Sick Flags for Sara

After arriving in MO and Braden carrying the stomach bug with us from TX and getting sick on the plane 5 times, we headed to Six Flags the next day. Sadly Braden couldn't join us, but he was thrilled to be with Gramby and Pa Pa and Colton. Tom, Andrew, Aunt Tammy, Uncle Big Tom and our niece, Rachael, headed to Six Flags for a fun day. We rode the Bat Man ride first! After the ride was over, Rachael and Andrew were hootin' and hollerin' and asking me if I just loved it. My answer... blah, ugh, I feel sick.... I don't know if I am just getting older or what, but we made those first loops and I thought I would be sick. So, I spent most of the day sitting the rides out. Thankfully it was a beautiful summer day and I thoroughly enjoyed the weather and people watching! Everyone else had an awesome time! I did ride the Log Flume, Old Cars, Scooby Doo ride, Mine Train, Train, etc... Nothing that spun or did loops. I'm disappointed that I can't do rides like I used to, but it was still a fun day! :) So happy to spend time with family! A stop at Steak-N-Shake on the way home made the day even better!

Sealed with a kiss!

The exciting conclusion of Yoda! Colton sealed the deal with a kiss with his good friend, Grace! Too cute! :)

Lovin' Legos!

The only Lego store in the state of Texas opened at our mall this weekend! Legos have been a staple for the Leimkuehler boys since my Dad introduced them to Andrew at the tender age of 3 1/2 with our first trip to Legoland! Ahhh, the memories... A Master Builder constructed an 8 foot tall Yoda in the middle of our mall and we got to help! Young and old alike got to take small lego bricks and create a big lego brick 4x's the size of a small one. We turned them in to be inspected and were awarded a Lego builder certificate. It was so cool to be a part of this! The Master Builder would then take all of our big bricks and create Yoda. It took three days! Although we wanted to kick off the build with some friends on Friday, Colton and I got sick. So, the next evening after we were better we ventured out to be a part of the Yoda build. We headed back on Sunday evening to build some more and watch the final pieces being put on. How funny to run into the same friends we wanted to kick off the event with! What a fun time! I don't think our family will ever tire of Legos! What joy such a tiny toy brings! :)

Little Ones at our League City Campus!

What a joy to worship each week with so many special friends! Here are lots of our small (and some big :) ) friends!

Thanks, God, for blessings us with lots of wonderful friends both near and far. Please continue to grow and bless the friendships we have!

Happy Campers!

We had a great time at the Cub Scout Twilight Camp last week! The theme was Knights of the Round table. Andrew had a blast shooting bb guns, doing archery, making a catapult, wand, sword, shield, learning about birds, etc... I worked in the Tot Lot with a friend and had Braden and Colton with me. There were about 15 little ones and we had fun playing, doing crafts, splashing in the little pool, and watching movies. It was super HOT, but we had a great time! The weather didn't cooperate a couple times and camp was closed early on two different occasions. We caught a nasty stomach bug too... but all that said, we would do it again! Andrew is in love with Cub Scouts!

Diggin' our Daddy Time!

On Father's Day we made Daddy breakfast in bed and gave him some gifts. Then we headed to church and lunch at San Lorenzo's. What a fun surprise to find an awesome mariachi band, yummy eats, and a free shirt and koozie for Tom! Then it was home to break out the new Water Slide that Santa brought the boys for a long afternoon of fun in the sun. Snacks in the back yard for dinner concluded a fun day with Daddy!

Thanks, God, for Tom and what a wonderful father he is to our precious boys!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the great Dads in our lives... we are blessed to know so many awesome fathers. Most importantly, we thank our Heavenly Father for creating us, blessing us, and securing a place for us in Heaven because of the untimate sacrifice that His son paid for each of us.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

This year the boys wrote a neat poem to honor Tom:

Daddy is funny

Always loves us and gives hugs and kisses to us

Does fun things outside with us

Doing yard work makes our yard look pretty

You rock, Daddy!

Sun, fun, and friends in San Antonio!

