Mary Had a Little Lamb

I discovered this letter in Thomas' backpack!  It describes his personality perfectly.  It really is about "Mary Had a Little Lamb".

Beijing, China

 I traveled to Beijing for a very quick guided tour by EF Tours.  It was my free training tour since I am taking students this coming summer.  It was an amazing once-in-a-lifetime trip!  I ate with chopsticks the entire trip, and ate only Chinese food.  I didn't love it, but I survived and have many stories to tell.

I walked on the Great Wall of China!  I can't believe it!  The wall and the area around it are absolutely breathtaking!  It is unreal to stand there and think of how long ago it was built.

 I enjoyed hanging out with Jaime, my EF rep!  I was so excited she was able to go.  I was in a group of 40 teachers.  I loved Robert, our tour guide!

This is me in Tiannamen Square!  It was so much fun to visit a place that I teach about!  I cannot wait for my trip to Europe this summer!

Best Dog Ever

Beautiful Kitty

I love this picture of our Lucky kitty!  He is 8 months old now!

Halloween

This year we have a Ninja, Robin, and Steve (from Minecraft).  Also, notice the table and chairs in the back!  We are setting up for a fun party - rockin' music through the loud speakers and giving away hot dogs, chips, and water!  Neon nights!!

Dinner with Papa G.

We took Papa G. out for dinner.  He was craving some oysters tonight! The kids absolutely love hanging out with him!  I love watching how they help him get around and hold the door for him.  Even more fun is watching the other people in the restaurant enjoy the kids doing so much for him.  I am so thankful he moved to Texas to be near us.  I love that the children know him so well and love him so much!

Date Night

I love this man!

Sweet Kiddos

I needed a good picture of the three together! It's almost impossible to get one with Chase making a serious face!  Oh well!  It is where we are in life, right!?!

My Visa is Here

I am so excited about going to China next month!  My visa came in the mail today.  It takes up an entire page in my passport!

Soccer Season

Chase is trying out a new sport this year...soccer.  As with most everything he touches, he's pretty good at it!  If only he didn't act like he was so good...

When you're grounded...

What's a girl to do when she can't play with friends or electronics?  A tea party with paper plate friends, of course!

Eating the Dove

Along with the great memories of dove hunting goes the memories of eating them!  And who better to fry them up and make some biscuits and gravy to go with them than my daddy?!

Hunting with Papa G.

Chase had the wonderful opportunity to go Dove Hunting with Papa G. this season...and he killed a few!  I have many memories of bird hunting with Papa and his dogs.  I was so excited that Ray C. invited him to go hunting with them, and I know he enjoyed it.

Off to School

 This year, the kids will ride their bikes to their brand new school...Pope Elementary!  Thomas is in 5th grade.  Mary Frances is in 4th, and Chase is in 2nd!  They have a beautiful new school and are really excited about being close enough to ride their bikes!

Love my Boys

Duke Family Reunion

Every other year, Ray C.'s grandparents host a family reunion for the their family.  This year, we went to Charlotte, North Carolina.  It was a fabulously planned out reunion.  We spent mornings at our hotel and evenings at Art and Gail's home.  We celebrated Grandpa's 91st birthday, played lots of Bingo and other games, and ate some fabulous food.  I really love being a part of this family!  The only thing that could have made it better would have been if Mom could have been there!

On Our Way Home...

Ray C. loves to take us to fun places.  So, on our way home from North Caroline, we made a few little stops!  One was in Memphis, Tennessee.

 We were super excited to visit Graceland, home of the King of Rock 'N Roll, Elvis Presley!  The kids really enjoyed the trip, especially since daddy familiarized us with the king by playing Elvis Radio for three hours before we arrived!

 We also visited downtown Memphis, where we are at The Blues Cafe and did a little window shopping.

And then, we took a less than beautiful walk down the streets of Memphis to the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot.  The hotel has been preserved to look the same as it did that tragic day.  It was a wonderful lesson for the kids as we were able to point out signs that still existed from those days on some restaurants..."Whites Only" or "No Coloreds".  We had some good conversations.  I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to visit both of these historic places.

Reminiscing...

On our way to the Family Reunion, we stopped by Ray C.'s old stomping grounds...the Georgia State baseball field!  It has changed so much.  WE enjoyed a few moments of remembering college and baseball before we climbed back in the car and headed to North Carolina.

Frontier Camp

 This year, all of my babies are at camp for the week!  How boring for me!  What am I supposed to do with so much time?  It is way too quiet!

Yay!  We picked them up, and they were all safe and sound!  And...Chase is 8 now because he celebrated his birthday at camp!

Visiting with Arkansas family

We don't get to go often, but I love any opportunity my kids have to visit with and get to know family.  This summer, we got to go to Arkansas and visit with quite a few.  We stopped in Crossett first.  We visited with Papaw at the nursing home and them took him over to Aunt Ginger's to hang out with some other family for the day.  We were so excited to have him with us!

 This is Papaw with Uncle George, Aunt Elizabeth, Addie and Hallie.

 Thomas got to show off his guitar skills a little.

 Mary Frances loved hanging out with her girl cousins!

 We even got to visit the Duck Commander headquarters on our way in to Arkansas.  West Monroe is only about an hour from Crossett.  (I'm always scared I'm going to see family on the show when we are watching Duck Dynasty!)

New Haircut

Isn't she cute!  Perfect summer haircut!

The pitcher

Look at him go...

Fashion Show

Mary Frances had her friend, Katy, over for a sleepover, and they decided it would be fun to have a little fashion show - Katy picked out the outfits, and Mary Frances did the show!

Gotta Look Good for Family

My mom taught me that you should always look presentable - especially when you are seeing someone you haven't seen in a while.  So, as we were walking up to the restaurant to see Ashley and Emmala, I did  little check of the kids.  Chase caught on to what I was doing, and because he is loving his mohawk, he wanted it to look it's best too!  So, just as any boy would do, he spit in his hands, rubbed it together and straightened up his mohawk.

Mary Frances and I were totally grossed out, but knowing the kid, we weren't too surprised.  So, we all got a good laugh and rolled our eyes as we waked up.  Just a minute later, Ashley walks out the door to hug us and walks right up to Chase, rubs his head and says, "Cool haircut, dude!"

The rest of us all looked at each other, mortified, and Mary Frances pipes up, "I wouldn't do that if I were you!"  So, then we explained what happened, all had a good laugh, and encouraged Ashley to wash her hands before eating!

These are the stories we will be telling for years to come - especially at Chase's wedding and when he has kids!! It's the fun of being a parent, right!?!

Alfaro's and Rangers

We enjoyed lunch with Ray C.'s cousin, Ashley and her daughter, Emmala.  It was so much fun to see them again.  They have been living in Dallas for a while, but they are moving to Vancouver in just a few weeks.  They took us to a fun burger joint too!  Another place with wild game.  I'm liking the food in Dallas!

 (The boys were with us too, but they were too busy playing around to be in the pictures!

 Mary Frances was especially excited to hang out with another girl cousin!  She loved Emmala.

AND the Rangers!!  You can't go on a Hughes vacation without at least attempting to visit a ballpark!  We enjoyed a SUPER HOT game with the Texas Rangers.