Out with the old car in with the new

Lyle and I bought our first car together in 2005 not long before we found out we were going to have Ella. We leased it for 5 years and then bought it after the lease because it was such a good car. A 2005 Toyota Corolla. I loved that car! Very sporty and just perfect for what we needed. I will never forget getting it. I felt so grown up. Buying my first car without the help of my dad. It was a big moment for us a married couple...at least I felt like it was. Well, fast forward 13 years and it is time to replace that car. It served us sooo well, barely needing any repairs. Actually I can only think of one time we had to do any repairs on it other than oil change and brakes. It was just starting to show signs of aging and the battery kept messing up so we figured it was time for Lyle to get something reliable. So, what did we buy?? Another Corolla!! Almost the exact same color just a different body style! We figured Ella would be driving soon and we wanted a car that she could practice in and feel comfortable driving around. Lyle was happy getting it...mostly because it was cheap..for a car anyway.
Here is the old corolla in all her glory....

And the new one!! I am sure we will love it just as much!!

Bowling night

We heard of a new bowling joint in Little Rock so we thought we would give it a shot. One great thing about summer is all of our schedules kind of slow down in summer so we were looking for something fun to do. We have only bowled together a handful times but have always really enjoyed it. This time was no different! And if I do say myself...I think I'm the best family bowler. Probably that bowling class I took in college:)
Here are some pics from the night. I love this little family!

Escape rooms...our new favorite family tradition

While we were in Lake City, we did the new escape room. Our first time ever. The theme was Alfred Packer and you were locked in his house and you had to find the clues to get out before he got home from the grocery store and had you for dinner! It was so so much fun!! One memorable part was when AB happened to find the exact key we were all looking for....she was so so proud of herself. She really loves escape rooms now! We got back home to Little Rock and a couple weeks later signed up for an escape room here...Getting out of D-Hall! It was so great! We are anxious to do another one soon!
Here is a pic of us at the end! We may not finish on time but we have a really good time trying!

July in Lake City CO!

This summer the Burdine family planned a big trip for everyone to meet up at Lake City for 4th of July. We have not been there in several years so we were excited to get back. We had a fun week planned and ready to get started. We flew into Denver and rented a truck to drive to Lake City. It was nice having a truck to through all our stuff in the back.
The first day we went to our favor spot down by the river behind the Alfred Packer Saloon. Such a beautiful place to throw rocks. Oh man, have we thrown a ton of rocks in this river!!

The kids instantly started reminiscing about past trips.

Alvie and Gail showed up a couple hours after we did and then the cousins the next day. Here are a few pics of all the fun!

We rented an ATV this year again and had a great time exploring the mountains with the kiddos. AB ended up falling asleep with her big helmet on. It was so funny!

We were very excited to get to see the 4th of July parade this year. It was so cute and AB was very very excited about all the candy...I think all the kids were! Mims bought all the kids matching shirts and candy bags they each got to decorate the night before. It was really fun!

 I love this Kid and his buzz hair cut!

Of course we couldn't go to CO without doing a lot of fishing!! The kids didn't catch much on the Lake San Cristobal but we took them to a stocked lake a little ways down and they were catching huge ones all week! It was really fun to see how excited they would get!

We always love a good fish fry at the end of the trip!!

 We hated to leave but it was a great trip!!