Yankees!!!

It is hard to believe our t-ball season went by so quickly! I thought it was going to last forever, but just like everything else, it FLEW by!! We had such a great group of kids and coaches. We were blessed to be on this Yankees team. Crockett loved it and learned so much. He made lots of friends and can't wait to play with them again next year. At the last game, after they played, each player got a trophy. It was definitely a highlight of the summer :) We are so proud of our little Yankee and can't wait to see him play again next year!!

Swimming!

Since Crockett took swimming lessons earlier in the summer, it only seemed fair that Bowen get to take some lessons too! So, he and I signed up for mommy and me classes at Tech, along with our friends, Hayly and Coy. It was fun, although I am not sure how much they "learned". We got to sing songs and blow bubbles and jump in the water. I even dunked him a few times! He was not amused. Bowen had a great time splashing and playing around and finally figured out how to blow bubbles! He was so proud of himself! On the last day of class, we all got to swim. Crockett played with Grace the whole time and went round and around the lazy river. We had a great time playing with the Hext's for two weeks! I hope we can do it again next summer!!

Braidy turns 5!!!!

It is so hard to believe that one of my very favorite little boys is now 5, and not really that little anymore :( Braidy Spencer turned 5 on July 10 and we were SO excited to help celebrate!!! We began the day with our traditional donuts! I think it was breakfast #2 for him, but you can't start a BIRTHDAY without donuts!! We all sang Happy Birthday and let him blow out the candles. It was a great start to a very special day! After a little playtime, we all went home to get ready for Braidy's special lunch. He could pick ANYWHERE he wanted and, it was no surprise to us, but he wanted Bless Your Heart! This kid LOVES fruit. (I think he has eaten entire watermelons at my house before) And Bless Your Heart has fruit... by the cup-full. He is in heaven :) Such a funny kid! After we all enjoyed our lunch, and Braidy had his fill of fruit, Mon took all of the big boys to go see Despicable Me 2.

That evening Braidy had a PIRATE party! He had been telling me about his PIRATE party since Crockett's birthday, and he never wavered on what he wanted :) It was so much fun!! The kids got to go on a treasure hunt and found treasure, tattoos and a piñata! Everyone had a great time. Braidy got lots of great "treasures" for his birthday. We got him a cowboy hat and some spurs and a "Braidy" chair, Lulu got him some new boots, he got TONS of toys and a NEW BIKE! I would say that was a wonderful way to celebrate turning 5!!

Happy 5th Birthday to my smart, ornery, sweet, silly, playful, funny nephew Braidy!! We love you so much and had so much fun celebrating YOU!!

T-Pa

On July 9, 2013, we were so sad to lose our sweet T-pa. He lived a wonderful, long, blessed life and got to see his grandchildren, and even a few great-grandchildren, grow up. My T-pa lived in Temple, so I have not gotten to see him much the past few years, but he has a very special place in my heart. I have such fond memories of him and D-ma from back when they lived in Amarillo, and in Dallas, and his 90th birthday party in Temple. He was present for so many special events in my life and I am so thankful for that. He was at my Tech graduation, despite the fact that he was terribly sick. He was at my wedding, where I even have a beautiful picture of us dancing. He came to Holliday shortly after Crockett Christopher was born. He even came to Holliday for Crockett's 1st birthday party. My T-pa never forgot to tell me how special he thought I was and I hope he knew that the feeling was very mutual. I have never met someone with a more positive attitude than him. The past few years, my dad and I would talk about T-pa and get a good laugh because any time you asked T-pa how he was, no matter how he really was or what was going on, he would say "oh, I'm fantastic" or "just dandy". He LOVED to eat! We all would get a kick out of the endless hole that was his stomach. He would eat shrimp by the bowl-full and did not like to have to compete for them! He would eat and eat until he couldn't eat anything else. If he was full, he was happy! And for all of his birthday parties, I knew I could always expect the chocolate-ist of chocolate cakes :) This does not even begin to tell of the memories I have of him, but just of the fondness that I carry for him. I love my T-pa and am sad knowing that he is not here anymore. I am so lucky that I got to have him in my life for 33 years. He was such a special man.

Chris, Crockett, Bowen and I drove to Temple for the funeral. Although it was a CRAZY, long trip, I am so glad I went. It was a beautiful service and he received military honors, which was very cool. They did a 21-gun salute, played TAPS (gave me goosebumps) and folded the flag. What an awesome tribute. I got to see D-Ma and my dad, Aunt Susan, Uncle Mike and Aunt Anne. I even got to meet a couple of family memebers I had never met before. We were so glad we were there to pay our respects for a man who was such a special part of my life.

