Whitney, Wes, & Whitaker Move to Spain

Whitney is exercising the full extent of her free will and she moved with the boys to Spain for the school year!

We had a Walsh Weekend at CRC the Tuesday before we left for Spain. We were all there, but sadly, did not manage to get a full group photo. I did manage to get one of the Walsh parents and siblings during a surprise cake and small celebration for DD and Big John's 55th wedding anniversary. We had a really fun dinner at Bean and Burger, and we had brunch on Sunday morning before we left. Ranger came late with a car full of cross country boys and they stayed in the tents. Good memories were made to hold us over until Whitney, Whitaker, and Wes come back for the holidays before returning to Spain to finish out the school year.

We were so grateful that at the last minute, Grant was upgraded to business class and I made it into premium economy. Whitaker was just about asleep with Grant in business class when Whitney went to "check on him" and then he wanted to be with her again. The travel was long with two flights to Almeria and a long layover in Madrid. But we made it to a great lounge for the layover and the boys were really well behaved. We had lots of snacks, played with playdough, and the 3 adults were able to freshen up at the lounge showers. 

Grant had rented a car in Almeria and we packed in to the ceiling with all of us and the luggage to make it in one trip. We found the apartment easily, which had a great view of the sea. After dropping our luggage, we went to the grocery store for supplies. We could not figure out how to get one of the locked up carts, but we finally found one not locked up and were able to get a pack-and-play for Whitaker and some food for dinner. We made an easy dinner at home and we all crashed.

We stayed with Whitney for 3 days and she and Grant made quite a few trips to the store to get things setup in the apartment. I took the boys to the beach, we did a small shopping trip, went to the pool at their apartment, and played one evening for a few hours at the playgrounds. I loved getting to spend time with the boys. They are amazing brothers and play so well together. 

On Friday evening, Grant and I headed to San Jose which was about an hour drive down the coast. We did a scuba dive Saturday morning which was our first time to dive in the Mediterranean. It was chilly, but we had good wet suits and were comfortable. No reefs, but pretty seaweed and lots of fish. I liked that it was an easy dive, not too deep and limited current. 

The rest of the time we ate at the restaurants along the water, rested, walked a local flamenco show in the town square, and ate gelato. We headed to the airport super early on Monday morning and got back to Dallas at about 5pm on Monday afternoon.

I am so glad we made the trip, helped Whitney and the boys, made memories, and explored more of Spain. It was a wonderful experience and I am praying Whitney and the boys have an amazing adventure in Spain this year.

Colton at Sky Ranch: The Mule & Camp Champ!

Colton received the "Excellence" award which read, "Colton! Bro, this week was so much fun! It was truly a joy getting to know you! We gave you the excellence award because you walked in honor and integrity in everything that you did! Keep being excellent for God! We love you! - The Mule Guys Philippians 4:8"

They also got camp champ for the week! It was so helpful because I was able to drop the boys off on Sunday afternoon, and then I left for Hawaii first thing Monday morning. I returned from Hawaii on Saturday at 10:30am, and Kristie picked up the boys and Colton didn't get home until late afternoon which gave me a chance to have a nap after my overnight flight.

By Colton, "My Mom dropped Thomas and I off early so that we could pick the best bunks, so we picked 3 of the best bunks for Thomas Philip and I. We were in sky three so Parker could hang out with us, also it was session 11 so there were not as many people there. We had a great week overall, my favorite activity was the zipline, I also like the Mission Impossible (MI) night event. My favorite counselor was Nate, all week long Thomas and Nate would joke about how short he is, Nate was also my bible study leader. Kristi picked Thomas and I up and we went to ham orchard where we got ice-cream."

Erin visits Foster (+ CJ & Henry) in Hawaii

Foster was SO excited for me to visit him in Hawaii! We had the best time together. We went on walks in the neighborhood, went with Courtney for one night at the Westin and swam in the pool and beach, we played on the lanai, and Foster even spent the night with me on Thursday night before I left for home. 

I also loved visiting with Courtney and Henry. Henry cooked us amazing lunches and dinners every day, Jess joined us for dinner at the Westin during our girls night out, we went out to dinner one evening at Kona Brewing company, and they all liked their Bucees gear that I brought them. I also got a chance to have meaningful conversations with both Henry and Courtney, which was a blessings.

Courtney is doing amazing with motherhood and Foster is honestly just so cute. He is incredibly well-natured. He is flexible with people and in different environments. He loves looking around and playing with toys. Literally the only time I heard him get upset was just a few times when he had to be in his car seat and he wasn't in the mood for it. And then, the minute we took him out of the car seat he was fine. He let me snuggle and play with him and he laughs constantly. I also loved having him overnight so CJ and Henry could get one full night's sleep. Foster and I sat on the lanai at 4pm and he fell asleep in my arms. It was dreamy.

Plus, it was a wonderful trip for me personally. Colton was at Sky Ranch the week, Grant helped manage things with the big kids, which left me to just take care of myself (and kinda Foster). I was able to rest, get some things done on the plane, and just unplug from the day-to-day. I loved every minute of it.

Colton & Parker in Santa Fe

By Colton, "I went to Santa Fe with parker, it was a 10-hour road trip, on the drive parker and I made a blanket fort. The house we stayed at had llamas and chickens. We went to a cool biking place called Angel Fire. We also went to Meow Wolf in Sante Fe. I really like swimming in the hotel pool with parker."

