And it’s time to leave…

Thank you so much to Clint, Sarah, and Addy for letting us invade your house for an unforgettable weekend! We love you!! Lets start planning our next reunion!

Its off to the zoo we go!

 Showing off all four Ft. Hood Harley Davidson shirts!Addy is so awesome at walking and loves being mobile!Clint’s taking on the rhino… :)Beautiful family!  My two CHICAS! <3

The only thing missing from our trip to the zoo was Andrew and Mike!!

Happy 1st Birthday Addyson Louise Schrick!

A beautiful day celebrating a beautiful girl!

My favorite memory from Addy’s party is when she was first eating her cake. She started crying after touching the cake and Sarah and I immediately busted out a line of “It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to!”

 

Texas LOVE!

A day of grocery shopping and a trip the park ended with Dad “going to the store.” I had a heck of a time distracting Sarah while Dad was gone for over an hour. Finally he came back to the house with another surprise, Mom!

We visited the splash park down the street 3 of our 5 days in Killeen! Free entertainment and sun! Addy wasn’t quite sure what to think of her tutu… :)We celebrated the birthday of one of the before-mentioned amazing women in my life! Happy Birthday Mom!

HALLELUJAH!

[Cue choir music]

Thankfully, my Dad (wiser than I) decided to join me in the mini-van plus 3-kid adventure to Texas! I like to say I could’ve made it just in more time BUT I’m thankful I didn’t have to find this out… Oh, and we didn’t tell Sarah he was coming.

Dad met me in Omaha and we took off early Wednesday morning. After an hour of driving, I called Sarah to have her check the weather for me… She replied with a text picture of the radar screen: A large red strip running the entire length of our 13-hour trip. Lovely.

Again, thanks to Dad, we made it with only one stop due to weather (“To lower the blood pressure a little…”). The kids were amazing and Rebecca only cried for a half an hour in the end. Despite the torrential rains, creepy tornado, and insane lightning, we pulled up to Sarah’s house in record time!

Sarah ran out to the car to greet me only to find Dad hiding in the back seat! And the picture below is proof that it was all worth it!

Who isn’t up for a challenge?

With my niece turning one, I couldn’t resist the urge to load the three kids in the mini van and head to Texas for a party! I saw more than one “Are you crazy?!” looks from family and friends and I still can’t decide if my determination to make the trip to Texas came from the strong desire to see Sarah and Addyson (who I haven’t seen for nearly a year!!) or… my stubbornness to prove we could make it…

Either way, we took off on a Monday morning loaded down with sleeping bags, sunscreen, and snacks. Okay, now is when Dad would clarify, I stuffed the van with everything but the kitchen sink. :)

We stopped at a grocery store just before leaving town only to walk out in the middle of a Wisconsin-style monsoon. Topped off with our van doors not opening in the middle of the parking lot and down-pour, I quickly drew strength from my month of self pep-talks. I let the heater dry off my soaked hair while the kids sang/cried “Rain, rain, go away!” from the backseat. The storm cleared after an hour’ish and we pushed on, straight in to 30mph winds. Six hours, two pit stops, and eight fruit snacks later we arrived in Vermillion to visit our friends! <3 Love these ladies and their children!!

After too little time, we loaded up again and landed in Omaha for our first stop. Allison’s little apartment is starting to feel like a second home and I love it. The kids and I spent the next day relaxing and finishing up Addyson’s birthday present while Allison worked. Nic even stopped by for a quick chat.

  Elizabeth is working on a book for her trip and she dedicated an entire page for, “I love Allison and Nic.” <3 <3 <3 (When can we start our community living?!)