Piano lessons

Thanks Zinneckers for the mini lesson

Big girl seat!

Hannah finally graduated to her big girl car seat. Thanks Mama Jo!!

Colorado and cooler temps!

Back in August during the North Texas heat wave, we decided that we needed to get away...FAST!
I think we had like 20 days in a row of 100+ deg. weather. It was awful! So we made a few phone calls and sent a few emails and soon we were on our way to visit friends and family over an extended Labor Day weekend in Colorado.

The mountains. Cool air. No sweat dripping down your back. Long walks. Beautiful! It makes me want to break out "Rocky Mountain High...Colorado". Come on John Denver fans...

Anyway, it didn't disappoint. The weather was AMAZING and we soaked. it. up! Highs were in the 70's and 80's with lows sometimes getting into the 30's at night.

Thanks to Nathan, The Witler family and Bill, Sally, and Diva Bell for being such great hosts. The Hubley's had a great time!

These deer frequent Nate's back yard. Hannah loved watching them. She kept saying "Dawwg". She thinks anything on four legs is a dog (except cats).

We hiked around this beautiful lake in Nate's little town of Evergreen.

Hannah kept calling the ducks and didn't understand why they wouldn't come to her. They would get real close (thinking we had bread) and them swim away. She would stomp her foot, yell at them, and look at me like..."Why won't they come to me?" Then, she would start calling them again.

Scott and Nate went on a "real" hike while Hannah and I napped. Look at that view! I was hoping he would get his mountain fix...but I think this only made it worse.

We went to visit some college friends, the Witler's, in a nearby town one day and enjoyed hanging out with them and their two kiddos. I wish I would have taken a picture of the kids running around, but we didn't even try to get a 4 yr old, 2 yr old, and a 16 month old to stand still long enough for that. We hung out in their back yard while the kids ran around for literally...about 4 hours and no one was sweating! Normally, Hannah is ringing with sweat after 30 minutes in our yard. Needless to say, it was lots of fun. Here is a picture of the boys.

Saying goodbye to Nathan and Kendra.

I just like this picture because Hannah is actually looking right at the camera AND smiling.

Scott's Aunt Sally and Hannah hanging out on the porch.

Bill hard at work in the kitchen cooking up something delicious!

One day while Hannah was napping at Sally and Bill's, Scott and I got away to enjoy some local scenery.

Hannah playing with Diva Belle.

Me and Sally.

Hannah eating rolled oats with blueberries....mmmmm. Sally adds a little butter and organic honey that makes this breakfast a real treat. I have added it to my breakfast recipes.

Hannah playing at a playground near Bill and Sally's house. Isn't it just glorious!?

She loves to slide.

The whole gang before we left.

Thanks again everyone for letting us come visit and escape the Texas heat!

Hannah Talking

Hannah has started saying more and more words, when she is in the talking mood of course.... Here is a video of some of her favorites.

Thoughts...

I've had lots of things in my head that I've thought about posting, but I never seem to get around to them for one reason or another. I'm always afraid to put my thoughts or opinions out there because I think they are safer and sound better in my head. But, I think I'm ready to share. So for those of you who frequent our blog, here is a broad list of ideas/issues that have been on my heart lately and you will hopefully be hearing more about them soon.

1. Eating healthier -(ie eating organic, growing our own food, being more aware of what we are putting into our bodies, avoiding processed foods, etc.)

2. Living Simpler

3. Serving others (here and abroad)

4. Watching less TV

5. Honoring God in our traditions

I hope that just by typing this post I will feel more obligated to come back and share my thoughts as I learn more and grow in each of these areas. I have read a few books on some of these topics and have more on my list to read that I will share along the way.

And for those of you who only look at our blog to see Hannah and don't care about my ramblings, I leave you with this...

Just lounging on her couch.

Stay tuned for pictures from our little vacation to Colorado. I just have to get motivated to move the pictures from my camera to the computer!

At the airport

Camping Trip

This weekend we decided to go out to Mineral Wells State Park for Hannah's first camping trip. Our only hesitation was the hot weather, but we decided that if we had shade trees and a lake to swim in, we would be ok. And we were right...we had a great time!

We arrived around five o'clock Saturday evening and started setting up camp. Hannah loved running around and exploring everything. I don't think the child sat still the whole time. She was playing in the dirt from the time we drove up to the time we left. I mean, the child had dirt in her hair, her fingernails, all over her face...she was a mess!


She helped Scott set up the tent and aggravated Broady for a while (by aggravating, I mean throwing dirt on him).


Then, we went down to the lake to cool off. It really was a great place to swim. It was pretty shallow but Hannah didn't like to put her feet on the slimy bottom.


Then we headed back to camp and Scott cooked up a great meal on the pit...brautwurst!


After dinner, we took a little hike, played around the campsite a little more, got Hannah cleaned up and hit the tent. This is where it got a little ugly. You see, Hannah liked playing in the tent, but she did not like SLEEPING in the tent...at all! She is so used to her crib at home, that she was a little confused about what was going on. She tossed and turned and cried...repeat...repeat. Finally, we put her in the car and drove around until she fell asleep. Her and her dad slept all night...but it was another story for mom. I don't do well with one foot in my face and then in my rib and then in my back, etc.

The next morning after breakfast, we took a long hike around the park and enjoyed taking in the Texas scenery. Hannah loves riding in her pack, and because of the rough night, she took a little nap along the way.


We finished off the trip by getting cool one more time in the lake and checking out all the great big rocks in the park (great for rock climbing in this area).


All in all, we had a great time and I'm so glad we decided to go. Camping is definitely different with a 16 month old (ie, you don't really get to relax and you get less sleep), but she had such a great time out in God's creation. Here's to many more Hubley camping trips!!! (But how do you do it with more than one kid?? I mean...look at our car...it's loaded down!)