Saying goodbye....

Today we had to say goodbye to our dog, Kramer. He's been a part of our family for 16 years. My sisters brought him to us as a wedding gift the day we returned from our honeymoon. He was truly the best dog and will be missed so much.

Texas ... part 2

The whole time we were in Texas it was super hot....like 98 degrees hot! One day Jill's car even said 127 degrees! Unlike summer in Ohio, you don't play outside much during the summer in Texas...unless you are playing in water. So we made sure to find lots of opportunities to let the kids splash around, cool off, and enjoy the sun!

Brenda and Jill both have splash pads near the houses. I really wish Van Wert had something like this. Brenda and I took Carsyn, Payton, and Jenna to play at the splash pad in Weatherford towards the beginning of our visit.

While we were at Jill's, she hooked up the slip-n-slide for the kids to play on.....

And towards the end of our visit, we went back to the splash pad with all the kids....

(Sorry for the over abundance of Mia photos below...she was just being so silly and too cute...so I had to take lots of photos of her!!)

Texas...part 1

Jenna and I left right after school let out for the summer to spend 12 days in Texas visiting my sisters and their families. We had been looking forward to the trip for months and were so excited when June 10th finally arrived. We flew from Columbus to Dallas, and everything about our trip went so smoothly - no delays, no waiting, no turbulance, no hassles, and blue skies and puffy clouds the whole way there. Brenda, Carsyn, and Payton picked us up at the DFW airport and then we began our first adventure....a trip to the American Girl store in Dallas.


Jenna and Lanie....

Payton and her Bitty Baby named "Strawberry Snow Brenda Kay Elliott" ...

The next morning we took off for Fort Worth to shop at Sam Moon. I have heard Brenda talk about the store for almost 2 years and couldn't wait to go....and it definitely didn't disappoint - a whole store full of nothing but accessories - jewelry, bags, purses, hair bows and flowers, hats, belts, and sunglasses.

Jenna picked out lots of fun hair accessories like these fun headbands with flowers.....

Payton got one too....and some fabulous clip on earrings....

Then we were off to the Ft Worth Stockyards ....which meant lunch at one of my favorite places - Riscky's BBQ!

We ate outside and the "balloon clown" visited the girls and made things for them....

Aadi {1 year old}

Before I left for Texas, I got to take photos of Aadi. She had just turned one and was sweet as can be! Her mom and Grandma came along to help out and bring out her smiles....which made my job pretty easy!!

Cartwheeling....

I'm still in Texas, enjoying the time with my sisters and their kids....but I wanted to remind you to continue to visit CARTWHEELS IN MY MIND. It is updated several times a day, so be sure to check daily so you don't miss anything! I will be sharing articles each month on the site (Organization tips and Inspirational links) as well as scrapbook layouts, photos, and other fun creations. It's been so much fun already....and I love checking in daily to see what everyone has created!

Packed and ready to go....

Jenna and I are leaving tomorrow for Texas. We're going to be spending time with my sisters and their families and cannot wait! We haven't seen them since their trip to Ohio last summer. I'll be back in 2 weeks with lots of Texas love to share!!

Thirteen.....

It's official....we have a teenager in the house! Jacob turned 13 on Friday. I really can't believe he is 13 already. It's gone way too fast.

He spent most of his birthday weekend playing baseball with the all star team in a tournament. He did a great job fielding and hitting. If fact, they were undefeated in the tournament and ended up winning the championship game. The best part was that they got brand new mountain bikes for winning the tournament - a bonus birthday gift for him!! (and I was a bad mom and didn't take my camera to the tournament...so no pictures. What was I thinking???)

Doing cartwheels....

So, so excited that THIS finally went live and I can share it with all of you! I am so excited to be a small part of it....and so, so proud of Cheryl for all her work.