New Braunfels 4th of July

We made a road trip for the 4th to the beautiful hill country of Texas.  First stop, naturally, at Buc-ees! And we even ran into Grammy and Grumpy! 

Our condo in New Braunfels had some pretty great views.  This was exactly what we wanted on the Guadalupe.

Two peas in a pod in their new shirts.

How do these boys grow so quickly?

Carter and I were getting ready for some fun on the 4th!

We spent most of the day playing in the river and having fun in the rapids right at the base of the hill.

These boys were exhausted after playing in the water all day.

A big German dinner was exactly what we needed.  Good thing we decided to just split one pretzel!

Grumpy was a little surprised at just how large the large beer really was!

The kids were actually in bed before the fireworks this year, but we celebrated the big birthday first thing on the 5th!

Happy birthday, Alex! It's hard to believe he's already 11! He was thrilled to spend his birthday with cousins for the first time and even more excited to get Schlitterbahn tickets from Mr. Scott and Miss Lou Anne to use that day.

It was a lot of fun spending 4 days together.  We found a 4-bedroom condo, which gave us plenty of space, even if the living room was pretty loud most of the time.

I took the birthday boy, Ben, and Reid for a fun day at Schlitterbahn and they anxiously awaited the first big ride.

I didn't realize this was Reid's first waterslide and he was a little scared but a total trooper.  He loved it!

The water coaster was a favorite for the day and we came back to ride it again that evening.

The long tube chutes are so much fun!

Lots of sunshine, memories, and laughs.  What a great way to turn 11!

Family picture of the whole group! The next day we checked out Natural Bridge Caverns all together.

The bridge which gave it its name.

We couldn't go to the hill country and not stop for lunch in Gruene.

Alex lost his hat at Schiltterbahn, then we found it, then it got lost again in the wave pool! We were so happy to get a call that they found it, so we made one more quick stop on our way out of town to retrieve his New Zealand hat. The perfect way to round out a wonderful weekend.

June Fun

While Matt was still with us, we squeezed in an Astros game with Grandma and Aunt Amanda.

We love our Astros! Even though Springer, Altuve, and Correa were injured we still enjoyed the game.

Such a beautiful sight! All things American still make me a little emotional and the National Anthem guarantees tears. 

Every time we go on a Friday night, the game always ties and we don't know if we'll hang around for the Friday night fireworks.  This time we were lucky and Gurriel scored in the 11th to wrap up the game.

We reluctantly said goodbye to Matt for the next 6 weeks because he had to get back to work in Jakarta.  The kids and I spent the rest of June catching up with loved ones and having some fun, like their golf camp at Augusta Pines.

We stopped by our old street to hug old friends and hang out a little bit.

We made many more trips to Chick-fila and I was thrilled to see their delicious new salads.

We enjoyed a LOT of cookie cakes.  Maybe 6? By the end of the summer, I was almost ready to stage an intervention wtih the kids.

We spent some time with our old friends and in lieu of birthday parties, the boys just had a friends party with everyone all together.

It was lots of fun for me, too! I miss my old neighbors!

Ben was thrilled to have the chance to drive again and won one of the two races.

It was a great afternoon with our old friends.

We were extra happy to spend an afternoon with the Hesters at Main Event.  I was so thankful that our paths met up for a few hours.

We had a fun time at the Museum of Natural Science with Jakarta friends, Lesley and Pam.  I think the grownups had more fun than the kids!

Our wild ones together.

Alex was dying to try the kids obstacle warrior course and killed the spider wall.

The boys patiently waited for haircuts at the barbershop in Conroe.  It's the oldest one in Texas and the only place they want to go, even if it means an hour wait.

More teeth were lost and Alex was happy to find out no braces this year!

The kids had a ton of fun with Grandma and Grandpa while I spent several days in Dallas, first with Jakarta girlfriends and then with Stacey.  It was a pretty wonderful month!

Alabama

Matt only had 10 days to spend in the states and he couldn't wait to get to Alabama.  It was a much easier trip - only backpacks and a 2-hour flight! Then it was all country roads and fresh air.  My morning coffee runs looked a little different.

Ben was quickly reunited with his favorite truck in the world.

Still holds 4 people! Sort of.

We spent plenty of time on the 4-wheelers to check out the timber.  I have retired from driving because I now have a designated driver.

Alex found a cute little buddy out in the woods.

Ahh, it was so nice to relax and breathe in the wide open spaces.  Everything is so completely opposite of Jakarta!

I even mowed my first field on the tractor.  Can't do that in Jakarta.

Lots of outdoor fun together and Ben was sad when it was time to head back to Houston because he wouldn't get to drive any more for the summer. But restaurants and shopping were calling! It was hard being back in the States and not getting to enjoy all the goodness that the cities have to offer.