InstaKings...

Holy guacamole, Batman - these past two weeks have been fast and furious. We slept in SIX different places in 10 days and lived to tell about it. So here's a little recap via the iPhone... 

By Monday, me and the kids were back on the road and headed to Baton Rouge for a visit with Mamaw and Gigi. 

We got to BR around 1pm and by 3pm we landed here. 

Y'all. I think that it TOTALLY lived up to the hype. I was furiously texting Jenn for her advice on what to buy and could barely keep up with the recommendations. A sweet TJ employee walked us around and filled our basket with all the "essentials" AND didn't even mention that my children were in Aggie gear. 

Visisting MaMaw's is always filled with fun discoveries - the girls loved this old picture of me and insisted I pose. 

And I couldn't pass up a game of "who is more my twin?" 

Landry wins for sure. 

We ventured to the mall for a major shopping trip on Tuesday and then headed up to campus to hang out with Mike. 

I may bleed maroon but Mike beats Reveille as a mascot on all sorts of levels. 

I guess it's an ok back-up school. 

;)

One final "look at our best tiger faces, Mom" pose and we headed home to beat the rain.

I got lots of late night time with this kiddo who discovered Property Brothers on HGTV and is now obsessed. He keeps explaining to me all we need to do to make some fixes and upgrades at home. 

My brothers and I spent so many hours in the safety of these branches. Climbing to the top to read books, eat lunch, play hide and seek. She's grown much too high for me to even think about climbing to the top now - but she holds such beautiful fond memories and I love taking the kids here to talk all about them. 

We enjoyed a mini-fashion show with all the fun finds... 

The girls picked their own accessories... 

struck tons of poses...

showed off our favorite finds (we are ready for next year's July 4th!)... 

and made me jealous that some of this stuff doesn't also come in my size.  

Radley and I finished the Chamber of Secrets and my favorite line from the book was once again from Dumbledore... 

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." 

We enjoy each moment we get to spend with MaMaw. She's ornery, set in her ways, a little obstinate and full of sass. But she also personifies what it means to "get back up." Three years ago she fell and broke her hip and fought back to being well. Six weeks ago she fell and broke her tailbone. She could give up, she could quit, she could refuse to do the work and although she doesn't like it - she continues to walk around the house and attempt her exercises. What a great example of perseverance and tenacity she is for my kiddos (and me)!

And let's not forget the one that keeps her from quitting, that pushes her to move, that runs the errands, talks to the doctors, fixes what's broken, cleans what's dirty, washes, dries, folds, cooks, prays and presses on. She cares for MaMaw, gives up her time and loves through every single hard moment (because, well, moms and daughters have lots of those). She shows us the true meaning of selfless service and living a life of being third. Thanks, Momma!

We had a fun four days and headed back on Thursday to get prepped for our next adventure. We were cruising along just fine until Lake Charles when this happened... 

We made it home, unpacked and REpacked for the weekend and still had plenty of time for Legos. Emersyn was super proud that she did this one from start to finish all by herself. 

By Friday at 1pm - this was my view. 

Weekends are hard. 

Really, really hard.

;)

Lots of laughter - TONS of fun - like pee in your pants in the lake at midnight while standing on a stump and trading silly stories while crying from laughing kind of fun. 

We floated and ate food and drank beverages and jetskied and kayaked and paddle boarded and lived to tell all about it.  

This morning these sweet things prepped a breakfast plate for me and Ryan before heading to church to watch Caroline get baptized. 

Such an incredible two weeks - wishing summer didn't have to end. 

Linking up with these fun ladies again... 

Biana from B Loved Boston 

and

Kate, Allison, and Valerie from 100 Happy Days!