At least they're green...

The other night, Wes & I sat on the back porch while the kids picked the garden.  Their instructions:  "pick the okra."  I guess they weren't happy with the two small okra so they decided to clean off the jalepenos plants... that or we haven't done a very good job of teaching them what an okra looks like.

The Frio... Maurer Style

The Maurer's descend on the Frio in Concan once a year and every year memories are made though some are forgotten (unintentionally :) )  This year we were able to reserve a different house, Margaritaville Villa, one perfect for our crew, one that allowed the early birds to go to bed at midnight and the late night pitch players to stay up without being heard.
I was so great with taking pics with my camera when we arrived the first day and the next 3... well, fun got in the way.  So here is just a sneak peek of what goes on when the Maurer's hit the Frio.

 Ready for the river!

 A Maurer cousin favorite - sand volleyball.  We were a little less than spectacular this year, but we had fun none the less.

 This kitchen/dining area was perfect for our group.  We grubbed whenever we weren't on the river and enjoyed every pound that was put on.  Menus consisted of pulled pork tacos w/ chipolte slaw, hamburgers and grilled fish with all the fixings.

 Smores... a Frio must.

 Card playing is a must and the game of choice is pitch 99% of the time.  This is when the early birds go to be (me) and the party animals play until 2am.

 The pic above is real blurry, but day 2 of floating, we striped all the kids' hair pink...

 Kelcie tuned the BIG 2.1. on the trip so we had to celebrate w/ cake.  She kept her party going when she and her fam left the Frio at 9am Wed morning, only to pack and head to Austin for a flight to Vegas.  Ahhh.. to be young again.

Not the best pic, but this was our whole crew.  

Of course there was floating and this year the water was flowing.  Every morning the entire crew managed to pack up, unload tubes and float down the river together.  After the first float (3 hours) we would head back to the house famished.  The first day the cousins (Wes & I) floated together after lunch and the second day the guys played golf, the gmas and kids stayed at the house and the girls got away to float on our own.  Good times!!

Water Balloons!!!

 Friday night Austin found a package of water balloons and begged to put them to use.  I just wasn't in the mood for sitting by a water hose and tying wet balloons all evening so I said "tomorrow, I promise."  Well, wouldn't ya know, at 8:15am I was reminded of my promise.  I was able to make excuses until around 9am and then I found a step stool to sit on beside the water hose and filled water balloons for a little over an hour.

 Ready for the water balloon war!

 A little too excited about water balloons!

 Game on!

Though the balloons were gone it less than 5 minutes, it was worth seeing some of the expressions on their faces!

Random questions

1).  What is your favorite food? (one healthy, one not so much!)
Austin - Hershey bar & bananas
Avery - sour jelly beans & apples
Caleb - Cheetos balls & salad with crab
2).  What is your favorite thing about summer?
Austin - No homework
Avery - Going to the swimming pool a lot
Caleb - Playing and "all that stuff"
3).  What do you want to be when you grow up?
Austin - want to have my own tow truck (let's hope he owns the whole company!)
Avery - work in a boutique "you know like the ones with all the clothes and sparkle jewelry" (hope she owns the boutique)
Caleb - fireman
4).  Where do you want to go on vacation?
Austin - Ohio
Avery - Alaska
Caleb - Florida, to the beach
5).  If you had $1,000, what would you buy?
Austin - a pet lizard
Avery - lots of clothes and shoes
Caleb - 2 puppies (this coming from the boy who is terrified of dogs??)

VIP friendship

I love that Della, Presley, and Avery seem to get along as well as their mamas did when we were that age.  The other night, the girls just wanted a little privacy and Presley made sure they had their own VIP seating for dinner!!  Quite the divas!

 Presley, Della, & Avery

VIP Dining

A different kind of family...

Growing up, I was part of a great group of girls and with them came some pretty amazing families.  Softball was what brought us together and between practices, road trips, tournaments, and celebration parties, we spent A LOT of time together.  Those softball days are gone but the friendships are not.  Every year we all try to get together around the July 4th holiday and though many of us haven't seen each other since the previous year, an outsider would think we get together all the time.  We've all gone our different ways, have our own families, taken on various career paths, yet there is still that common bond that keeps us together.  Though we aren't blood related, we are our own special  family.  

 Here's the whole crew... minus a few.  Yes, there was a game of wiffle ball - girls vs boys/husbands.  Let's just say us girls still got game.

 The mamas/grandmamas.  

 The dads.

The playahs/sistas!

Round Top 4th of July Parade

 

With the 4th of July holiday landing smack dab in the middle of a work week, we hadn't made any big plans. Of course it wouldn't be right for us just to stay home (though the thought crossed our minds), so we decided to head out to Round Top for their historical parade.  We've been to the Chappell Hill parade the past 2 years and decided to change it up a bit.  We knew we'd need to get there early to get a decent spot so we were up and out the door a cooler and snacks packed by 8:30am.  

 Parade watchers.

 Luck was on our side as we managed to set ourselves up next to some classmates of Avery & Austin.  They are Round Top regulars and had a section roped off with a tent AND they offered to share their shade with us.  That saved a lot of whining from A&A&C!  We know better for next time.

 The candy throwing didn't get too out of hand along the parade route.  A&A&C enjoyed comparing their loot.

After an hour long parade, we were thankful for the small town patriotic display and the air condition that followed.  God Bless the USA!

Happy 4th of July!!!

God Bless America!!!  So thankful for this place we call home and for all those men and women who sacrifice for us so that we may enjoy our freedom.