Robert Mires Tilley

Services with military honors for Robert Mires Tilley, 91, of Temple will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 20, at Christ Episcopal Church in Temple.
Inurnment will be at a later date at Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen.
Mr. Tilley died Tuesday, July 9, in a local nursing home.
He was born October 11, 1921, in Houston, MO, to Robert Bruce and Virginia Young Tilley.
Mr. Tilley retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel after 30 years of service, including combat duty in World War II. He was an instructor at Amarillo College for 27 years and was chairman of the psychology department. He was a member of the Fort Worth Rotary Club, and served on the board of directors of the Amarillo Child Welfare board. He was a member of Christ Episcopal Church in Temple.
He married Betty Tilley in 1946. He married Dorotha Truelove of Temple on February 4, 1978.
Survivors include his wife; six children, Anne Tilley Clark of Dallas, Susan Tilley McCormick of Baytown, Bruce Tilley of San Antonio, Michael Tilley of Dallas, Margaret Tilley Fischer of Shreveport, and Mary Tilley Latimer of Lima, OH; two stepsons, Bryan Edds of McGregor and Brett Edds of Little River-Academy; 11 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

4th of July 2013

Our 4th of July plans don't change much year to year, but what we always look forward to is the PARADE! We have gone with the Curry Clan the last 3 years... It is tradition! The boys have so much fun watching the floats, waving to everyone that passes, catching candy and just being outside and together! Last year I had an itty-bitty baby that I had to feed mid-way through, while this year that 1 year old couldn't sit still :) Amazing how much they change in a year!?!?! When the parade ended, we went to eat lunch and look at our house and the REST! This year we also decided to go watch the fireworks downtown. Crockett had been begging to go and I thought it might be fun, so we went! After waiting for a while and moving a couple times, we saw them and they were BEAUTIFUL! Chris and I really enjoyed watching them.... Crockett and Bowen would rather be sleeping :) I am so thankful to all the men and women that sacrifice so much, so that we may all be free. We are so blessed to be Americans. Happy 4th of July!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Darla!!

My sweet Aunt Darla turned the B-I-G 50 at the end of June! Her daughters, Kathryn and Meredith, and my sweet Uncle Tim decided to have a SURPRISE party for her, and of course we wouldn't miss it!!!! Mom, Crockett, Bowen and I all drove to Weatherford early Sunday morning, June 30. All in all, the drive was pretty good. Crockett asked, "Is that Uncle Timmy's farm?" about 10000 times :) We were all happy to arrive at our destination. We got there just in time to say hello and wait for the guest of honor to arrive. When they walked through the door, we all yelled "SURPRISE!!!" and it was obvious by the look on her face, that she was truly surprised! Crockett immediately went to Uncle Timmy. It was so great to see everyone!!! We all ate some snacks, homemade ice cream and raspberry limeade cake. It was delish!!! The boys had a great time running around Mary and Ed's perfect backyard and playing with Meredith. Crockett loved their garden and flowers. He even brought some to me!! (With Meredith's help and permission :) It was a beautiful evening to celebrate such a special person. We spent the evening with everyone and went out to the farm the next day. Uncle Tim let Crockett DRIVE the combine!!! It was pretty cool! He did a really good job ALL BY HIMSELF! They went for a drive on the 4-wheeler and the semi. Then we went to Kathryn and Keenen's house, where Crockett and I got to bottle feed their calves. I liked it more than Crockett did. Poor Bowen missed out on the fun and took a nap in the car. After a quick lunch and a visit to Memo and Papo's grave, we had to go. It was a very quick trip, but we had a great time. Happy Birthday to my sweet Aunt Darla!!!

Gone swimming!!

I feel like I am in constant 'catch-up mode' these days, but I guess better late than never, right!?!

Crockett was lucky enough to get to take swimming lessons from Coach Donny this summer. Coach Donny has been teaching swimming lessons for years and years, and has a reputation for getting kids swimming. Last summer Crockett didn't really even want to get his face wet. We did swimming at the Y, and he was doing better toward the end, but I had no idea how this year would be.

HE DID AWESOME!!!! We were in a class with 2 other little boys and they all got along great and had a good time together. Crockett had SO much fun!! He swam, floated on his back, dove for turtle eggs (and was even the 'turtle champion' :), did dolphin dives and jumped off the diving board!!! He totally surprised me and made me so proud! He was not scared at all! Doing CANNONBALLS off the diving board was his favorite!! He listened to Coach Donny and did exactly what he was told to do (most of the time). On Thursdays, the boys got to slide which was a great reward for doing such a great job. By the time lessons were over, each of the boys had made such improvements. They were all swimming so much better than when they began. I was so proud of the huge strides Crockett made. Coach Donny was so good, patient and fun with all the boys. We loved him. What a difference a year has made!