Beginning of August...Oh my!

One day at the beginning of August, Brayden was being anti nap. Apparently, Clara wasn't wanting to take a nap either. So, Christi and I took the kiddos to the new Pittsburg Splash Pad. Of course, Brayden fell asleep one mile before we got there, but I woke him up and made him go in. He took some time to warm up to it, but Clara, literally took to it like a fish to water. It's hard to get a picture of two toddlers!!

Also that week, Brayden and I went to Longview to shop for church and a few things for us.  He's been delivering on those dreaded terrible twos lately (even though he's not quite two).  Thankfully, he was a complete delight the entire day.  It was hot, and we had a few curve balls thrown at us, but he handled it all like a champ.  We had to sit outside to eat lunch at Panda Express because there weren't any tables inside.  We shopped at a very packed Sam's, and ran a few other errands as well.  He was just an awesome kid.

We celebrated my sister's 31st birthday a few days early.  We went to eat at Scottie's Grill in Texarkana.  It was very good!  Dad's sisters and their families came to celebrate as well.  We then went back to Mom & Dad's house for her to open presents.  I forgot to take any pictures though!

The following are a few random pictures.

He barks when he gets in there.

Tex helped Brayden get a cookie cake off the counter, hence the orange frosting.

Since it was our last official day of summer break, Brayden I had fun playing in his blow-up pool in the backyard.  This kid is such a little ham.

On another note, that dog is going to fall in one day

Brayden went with me to go visit my family and go to Pioneer Days in New Boston.  Bray enjoyed the tractors the most.  He also got to pet a miniature horse.  Then he pretended he was a puppy at Sassy's house.  Then, a quick nap on the way home.  We had our Back 2 School bash for the kids at church.  It was a lot of fun!

Brayden started his "school" last Monday.  He loves being with friends and getting out of the house every day.

DIY Nap Mat...Oh My

Because Brayden is now in the 1-year-old class at school, he has to have a nap mat.  I had looked at some on Etsy, but I was unwilling to pay that much for something for my child to sleep on.  I knew I could make something fairly similar.

So, I scoured Pinterest and found casa.five.one's blog.  I did it very similar to her post, but did change a few things.

These were my supplies:

Kinder Mat (got one at Wal-Mart for $10)
Brown microsuede fabric (actually a remnant from camper curtain redo)
Disney's Cars fabric (purchased at Wal-Mart, so I don't have a link)
Sew on Velcro

 I was terrible and didn't take any during pictures.  But I'll try to talk you through it as best as possible.

1. Lay one fabric flat on the floor and place Kinder Mat on top of it.  Cut around the perimeter of the mat leaving approximately 2 inches of excess fabric all the way around.

2. Now lay that fabric on top of the other fabric, and cut it to match in size.

3.  Place fabrics to where they are "inside out" or the prints are touching, if that makes sense.  Sew down one long side and one of short side.

4. Place the Kinder Mat inside to where it is snug in the corner you've created with your stitches.  Pin the long side and trim excess.

5. Sew the pinned long side.

6.  Before you go any further, flip the fabric right side out.  Make sure the Kinder Mat will fit.  I wanted it pretty snug so it wouldn't bunch up.  Do not trim the excess length off yet.  You'll need a bit of excess to make room for the mat to fold up.  So, go ahead and fold your mat and figure out how long you want the excess of the opening to be.

7. I hemmed the opening then sewed on the Velcro.

8. Voila!  You're done.

Brayden has enjoyed the mat and it's been great at day care.  I'm thinking of adding his initials with some iron ons, but I haven't had time for that yet.

Vacation, Vacation, Vacation...OH MY!

This summer, we visited Creede, Colorado for our vacation.  This is the first vacation we've been able to take since we started our business (and also first with Brayden).  We were supposed to go to Gulf Shores last year, but when you own your own business, you sometimes have to sacrifice.  So, we ended up not going due to extenuating circumstances.  But, all that to say, we were able to go on vacation this year, and we LOVED it!

My parents and sister, Joe & Melanie (Nick's parents), Alan, Tovah, & Owen (Nick's brother and his family), Rhon (Nick's aunt), and Jason, Jennifer, Dakota, & Montana (Nick's cousin and her family) all attended this vacation.  There were 16 of us in all.  It was such a fun trip, and one I won't soon forget.  We left on a Friday, spent the night in Dumas, and got to Creede the next day.  We did lots while we were there: jeeping, sight-seeing, museum, lots of eating, fishing, shopping, etc.  Nick, Brayden, and I and my family left to head home the next Friday and got home late afternoon on Saturday.

I'm going to share lots of pictures and put snippets of what was going on throughout.  I wish we could go back right now!  It was so cool and relaxing.  A lot of people say, "It was nice to be gone, but I'm glad to be back home."  I told Nick, "If we didn't have to be adults, run a business, and had an endless supply of money, we'd still be there!"  Just kidding, but it was a much needed, wonderful vacation.

Mish Mash of pictures from vacation.

This first group of pictures are on the way to Creede.

He was a pretty good traveller, even if he didn't nap too much on the way to Creede.

Lunch stop in Wichita Falls.

Lunch stop in Trinidad.

This next batch of pictures are all in/around Creede.

At the Mountain Views campsite.

At North Clear Creek Falls.

My favorite picture from the vacation.  This one will be turned into a canvas soon!

Lots of Ergo carrying happened on this trip.

Shrimp boil at the campsite one night.

There were nights he didn't sleep well at all, and then there were nights he slept like a rock.

Picnic by a lake.

We celebrated Jason's birthday while there.

On Bachelor Loop with the Coffee clan.

Oh what a beautiful morning!

Onto the Bachelor Loop with the Bray clan!

We took a picture in nearly the exact same spot when we went four years ago.  It's fun to look at them side by side.

Picnic at Last Chance Mine.

That's Creede in the valley behind us.

The start of our Jeep trip through the Alpine Loop.

Picture at American Basin.

Family picture at American Basin.

At the summit of Cinnamon Pass.

Mom was pulling a "Sound of Music" moment.  I was afraid she was going to fall of the mountain.

Brayden loved playing the river any chance he got.

Feeding squirrels and chipmunks at the Mining Museum.

My parents and sister offered to watch Brayden one night so Nick and I could go on a date.  We jumped at the offer.  We had a wonderful dinner at Cottonwood Cove followed by sight-seeing up on Pool Table.  We got to see a herd of Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep and a deer.  The date ended with a gorgeous sunset!

This last batch of pictures is from our trip home.

On the way home, we stopped with my parents and sister at the Great Sand Dunes.  This was Brayden's favorite part of vacation.  Nick and I decided that the next time we go to Creede, we'll spend a night at the camp here and let Bray play an entire day.  He LOVED it!

Late night dinner due to staying at the Dunes so long.  Pizza in the floor of the hotel room.  Brayden didn't mind though.  He thought it was great.

Yogurt face at our last breakfast before getting home.

Brayden apparently wanted some cookies.

Leaving you with some "Then and Now" pictures of our last vacation to Creede and then this one side-by-side.  I loved seeing these. Nick and I each have less hair. :)