sprinkler fun

You haven't experienced West Texas until...

you've seen a sand storm.

That was what my mother in law said at dinner tonight.

Then this happened...

Maybe thirty seconds later the wall of sand had completely taken over the sky.

And it kept getting thicker and making it darker.

And then, in a matter of seconds, it was clear on one side of the house. Can you believe how bright it was at 9pm?? I guess that's what happens when there are no trees to block your view!

I walked around to the other side and there was virtually zero visibility past their yard! That was baffling to me considering you can see for miles on end on a normal day.

Needless to say, I experienced West Texas.

Madelyn and Lamby's festive decor

Madelyn wanted to make something fun for our Fourth of July party at Gigi and Papa's house. I was thinking a cake. In her words, she was thinking "decor"! What a mess. She and Lamby (and I) made some fun paper lanterns.

She thought they weren't complete until we added a few farm animals.

She was right; they are the perfect finishing touch.

We put some outside while everyone enjoyed the pool and she was pretty proud of her "decor".

Just some Saturday night fun...

Lubbock Attractions

This morning after breakfast we set out to see some of Lubbock's attractions!

All week I have been hearing Luke's family mentioning Prairie Dog Town. I am not sure exactly what I envisioned PDT to be, but this definitely wasn't it. It was much more simple than I thought and it was exactly as the name describes...a prairie dog town. 

There were prairie dogs all over the little fenced in "town". They squealed, went in to their holes and stood straight up to look around.

Madelyn had fun pointing to them and listening to them squeal.

Some of them even fought over Cheetos for lunch!

Up next was the windmill farm. It was pretty interesting to see so many different types of windmills together and to see all the older ones next to the newer wind turbine. The sheer size of the newer ones is incredible!

Madelyn had fun exploring while we were there!

So if you ever make a trip to Lubbock, Texas be sure to check out Prairie Dog Town and the Windmill Farm just across the street!

Tonight in Lubbock...

Can you believe that all of this took place well after eight o'clock pm???

Madelyn and I played with chalk in the driveway. We made up our own hopscotch maze and she loved it. It nearly caused an asthma attack, but thankfully she seems to know when to quit. Gigi joined us and she and Madelyn made fun shapes with the chalk stencils.

There is a little wheat field next to their house that I thought it would be fun to take some pictures of Madelyn in at sunset.

I watched as the sun began to fade and we decided to make a run for it and take the pictures.

Right when we got out there the sun disappeared behind a cloud and most of the gorgeous orange tones were gone.

We will have to try again another night. The sunsets here are beautiful. Beautiful sunset plus a beautiful girl is sure to mean a beautiful picture!

I love this sweet little face.

Then we rode down the road to one of Papa's friend's stable to feed his horses.

Madelyn did this the other night but this was my first time to ride along. She loved the horses and had absolutely no fear!

Can you believe all of that took place well after eight in the evening (MK's normal bed time)? We got back to the house from feeding the horses just after 9:30pm! I can't believe how late it is before the sun goes down out here!

the sweetest wedding

Saturday morning we left Houston and headed to Austin for another special wedding. BJ, one of Luke's students from Martin's Mill married his beautiful college sweetheart. The words spoken at the ceremony were so powerful. They were encouraging, challenging and full of truth.

The details of the evening were perfect but I only managed to take these three pictures.

Seeing two young people so in love and so alive in Christ just makes you smile and draws you closer to Jesus.

I am so thankful that we were able to be there and witness the joining of these two and I look forward to watching their family grow through the years. We left before it was over (I am the one in the family that likes to stay until the newlyweds leave) because MK was so stinkin' tired from two weddings in a row, but it was so fun to watch them have the time of their lives together!

MK had a blast dancing with her Daddy again! One of BJ's sisters orchestrated a flash mob in the weeks before the wedding and all the guests learned it via Vimeo. It was pretty much the most fun moment at any reception I've ever been to simply because of how BJ and Sara's faces lit up. You can watch the video on the videographer's blog here: http://www.videobrideblog.com/2012/06/sara-and-bjs-flash-mob.html and if you look closely you can spot my two favorite people! Luke and another guy were joking that they didn't have a video that showed how to pull off the dance while holding a 30 pound toddler!

Happy Wedding Day to two precious people!