Happy Father's Day

We started off Rodney's father's day weekend with a father/son home depot project. They made a really cool mini tool box together.
After doing the project and grabbing some lunch we decided to go downtown to Riverfront Park and spend the afternoon hiking and playing down by the river. Every time I go down to this park I wonder why I don't visit it more often. It's a lot of fun and a really nice place for Joshua to explore. Joshua had a blast going on the trails and using his binoculars to find things.

At the very end of the trail there's a neat place you can go out into the water at. There's a little spillway there (Joshua says it's a waterfall) and the water feels amazing after you've been walking and hiking out in the hot sun. Rocket was extremely happy for us to finally sit still and let him rest in the cool water.
Here's a few snapshots of us on the trails...

Rocket totally protesting the walk back to the car. It's 2.5 miles to this part of the park and then you have to turn around and walk 2.5 miles back to the entrance. Next time I think we'll just park down at this end of the park and play in the water instead of hiking. Joshua and Rocket loved this part of the day.


A very happy Joshua!! Any time he can get near water he's a happy boy! :)







After we took our nature walk for the afternoon (which ended up taking 3 hours) we headed home to get cleaned up and took Rodney out to dinner at his favorite restaurant and then went out for ice cream. We had a blast hanging out and just being outside together and are planning to head up to the mountains some time soon to see some more cool trails. We want to find a nice place where we can hike to a waterfall. So, if you have any cool places that you've been to let me know.

Happy Father's Day Weekend everyone!!

here lately....

Hello Everybody!

Summer break (for Joshua) is well under way. He started summer camp at our church this past week and has had a really good time so far. Except for the one day he decided he was not going... but, what do you expect when he's getting used to a new place? Just got to take some of these things as they come and get over them when they're done. No need hanging on to them and making a bigger deal out of them. I have to remind myself of this, pretty much daily, so that I can remain as sane as possible. (haha)

ANYWHO... Like I said Joshua is going to summer camp at our church and he gets to go on weekly field trips, and he gets to go swimming at the country club once a week. They have an awesome program set up for the kids where they can really have fun and experience a little summer fun and not just be in their classroom all summer long. This past Tuesday he got to take his scooter to camp with him and they had a time for the kids to ride them out in the open parking lot and had some police officers come and talk about safety. So, I'm pretty excited about him being in the program and having the kid interaction over the summer.

This past weekend we went up to see my mom and celebrate her birthday. We spent the day doing her favorite thing.. fishing! We went down to my uncle's land and fished, rode 4-wheelers and then went swimming a little later down at his house. It was a nice relaxed, laid back kind of day. I've posted a few pictures.

Rocket had a blast playing with my uncle's golden retriever. It was cute watching them play. Joshua didn't like it AT ALL at first because he thought Daisy was trying to hurt Rocket. I had to convince him that's just the way they play.
Joshua chilling out, waiting on us to catch a big fish so he could claim it as his. He cracks me up!
I love this picture. My momma is so fun and laid back. She was just laying there and waiting for a fish to bite her hook and the dogs came over to play.
Rocket trying to figure out what to do with the fish!!
Rocket checking out our catch for the day!
Here's the only thing I caught.. LOL... just my luck
Me and Joshua riding around on the 4-wheeler.
We had a fantastic day. Of course we always do when we go up to visit momma. It's so much fun there with all the different things we can get into. But, I'm most thankful that I got to spend her birthday with her. Those years we were in Texas were hard when we missed these celebrations with family. Being able to do these things really makes me feel blessed since I know what it feels like to miss them due to distance.

Been quite a week.... ready for the weekend!

We have had a crazy week and I'm so thankful that today is "my friday" at work because I'm so ready for this week to be over! Joshua has been sick since Monday morning, running a fever everyday this week so far. We went to the doctor and they, of course, said exactly what I knew they would. "It's viral so you just need to treat the fever and wait for it to work it's way out." I HATE that answer and I HATE that he's had this fever all week. I'm ready for my little man to feel better and be back to his normal, active little self. Here's a picture of what he's had to do all week.

He's definitely getting tired of having to lay around and he's ready to be back in the pool and outside with his friends.

With Joshua being sick it's thrown our week completely off and our sleeping has been almost non-existent. So, needless to say, we are exhausted and ready to relax. We are suppose to be heading up to Lancaster to see my momma on Saturday. Saturday is her birthday and we are going up to spend the weekend with her and celebrate. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that whatever Joshua has will get up and go so he can have a good time with her this weekend. I guess we'll see how he is tomorrow and make our final decision on what we need to do.

