Shillig 4 Family

BLUE BELL ICE CREAM! and feel free to share!

My last week in Texas went by like a blur. I can hardly remember what I did Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday. Good thing I took a few pictures to help me remember. TUESDAY(7/28): My mom had her surgery, girls went to play at Rachel's house, and I went to Beaumont with my brother Beau and ran errands. My Mom's surgery was postponed and was finally finished at 10pm! They hope to have finally fixed it. She is in the hospital still. WEDNESDAY(7/29): We packed up my stuff and we all stayed at our " VIDOR " house. I picked up my brother Beau who was hanging out with my other brother Dillon. Notice the (spray) tan I got and hadn't washed off the excess yet? All a part of the pampering/prepping for my husband to come home. THURSDAY(7/30): We went and visited my mom after another full day of errands and a nice LONG nap. My mom received a GORGEOUS ivy plant from my Great Aunt Kathy Berryhill, who lives in TN . She was ever so sweet to send my mom thi...

Today my mom goes in for yet another surgery on her ankle. I asked my cousin to babysit the girls yesterday so I could get some beautifying in before picking up Jake on Saturday but now I will also be taking my mom for surgery (glad I already reserved a sitter). I hope this fixes the problem. She broke her ankle April 1. The girls (and my car) get WAY dirtier here in TX than UT. I think it has to do with the fact that there is a TON of playing outside and grass here with very few sidewalks. My brothers Beau and Brody will now be coming back to UT with us to stay for a month. Well til Aug. 24 when they will fly back to TX. I am so excited for them to get to spend part of their summer vacation with us! Aimi Lark (2yrs 7mos) has a melt-down every time someone goes to the bathroom for some reason. I am still trying to figure that one out. She says "NO! -insert name- POTTY OW SIDE!" I was planning on potty training when we get back (and still do) but man I'm in for it with th...

My mom had a doctor's appointment first thing Monday morning for her ankle. They wanted to check the progress of healing. We dropped her off and then headed to get my sequoia cleaned. There was a bit of a " capri sun" incident and so my back floorboard looked like a Dalmatian . I tried to keep the kids entertained the best I could. Malachi ate his hands, Aimi Lark cleaned her feet and put on shoes while Mali Su preferred to use a tube of chap stick as lotion AND a SNACK. 2 hours, $63 + $10 tip, & two sobbing girls later we were done and on our way to pick up Mia. Turns out my mom needed surgery because only one side of her ankle healed. I had to take her for blood work and registration at the hospital. The girls and I hung out in the car. Aimi Lark napped, Malachi ate/napped, and Mali Su entertained herself by 1. listening to headphones and 2. learning to escape from her car seat (just in time for our drive back to UT).

Aimi Lark LOVES Dora the Explorer and Diego. Aimi Lark's world can come to an end at the drop of a hat these days. I thought these emotional melt-downs happened to girls in adolescence but I was wrong. She LOVES shoes, always wants to wear a "pretty dress" and twirls around to show us her outfit once she is dressed. Aimi Lark is speaking in sentences and surprised her Daddy with this when he was reunited with us. Aimi Lark says "UNCLE Beau & UNCLE Brody." I love the UNCLE part. I am excited for her to use it with her UT Aunts and Uncles. Aimi Lark is still mild mannered and will cry to mommy or daddy versus stick up for herself. I love that she is not a confrontational child and takes after her Daddy and his kind heart. Aimi Lark we love you! You bring us such happiness and delight when we get to spend time and talk to you. THANK YOU!

My sister had her 5 th Birthday party today at a little lake/ water park in Rose City, TX called BOOMTOWN . The kids could not get enough of the slides and the kiddie pool. Aimi Lark had a major melt-down each time one of the bigger kids did not take her with them down the big slide. Mali Su even took a turn or two. Mali Su also hung out at the snack table more than anyone else. She LOVED the grapes. They had a small 1ft deep kiddie pool that had these two small slides that the girls enjoyed. Aimi Lark started sliding down all different directions and even brought over a big slide mat and used it on the mini-slides. She is such a smart girl! Malachi chilled in his bouncy seat most of the time. He is such a good boy! My cousin Robyn was a lifeguard while we were there and it was nice to see her and have her help! And I cannot leave out the best news of all... I got to talk to Jake while at the party! I have kept my phone with me at all times this last month (notice it in my...

