This weekend we took Jake to Marshall, Texas to visit Ty's family. Jake had a wonderful time and enjoyed being outside so much. Ty's Dad and Step mom live on a ranch and have quite a bit of land with cows so there was much for Jake to see. Destin and Mark also came for the weekend so it was great for Jake to also spend time with his aunt and uncle. Saturday, Ty, Mark, and Larry went fishing and Donna, Destin, and I took Jake to lunch and shopping in Marshall. Donna bought him some sunglasses which he LOVED as you can see in the picture. He thought he was really cool when he put them on :) Later that afternoon, Destin and Mark took Jake fishing with him at the pond and took these great pictures.
Destin said Jake would squeal with delight every time Mark caught a fish. Mark even made Jake his own fishing pole which he tried out! I know Jake loved the quality time with Aunt Destin and Uncle Mark :) Saturday evening Jake also got to see his cousin, Elsie Jane. Jake was already asleep, but we woke him up to see his cousin when Jason and Jolie got there. Elsie Jane was enamored by Jake and kept wanting to hold him. The only problem is that Jake out weighs her by several pounds even though she's 9 months older! Here's a cute picture of the two of them.
Sunday we continued Jake's adventure by going out to Ty's aunt and uncle's in Mooringsport, Louisiana. We had our own church service at the lake with Kaye and Kenny and also Ty's grandparents and cousin Katie and her little boy, Landon. They also made lunch for us, and we had such a great time catching up with everyone. Jake also loved being at their house since they live on Caddo Lake. Here's he and Landon in front of Grandad's cabin...it was hard for the two of them to be still for a picture. They both would have much rather been playing in the dirt or throwing rocks in the lake than taking the silly picture :) 
We did find out that Ty's cousin, Kip, is being deployed to Iraq in June and would love prayers on his behalf. He's already training to leave at Ft. Hood, and we missed seeing him this weekend. Kip has already served one tour in Iraq, but he's happy to serve his country another time. We're all very proud of his commitment and just pray for his safety.
On the way back into town this evening, we swung by Conroe to pick up Gilbert from Al and Jonesa's house. Jonesa had made dinner and fresh blackberry pie and invited us for dinner. Jake also LOVED the pie and had one last adventure at their house before heading home. Papa Al took Jake outside to sit on his tractor and motorcycle. Jake thought the tractor was great...until he turned it on and it became a bit too noisy. Jake is so blessed to have six wonderful grandparents who love him...he's not a bit spoiled at all :)
I believe Jake had quite a weekend and plenty of excitement. The rest of the week might be a little mundane now!