Labor Day Weekend Adventures

Labor Day Weekend ended up being a beautiful weekend in Texas!   In the Austin area, we have had over 80 days with temperatures over 100 degrees, so temperatures in the 90s were very welcomed!  We actually traveled to Sugar Land, TX (near Houston) to visit family, and the weather was beautiful there also.  In the mornings and evenings, it was so nice to have temperatures in the 70s.

While we were there, we celebrated our nieces', Audrey and Lauren's, 4th birthday.  Also, Drew's Aunt and Uncle from Findlay, OH visited--we loved spending time with them as well.

Drew's sister, Erica, planned some fun games for the birthday party.  Doug has his game face on.

Lauren was determined to win!

eating lunch at the little kids' table

The birthday girls, Audrey and Lauren, blow out their candles.

We went to a fun kiddie pool while we were visiting.

Being boys in the pool as they try to throw a ball on top of the sprinkler.

Luke loved the slide.  Here, he is racing Mitchell down.

As we were leaving on Labor Day, we grabbed a picture of Luke with his Mimi and Papa and his great Uncle Doug and Aunt Cindy.

We had so much fun visiting with family.  Some sad news though about Labor Day Weekend:  although we had some great temperatures, we still did not get some much needed rain.  We have had a serious drought in our state.  Unfortunately that, combined with the high winds, created some conditions that wildfires love.  There were countless fires that started in the state of Texas on Labor Day weekend.   The most devastating fire in the area of Bastrop (just outside of Austin) is still burning as I type this blog post.  As I am typing this a week later, the fire is still only just over 50 percent contained, with over 34,000 acres burned and 1554 houses destroyed (and counting).  Suburbs all around us have experienced wildfires that have destroyed homes recently.  It literally hits close to home, and our hearts ache for those who are now homeless.  Please keep all of those affected in your prayers--those who lost homes, the thousands of firefighters battling these intense fires, and the communities involved.  Here is a picture that has been recently circulating of the Austin skyline last week.  The smoke is from the Bastrop fires.