Summer 2012

What a crazy summer we had!!!  In short my sister had her first baby, Lila, Seth turned 10, and we went on vacation for 2-weeks to Colorado to visit family and for Hannah to play softball at a national tournament.  Brent's mom, step-dad, sister, & niece came for a visit.  We moved 2-hours away to a whole new life style.  The kids started a new school and Seth started a public homeschool program... phew.

My niece Lila born June 14th.  What a proud dad!

The Borings and Emmons in Colorado at the Eisenhower Tunnel

Hannah's softball team, Texas Blaze, played in the Colorado Sparkler, a national tournament.  In all the age groups there were 850 teams from all over the U.S. there.  Hannah's team took 5th in their age group.  While at the Sparkler Hannah was asked to play on one of the All-Star teams. 

From the All-Star team she was then selected to play on the All-American team.  Here she is with her "ticket" saying she was chosen.

I was able to go see where the Denver Broncos play!!!  GO BRONCOS!

I was able to take my family to Casa Bonita.  Somewhere I went every year for my birthday as a child until we moved to California.

I was afraid my kids would think Casa Bonita was lame, having grown up with Disneyland, but they all loved it.  We spent over 2-hours there.  It was so neat going back there after 24 years, nothing had changed.

When we came home from Colorado Grandma Bonnie was already in Texas waiting for us!

Of course we had to take them to the Alamo.  (Grandma Bonnie, Grandpa Rick, Aunt Jenny, and Alex).  It was fun spending the week with them.  We hit the usual touristy type places including Big Lou's 42" pizza and a ginourmous cinnamon roll from Lulu's Bakery, both seen on Man VS. Food.

In August we moved to Shiner, Texas.  See the previous 2-posts for more on that.  Brent was the only one in the family who wasn't nervous about the move.  Shiner is a VERY small town 90 miles east, as the bird flies, from San Antonio.  The town is so small that Hannah is one of 50 kids in her whole 8th grade class.  Here are the kids on the first day of school waiting for the bus.  Yes it is dark, the bus comes at 6:40 am.  Larissa is in 1st, Seth in 5th, Kirstine in 6th, & Hannah in 8th.  Seth only went to school for one week though before I pulled him out to do an online public school.  We are in our 2nd week of that and it is going very well.  The girls are really enjoying their new school and have made lots of friends already.

Over Labor Day weekend we explored more of the 60 acres we live on.  Larissa is standing in a creek bed on the property named Rocky Creek.  Our property has lots of history with it.  Grandparents of a friend Hannah has made told us they worked on this farm picking cotton when they were children.  This creek bed has a history that goes back to the late 1600's.  See the photo below, it is a new historical marker they put up near our property about Rocky Creek.

Historical Marker.

Since moving to Shiner all of us have fallen in love with it here.  It has been a huge adjustment, I won't lie, but so far it has been all good.  What a neat experience for the kids.  I hope one day they look back on the time they lived here with fond memories and will have some neat stories to share with their kids and grand kids.  This picture was taken on the property Labor Day weekend, isn't it gorgeous?!

Our little Beagle, Marnie, loves her new home the most.  She has made friends with all the cows.

Larissa is all Texan.  She loves to go outside and shoot cans, she is a pretty good shot too.

And last but not least, my little niece Lila on Labor Day weekend, just shy of 3-months.  She is a spitting image of her daddy, she does have her mommy's mouth.