Fun Friends

While Daniel was off making a living in Chicago then taking a side trip to hunt in Mississippi, I did what I usually do and high-tailed it to my parents' house.

I was particularly excited about this trip cause Carrie and Jackson were going to be in town, I was getting my hair highlighted and I had plans with almost all my girlfriends. YEA!!

We started off our week with a day at Hayley's farm. The kids swam, played with animals and acted girly in the house while the moms got to chat. It was so fun hanging out and seeing our kids do the same. It makes me wish I lived there (or at least closer by).

We made it to dinner with Autumn, Hoyt & Campbell, Pauline, Carrie & Jackson and my crew. It was wild as usual but fun seeing the kids interact.

I also got to have a fun night out with Pauline and Kristi just reminiscing about old times and talking about problems with kids at school..hilarious stories about kissing and calls from the teacher..all things I am not looking forward to!

We were in town for Patricia's last night before she moved back to Brazil but got to congratulate her and Jimmy on their engagement (wedding set for Brazil in April).

Me and the kids got some goodies from Autumn and Pauline's garage sale too!

Lastly, I had a really fun night out with my brothers and their wives (that sounds crazy still) and just talked and had a great time.

These kids were so fun to watch as they ran and ran around the fountain area.

It was a really fun visit and so hard to get back to being so far from my family and friends.

Boy Crazy

or Crazy Boy...

{this boy loves hot sauce with a spoon}
Well, both are happening around these parts lately!

My girls could not be more opposite when it comes to this..Emmaline is holding firm with, "I don't want to have any babies because I don't want to kiss a boy on the lips!" ~it always come back to 'no kiss on the lips'..it makes me laugh inside and I tell her she may change her mind one day...Right now Emmaline wants to be a Fashion Designer when she gets big. She has also learned to put up her hair with a hair band. What a milestone! Oh and she is all of a sudden dying to play soccer....

Georgia on the other hand talks about her babies she is going to have (and their pacis too). She is mildly obsessed with pacifiers..it is hilarious but pitiful at the same time. If we see them in a store she wants to buy one or 'just stop and look at them'. I tell her she never used a paci when she was a baby but she insists on hoarding them when she finds one..seriously! Georgia wants to be a Mommy when she grows up. She has also learned how to zip up her jackets..she can do it about 50% of the time all the time. She is cold all the time..I guess it's a good thing we live in the crotch of America! (that's my new term for our region..it's with love).

I tell them they can be both, a Mommy and a Fashion Designer, and they nod their heads but not sure if they really understand.

Georgia is in a really reflective stage right now and saying the cutest, sweetest, funniest things...a little story:
While staying with my parents last week, Georgie and Pop were sleeping upstairs together. They were chatting after reading some books...G said she wants to be a Mommy and have a baby but she needs a husband first. "Where can I find a husband, Pop?" He said, "Well, don't worry about that right now. God is looking right now for the perfect husband for you. And when the time is right he will be there for you."

Georgia kindof thinks about it for a while and looks a bit unsure. Pop says, "And when God finds your husband, he will love you as much as I love you"...
and Georgia replies, "And I will love him as much as I love you, Pop!"
I can just hear her sweet little voice saying that..she is seriously the best snuggler and makes you just want to love on her all day long..I can't wait for all the questions to come about BOYS from this sweetness.

And the Crazy Boy..that is all Hayesman.

He is crazy. He throws everything..like hums forks across the table, chunks a remote in your face. It is not nice. He climbs, runs, falls, squeals, tantrums..you name it..He is doing it.

Oh, well..We love our Crazy Boy and his pacis..at least he will apologize with a 'SOWWY' and give great smooches though...but don't expect any kiss on the lips from Emmaline!

The Girls' 1st Disney on Ice

Me, Leslie & Lisa had plans to surprise our girls with a fun Mommy/Daughter night out for a while.

We got group tickets and added in more friends: Rayven & Rylie (and soon to be another sweet R...? :)) and Robbin too.

