Still no electricity

Lauren as "Evil Diva Kitty", Sick Justin

We are on day 11 without electricity. I sure am glad I didn't live pre-electricity. It is unfortunate for us that we are in an area that is taking a while to have electricity restored, but other than the kids really missing home and being bored without all my projects to keep me busy, I can't complain. I know that the folks working to get everything restored are working hard long hours and my prayers are with them. I think we are going to head back home and rough it for a few days with the hope that power will be on soon. Lauren goes back to school on Thursday and also back to gymnastics, so we are excited about that. Since we have been staying with Jason's mom (Mimi to the kids), she has experienced Lauren's vivid imagination. Mimi got her Halloween decorations out of the attic the other day and ever since then, Lauren has been obsessed with having a Halloween party. She has dressed up and made Halloween crafts. We even made some Halloween cupcakes. I am sure for her it will feel like Halloween will never get here.

The Aftermath of Hurricane Ike

Lauren, Justin and I slept in the closet once it started getting scary, Jason uprighting trees


A fallen pine tree that barely missed the house, The cleanup piles

Well hurricane Ike has come and gone but its destruction will definitely be felt for a long time, and for some, they will never forget it. Our prayers are with everyone who has been affected by the storm. We feel very blessed that the impact on us has been very minimal. We lost a couple of trees that fortunately missed the house, barely, and we had a little water damage. Unfortunately some of our neighbors were not spared as we were and they have trees on their homes. It is amazing how everyone pulls together to help others during times like these. Our neighbors are awesome and we even had caring, generous strangers that offered their time and effort to help in the cleanup. We are still without electricity, but we have thankfully had a place to retreat. As I said, we feel very blessed and fortunate.

Lauren Entertaining Justin

Lauren can make Justin laugh like no one else. She gets him giggling pretty good at times.

Superhero Lauren

As most of you know, Lauren has quite the imagination. These videos are just a sampling of what goes on daily around our household. The gears in her head are constantly turning and creating new stories and songs. This is why she has always been able to entertain herself. Enjoy!

School, Las Vegas, Ike and More!

Lauren's first day of school, Lauren pretending that Justin is a tiger (poor Justin!)


Justin at Popa's football game, climbing on the trampoline, "I love teething biscuits!"


On the Las Vegas Strip, Dawn and Jennifer with Elvis from Legends performance.

Life continues to stay busy and fly by. Lauren has started preschool again. She loves it and I am not going to lie, I enjoy the free time too! Justin is all over the place, crawling and pulling up, and he has even started to crawl up the stairs so it is time to get the baby gate out of the attic. He also now has 5 teeth. Football season is also in full swing so that means Aggie football games as well as Eagle football games (Popa's team). Lauren loves being the little cheerleader.

This past weekend Jason and I had a little vacation. We went to Las Vegas with our friends Terry and Jennifer and had a great time. It was my first time to leave Justin. I really missed both of the kids but I know they had a great time with Aunt April, Uncle Ronnie, Aliska, Trey, and Andrew. Lauren probably played harder than she ever has.

Right now we are focused on the news on television because we are waiting on Hurricane Ike to make its arrival. I am a little worried about the wind it is going to bring because of the trees around the house, but hopefully we will make it through the storm without much damage. Our prayers are with everyone as they ride out the storm or seek safer ground.

Picky Eater

This past Sunday we finally had Justin baptized. He was great and actually wanted the Pastor to put more water on him. He wore my grandfather's baptism gown that is 94 years old. It has been worn by my mother and her siblings, many of my cousins, all of my siblings, nieces and nephews, and Lauren. It was very special for him to wear it also. It was great to have a lot of our family there to witness the blessed day.

Justin has also become a picky eater, in that he doesn't want to eat baby food. He instead wants to eat whatever we are eating, so I have been putting his portions in a blender and he loves it. He actually giggles while I am feeding him. He also loves my ice water, not the ice water in his sippy cup, but the exact same thing that is in mommy's cup. Just like Lauren, he knows what he wants. He has become quite quick at getting around and getting up. He pulls up on everything and is starting to hold on and walk around and along items like the couch and coffee tables. This also means he is in for a few more bumps and bruises when he falls over from his standing position. It is amazing how fast he is growing and learning!

Lauren has been sick today, running a fever. Hopefully she will feel much better soon. She is such a big girl and is trying to stay away from Justin so that she doesn't get him sick. Next week she starts back to school and will be in the "Stars" class. Several of her friends from church will be in her class so it should be a fun year. Pictures of her first day will be coming next week!

Ready, set, go!

At Miller Outdoor Theater, Lauren at the circus, Lauren at Princess Tea Party


Playing poker with Popa, enjoying his sweet potatoes, happy little Aggie


Apparently I was in the grocery store too long!, Stood up for the first time.


Camping in San Marcos: Swimming with Uncle Mike, I like to eat my dinner and wear it too!, I love baths!


Look at my teeth!, I love Nanny and Papa!

Well, I can't seem to keep this updated often enough so here is another big overload of info. Summer is coming to an end and it seems as if it has flown by. Next week, Lauren will be starting ballet and gymnastics again and she is excited about that. I am still not sure about soccer this fall, we may sit it out and wait for the spring season.

Lauren's thing is still dressing up and being a princess. The flower girl dress that my mother made for my neice to wear at my wedding has definitely received plenty of use. Aliska was 4 when we got married so it fits Lauren perfect right now. She wears it at least 6/7 days of the week, I am not exaggerating! She gets up in the morning, goes to the restroom, and puts on her wedding dress. Thank goodness she has never asked to wear it out of the house anywhere, I don't want that fight.

Justin is now 7 1/2 months old and there is no stopping him. He is crawling, mostly army, but every now and then he will make a few movements up on his hands and knees. He goes all over the house to find where everyone is. During this process he has also found the doorstops and loves playing with them so I have removed all the end caps. His two front bottom teeth have also made their appearance and he loves to eat! He will eat all the different flavors of baby food and anything else you will let him try. What I find funny is that Lauren always wants to taste his food first. Oh, I almost forgot, he also pulls up into a standing position now. I have already had to lower his bed. He is definitely a boy and he is strong!

We have had even more fun this summer which included going to the Miller Outdoor Theater, to the circus and to a princess tea party. We also had another trip to the river, this time camping in San Marcos with my family on the San Marcos river. It was a lot of fun and the kids loved the water and spending time with their cousins. I hope I haven't left anything out! Enjoy the pics! Also, check out our YouTube account for new videos (http://www.youtube.com/thesapp4)!

Lots of Firsts

These past couple of months have been big ones for Justin. He is now 6 1/2 months old and weighs in at just over 15 lbs. He now sits up by himself and is learning how to move around. He is really good at spinning in circles on his tummy. He pushes up to his hands and knees and rocks back and forth and lunges forward. His best method of moving is army crawling. If there is something he wants, he can now figure out how to get to it. His diet has also now expanded beyond milk and rice cereal to the wonderful array of baby food. Each day is a wonderful trove of discoveries for Justin!

Tubing down Frio River

Redneck Water Slide