Summer Travels

Forest is back in school which means I finally have a bit of time to blog. I'm also about to get a new computer which will hopefully be capable of uploading picture and running two programs at once which will also make me more likely to blog! For now I'll just quickly summarize the traveling around we did this summer. 

Actually, not much. Due to the nature of Jonathan's job, he essentially has half the year off. Because Forest isn't in 'real' school yet we prefer to travel in the off season when we can help it. But even a light travel season for us is still pretty active! 

Forest and I started the summer with a trip out to Huntsville, AL to visit my sister's family.

I love seeing the gaggle of cousins hang out. It is such a departure from our house where it's mostly just me and Forest all the time. He adores his cousins, especially the older ones. Forest has never asked for a baby brother or sister but has asked if Lucas or Corbin could be his big brother. Poor Forest was definitely born to be the youngest (which he is, in a sense). We did lots of playing, hiking, and space center visiting. It was such a fun time.

 

The smartest kids I have ever met. Wouldn't be surprised if one ends up at NASA one day.

posing by my super cool yellow rental car.

While we were in northern Alabama, we also got to spend an afternoon with my BFF from high school and her crew. 

I'm obsessed with the fact that the 5 year old drove us around everywhere on the golf cart. These boys have a good life and great parents (and grandparents)!

Pirate faces.

I'm not sure if Talia's house or if Talia herself if my happy place but visiting with her is always so good for my soul. I've always said that about our friendship. When we spend time together, it's like quenching a thirst I didn't know I had. Maybe I should move to Alabama and have my BFF and sister nearby. Hmmmmm. 

We took a break from traveling in July but in August ramped it up and spent a week in Perdido Key/Orange Beach with our families. It was lots of boat and beach time with a few other excursions sprinkled in (Blue Angel practice, train museum, trail riding, etc). We had a great time!

Tubing with Uncle Clint. Only flew off twice. Just a small sampling of my childhood. And in Uncle Clint's defense, it was a really rough day on the water!

For labor day weekend we headed north to Montana. It was a fast and furious 72 hour trip to The Ranches at Belt Creek where we got to be outside all day long enjoying cooler weather and doing a few of our favorite things: horseback riding, ATV riding, hiking, drinking a beer on the patio without sweating through my shirt, etc. 

I'm not gonna lie, ya'll. Living in Scotland and Northern California for 4 years and then moving back to Houston is ROUGH. Growing up in Louisiana, I had no idea that it was possible to live in a place without crippling humidity and scorching summer temps. Not to mention the beautiful scenery in those two places that made our lives an outdoor paradise. Hard to feel like SE Texas isn't a major downgrade sometimes (don't tell Forest- he is Texas' #1 fan). 

Come summer time we are on the struggle bus here and Montana was a great respite.  Bring on the fireplace and hot cocoa! 

Y'all I seriously loved living in Scotland. I fell in love with colder weather while we were there and still miss living in a place where I could wear Ugg boots and drink hot chocolate basically all year round. Sigh. Fall is coming....eventually. Speaking of Fall, our travels will include Hawaii and our yearly trek to San Antonio.  Stay tuned!