Disney on Ice Dare to Dream was coming to San Antonio and I knew the girls would love this. I was so happy that Jason could watch Hayes so we could have a special night out and focus on them, plus it would be way past his bedtime.

We set out to an early dinner at Aldacos right by next to the Alamodome. It was so easy to park and not crowded at all. The margaritas were yummy and the girls were excited!

Having Ainsley, Emmaline, Georgia & Anna together was fun and so bittersweet..they get along really well and just beam when you mention one of those girls..it makes me want to move back.. Oh well, tis life right now..maybe one day!

We got our seats and set in for a fun show. There was a million different toys, snacks and what not to buy..we actually discussed what to buy ahead of time, just so noone was jealous..

A $12 snowcone, of course! Looking back I don't really think that was the best choice..it was kindof cold in there to begin with and they were hard to eat..I would go with cotton candy or something.

They loved the show, E loved the Rapunzel portion the most, G loved the Princess & the Frog most..

It was neat because they had all the princesses and princes dancing and Mickey, Minnie and the gang showed up as well!

It was a fun night and everyone was asleep before we made it home.
The next morning was Good Friday, we played around at Leslie's and then hightailed it home to welcome Uncle Toodge and Aunt Natalie.

What a special and fun evening..even if Hayes secretly turned on the faucet in the kids' bathroom and may have slightly flooded the McLean's upstairs..poor Jason was a good sport and acted like it was no big deal :{
Thanks to them for always letting us stay over!! We love our SA friends and miss ya'll!!

Anna's Birthday & a potty foul!

A few weeks ago we spent a few days in San Antonio with friends. While Daniel was working we drove the 4 hours to meet up with Anna and Lisa early Wednesday morning!

The Magik Theatre had the production of Click Clack Moo showing so we stopped there first.

Then we had lunch at one of our favorite kid-friendly restaurants..Tycoon Flats.

It has a great outdoor area with lots of shade and isn't crowded outside during the lunch hour..at night there is live music!

While there we also got to see Katie, Maggie & Claire. Lisa brought surprise birthday cupcakes for Anna to celebrate her 3 years and we got her a little gift to open as well! It was a long but fun day!

We then booked it to the McLeans where the kids played like crazy, we made Easter Baskets..martinis, of course!

They were delicious and a great beginning to a few rounds of Just Dance! Even so I still am no kinda dancer ;)

The next morning me and kids went to visit their old MDO school. I knew it would be the last time E would see all her friends before they dispersed for Kinder in the Fall, and the girls constantly talk about their teachers and friends so I wanted to make it a priority.

When we pulled in the parking lot Georgia went from "I'm gonna give Elise a hug" to "I don't want to say hi to anyone. I'm not going to go!" GREAT...let's be honest, I wasn't surprised at all! So we all got out of the car, some happier than others, and made our way to E's class 1st.

