Showing posts with label the Swope Six. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the Swope Six. Show all posts
Thursday, August 17, 2023

Port A Swope Vacay

We had a great beach vacation to Port Aransas with my family last week finishing out the end of our summer vacation. [Although we're still working through our summer bucket list - using the 'season' of summer to get that finished ha.] 

Thursday, August 10 - We could check into our house at 4pm on Thursday, so we left our house about 11:30 {it was a 4-hour trip} and made it in great time - just 1 snack/bathroom stop! Brent and I had to take separate cars because he had to go to Houston directly from Port A, so I had Paige and Trent in my car, and Brent had Drew.

We got checked in, picked rooms, unpacked, got dinner ready, all the things. My dad took the kids to the beach for a little bit but that first day we mainly stayed at the house and took advantage of the pool.

Playing YuGiOh with Trent - we played several matches and he was so happy!

Nighttime cousin swim!

Friday, August 11 - Our plan was to spend a lot of time at the beach, but we didn't rush to start the day. Each family brought a different breakfast dish, so we had lots of options.

The late sleeper, ha

We got some great news Friday morning that Drew got accepted to the school we have been on the waitlist at for 6 months! I will have to do a full post about it, but needless to say we were very excited!

Paige sharing the good news with Drew!

I spent the morning getting her registered, ordering her a laptop, and freaking out, ha. We then loaded up and hit the beach!

Seeeeesters!

These 2 are thick as thieves, I love to see it!

Sassy pants

Not a bad view for a Friday!

20 weeks - it's going so fast!

The kids had a blast finding crabs and sand dollars

Most of the boys...

The 2 littles {for now} - these 2 play SO well together!
We've been really lucky with how well everyone plays together.
And this new baby is going to have 6 kids vying for their affection!


Playing with Babs and Pops


A dad and his daughters LOVE

Said crabs


We played a lot of games while there - dominos and Skip-Bo being the 2 who got the most use! 



Saturday, August 11: We were slower to get moving Saturday after a full day of beach~pool~beach~pool! And everyone had a little bit of a sunburn even after lots of sunscreen application. So we decided to go shopping before the beach.

Morning Skip-Bo

Morning mimosas too!



Got Paige a cute t-shirt where she got to pick the t-shirt AND what was ironed onto it {Drew couldn't find anything she liked, and Trent didn't go}, and it's what she wore on her first day of school. So fun!

Brent's college roommate {and best man in our wedding} lives in the area, so he and his wife met us for lunch - we had a great time catching up! While we were lunching, the kids swam at the house.


#theSwopesix...for a little longer!

Totally random - a friend from Paige's school/grade was there!

Not a bad view!

We drove around and got ice cream that night.

Sunday, August 13: Unfortunately, we had to pack up early for checkout, but we managed to get a family picture with all 12 {and a half} of us!


And we stopped for lunch together because apparently we hadn't had enough of each other by Sunday afternoon, ha!


Brent had to drive to Houston for a work training, so I had the joy of driving the kids home by myself. And the girls dozed off...the last 5 minutes of the drive. Of course!


Thanks girls!

Trent started school on Monday {and we thought Drew would until 9:45 that night ha}, so the rest of Sunday was spent organizing for Monday. In hindsight, this maybe wasn't the best timing for a trip, but we had a blast, and I can't wait to do it again!



Sunday, August 13, 2023

#theSwopeSix Get an Upgrade

In a shocking twist, that no one expected...#theSwopeSix is about to become #theSwopeSeven! Coming December 2023...my sister will have her FOURTH baby! Never thought I'd use the tag 'Patty pregnancy' again. {grin}

Looking bump-a-licious!


Monday, July 31, 2023

July Fun

It's hard to top our trip to Arizona, but we managed to have a lot of fun after we returned throughout July. I can't believe August is next week and school starts in 2 weeks, ahhhhhhh!

The day after we came back was July 4, so of course, we had to participate in the neighborhood golf cart parade. We did about 10 minutes of decorating and got up there as quickly as we could - that 2 hour time difference is no joke!

Only picture I took of the parade, oops!

Some of our friends came over and we hit up the pool and then had a potluck dinner and sparkers to round out the night. It's so fun doing life with friends you've had for literally decades!

Keaton and Paige - the 2 littlest girls with the biggest personalities!


One of our Summer Bucket List goals was a night of golf and dinner at the club. It's been so awful with the heat that we turned that into hitting golf balls and dinner.

Three little golfers who got real hot and whiny

Trent is super into a card game called YuGiOh and a local {well local-ish} gaming store has tournaments! Brent's nephew, Branden, is also into YuGiOh, so he came with us. Trent had a blast!

The Gurley cousins!

Super successful at keeping her in her bed!

A very nice surprise from Brent!

Who wants a fun story about books? There was an author event in my little town with Katherine Center {whose books I very much enjoy}, but I couldn't go because I had plans with a friend for a wine night. Well, Drew was attending a creative writing workshop at the bookstore that was hosting the event. When I went to pick her up, the author was there signing books ahead of the event! I was able to buy the book, get her to personalize, and then we chatted together for 5 minutes. SO AWESOME!

Oh you know, just a picture with an amazing author!

That same night Drew started practice with her basketball team, yay!
So excited she's trying something new!

Previously mentioned Wine Night!

We also kept our neighbor's dog, Sarge, for 4 days when they went to the beach. The kids are gaga for Sarge, and he was so good! Getting us ready for our dog...hopefully next summer!



Enjoying his first pup cup!


Brent was out of town for a golf tournament when we had Sarge, so I had bed partners!

My niece was also baptized in July! See, I told y'all it was a busy month!


And we had lunch after the Baptism service.

Babs and Pops, the OGs

The Swope Six!

I ended up bringing my niece and nephews home with us to have a Cousin Sleepover {another Bucket List item}, and the kids had a blast.

Nothing better than reading a book while the kids swim!

I made a gourmet dinner of chicken strips, french fries/tater tots, apples and carrots!

My buddy while I worked on Monday. XO

Another day we met up with Sarge's family {ha!} and had lunch and went to a local frozen treat place. Paige had the 'Let's Go Party' milkshake - a cotton candy and bubble gum milkshake with whipped cream and sprinkles, and it came with hot pink sunglasses!



Another day, another dog walk. But this time with the puppy of the family Trent walks for.

Before and After of Paige's fun eyeshadow - 
doesn't she look like she partied too hard after waking up?

The girls love when other instructors let them get on stage!

Me taking notes during a YuGiOh lesson, ha


Gosh, I'm exhausted after reminiscing over our July! I'm usually ready for school to start, but I'm not there yet. We are having the best summer!