours during these two weeks. The boys are great travelers and enjoyed it most of the time. Here are some of the things we overheard during the trip...

* "It's like a rollercoaster!" - Wyatt

* "mou-mou" - Colter (mountain)

* "Look how high we are!" - Wyatt

* "Ohhhh!" - Colter (his response whenever he saw something pretty)

* "Colter, don't go to sleep yet. We're almost to California!" - Wyatt (somewhere in New Mexico!)

* "Is that truck following us?" - Wyatt

* "Come on, Colter, sing with me!" - Wyatt

And my favorite -

* "Let's get out now and just walk to Dimmitt!" - Wyatt (after 8 hours in the car the last day of driving!)

Our Yosemite Adventure (Days 12 & 13) - Death Valley National Park

Before leaving California, Danny had to spend some time in Death Valley. We decided to camp one night in the mountains where it would be significantly cooler than the actual valley.

We saw lots of wildlife around our campsite - jackrabbits, lizards and owls. The temperature was actually quite pleasant and the boys had fun walking around and exploring.

The next morning we drove down into the valley. When we got to the visitor's center at 10:00 am the temperature was already 106. When we left 30 minutes later it was up to 108! We drove down to Badwater Basin (the lowest point in the US), took a picture and then headed for cooler weather!

Our Yosemite Adventure (Day 12) - Laws Railroad Museum

We found a great railroad museum just outside Bishop, California. The boys loved being able to climb inside a real train. Wyatt said, "Look Mama, I'm driving the train!"