The Girls' Check-ups

So, today was a pretty big day for our girls. Cambree went in for her 6 month check-up, & Amaria for her 5 year check-up. (I don't know which is more amazing....that my baby is about to be 5, or that my newest one is already 6 months. Both just boggle my mind.)

Amaria continues to be built like her daddy--tall & all legs. She is 42 lbs. (which is in the 50%) & is 46 1/2 inches tall (greater than 97%).

Cambree has really started to put on the weight since we switched her over to formula. She is now 15 lb. 2 oz (45%) and is 26 3/4 inches tall (90%). Yes, we have tall girls.

Everything else checked out well on both girls. Cambree got her shots today & she has just started teething, so she is really fussy tonight. Other than that, we are all doing well.

Thanks for reading & God bless!

Camping With The Kids

So for Heidi's birthday/Memorial Day weekend, we decided to take the kids to Palo Duro Canyon for a little tent camping.

We drove up to Lubbock on Wednesday, stayed at Heidi's parent's place that night, & then went out to the canyon on Thursday morning. We spent Thursday afternoon setting up camp.

Thursday night was a full moon, so we went with the Park Ranger on a full moon hike. As we were meeting up for the hike, I saw (& caught) a horny toad. It was the first time any of us had ever seen one in the wild. We hiked out to a ridge overlooking the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River & watched the moon rise over the top of the canyon. It was absolutely amazing. Amaria had a wonderful time...except when we had to stop the hike to listen to the Ranger tell her stories. In Amaria's words, "Hiking is not standing around listening to someone talk."

We all slept great that night, although it did get a little cold. By 3:00 a.m., all 4 of us were piled onto our queen sized air mattress trying to stay warm.

Friday was a very full day. After cooking some breakfast, we headed into the town of Canyon (Home of West Texas A&M) & toured the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum. It was amazing how many different things were in there. We spent almost 4 hours there & didn't get to see everything. Amaria especially enjoyed the parts on the dinosaurs found in the Panhandle & all the Indian stuff...along with riding side saddle for a brief moment.

The scariest part was when she had to make a daring escape from an Allosaurus!

Heidi & I found the old cars & bikes really cool. Those dorks from American Pickers would've had an absolute blast in that section. I highly recommend going (& allowing yourself at least 6 hours) if you ever get the chance.

From there we proceeded north to Amarillo & the Cadillac Ranch. Using Amaria's favorite color--purple--we spray painted her & Cam's names' on a couple of cars. It was a short stay, but worth checking out.

Then it was time for a late lunch at the biggest tourist trap in the Panhandle--The Big Texan. We were able to watch a biker dude fail at eating the 72 oz. steak & take a few pictures in the big rocking chair, but we couldn't stay long...still so many other things to do.

We continued east out to Groom to see what is labeled as the 2nd largest Cross in the Western Hemisphere. I had seen pictures of the cross before, but they do NOT do it justice. I couldn't believe how big it was. We actually saw it from 10 miles away driving down I-40. It was an amazing sight & experience. After viewing all the different stations & taking lots of pictures, our day of traveling was done. We took some back roads on the way to the Park & got back just in time to cook some hamburgers for dinner & call it a night.

Saturday got started early, but, as we would soon learn, not early enough. We decided that Saturday was going to be a hiking day, & the best place to hike to inside the Palo Duro Canyon State Park is to the Lighthouse. It's a 3 mile trek out there, & of course, you still have to make it back. I knew Heidi & I could handle it, but I was a little concerned about Amaria walking that far without getting too tired....but my wife had all the faith in the world in each of us, & decided that was the trail to take. So I strapped on a backpack full of water, Gatorade, first aid kit, knives, snacks, etc. & Heidi strapped on Cambree in a baby backpack.

The hike out was unbelieveable--lots of cool sights & rock formations. Cambree was perfect & slept most of the way. Amaria fussed a little during the first half mile or so, but was good to go the rest of the way. After a couple of hours, we arrived at the Lighthouse.

