Oak Tree in an Acorn: What We Did on Our Summer Vacation

Monday, August 3, 2009

What We Did on Our Summer Vacation

The girls and I have had such a memorable summer at Grandma and Pawpaw's. It's hard to believe that eight weeks have gone by and we'll be headed back to Cedar Park this week. We've had so many fun experiences such as going to Six Flags for Olivia's birthday and seeing the Ringling Bros. circus in Dallas. Every day has been a delight but most of all we have enjoyed being spending this quality time with Mary Ann and Michael who welcomed us into their homes with open arms. It will be sad to say goodbye and we will miss seeing them everyday.

Thank you Grandma and Pawpaw Yeager for a most memorable summer vacation.

We love you!

Here are some pictures of our summer adventures as well as relaxing moments.

Olivia really learned how to swim this summer, ...

and Genevieve learned how to swim with her floaty.

How blessed we were to be able to swim almost every day in Grandma's backyard pool.

Grandma and the girls made cookies for Olivia's birthday which she celebrated in Plano this year.

The girls loved spending the evenings with Grandma and Pawpaw when they got home from work.

We spent one morning at Heritage Farms and learned about pioneer home life.

Pawpaw arranged a private tour of the Plano Living Materials Center for Plano ISD, and we got to meet legendary Jim Dunlap. In this picture we, together with Mr. Dunlap, are holding "Banana" who weighs 125 lbs. Later that morning, we watched her swallow a whole rat!

We missed Brian but he came up EVERY weekend.

Genevieve used her tools to build a "candy house".

Olivia and Grandma had some time to sew. Here they are working on camouflage slippers.

Genevieve learned to use scissors this summer. She cut lengths of colorful yarn to share with the birds for their nests. Her bag of yarn scraps read, "Birds, come play with me."

One weekend we visited Sandy Lake amusement park.

Olivia and I spun around on the Twirl-A-Whirl at Sandy Lake.

The girls painted (milk + food coloring) sponge cake for their snack one day. Genevieve concentrated hard on her masterpiece.

We visited Jump Town one morning...

and had a special lunch at Firehouse Subs.

We tried lots of new (to us) parks...

and we learned that the ducks like garlic bread but are not fans of tortillas!

We went to the IMAX theater in Dallas and saw the Coral Reef Adventure. Genevieve was amazed by how life-like the animals appeared on the big screen, and she sat in Daddy's lap to make sure the octopus would not eat her.

We disguised ourselves on our visit to the Dallas Nature and Science Center's spy exhibit. You don't even recognize us now do you?

We went to a local farmers' market and tasted the sweetest tomatoes!

Olivia had the idea to have a luau party for Grandma and Pawpaw (They were married in Hawaii.) to thank them for the lovely visit we had with them this summer. We made and ate Hawaiian food and even wore costumes. This is the invitation she made for the party.

Everyone gets a taste of yummy, fresh coconut.

Aloha Summer!

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Why the title, "Oak Tree in an Acorn"?

Well, really it's all about perspective when raising the girls. It helps me to think about the grand scheme of parenting and remember that what we do now affects how our little acorns will grow. Like an oak tree, we want them to be strong in their words and deeds, be able to withstand life's storms, set and reach their goals, and be people that others can lean on and trust.

We have an oak tree planted in our yard that came from an acorn my dad planted in a pot. This acorn came from a huge oak tree that was planted in the backyard of my dad's childhood home. My dad's father also planted this tree from an acorn he found on his hunting lease in the early 1960's. Our tree is thus a family heirloom, a "family tree".

It was the year of Olivia's birth when we planted our little sapling. It looked so very sad that winter with no leaves; it was, basically, like a stick rooted in the ground. Five years later, though, it stands 9 feet tall, and we continue to nurture it and watch it grow. We hope one year it will produce acorns of its own, and we can continue to pass on this family heirloom. We hope to remember it's example of how each acorn has the potential to be an oak tree, and how our acorns, Olivia and Genevieve, will one day, with help from God, become mighty oak trees themselves.