T2 Update

Instead of breaking the year into Quarters like the business world, and since Three is the Magic Number, we here at the Williams Family Blog are going to break our year into Thirds.   You've already gotten the T1 Update of January through April, so lookie lookie, it all works out!

May
May was very busy and fun.  It began with Kim having a girl's getaway in Las Vegas.  While she was there I was the Homeschool teacher, and I think we all remember how that turned out.  Upon her return, we celebrated Drew's 6th Birthday with a Lord of the Rings theme, and, once again, Kim created a masterpiece of a cake.

May also saw Elliot celebrate his First Holy Communion!  He was so excited and we are so proud of him.  Gran and Pop Williams and Grandma and Grandpa Harvey came in to celebrate the special day with Elliot.

We closed out May with our first ever trip to Schlitterbahn Galveston.  We had so much fun and look forward to going back!

June
In June we tried to stay as cool as possible!  Evan recieved his rank of Scout in Boy Scouts and we spent many a day on the "dirt trails" playing and fishing.

July
We started July by volunteering for a flag route on the Fourth of July.  Evan, Elliot and Drew all woke up bright and early to put out 60+ flags around Mills Branch in Kingwood.  We picked them up that evening.  What a great day.

August
August was a very fun month for us, packed with many activities including Dylan's 3rd birthday and our first vacation in Texas Hill Country. 

For Dylan's birthday, we all gathered at Gran and Pop's and celebrated with a(nother) Dinosaur-themed party!  I can't recall how many dinosaur birthdays we've had throughout the years, but it has been quite a few.

At the end of August, I played music at a Fullness of Truth Conference in San Antonio.  We spent the weekend at the beautiful Hyatt Hill Country Resort, enjoying the grounds and taking in some solid Catholic teachings.

When it was over, we spent a day in San Antonio visiting the Alamo and the Riverwalk, and then a week in a farmhouse on over 60 acres in Johnson City, TX.  It was wonderful!  Oh, the views of that landscape and the quaint little towns.  Our farmhouse was right out of a picture book.  The look, feel and smell of that farmhouse brought me back to our old family Camp in Bundick Lake and it also reminded me of my Grandmother's house in Bull Shoals Arkansas.  There was a playhouse in the backyard that served as the boys' "home base" for their daily battles, and a bunk house that had a pool table.

Vacationing in Hill County is a big change for us, and we filled it with excursions to nearby attractions and just plain old decompressing under the large oak tree watching the boys play.  We spent one day walking around Fredericksburg and on the way back we took detour to pass through Luckenbach, Texas, and I was officially converted to the side who yearn to get back to the basics of life.  Jimmy Lee Jones was the leader of the picker's circle that day, and even though it was a bit early, he brought his guitar inside to get out of the heat and he played a few songs for us.  After he was done he looked at Evan and said, "Ok, now it's your turn," and when Evan said "OK", I think it took him by surprise!  He asked Evan if he played and if he needed a pick, but Evan had his own in his pocket.  Evan sat down and picked out the opening notes of Sweet Home Alabama, but not knowing the full song, he quickly switched gears to play a song that he knew all the way through.  So that day, in Luckenbach Texas, Evan played.....God of Thunder by KISS.  (I'm not sure, but I would think that is the first time that has ever been played in Luckenbach...)  It was a great experience, one I hope he never forgets.  I'd love to go back on the weekend, since that is the time the food vendors are there as well as the music.  It would have been great to eat lunch or dinner under the oaks while listening to some good tunes.

We also spent a day visiting Pedernales Falls State Park.  The water was low and hiking down to it wasn't a "walk in the park" (yuk, yuk) but once we got down to the river it was incredible.  The boys enjoyed trying to catch all the fish that would swim up and nibble on your toes.

On the way home we stopped in Austin and spent  a few hours swimming in Barton Springs, and we also stopped in Brenham and walked the antique shops in downtown and sat down to some Blue Bell at an ice cream parlor.  Breaking up the return trip made it much easier for the boys (and us!) and it also gave the trip a nice "Tour of Texas" feel.

With Labor Day wrapping up our Summer, came the beginning of the 2011-2012 School of Rock, and this year we have 3 students (Drew 1st, Elliot 3rd and Evan is a big time 6th grade middle schooler this year!!!)

So, that was our summer in a nutshell.  We are ready for this heat to go away and bring on the cool Fall weather and, Please God, some much needed rain.  Our prayers go out to all who are fighting the wild fires around the nation, and especially here in Texas.

God Bless You All!!
Love, the Williams Family

oh, and p.s.  - one more photo I'd like to share with ya'll:

"We're gonna need a bigger boat..."