4th of July
We had a very fun and busy 4th of July. We started off watching the parade. The kids got so much candy. Dylan loved watching everything go by. He thought it was so much fun. He loves spending time with his brother and sister. Brenden took him on a train ride, he's such a good big brother. I knew he wasn't that excited by the idea, but went so that Dylan could go. We had a great time walking around and looking at all the different things for sale. Grandma Mary was selling cinnamon rolls in a bake sale, and they were so good. Truitt helped her make some the night before and I'm not sure what happened with his, they were huge and not quite as pretty as the others. They tasted so good, the kids could have eaten the whole pan if we let them.

 It was so hot outside that we went to look at the Greenbelt lake, and got pretty wet. We picked up some sandwiches and fruit and had a picnic lunch. Dylan did some skinny dipping after letting us know that only getting his feet wet wasn't going to work for him. He is such a little water boy. I figured that Ben would have been going to the Lake all the time while he was growing up, but their family didn't play in the water much growing up. We had so much fun at the lake.

 Rodeo
We went to the rodeo that night, and it was so cool. They had all of these events that I hadn't ever seen in a rodeo. Things that were really about working on a ranch. They had cutting a specific calf out of a herd and getting that one across a line, and then loading. They had so many different things, and it was really cool to see some of the real work they do on a daily basis. Dylan loved seeing all the animals. He did get so excited he threw his hat over the edge of the bleaches a few times. Brenden always went and got it back for him. Sarah had a good time, she loves getting her picture taken, and is always posing in front of the camera. Brenden had a good time watching some kids his age do some of the events. We had a great night at the rodeo and went home watching fireworks. What a fun 4th of July.
 

 Texas, 2012
We were so excited to get Brenden and Sarah for the summer. We weren't so excited about the long drive with Dylan, but he did really well, as long as we made some stops and didn't drive at night. It's a 16 hour drive, so we stopped after 9 hours and stayed in Albuquerque for the night. We got there around 2:00 AM, and Dylan didn't go to sleep for ages. Then was up bright and early. I don't know why this baby hates sleep.
 
We stopped at Cliff Dwellers on our way. I love this place, it's so cool to see the house built into the huge rocks. It was a great place for Dylan to get out of the car and get a little energy out. We had to stop again in Flagstaff at a play area for him to crawl around. We had a good time getting to walk around.

 We got to stay with Grandma Mary once we got to Texas. It was so nice getting the chance to get to know her better. She taught me some country cooking. Dylan was a huge fan of her cooking. We loved going for walks in the evening on the county road that she lives on. It was so peaceful and quiet. Dylan loved getting to ride on the trike she had. Dylan is quite the daredevil. He started off holding on with both hands pretty tight, then just one hand, then no hands. He was doing okay until he bent down to check out the wheels and fell off. Ben caught him, but he cut his lip on the way down. It didn't seem to make him any more careful the next night. So we tied him on with Ben's belt. That worked out so much better. He could go no hands and look at the turning wheels all he wanted. We had such a nice time with Grandma Mary, and with Truitt who was staying with her for the summer. Dylan totally loved Truitt, he always got huge smiles anytime he was around. He was one of the first people Dylan would crawl too. I wish that we would have gotten some pictures with Grandma Mary, but she got sick towards the end of the visit. We had a lot of fun in Texas, and really enjoyed being in a town where people wave when you drive by. She had the best sunsets by her house. We loved getting the chance to visit.


Mexican Food
Dylan was a huge fan of Mexican food. He ate off of everyone's plates, and loved everything. Spanish rice and beans were a big hit. We had seen the nutritionist right before we left and she wanted Dylan to be eating lots of protein and as much fat and sugar as he wants. I didn't really want him eating lots of sugar, since he's already a wild one, but he's doing really well with eating lots of protein. 

 One of the highlights of the trip was feeding the ducks. I know this doesn't sound like it's that big of a deal, but birds are a huge deal to Dylan. He gets so excited and flaps his arms around, and laughs and laughs. We thought about getting him a pet bird for his birthday, but birds kinda scare me, so we just go and look at wild birds. Sarah had a great time with her dad feeding the ducks. Dylan wanted to jump out of Ben's arms and go swimming and try to catch one. He loved feeding the ducks.