It was so generous of Many and Evan to take Colton on their trip to New Mexico. Colton got to bike, go to Meow Wolf, do a day at the river, and have the best setup in the back of Evans trip for roadtripping. It was a quick turnaround for Colton. We got back from Cancun late Saturday night and he had to be at DD and Big John's to leave for Santa Fe by 8:30am on Sunday morning. He was tired, but it was worth it!

Cancun

"Mom and dad did not really want to go to Cancun but I convinced them to come. We stayed at a very fancy resort with an arcade and a huge water park. we went on a big boat with a diving board and a water slide and it was a ton of fun, I had a lot of fun in Cancun, but the best part was definitely the ice cream shop that was included with our room (I probably had at least 8 cones of ice cream)." - Colton

Our friends the Lynch's invited us to go to Cancun and we weren't sure until the very last minute because of scheduling and Grant's foot. We only went from Wednesday-Saturday, but I am so glad we made it happen! The resort, Grand Moon Palace, was beautiful and we all loved the all inclusive amenities. Courtnye and Isaac's friend from St. Louis, Emily, came with her 4 kids - Dakota, River, Hope, and Hudson. Everyone got along great. Colton was the oldest, but the kids did a lot together. 

We went to Isla Mujeres on a boat one day, we enjoyed the shows every evening, Grant and I went to the spa on Saturday before we headed to the airport, we celebrated birthdays for me and for Isaac, and Colton thought our huge room was awesome. I would definitely go back!

Cadie and DD at Mo Ranch

By Cadie Walsh

Attending Art at Mo with DD is an experience I’m forever grateful for! I appreciate that it’s a connection unique to us, rather than one with the other grandkids. The week started off celebratory as we made our way to Austin for Westbrook’s 7th birthday party. That evening, I had a fun sleepover at Winky’s house while DD and Big John stayed at a hotel due to a cat allergy. The next morning, DD and I continued on to camp ourselves after dropping off Big John at the airport. Camp arrival was a quick and easy process. That first night, we had dinner, worship, and got to have our first look at our primary art class for the week. I chose stained glass, and DD chose watercolor. My class was a bit different from years past because it was nice to have one other person this side of 50 in there with me! Hannah was 35, and it was her first time taking stained glass. We had fun collaborating, and helping each other pick out colors. My table mates for the week were Pat, Janice, and Lori. All three women were lovely, although Janice was my favorite! The next few days passed in a blur of shining glass, torrential rain, and college courses. I made more pieces this year than both my previous years combined! This hadn’t been the plan, but I’m glad it worked out. My first project was Excalibur, then I moved on to an orca, a dive flag, a mini toucan, a mini dinosaur, a cross requested by DD, a horse for Grandma Margaret, a mini hippo for Ranger, a mini fox for Colton, and last but not least, a bumble bee for Mom’s birthday! All this in the course of 4 days. Each night, I would stay up late finishing my projects, then sit in the lobby of the registration building because it was the only place on the property with wifi good enough for me to do my online Baylor classes. As the week came to a close, the weather got worse. Mo Ranch is situated at the top of a hill, so we were never in any danger, but at one point there was a question of whether or not we’d be able to leave on time due to flooded roads. Thankfully all was well, and we had no trouble on the drive home. This was a very special week, and I loved getting to spend time with my lovely grandmother!

Ranger at Sanborn

By Ranger Walsh

This year was my second year at Sanborn and it was really fun. Big John picked me up to go to the airport and I was an absolute mess. After I was through security everything was smooth and I got to camp around 4. The first couple days were pretty slow. Everyone just got settled in and got to know each other, along with signing up for activities. We went on our unit 2 day as our first trip and I had a great time. I shared a tent with Steve. The hike was about 4 miles to our campsite and once we were there we did a lot of rock scrambling and exploring around the forest. We also found a deep narrow cave that was an old mine that we went down. The next trip I took was a 5 day mountain biking trip. My counselor was named Ritter and he was super cool. On the first night I stayed up all night throwing up and in the morning I woke up and went to the nurse on property. I had to quarantine for 48 hours, so I missed a lot of the trip. I rejoined a couple days later and we went to Buena Vista were we biked for a few hours then got pizza and swam in a river. On the last day we went to the Olympic and paralympic museum in Colorado Springs. After that trip where all the plans kept changing I had to go biking again on the MTB 2-day. My counselor on this trip was Brian Bruno, who I had last year. He is so fun and a great counselor. I had a lot of fun and got to make up for the biking I missed when I was sick. This year I also got the opportunity to do 2 fourteeners. I summited Mt. Sherman and Mt. Antero. Antero was only a two day trip where it was mostly older kids. The hike was 15 miles roundtrip and we finished in 9 hours. This was my first mountain ever and I was so excited. Sherman was only 5 miles roundtrip and it was some of my friends that are older and a bunch of 10 year old's. It was really easy and it still took us like 5 hours or maybe more. After we got down Mt. Sherman, we drove into fair play and got to go to the SouthPark city museum which was really interesting and unique. The person I hung out with the most throughout the session was a kid who didn't come my first year. His name is Jackson Bartlett. We had almost an identical schedule so we got pretty close. My counselors were also fantastic. Their names were Miles, Denzel, and Tobin. Denzel was so so kind and Miles was a great leader. I wasn't as close with Tobin, but I liked him a lot. This year was really different than last year, but I had a great time and was able to do some awesome things like mountains.