Time Flies!

Well I thought that it was time that I updated our blog. I think I could have a full time job between uploading pictures on our Shutterfly family page (http://ackleyaccolades.shutterfly.com/) and my facebook page. It's too bad that I can't seem to find something that incorporates all of what I need in a one stop-one package. I keep saying it, but I just can't get over how quickly time passes. I've intended to keep this blog more up to date and I'm looking up and an entire semester has passed without a single update. I'll try to recap a little.

Football season seemed to occupy quite a bit of our time from August through November. Mallory was busy with after school practice each day followed by a pretty heavy load of homework. She's taking a couple of dual credit classes and pre-AP in everything else. Since this wasn't a year that they could compete in the state marching contest, Saturdays weren't as busy with marching competitions. Instead we used the time to catch up from the busy week. Despite the busy schedule and late nights, she managed to do very well with her grades. She is very conscientious about her grades and tries to get as much homework done when she has a few free minutes. We're very proud of her!

Lonny has been as busy as usual working lots of hours. He works very hard and never complains. Even when we have a late Friday night, he still gets up at 4:15 and goes to work. He's a wonderful dad and husband!

I've tried to just enjoy coming home after school and being a mom and a wife. It's been a little strange to feel not so needed. With Mallory having her license, she hasn't had to depend on me to take her to school or pick her up. That's been a nice luxury in many ways, but I find myself missing the moments that we had in the car to talk about our day. As I sit here tonight, she's at a friend's house watching movies. I can't help but think how quickly she'll be away at college. I guess the teenage years are God's way of preparing us for them to leave the nest. We have little snippets of time when they are away. I think it's going to be more difficult to adjust to than I expect.

Ok, before I get teary-eyed.......All in all, it's been a great first semester. In November, we went to Beaver's Bend with Shelly and her family and Lonny's sister, Gayle and her family. We had such a great time and were not ready to come home. It was so peaceful and relaxing. I think it was what we all need to re-energize ourselves as we prepared for the holiday season. Thanksgiving and Christmas meant more time with our families. We enjoyed both holidays and as usual, ate until we were absolutely miserable. I have pictures posted on our Shutterfly page if you want to look at them. I'll try to be a little better about updating from here out.

Making the Move

Ok.....I'm doing this! I've tried to keep our family news and pictures updated through a number of different venues over the years- most recently Shutterfly. I'm still going to try to keep my picture albums uploaded there, but thought that I would join my fellow bloggers and give this a whirl. We'd love to hear from you, so PLEASE leave a comment and let us know how you are. Be sure to let us know if you have a family blog so that we can follow you as well. Happy blogging!

As Summer Fades...

Wow! It seems that it was just yesterday that we were counting down the days until the end of the school year, and now we're preparing to begin a new one. We've been extremely fortunate to have had the time to spend with our family throughout the summer. We've had lots of laughs, fun, and too much food! We're very blessed to have each of you in our lives and look forward to making more memories! As summer fades, I'm reminded of how quickly I forget the small details of our day-to-day lives. I'm taking this opportunity to recap a few of Mallory's summer moments.


In addition to time with family this summer, Mallory has had several "firsts". She began the summer with her "first" trip without us or other family members. She had the opportunity to go to Chicago with the band and despite riding and sleeping on a chartered bus for 14 hours, she loved it. She got her "first" summer job babysitting two kids- Alex and Ava. She only had to babysit on Wednesdays and Thursdays, but learned that there is much to be said for having a well-planned day with multiple activities. I think she went through her entire bag of tricks on the first day. It has been a good opportunity for her to earn her own money along with some responsibilities outside home and school. She also participated in the city's Municpal Band for the "first" time with friends Bethany and Taylor. Paris' Municpal Band is one of a handful left in the state of Texas. They practiced on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00-8:30 and performed on Friday evenings in Bywaters Park. Finally, she experienced her "first" summer with a license. She has been extremely cautious with this responsibility and has accepted the task of running errands without complaint. We are very proud of her for accepting these responsibilities with such maturity.

