Countdown to Playa Del Carmen...

YIPPY...I cant wait to be here...

And here...

With these folks...My cousin Bren and her BF James...

Here is what the Royal Haciendas website has to say...

The latest resort in the Royal Resorts collection, The Royal Haciendas is a piece of paradise. Nestled on a beautiful beach at the heart of the Riviera Maya, just ten minutes to the north of district capital, Playa del Carmen, and 30 minutes from Cancun International Airport, The Royal Haciendas offers luxury and comfort in a splendid setting.

It is an exceptional vacation hideaway, a home in paradise where you can enjoy the simpler things in life whether it is a walk along the beach at sunrise or stargazing on the terrace, and yet still be close to shopping, nightlife and all the area's natural and historical attractions.

WooHoo...sounds like we are in for some serious Fun in tha Sun... (more pics to come after the trip)

Our First Visit to The Mayfarm...

Earlier this summer, Grammy and I took Jolea on her first (of many I’m sure) visits to the May Farm located about 14 miles north of Abilene in Hawley Texas.

(click image to enlarge)

I can remember going to this farm when I was a school aged child and I can remember being in “awe” at the fact that we could actually touch and feed nearly all of the animals. It’s a sweet little place with a hearty cause and it’s geared towards younger kids allowing them to learn about some of their favorite animals. Ms. May the owner is a sweetie…she is a little firecracker, always on the go and she never stood still…not for one second. Jolea thought being on the farm was just about as good as it gets…and it was minus the smell of animal poo, the beating sun and buzzing bugs! This mama is a city girl fo’ sho and would never make it one day on a real farm! Enjoy the pictures from our day….there are lots of them to look at!

Jolea wasn't afraid of any of the animals...this bunny was one of her favorites...

Grammy and Her Girls...

Sweet Shot of Gram and Jolea girl...

Here we are with MOPS the baby goat. The group called Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers was there to witness his birth...therefore Ms. May thought it would be completely appropriate to name him MOPS. He was only 3 weeks old in this picture...and he was ADORABLE... 

Mama and the Chickadee...

Jolea and the Chickadee...

Here is Jolea holding a Chinchilla (pardon my spelling) I was by far more frightened by this thing than Jolea was. Boy was I mistaken...this creature was so sweet...so soft...and believe it or not smelled SO good. Ms. May says that Chinchillas cannot be bathed because they cannot get wet, so they have a powder that is massaged into their fur that helps to clean them...this little guy smelled like lavendar and vanilla!

Another bunny picture...Jolea loves her some bunnies...

She was so brave when she was feeding the animals...she wasnt a big fan of the slobber...but she was a really big girl...

It's times like these that I get to share with her that I will miss so much when summer is over and everyone is back to work. I have gotten spoiled to being home with her and doing such fun things! Thanks for the company Grammy...I know you enjoyed coming with us.

River Trip 2010...

What a FABulous trio with a FABulous group of friends. This is an annual trip for Andy and I and its one of our favorite get-away’s. There is just something about the “Hill Country” and especially the Guadalupe and Comal rivers. It’s like they are on their own kind of island time or something. People are friendly, they smile, they wave, they have a good ol’ Texan time and that’s just what we like so much about this trip. This year we went our dear friends The Morrow’s. They have a pull behind camper that they were kind enough to let us use. We hit the road early on Friday morning and returned late Sunday afternoon. Of course...no road trip would be complete without a "quick stop" into an auto repair shop. Luckily we had made a stop which prompted the boys to notice that there were smoking bearings on one of the wheels. Not knowing what the damage was, we didnt want to take a risk so we pulled into the nearest auto garage. The people at this place...

deserve a huge pat on the back. They went out of their way for us to get us back on the road for less than 200 dollars!!! Luck was on our side that day because finding the EXACT parts for that specific kind of trailer could have been next to IMPOSSIBLE.