She gave her teachers a hug and then kind of froze. When E gets shy she automatically starts messing with Hayes, Georgia or me. So she was all in Hayes' face while her friends were talking to her. Eventually on the playground she loosened up and they all played together..even the boys were fighting over who got to push her on the swings! We ran into my other friend Lisa and got to chat a bit before the Easter egg hunts. I miss seeing her, Mason and Kendall..maybe a beach trip this summer!?! Then we finally found Ms. Craft and Ms. Clarke on the playground..G had to be shoved in the door. She had a hooded jacket on and wouldn't take it off. When anyone would ask her a question she would just reply with a gruff "NO". It was lovely! She made quite an impression, as usual!
For lunch we met up with Lisa, Leslie and Cambrie at Bigz, another fun outdoor restaurant. It was a gorgeous day and the perfect time to hang with great friends.
SO a little side story: my kids always ask to go to the restroom everywhere we are..of course as soon as we walk in they ask, so we go..about 20 minutes later, E asks again. I say 'no, you just went'. She walks off. I turn around to scan the turf yard where the kids are playing and see off in the distance behind a skinny tree my 5 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER with her blue jeans around her ankles squatting to relieve herself. SERIOUSLY.
We are at an actual restaurant..at the lunch hour! Now thank goodness school is in, because it wasn't very crowded, but there was 2 boys playing soccer. So I turn to my friends and ask them to look over to see if I did indeed see what I thought I saw! An erruption of laughter and mouth gaping occured. Dang, it was happening..so I ask them what I should do, eventhough I knew what I was going to do already...IGNORE HER!
Yes, I ignored her and cautiously looked at all the other patrons to see if anyone else sees what we see. I think we were safe. WHEW!
E strolls up a little later and I question her about "the incident"..she said she had to go! So I explained to her why that isn't appropriate, all the reasons it isn't appropriate, and that was that. I texted Daniel and told him I guess it was time to really crack down {HAHA} on letting them go potty in the backyard..there is some obvious confusion going on!
And for anyone thinking I shouldn't be writing these embarrassing stories on here, I will just say that she shouldn't be doing them then! I have plans for these stories, you see..
I already envision a Saturday night, 10 years from now, when E brings home a new boyfriend, I will simply lay a blogbook in his lap and let them thumb through the stories & pictures together! It will be priceless! :)
Why, yes..that is why I blog! Thanks for asking!

Easter Blessings

We had Uncle Toodge & Aunt Natalie visit us for Easter.

It was so fun getting to pick them up from the airport and go to a new restaurant. Finally got to try the famous cheese enchiladas from Las Vegas restaurant. They were delish!

Friday night we had a blast playing games on the patio, singing songs, jumping on the trampoline and staying up way toooo late! Saturday morning came early and Natalie said the knocking on their door was lovely!

Saturday was low key with grocery shopping, some cooking and prep for Sunday lunch. We played some more games and ate lots of food throughout the whole day!

Then me and Natalie watched the boys go swimming with the kiddos. We got new floats and I am excited about all my free time when I can sit back, nap and float! And HB was a wild man!! He was diving off the steps to Daniel and would go underwater for a while then pop up smiling! He was fearless and loving it! He seriously thought he could swim..GREAT.

We had shrimp, jalapeno and bacon wraps among other yummy dips!

Me and Natalie made a white Sangria concoction which was just a white wine (1st Moscato, then Pinot Grigio) mixed with Sprite with grapes, blackberries & strawberries! It was very refreshing, versatile and will be a staple around here this summer!

We had a glow in the dark egg hunt and the kids loved it..Emmaline said, "Thank you so much for planning a fun egg hunt for us!" I didn't have a ton of eggs for them but it was neat and I think you could do so many different things like this at any time of the year.

We slept in on Sunday, cooked a delicious lunch, saw what the Easter Bunny brought and watched even more of the Masters with Sam & Juliette.

It was a wonderful day. I am so thankful for all my Easter blessings!

We know that HE is RISEN!!

making Easter memories

Hayes was not a fan of the EB! Reminds me of a picture taken of me and my brothers with Toodge doing the same exact thing probably right around the same age as HB too! I must find it...

after the horrific EB experience we had icecream to celebrate!! We all SCREAM for icecream, right!?!

dying some eggs. We tried some new methods and a cool new egg spinner!!

We also had a fun glow in the dark egg hunt..I need to plan it out better next time but it has lots of possibilities for future awesomeness!

My 3 Muskateers..whether they like it or not it's one for all and all for one! {sometimes they like sometimes not so much}

Here is my attempt at an Easter arrangement..at least it looks bright and sweet! The poor peeps are squishing eachother!

I have been talking and praying with the kids about this special time of year. It is fun to hear them tell me about Easter and why we celebrate! Hayes now folds his sweet little hands when we pray and says 'Amen' when we are done with a slight nod! {LOVE}
And because some things are just too sweet..here is my middle and me..an afternoon nap! I can still smell her hair and feel her warm body heaving up and down with tired breaths. I had stuff I needed to do, but soaked up every minute it lasted!

"And on the third day he rose again.."

Happy Easter from way down here in the Valley!