Next week, she begins summer band. They will practice each weekday from 7:30-3:00 until school begins (August 24) to prepare for their marching show. After school starts, they will practice after school from 4:00-6:00. They will perform at the first football game on August 28 (first week of school). Friday nights are occupied through the first week of November and several Saturdays are reserved for marching competitions. They work very hard and don't always get the recognition that they deserve. In spite of the hard work, Mallory loves it and has thrived amidst the team and family environment that the band embraces.

As her junior year approaches, I find myself realizing that her time in "our nest" will be over much sooner than we would like. This is bitter-sweet as I'm excited for her in knowing all of the opportunities that await her, but heavy-hearted in knowing the emptiness it will bring for us. I'm grateful to my Father in Heaven each day for blessing me with such a special daughter and husband. I can't imagine my life without them!

Family Vacation

This year, we went on our third cruise adventure- the Carnival Conquest. We went with the Bivens' family (Karol's sister & family- Shelly, Judd, and Evan) and the Barrios' family (Lonny's sister & family- Gayle, Pedro, Brittany, Payton, and friends Sarah & Channing). Our vacation began on Friday, June 26 with a quick trip to Uncle Steven's in Richardson. We enjoyed spending some extra time with Steven, Kristine, Mary Margaret, and Kate and then headed to Galveston on Saturday, June 27. We arrived around 6:30 pm and had dinner at Casey's Seafood and ice cream at Marble Slab before settling in for the night.

Sunday morning, we had a quick breakfast at the hotel, made a last-minute stop at Academy, and headed to the cruise terminal. We boarded the ship around 11:45 am but couldn't go to our rooms yet, so we ate lunch on the Lido deck and hung out until our rooms were ready. We spent the afternoon exploring the ship, organizing our room (well---- I organized with much resistance from my family!), and awaited the much-dreaded muster drill. Dinner was one of the hi-lights of each evening and this evening was no exception. We sampled lots of good food (some more than others!) and settled on one of our favorite desserts (warm melting chocolate cake- yummy!) before heading to the nightly show.

Monday and Tuesday were "fun days at sea". We took advantage of the many onboard activities such as scavenger hunts, bingo, karaoke, and the pool. Mallory and Evan continued their tradition of seeing how many ice cream cones they could eat throughout the week.










We arrived at our first port of call on Wednesday. This was our first visit to Jamaica and we chose a tubing excursion. We weren't able to see much of Jamaica, but enjoyed some time tubing through the jungle and learning about the Jamaican culture.

On Thursday, we arrived at my all-time favorite stop- Grand Cayman. Everything was so beautiful and peaceful and we all wished that we could have stayed longer. Grand Cayman is famous for Stingray City, so we chose this excursion. We boarded a boat and traveled about 40 minutes to a sandbar where we saw HUGE stingrays. We learned that many years ago, fishermen fished near this sandbar and came to the sandbar to clean their fish. The stingrays began coming to the sandbar to feed and have learned that boats bring food. They swim freely among people and don't hesitate to be petted and held. After our stingray encounter, we headed to Rum Pointe Beach where we experienced more of Grand Cayman's beautiful blue water and white sand. We had a quick bite for lunch and then headed back to the ship.

On Friday, we made our final stop in Cozumel. The guys booked a deep-sea fishing excursion, so the girls (and Payton and Channing) headed to Playa Mia beach for a day of fun and sun. We played on the pedal boats, kayaks, water bikes, and rode on our first Hobie Cat. After the beach, we decided to do some souvenir shopping in Cozumel before boarding the ship.

Friday and Saturday were more "fun days at sea", but we were a little more low-key than earlier in the week. We took advantage of an opportunity for some R&R with trips to the spa, pool, and shows before our vacation came to an end.

We arrived back in Galveston Sunday morning, loaded cars, and made the drive home. Before we were home, talk of our "next" trip was already under way. We had so much fun and feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to make such special memories as a family.