It was well worth the trip. What an amazing structure that God has created. The hike back was a little tougher. We didn't get started early enough, & it was beginning to get hot on the way back. Cambree was still perfect, but Amaria was starting to get a little tired. I ended up carrying her on my shoulders for a mile on the return trip, but we all made it back in one piece & were all better off for it. That afternoon, Heidi's parents came up to hang out with us. We toured the Musuem inside the park, explored a "cave", & cooked some steaks for dinner.

Amaria decided that she wanted to hang out with her Nana & Grampy, so they took the girls back to Lubbock with them on Saturday night. (We all wouldn't know how fortunate we were to have the girls in Lubbock until the following morning.) That evening, Heidi & I took a short hike on a trail just down from our camp & added to the different wildlife we had seen on the trip when we came across a mule deer & a tarantula. Those, along with all the white tail & turkey, really added to the trip. It seemed like we were seeing some type of animal everywhere we turned.That was the fun part of the trip. The bad started on Sunday morning when we were loading up to head home. I don't want to dwell on the negative of what was an absolutely amazing trip, but to make a long story short--truck won't start, no cell phone signal in bottom of canyon, starter has gone out, tow truck driver in Canyon out of town til Tuesday, 4 wheel drive truck & a steep grade to get out of canyon makes it almost impossible to find a tow truck, truck gets towed to Amarillo, service center closed on Memorial Day, can't get starter on Tuesday, truck finally gets repaired on Wednesday morning....long day going from Lubbock to Amarillo back to Lubbock & then home to Pflugerville on Wednesday.

We really enjoyed our first tent camping experience with the girls, & we are already looking for the next place to go. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

Thanks for reading & God bless!

Amaria the Nazi

In the spirit of Seinfeld & The Soup Nazi, we constantly refer to Amaria & each other as some sort of Nazi. If I don't change a light bulb as soon as it goes out, Amaria is all over me--she has been dubbed the Light Nazi. If I wake up in the morning--even though I may still be laying in bed--but I haven't brushed my teeth, Amaria will let me know that I have bad breath--she has been dubbed the Toothbrush Nazi. And don't even try to wear something that doesn't match--Amaria The Fashion Nazi will let you know.

So we've been using this stuff for a while now & never really thought twice about it. But, she stores that kind of stuff in her mind forever. So today, on the way home from church, Amaria starts on Heidi about Heidi needing to get her haircut. After a few minutes of going back & forth on the need, or lack of a need, for a haircut, Heidi finally dubbed Amaria The Haircut Nazi.

Amaria's curiosity finally got the best of her. "What's a Nazi?" she firmly asked.

Heidi went through an explanation of how a Nazi is someone who is always trying to dictate different things & control people, usually without having any authority to do so, etc.

After the brief explanation, Amaria's response convinced us that she understood. "Yep, I'm a Nazi!"

I hope this story doesn't get retold by Amaria to anyone else. I can only imagine how she would tell it, but more importantly, I don't know how we're going to be able to explain this one!

Thanks for reading, & God bless!

Where does the time go?

Today, my baby (who is going to turn 5 next month), has her pre-school graduation. And Cambree is 5 months old today. It seems like just yesterday that we were welcoming our first child into this world & now she is going through her first ever graduation ceremony. We got Amarai's progress report for this semester of school last week & we are so proud of her & thankful for the educators at First Baptist Church--Georgetown.

On an adult note, Heidi & I have decided to get into Children's Ministry. We will be working with 2nd graders on Sundays beginning in the Fall, & I have also signed up through the church to join a mentor program with Pflugerville ISD. We are nervous about this new endeavor, but know that God will be there every step of the way to guide us. We have a training on Sat. at the church, so please keep us in your prayers as we venture down this new path.

Thanks for reading & God bless!

Movie Watching

Heidi just asked me if the Netflix had come in. I said it had & Amaria immediately asked if she could watch it. I explained to her that she couldn't because it was a 'grown-up' movie. She said, "I can't wait until I'm a grown up so I can watch that grown-up movie. What kind of movie it is?" "It's a movie about a battle," I explained. She then gives me a thumbs up & says, "Good choice." Sometimes I wonder if she is 4 or 14.

