Laurel Elisabeth Stevens

On Palm Sunday weekend we went camping at Lake Livingston State Park, along with our friends the Kirks and the Oosterhuises. As with all good camping trips, we had some adventure. We arrived Friday early evening and found our sites (with room for tents and well as existing shelters, sort of modified cabins) right on the lake. It was a gorgeous afternoon—not a cloud in the sky. The sunshine was great and there was just enough of a cool breeze. We enjoyed being with our friends, and Elisabeth enjoyed being with her friends, Ricky (3 ½) and Douwe (2 ½). Jennifer and John worked together to get our tents up, but the Oosterhuises had already put up their super duper Dutch tent that could withstand gale force winds on the top of a mountain. It was like a house. I didn’t really think the value of their tent would be shown on this trip. By 7:30 Elisabeth was getting so tired that she just burst into tears about nothing much, so I asked her, “Are you ready for bed?” “Yes!” she said, ...

We enjoyed a brief visit with Kristen’s parents, Terry and Kathy who were on a Texas tour. End of March saw us heading west with John’s parents who were visiting for their Spring Break. We stopped first in Austin to see Nathaniel and poked around the State Capitol—what a Texan—Elisabeth is not even 3 and she’s been there twice now. It was gorgeous weather the whole drive and we passed lots of wildflowers. We kept thinking we should stop and take pictures, but we were hoping Elisabeth would take a nap in the car. Consequently, we have no bluebonnet pictures this year, and no nap was taken. We continued onto Fredericksburg and stayed in a charming historical house. We enjoyed fabulous scones and muffins each morning from the Rather Sweet Bakery. John and I rode a couple of bikes that belonged to the house—it has been a while since I rode a one speed bike, and the territory was a bit hillier than what we were used to. But just a bit. It was a fun ride. Of course we had to climb E...

We enjoyed a brief visit with Kristen’s parents, Terry and Kathy who were on a Texas tour. End of March saw us heading west with John’s parents who were visiting for their Spring Break. We stopped first in Austin to see Nathaniel and poked around the State Capitol—what a Texan—Elisabeth is not even 3 and she’s been there twice now. It was gorgeous weather the whole drive and we passed lots of wildflowers. We kept thinking we should stop and take pictures, but we were hoping Elisabeth would take a nap in the car. Consequently, we have no bluebonnet pictures this year, and no nap was taken. We continued onto Fredericksburg and stayed in a charming historical house. We enjoyed fabulous scones and muffins each morning from the Rather Sweet Bakery. John and I rode a couple of bikes that belonged to the house—it has been a while since I rode a one speed bike, and the territory was a bit hillier than what we were used to. But just a bit. It was a fun ride. Of course we had to climb Enchanted ...

Grandmere and Grandpere have been back from Vietnam for almost 6 weeks and I finally have some pictures to prove it. They've brought their old home back to life, and now new memories are being made as Timothy and Elisabeth make themselves at home there. They love the enclosed backyard, as well as the gated courtyard in front. They love t he piano and the old Playmobile toys from Josh and Nathaniel. And they like to fight over Snoopy (poor guy--he's lost his nose in the intervening years). Elisabeth sleeps on a mat in the guest bedroom when she is there--a nice skill she learned at Mother's Day Out. It's nice not to have to put her in and out of the pack 'n play anymore. And she just sits on the mat when she wakes up. I wonder how long that will last.