My 2015 year in pictures until October

Thank the Lord life has slowed down since the holidays ended. I don't think I could have kept up that pace much longer. I was coming and going at a hugely rapid pace and that doesn't even bring into consideration the exhausting rate at which I was watching Hallmark Christmas movies over the last two months. It was mucho many. No one is happier than Olivia that the Hallmark Christmas season is over, but I'm having withdrawals from happy, sappy, cookie cutter movies. They are the best.  

When thinking about my blog in the new year I decided to jump start it with a random photos post just to mix things up a bit. But as I wandered through my photos, I saw all the trips I took in 2015 so I went back and looked at my calendar and was amazed. It seems I was home for seven seconds in 2015. 

I'll break it down for you:
January was a stay at home month.
February 12-16 Corsicana
March 7-8 Lafayette
March 19-22 Dallas
April 6-9 Corsicana
May 24-31 Pennsylvania road trip
June 11-13 Lafayette
July 1-8 Corsicana
August 5-9 Corsicana
September 10-13 Corsicana
September 27 Shreveport
October 1-4 Corsicana
October 8-11 Corsicana
November 5-8 Corsicana
November 19-22 Corsicana
December 8-13 Dallas/New York
December 17-20 Dallas
December 26 Lafayette

If you counted, that's 17 road trips in 11 months. I'm tired just reading it. BUT. I regret no trips taken, and I know I didn't accurately report them all on my blog. I only did parts of a few I think. So in the last few days I've gone through my pictures to see where I was and when and what I was doing and with who. Did ya get all that? 

So now, my random photos post is actually from all my trips from 2015. Are you excited yet? Because I am. It's a wonderful mix for me.

Lets get started and see where I went.

February 12-16 was Mardi Gras/Winter break so John and I, and our girls made a break for Corsicana. It just so happened it was also Valentine's Day as well as our anniversary. So the girls shocked us to pieces by giving us the largest box of candy in the history of the world. The candy was gone waaaaay too quickly. But when deciding to buy the big box, Caitlin was going for shock value, and she was not disappointed. 

It was shockingly delightfully huge.

That would be Olivia behind the enormous box checking out the map to decide which piece of candy to choose. The candy map is one of the most important maps in the history of maps. 

We painted the table.

And documented it.

The weather was so great for February over at Frank's place.

And there were great clouds. 

March 7-8 was an overnight trip to Lafayette to celebrate Lucas' first birthday. 

The birthday boy.

Cute little family, that's now a family of four! 

And there was a photo shoot with GGmaw

So sweet.

March 19-22 Was a girl's trip to Dallas and we went to the Nebraska furniture store? I don't know. It's Iowa or some other fly over state named store that is bigger than the state of Louisiana. It was daunting, especially being there with Becky who could probably spend the entire day patiently looking...while I could be finished in 30 minutes. Did I see everything? Absolutely not. Did I care? ABSOLUTELY not. 

Scary scary big place.

Also on this trip we went to Fort Worth looking for family history stuff. It did not pan out for us and we left with no new info, but highly impressed with the lovely Tarrant County Courthouse.  

It's 5:00 somewhere.

It was tulip time in Dallas.

I found another great hat for myself. Carlie, say nothing.....

April 6-9 was back to Corsicana for bluebonnet time. In the last few years I've missed the bluebonnets in Texas, but in 2015 it all worked out so that our spring break was spent taking too many photos of flowers. It happens every time I get my camera out. I stand in the same place, with the same settings and take the same picture 100 times. I'm working on correcting that problem. 

When Addy calls shotgun, she bows to no one.

This is a fabulous flower. 

There was a beautiful sunset.

Sunsets don't apply to the too many pictures policy, since it's ever changing until it ends. 

Last one for that trip.

I love a bluebonnet with some rusty wire in the pic.

Truly I do.

And a mix of paintbrushes with bluebonnets.

This picture doesn't do justice to this field of paintbrushes. It was a great trip for seeing beautiful flowers. 

May 24-31 The motherlode of trips happened in May when the six of my family took a rode trip to Pennsylvania. I documented some of this trip and then I failed to finish the whole thing. I hope to correct it in the future. We saw so much and had tons of fun. I'll always be glad we made the effort.   

But I will never be glad I went to the Andy Warhol museum, better known as the stupid place. 

The chance to take a picture of my peeps in front of a lighthouse was one of the highlights of my trip. 

As was...

Facetiming William to show him the Tyrannosaurus  Rex. 

We visited Vera....

And her parents of course. 

And saw many many Christmas trees. They just call them trees. 

We ate dinner with Vera....and her parents of course. 

And rode down Washington's trail.

Speaks for itself....but close call George!

Just another tree.

This is a perfect Americana picture. A church, a hillside cemetery, and a flag. I love this picture. 

We stopped in Kentucky to take a peek at horses and flowers. 

