The Ivory Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to us!  We've made it 14 years.  There have been ups and downs, good times and trials, times when our plans fell into place and times when the plans had to change completely.  In thinking about the last 14 years of life, I have been reminded of one of my favorite quotes:

Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just ordinary people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. . . .

Life is like an old-time rail journey—delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.
---Jenkin Lloyd Jones

Times have definitely not always been blissful.  We've struggled.  We've worked hard.  We've reached and reached for goals that never worked out.  We've been devastated by loss and disease.  There have been countless days of just moving ahead and hoping for the best.  However, we have also experienced miracles.  We've been blessed immensely.  We have reached goals, even important ones.  We've had fun experiences and incredibly  happy days. We have relied on each other and the Lord and had great joy because of that.   

I thank the Lord everyday for letting me have this ride.  By having experienced the smoke and cinders, the beautiful vistas are made that much more memorable. 

{And, thank you, Granna and Aunt Emmy and Uncle Eric for helping out with the boys so we could go to a movie AND dinner!  So nice!}

Graduation

 We all got dressed up and ready to go to the Hooding and Commencement Ceremony. 

I LOVED the bagpipes: very unique.  

 After a few great speeches---"Everyone in this room will be dead in 100 years."--it was FINALLY time for Hubba's Hooding.  By this time, Evan had been through all of the snacks and activities.  I was having to hold him tightly on my lap to keep him from running away.  We stayed long enough to watch Uncle Hubba and then we had to leave to keep the peace for everyone else. 

Congrats, Chris.  We are very proud of you! 

Rooftop Reception

 To celebrate the accomplishments of Chris' and his fellow scholarship peeps, there was a special reception later in the day.  We had afternoon apps and drinks on the rooftop. 

 Hubba and his law school peeps:

 Stephen, too cool for school. 

Nap time, anyone? 

Congraduation Party

We were able to go to Oklahoma City for Hubba's law school graduation a few weeks ago.  I'd never been to OKC, and time was running out if I wanted to be shown around by the "locals."  We ate some yummy food and saw lots of family.  We kept busy, too!

The first event of the weekend was a party at the Links.  Too bad it was too cold to swim, but the boys had fun golfing.  

 Here's the cheering section:

Kyle loved playing golf and can't wait to go again.

 Ryan loved riding in the golf cart and holding the flag. 

 We had a delicious lunch of BBQ and left to head out the event #2. 

Let the celebration continue. 

Weekend with Claire

 We got to have Claire over for the Memorial Day Weekend!  The boys were excited to have a sleepover, and I was excited to have another girl in the house.  We had a fun time.  {And I LOVED making pigtails, braids, and buns.  It's been awhile since I had hair long enough to style.} 

Ice cream is awesome!   

 We made it to the splashpad before the rain started.  THANK GOODNESS we went early in the morning!

COUSINS!!!

Trouble:

 The kids had lots of fun playing outside.  The favorite game of the weekend was "Chase Kyle."  You can imagine who was in charge of those rules. 

We sure are looking forward to many more weekends of playtime, sleepovers, and pigtails when we are so much closer! 

Don't Stop Believin

Remember that time we sent to The Steve Miller Band and Journey concert, and Replacement Steve Perry kept saying, "Come on, DALLAS!  Let me hear you, DALLAS!!! How do you feel tonight, Dallas?" Maybe Stephen's t-shirt confused him.  

Once he figured out that it was Houston, we were cool.  And, we had a great night.  Especially since it was all paid for by the $100 Ticketmaster prize Stephen won several months ago.  Score! 

Second Place

Kyle's school had a fundraising night at a local BBQ place a few weeks ago.  We were HIGHLY encouraged to attend....by Kyle. He got bonus points and Pride Bucks at school if we saw his teacher there, plus we got a great meal to help fund items for his school.

Well, our efforts paid off because Kyle's class had the 2nd highest number of students whose families attended!  For prizes, they all received a bag of prizes: 1) t-shirts, which will get them free ice cream when worn while going to the restaurant.  2) a $10 gift card to the restaurant. 3) a cup 4) a pen.  

Not a bad deal!   

Aggie Baseball

 We were able to go to the A&M/lsu baseball game in Aggieland a few weeks ago.  It was one of the best games ever! 

 The boys got to go out on the field and hang out with the players during the national anthem. 

 Ryan held onto this Diamond Darling's hand the whole time and ran all the way to home base. 

 Kyle headed for the pitcher's mound. 

 The game started, and the boys were amazing.  We had great seats:  no one behind us, plenty of room, and in the shade the whole game.  Plenty of snacks--and waiting until the 7th inning for a snowcone--helped us make it through.  Ryan even talked Grandma into shelling all of this sunflower seeds. 

 This little monkey actually did really well!

 After a great win, we even got to meet up with Reveille after the game! 

 The day was practically perfect, and I'm so grateful we were able to go.