Tonight my siblings had a little presentation of some songs they learned during their week at VBS . It was so fun for Malachi and I to watch them. I was surprised to see one of the VBS directors light up a cigarette right outside the church... I forgot how many people smoke in these parts. After VBS Beau, Malachi, and I headed to Beau headed to Beaumont to meet up with our cousins Marianne, Kelly, and Rachel for dinner at Cheddars. It was just like old times. We LOVE that place! I didn't even remember but they have MONTE CRISTOs there and Jake has wanted one of those ever since he had one in AZ. I am excited to take him to eat there when we come back in December.

Today we ventured to the local lake with the kids. We spent 5 hours there. I would have never expected us to stay so long ( I was done after hour 2) but I did wake up at 5AM so I was exhausted and my girls began to get a little too brave for this single mother to take. Aimi Lark and Mali Su both enjoyed jumping off the dock, sliding on the slide, and trying to walk out until they couldn't touch the bottom anymore. Malachi and my mom once again kept an eye on our base camp. I did forget to put sunscreen on myself and I guess it being overcast was deceiving because I am feeling sunburned tonight.

(Posting on 2/6/19 playing catch up of blog posts I drafted, but never finished or posted) Aimi Lark has some funny interpretations of words these days. The other day on "Dora the Explorer" they had birthday cake. Now every time Aimi Lark sees anything that resembles birthday cake she says "OH! Happy Cake!" and will ask to have some "HAPPY CAKE." She cracks me up. And after a birthday party she now sings "Happy to you," maybe she just can't say "birthday"?? Mali Su has become on clingy little girl. Whenever I sit down she walks up and says "up" so I will pick her up. I have become quite good at holding her AND Malachi. It is exhausting but it works.

during his bath after an explosion

Today we took the kids for an adventure. First, we went to my house to let in the tile guys but were surprised to find that they were DONE! Our house looks great. Now I just need to pick out paint colors with my dad before I go back to UT so that when we return in December our house will be good to go! We then went and fed my mom's horses, washed the sequoia at the car wash Jake loves here (it has super high water pressure that I think may remove the paint from your vehicle), (check out Mali Su) ate at McDonalds, and then went to BOUNCE ZONE for some major hippity hoppity FUN! The kids had a blast. I think Aimi Lark had the MOST fun followed closely by my brother Beau. At BOUNCE ZONE a lady came up to me and said how glad she was to see me nursing. I will admit I have felt a bit out of place when I nurse in public (with my cover) since being back in TX, so her comment was nice to hear. A HUGE group of kids came in so we took it as our cue to leave. Oh, and last night I think I ...

We met my friend Christina (from church & high school) at the park yesterday morning just as a storm was rolling in. We were able to play for about 45 minutes before we got some good ol' SE TX rain. We snapped a picture as the rain began to fall. It was great to hang out! Hanging out with people from school and church makes me even more excited for our move to TX in December!

My mother is an amazing lady. These last almost 4 weeks have been tough without Jake but I know they would have been nearly impossible to handle without her helping me. She has changed diapers, kissed owies, rocked babies, sent little ones to time-out, taken us on many many excursions, pampered and spoiled us. THANK YOU MAMA/MIA!!! We are excited and sad all at the same time for next week to come.

is really cracking me up these days. She is a funny face making, arguing, clumsy little almost 18 month old!

Today we had to get out of the house early in order to open our Vidor house up for the tile guys. We left by 7am, opened the house, ate breakfast, and then headed out. We first stopped at the post office (mail for Jake) and then on to the mall. At the mall the kids rode rides, played with toys at the bookstore, and snacked on some cookie samples. After the mall we picked up food for a picnic, went to the park where the kids played in the water feature and then headed home (the kids all napped). When we got home the kids played WONDERFULLY together. The girls played dress-up and had a BLAST!

Well not really a PARTY but it was a fun match between brothers...one older brother being so nice to play a round with his younger brother after VBS. Malachi sat back and took notes so he can join them in a few years.

and then VBS (vacation Bible school)