Summer rocks!

Hey guys,

I have some free time on my hands this summer because *drum roll* THE KIDS ARE AT GRANDMA'S HOUSE!! Woot! They were gone for 3 weeks at the beginning of summer and then came home for 10 days. Now they are back in OK for a couple of weeks before coming back to get ready for school to start. First of all let me say that I miss my kids immensly when they are gone. It's too quiet at my house. (I can't say that the house is any cleaner though.) But, Vince and I have really been enjoying our kid-free time soooo much. We haven't ever been away from our kids this long, so it's a little weird trying to figure out how to spend our time. I can say that we do still like each other! Here's a peek at what's been happening-not that kind of peek, you pervs!

At the end of May/start of June, Vince's entire family rented a beach house in Galveston, TX for a week. What a blast! It was the best vacation. Just the right amount of relaxation mixed with seeing the sights and spending time with family. I do have pictures, but not on this computer, so I can't upload them just yet. We played at the beach a lot, we shopped, we ate and ate and ate, we went to Moody Gardens and saw the aquarium (cool!) and the rainforest (meh.) pyramids, we went to the Pleasure Pier and rode ALL the rides, we napped, we rode the motorcycles, we house-hunted for our dream beach house that we quite obviously cannot make a reality, we went deep sea fishing, we grilled up some shark steaks and red drum that we caught, we went for runs on the beach...you get the idea. The kids had a blast too. I love seeing my kids so happy and worry-free. By the time we were heading back, we were all brown as berries and making plans for the next beach vacation. We spent the night at my parent's house and then took off the next day, leaving the kids with Nana and PaPa. Then, the next weekend, my parents met Vince's in Oklahoma City and left the kids with Grandma and Grandpa. They did have some home-sickness going on at first, but the grandparents try their hardest to wear them out, so they ended up being alright. Plus we have Skype and Facetime, so what's to miss?

Then the kids came home (they brought Grandma with them) for a couple of weeks. It was nice to have all the action again. Man, are they loud! We packed in some fun activities before they were back on the road to OK like movies, Casa Bonita, and the Renaissance Festival. The next time they are back in Colorado, we will have to slow them down a bit and get them back into the school routine. Summer seems so short, doesn't it? But for now, they are back to bugging Grandpa and wearing out Grandma for a couple of weeks and Vince and I are back to staring at each other wondering how it got so quiet. Did I mention my kids are loud? I love those loud little boogers. Turns out, absence DOES make the heart grow fonder.