The campgrounds were PERFECT. I recommend you check them out if you are ever in the market for a FABulous campsite right on the water. We stayed at the Rainbow Camp Ground right off River Road. Our location on the property was probably the VERY best spot there was. We opened our camper door and all we could see was this…

Our campsite was pretty cozy as well...

The staff was SUPER friendly and catered to us all weekend long and the location on the Guadalupe can’t be beat. We befriended the owner while we were there and talked him into putting us on the books for the exact same spot, the exact same weekend in June, for 2011 and we are already looking forward to it.

The water was COLD…but the Texas heat made it very bearable!!! We made hot dogs one night, and fajitas the other…and snacked the whole time in between!!! It was GREAT!!! Here are the pics from the trip...YES there are a ton...but its too hard to choose which ones to post, so I just post them all instead :-)

Friends...

It might have taken us ALL day to get there...but it was WORTH it :-)

Me and my sweet Johanna...

We were really hungry after our first morning float...I brought yummy homemade chicken salad...

The Boys...

The Girls...

Just hanging out by the river...

On our way home...we all wanted to stop for some Fredricksburg peaches!!! They are one of Grammy and Poppy's favorite things...and we owed them something sweet for taking care of Jolea girl while we were away...They are quite sweet and quite delicious too...

YUM...

After our stop for peaches we decided to hit this sweet little spot for burgers and sandwiches...

The food was reasonably priced and PRETTY good. The atmosphere was awesome...

*WARNING* the following pictures contain me and one of my besties without one single stitch of make-up...EEKS...don't judge us...

I do love him...

Headed on home...

The summertime river trip is something Andy and I always look forward too. I hope it is something we can continue to do for many years to come. One of these days we are gonna put that sweet girl in a tube and she will float right along side us...I know she will LOVE it. A special "Thanks" to C.J. and Johanna for coming along with us and providing us with a nice and cool, comfy place to rest our heads. We love ya'll.

Summa Time Fun...

Summa Lovin Happened So Fast…Summa Lovin Had Me a Blast…

We are off to a great summer spent with great friends and doing the things we love the most. This is the first summer we have had off as a family in 3 years…so we are taking advantage of our time together.

Andy and I have always been fans of a little Red Dirt Texas Country. We have shared this taste in music for years. When I refer to Texas Country I am talking about people like: Aaron Watson, Jason Boland, Randy Rogers, Roger Creager, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Pat Green…and oh-so-many more.

Last Thursday we went here…

To see him…

Stoney Larue on-stage...

The Lucky Mule in Abilene has a Summer Concert Series they put on every year and tickets to the show are FREE. It doesn’t really get any better FREE…and I am so glad we went.

Good music + Good Friends = Sweet Memories and a Good Time.

My friend Anna and I in the car sporting the aviators...

Cj and Johanna...LOVE them...

Me and the Hubs...

Guns-Up-Girls...

In our spare time we have been spending A LOT of time in the sweet sunshine. Jolea has become quite the little water baby and she loves the pool. There is a pool right across the street from where we live and from time to time we just mosey across the street to take a quick dip in the pool. This is the first year for her to wear the arm floaties and she has it down…she is an independent little fish with those things on.

Cheesy Face...

Chasing Butterflies...

Sweet Butterfly...

Throw me up high Daddy...

Crash Landing...

Jumping of the edge...

Even Daddy was being a Kid at Heart...

CANNONBALL...

My Boy was being CRAZY...

BackFlip...

Nicely Done Andy...

Some close family friends of ours asked Andy to join their slow pitch softball team for the summer season. He is LOVING every second of it. I think it’s been a rude awakening to the fact that he is no longer a spring chicken, but he goes out there and he gives it 100% all the time. He is the shortstop so he is right in the ACTION. Jolea and I have really enjoyed watching him play.

Batter Up...

Base Hit...Way to go Daddy...

Thank Goodness my boy is FAST...

There is a lot of summer time left and lots of things we still have planned!!! I hope everyone is enjoying their summer break as much as we are enjoying ours. (((HUGS)))