I can confirm there were beautiful horses at the Kentucky Horse Park.

At this point in the trip people were getting over it...or it may have been the picture taking. 

Some people. 

That smile is fake.

But ultimately, as Dorothy said....

There's no place like home.

And just like that, after exactly 3,166 miles, we were back in Louisiana. 

June 11-13 A group of us went back to Lafayette to see Lucas as well as the newly purchased Cline home. 

I could pretend Lucas was hip hip hooraying our arrival, but it wasn't what he was doing at the time.

While there, we destroyed a bed/bath situation at the Cline home. I think I've now said, "the Cline home" multi times. 

There was a Billie sighting at the Cline home. 

July 1-8 Where else is there to be besides Corsicana for July 4th? So that's where a group of us went for the holiday. It was a fun filled week with much coming and going.

This could be a Chevy commercial.

This could be an adorable commercial.

This could be a Father's Day commercial. 

This is a real commercial. Not really, but the girls went to Waco during the holiday. 

A pensive patriot. 

Cutie with a sparkler. 

Art by the grown up girls.

I'd agree.

Grandma wearing the styling glow glasses.

We found a beautiful sunflower field.

And then it was time to go home.

August 5-9 It was to Corsicana again for one more wonderful time before school started. It was another good trip decision. 

A short trip with a skeleton crew.

Hankie hanging out by the Texas flag.

This does have a filter, but it looks magical.

This does not have a filter and is still magical to me.

John found a real arrowhead made by an unknown Indian.

Grown women, coloring in the country, on their phones...so many contradictions. 

I never tire of photographing this place.

A lovely lone sunflower.

Extreme close up.

This is the sun setting on our fabulous August trip.

September 10-13 Corsicana again. This time to check on the house after a big limb fell in the yard. 

I fear Addy will never be friends with Hank.

Great sunset and clouds over at Frank's place. 

September 27 An impromptu shopping trip to Shreveport for a few hours to buy some things for Emma before she moved to DC.

Olivia and I oversaw a very busy nursery that morning, then MAY have left before the preaching was over.

While there I found another great hat choice for me.

Olivia and her hat she's never worn since that day.

October 1-4 I can't believe I'm gonna say I went to Corsicana again, but I did. This time it was a girl's trip with the intent of going to the antique fair in Round Top Texas. 

See? I told you.

Carlie may or may not have known that Round Top was three hours from Corsicana. 

Silly Beba.

We ran by to see A&M's stadium.

And had a lovely sunset on the way home from Round Top. We bought absolutely nothing at the antique fair. 

Then we enjoyed the rest of our time at the farm. Carlie was not paying attention.

Caitlin was really happy I was taking her picture....or not.

And I took another picture of a grass head. I love grassy pictures.

And this place. 

Then, before we knew it, the sun set on our lovely weekend 

October 8-11 Have I been to Corsicana yet for the year? Well, it was time to go again. This time to see Emma off to Washington DC and her new job. This trip was split up in two cars and on different days since Caitlin and I had to come later. John, Emma, Olivia and Owen went to a hockey game in Dallas, then drove down to Corsicana and waited for us to meet up the next day. 

The morning of the day Emma moved to Washington.

It was very fitting that we came from Louisiana to Texas to get her to DC. 

One more photo and then we were off to Dallas for brunch, shoe shopping for the boys and the airport.

These four are my life's work.

I was so worried about getting a group photo that I made them all stop outside DSW shoe store. I know, it's awkward. 

But we took a selfie at the airport.

Or two.

She looks more ready to go than I was ready for her to go.

I had to get one more of the four.

Then she was gone. It was one of the least fun things I've ever done in my life. Not knowing where she was gonna live or anything about the city. It was tough. Of course all of it worked out exactly as God planned. But I'm not gonna lie, my mother's heart felt a little faint at times.

Then we left this.

For this.

And this.

See? There will never be too many pictures of this place.

It's hard to cull any.

And while Emma was doing this...

On her way to her new home...

We were doing this....

And taking pictures of the hand for entertainment. 

And then it was time to give Hankie Panks some last treats, and go home without my second born. 

Whew! I'm exhausted and I'm not even finished!! I have two more months and five trips to go! I was going to make this one post but then decided it was too big, so I'm going to split it into two. I've now been working on this for too many days to count. The uploading causes so many ughs. Anyway, I have to stop for some errands and then work, so I'll start on the next post soon. In the meantime, taaakkkeeee yooooouuuur tiimmmee reading this. Read older posts, they're fabulous! Or maybe they aren't I don't know. Cranking these puppies out is so time consuming. Good thing I'm so patient. I just made myself laugh at that. 

Gots to go people. There are errands a waiting to be run.

Also I think I need a travel agent.....it's mid January and I have no trips on the books!

Where to go....where to go....