On the go...as always!

If we ever stop going, our girls are going to freak out. I don't think they know what it means just to hang out at the house. It's going to be hard to convince them we aren't gypsies once they learn the definition of gypsies.

Here is a run down of the last week or so:

Friday, 4/23--we load up the family & head out to Hallettsville for a short camping trip with great friends. We usually stay out there all weekend, but we had to leave early.

Sat, 4/24--tear up camp, but help boil 120 lbs. of crawfish before we have to leave. Leave H-ville at 3:00. Get home in time for Heidi & me to clean up, give instructions to babysitter, & hurry to downtown Austin for the Hillsong United concert.

Sun, 4/25--church on Sunday morning, small group on Sunday night.

Wed, 4/28--drive out to Conroe. I have a training early on Thurs. morning, so we use Wed. night as an opportunity to catch up with some friends.

Thurs, 4/29--training in Houston until 1:00, drive to CS for a short stop, & then on to P-ville. LONG day!

Fri, 4/30--spend that night at a block party with some great friends from church.

Sat, 5/1--get up early & drive to EC. Hang out with my dad for a while, but then it's time to head to Sugarland. We have a wedding to attend in Sugarland at 2:00. Reception follows, we get back to EC about 9:15 that night.

Sun, 5/2--stop off & see my grandma before we leave town. Head home because we have to get to cooking...ribs & brownies are needed in Georgetown that night. Around 4:30, we head up to Georgetown to watch a dozen people from church get baptized in the San Gabriel River.

Don't ask me when we'll stop, or even slow down for that matter. Life is truly too short & we've decided that we have to live it to the fullest now because tomorrow is never promised....& we are so blessed to have 2 girls who enjoy it as much as we do. This summer is going to be even crazier, but I can't wait. Life is good!

Thanks for reading, & God bless!!

Family Update

Things have been pretty crazy around the Bruce household lately. We took Cambree in last week for her 4 month visit. She is now 12.7 lbs (25%) & 25 1/2 inches (90%), so it looks like she is going to be built like her sister...tall & skinny. Her eyes have stayed blue so far but her hair has definitely lightened up. After 4 months of breast feeding, it seems like she is just not getting enough food during those feeding times to meet her needs, so Heidi has started to introduce formula & bottles. Cambree has taken to that well & is sleeping much better at night.

The 4 of us went on our first camping trip on Friday night. It was a great trial run as it was at a friend's ranch with a house on location--fortunately. I set up the tent on Friday afternoon & both girls absolutely loved it. I had Amaria's tent set up inside our big tent for her & Cambree's co-sleeper fit perfectly next to our air mattress. Both girls were sleeping great until about midnight when we got word of a tornado warning in the area until 4:00 am. We moved the girls & Heidi inside to the big house & I stayed up for a while to just watch the weather & see what it was going to do. Finally, around 2:30 or so, I was convinced that we weren't going to get anything too bad & went to crash in the tent. It held up to some pretty strong winds. I think we are ready for our big camping trip in May--a trip to the Palo Duro Canyon & Groom. It should be an interesting but fun trip.

Saturday, Heidi & I had an absolutely amazing experience. We attended the Hillsong United concert in Austin. (If you don't know Hillsong or any of their music, go youtube them). It was so cool to see so many people, from all ethnicities, & all different age groups, just completely sold out for the Lord. It really was a life-changing experience for both of us. I don't know when they'll be back in the states, but we have decided that we will go see them again when they get back on this side of the Earth.

Amaria is almost done with dance, & she couldn't be happier. She has endured through the class all year, but to say that she really doesn't like it would be an understatement. In an effort to find something fun for her to do, Heidi took her to a trial gymnastics class on Monday. AMARIA LOVED IT! She will be enrolling in gymnastics immediately. She is also signed up for swim classes this summer in an effort to fine tune the swimming skills she learned last summer.

I hope that catches you up on the family. I'll try to get back in the habit of posting more often, but sometimes life just gets in the way.

God bless & thanks for reading!