Our vacation to San Antonio was fantastic! We went with our good friends, the Swiggards, and were blessed to have the Stockers join us for the weekend! The weather was HOT, but perfect with beautiful blue skies and fluffy white clouds! The resort is so awesome! We all enjoyed the pools with the slides and chillin' at the cabana. We couldn't get Andrew out of the lazy river because he loved it so much and made a new friend. Braden and Colton spent hours playing in the sand with Lauren, Nicole, and Maddie. The food there is great too! You know how I like food! We went to Sea World on two different days. Tom and Andrew were thrilled to get on so many rides right away! Andrew loved the Great White ride! The whole gang loved Journey to Atlantas! Colton had a ball building with foam blocks and we couldn't get Colton, Braden, or Nicole away from the sand area. I wasn't thrilled when at the end of the day Tom and I took the kids to ride Rio Loco and I ended up under the waterfall! I had forgotten how awful it felt to wear soaking wet jean shorts! All the shows were great and Colton kept saying, "Shamu, come splash us!" The day we went to the water park part was so fun too. The wave pool and sky tubin' were on the top of my list. Andrew and Tom loved the body slides. Braden and Colton loved the little kid slide and everyone enjoyed the Splash Attack area. What a fun place Sea World is! We also caught up on some movies and had a date night for our anniversary! We always love this trip and enjoy the time spent with friends and tradition most of all.

Thank you, God, for treasured memories and friends to share them with!

Check the bottom of my blog for a slideshow of our trip! :)

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

14 years, plus 5 years for dating, two cross country moves, 3 amazing sons, fantastic family and friends, a growing church, beautiful home, super Christian school for the boys, time together, all our needs met and SO many of our wants, together for life's ups and downs... we are blessed!

Thanks, Scott and Karen, for taking care of the boys so we could enjoy a wonderful evening out on our anniversary in San Antonio!

Thanks, Tom, for asking me to marry you! I love you!

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

1 Corinthians 13

Always a good day for a picnic

Some of my MOMS friends went to Challenger Park and had so much fun! I had forgotten how great it is to play at the park. When we lived in California we were outside so much and always packed a picnic lunch several times a week. I borrowed Angie's awesome cooler on wheels and we were off again on our picnic outing. It was SO windy that day, but it didn't stop Andrew from climbing trees with Mason, or Braden from burying himself in the rocks, or Colton from keeping up with the big kids and trying every single piece of equipment! I'm ready for more picnics! (But first I need to find that awesome cooler to buy for myself, just not in camouflage.) :)

Thanks, God, for the awesome wind that disguises our sometime unbearable heat! :)

Summer is here!

One of our first outings was to Miller Outdoor Theatre with our friends, the Parkers, and Madeline! We got to see some really cute kids sing lots of Disney songs. Andrew and I guessed what movie all the songs were from except one, which we suspect was from High School Musical. :) Then a yummy picnic. Even though I got us a little lost on the way there, it was still a great day!

Going on a BEAR hunt!

Andrew had his ceremony to be promoted to Bear status in Cub Scouts when we were "camping" on Saturday. Although it has been a really frustrating year with Cub Scouts from a parent standpoint... Andrew has really loved all aspects of it! He will be doing lots of achievements toward his Bear badge in a couple weeks when he goes to Cub Scout Twilight Camp. I will be working in the Tot Lot and will have Braden and Colton with me. We are so blessed to have met Andrew's Cub Scout buddy, Caleb, and his family this year! What a joy they are! :)

The shortest camping trip ever

We went to Brazos Bend State Park on Saturday to "camp" with Andrew for Cub Scouts. It was so HOT, but we had a great day! We went on a short hike and climbed a tree, visited with friends in the shade and played "Would you rather?", saw alligators, armadillos, deer (or reindeer according to Braden), lots of bugs (wish you could have seen Braden around the bugs... it is like living with a real live cartoon character!), went to story time and made alligator crafts, and we got to pet a real baby alligator! We had a fun day "camping" without all the hard work of putting up the tent and taking it down and those awful middle of the night trips to the bathroom. We will need to go back there some time, what a wonderful park and so much to do!

"let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;" Psalm 96:12

Braden graduates Pre K 4!

On the last day of school Braden's class had breakfast together and cake to celebrate their graduation! They also put on LOTS of plays for the moms and dads that they have been learning all year. So cute! Then they each got a treat bag and certificate! Congratulations, Braden! I can't believe you are going to be a Kindergartner next year!!! I love you and I'm so proud of you! :)