On a lighter note our cute little puppy, Rocket, is doing great. He is GROWING and getting to be an active little guy. He's starting to get really curious and is finding all kinds of stuff around the house to get in to. I guess it's time to "puppy proof" the house.

The first picture below was taken on May 27th and the second one was taken on June 7th. This is just how much Rocket has grown since coming home. I was SHOCKED when I compared the pictures. I did not realize how much he had grown until I put them up side by side.

Let the Weekend BEGIN

Right here is where you can find me if you need me this weekend. I plan on baking in the sun as long as I possibly can! I bought me some good tanning oil to try out this weekend so I'm hoping to get darker and get this summer tan worked on.
My toes aren't blue anymore.. instead I have a nice rose color to enjoy.. (LOL) I know, I know... way too much info!! (hahahaha) But, that's just me... silly ol' Courtney.
Have an awesome weekend!!! :)

Lunch by the Riverbank Zoo River

Rodney, Joshua and Rocket came down to have lunch with me today! We ate by the river and then went on a little nature hike before I had to go back to work.
Even Rocket brought his lunch with him. He ate better than Joshua did. (haha)





Joshua says he's headed straight to the pool when he gets home and poor little Rocket crashed out in the backseat before I even got back to work. Rocket will be glad to have some time alone this afternoon, I'm sure. (haha)

Last Day of Kindergarten

Joshua heading out for his last day of kindergarten!! My little guy has had a big year and I'm so proud of him for all the progress he has made and all the new things he has learned. Hard for this mommy to believe I'm going to have a first grader in fall. I thought having him start kindergarten was hard and now I'm thinking first grade is going to be ever worse because it just sounds so much more grown up than kindergarten. (LOL) Needless to say, this mommy wants to enjoy every single split second I can of Joshua being young! They grow up so fast and I don't intend on rushing it at all. I want to live in every single moment of it and enjoy it to the fullest.
Here's Joshua coming out of school today!! All done with kindergarten and moving on up!
Joshua called me when he got out of school today and the first thing he said to me was "MOM, I'M A FIRST GRADER NOW!" That kid just can't get any cuter!! Now, I'm patiently waiting on him, Rodney and Rocket to come have a picnic lunch with me so we can celebrate the last day of school. I'll take pics and post this afternoon. :)

Fresh Start

HELLO BLOG WORLD!!! OH, how I've missed you! I cannot believe it's been a whole school year since I've last posted so needless to say, I've got a lot of catching up to do. My last post showed Joshua starting kindergarten and tomorrow is actually his last day of kindergarten. We're entering the big world of First Grade next year and he's been pretty excited about that. Although, he's looking forward to his summer too so "school can wait." (LOL) I will definitely have a post tomorrow about his last day with pictures to celebrate!

We have had quite a year this past year and I can happily say that as I sit here today to tell you about it that God is good and we are at such a great place in our lives. God is faithful and knows exactly what we need at the exact moment we need it and my life is a complete testimony to that from everything we've experienced and gone through this year.

One of the sweet things that God has provided at the exact right time was a special little friend for Joshua. He has been wanting for a dog for the longest time and we have gotten to a place where we could surprise him with this and it was amazing at how same time we started looking for a dog we found out about a litter of golden retrievers that had been born and were able to go meet them and let Joshua pick one out.

Here's a few snapshots of our visits with Rocket over the 6 weeks we had to wait for him.

Here's Joshua meeting Rocket for the very first time. Rocket was only 5 days old in this picture.

Rodney and Rocket meeting for the first time.

Meeting Rocket's brothers and sisters.

Mommy and Rocket. Rocket was about 3 weeks old in this picture.

Rocket was almost 6 weeks old in this picture.

Joshua visiting Rocket one more time before he gets to come home.

We brought Rocket home on Memorial Day and him and Joshua have already become such great buddies. Rocket follows Joshua from room to room. Anywhere Joshua goes, Rocket is not far behind him. Joshua had to take a bath before school this morning and Rocket decided that if Joshua was taking a bath that he was to so he jumped right in there with him. It's so cute to watch Joshua and Rocket and I'm so thankful we were able to get Joshua a dog. It's going to be really neat watching them grow up together

Here's a picture of Joshua and Rocket on the way home this past Monday.

And, here's a picture of them hanging out. Anytime Rocket is asleep Joshua tries to curl up next to him and wait for him to wake up.
They are extremely cute!!!

So, this is a little/big part of what we've had going on. Stay tuned for a lot more updates!! :)

YAY, for blogging again!!! :)