birthday parties and the railroad festival

Last weekend we took a trip to Louisiana. We had not been to visit our families since Christmas, so it was long overdue. Clay was scheduled to preach a weekend revival in north Louisiana, so he dropped us off in DeQuincy and then headed out. The boys and I enjoyed a couple of fast paced days which included the Railroad Festival, two birthday parties, church, and lots of family time.

The Railroad Festival is an annual tradition held in DeQuincy the 2nd weekend of April. As a kid, I looked forward to riding rides and getting out of school for half a day. It's so fun to watch my boys enjoy the festival now. This was Jude's first year to enjoy the rides.
Noah, on the other hand, is an old pro as this was his 3rd year to ride rides!

There is a city park right in the middle of the festival. I think the kids enjoy it as much if not more than the rest of the entertainment!

Here's Carson cheesing it up.

I can't mention the RR Festival without sharing with you the great food. Among the favorites are the "Pentecostal" hamburgers, homemade corn dogs, funnel cakes, and pork-a-bobs. You have to go several days to get all this eating in!

On Saturday, we were able to go to Dry Creek for Jack's 3rd birthday party! Amanda did a great job in planning a bug-themed party. The food was made to look like ants and spiders and worms. The dessert was yummy dirt pudding! Amanda also made "cocoons" which were cocktail wienies baked inside crescent rolls, ants on a log (peanut butter and raisins on "logs" of celery) and many other fun snacks!

For the entertainment, Clint released worms and crickets for the kids to collect in the their bug houses. Surprisingly, Noah- our city boy- wanted nothing to do with the bugs. However, our Jude LOVED the bugs. He would laugh, pick them up, and laugh again. Jack definitely taught our boys about being a true country boy.

On Sunday, we went to church with my family and then met Clay in Alexandria at Clint and Amanda's house. We attempted to get a picture of the 4 grandkids together. Baby Sydney is all the way to the left. She is our first niece and was born at the end of February. She is already 7 weeks old! We were so glad to finally get to meet her and see her precious pink room. The boys were all really gentle with her. We can't wait to see how this sweet little girl fits into our wild bunch of boys!

sweet guests

At the end of March we enjoyed 3 separate visits from our families. First, my mom, sister, brother, and 2 nephews came for a couple of days. Then Clay's dad, my 84 year young Nana, and Clay's 75 year young MeMe, came and doted on us. A few days later, Mrs. DeDe came to stay with us. It was a busy time, but it was so nice to have family come spend time with us during Clay's crazy semester. Here are a few pictures from the 3 visits:

Visit from Grammie, Kaykie, Uncle Landon, Carson, and Grant:

We had not seen Grant since he was a few days old. He was so much to hold! I could never tire of tickling those sweet little thighs.
Clay is such a good dad and uncle. I always want my boys out of the kitchen (unless we are cooking something kid-friendly and I have planned ahead :) However, he lets them dig in and get messy. He let them spread butter on the foil before he put the veggies on for grilling. We ate yummy fajitas that night!!

Landon isn't such a bad uncle himself. He let the boys climb all over him on the floor with very little protesting :) Watch out Landon: Soon there will be 5 boys climbing on your back!

Watching Noah with Grant made me look forward to little Luke joining our family. Now Jude on the other hand...

I took this shot multiple times. The last time I took it, I asked them to hide their you-know-whats. They took me very literally :)

The morning they left we enjoyed a pancake breakfast courtesy of Clay.

I promise my mom and sister were also there, although they made no appearances in the pictures. We did make an outing to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, but sadly I forgot my camera. Story of my life.

Visit from PaPa, Nana, and MeMe:

PaPa and Noah going on a bike ride

The grandmas enjoyed watching the boys enjoy the beautiful Spring weather.

One day we visited the Stockyards and watched the cattle drive. Jude's favorite animal is the cow right now, so he was very pleased. We then enjoyed a yummy lunch at Joe T. Garcia's.

our family outside the Seminary Cafe where we enjoyed a breakfast together

On our last evening together Clay had to go to night class. I knew I had a lot to do to get the boys bathed and in bed and get the kitchen cleaned up, but I also wanted to visit with our sweet guests. No problem. Those sweet ladies cleaned the kitchen (including drying the dishes!), bathed and dressed the boys, and sent me on a walk!

Visit from GranDee:

When Mrs. DeDe visits our home, my dishes always magically disappear before I can even make plans to start on them. I call her the "Dish Fairy". During her trip to Fort Worth, we enjoyed eating dinner with friends, going to church together, playing in the park, taking walks, and meeting Clay for lunch. Here are a few pictures from playing at the park: