Soak it all in

Interview with a 7 year old

2012-01-27T19:57:00.001-06:00

Last year we started the tradition of interviewing the kids on their birthday to see what their favorite things are. I think it will be so fun to look back on the interviews later and see how their answers have changed!

What is your favorite number?

Favorite letter?

Favorite color?

Green and blue

Food?

Nachos

Ethan lost his fourth tooth the night before his birthday! The Tooth Fairy was extra generous and gave him $5!

Drink?

Sprite

Veggie?

carrots

Fruit?

banana

Dessert?

brownies

Favorite thing about school?

Playing on the playground

Favorite thing to do at home?

Play MarioKart

Favorite thing to do outside?

Ride my bike

Eric surprised Ethan with a new bike and they rode home from school together.

Favorite book?

Pokemon books

Favorite movie?

Alvin and the Chipmunks

Cartoon?

Pokemon

TV Show?

Dirty Jobs

Animal?

Seal

Place to visit?

Yogi Bear Jellystone Parks

Who are your best friends?

Austin, Vivian and Kyle

Ethan's Birthday lunch at school with Vivian and his classmates

Favorite toy?

Legos

Favorite stuffed animal?

Snivy

Favorite thing to do with mommy?

Pull out my teeth

Ethan wanted nachos for dinner, so we went to Jardin with Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate.

Favorite thing to do with daddy?

Help build things

Favorite thing to do with Austin?

Play games

Favorite thing to do with Lauren?

Make her laugh

What makes you happy?

Getting what I want

What makes you sad?

When someone hurts my feelings

What do you want to learn to do this year?

Learn to read better

Sleeping through the Tooth Fairy's visit

How many kids do you want to have?

Three. Two boys and one girl.

Where do you want to live when you grow up?

A hillside, two story house.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

An aquarium owner.

Happy 7th Birthday Ethan! We love you so much!

The circus came to town

2012-01-24T19:55:00.001-06:00

Last Monday we took the kids to see their very first circus!

Lauren was very excited!

The boys loved the tigers.

We all loved the elephant!

This act was amazing and crazy scary!

The kids rode their first elephant.

The kids loved the circus, but next time we are holding out for Barnum and Bailey!

Ester's Follies

2012-01-18T20:11:00.001-06:00

Living in and around Austin for the last 18 years, I've walked by Ester's Follies many times and always wanted to see a show (Wow, that makes me feel really old). Saturday night, I finally got my wish!

Erica, Ray,Tony, Ellen, Eric and I had the best time that night! We had amazing Mexican food and margaritas at Iron Cactus, celebrated Ray's birthday with flaming Dr. Peppers, and laughed our butts off at Ester's Follies. We loved every minute of the show and look forward to going back!

treasure hunting

2012-01-12T19:01:00.000-06:00

Wednesday night I was fortunate enough to preview an amazing estate sale just off Riverside. The house was amazing! It was very old, with stately carved doors with old fashioned wooden latches, gorgeous views of downtown Austin and stunning architectural design.

Erica, Carrey and I were free to roam the house and peruse the tables and tables full of nick knacks, kitchenware and household items.

My pile of treasures! I scored a vintage hand sewn hexagon quilt top, copper platter, aqua jug, box of wooden spools, tea cup for Lauren, milk glass pedastal and owl bottle opener. I only paid $25 for all of it! Woo hoo! After the estate sale, we were giddy! I can't wait to go to another one.

It was fun to find places for all my new treasures today. Seeing my milk glass pedestal bowl next to my sink makes me happy!

This little treasure is made with vintage fabric. Not reproduction retro fabric, but the real deal. I plan to quilt it someday soon.

Later that night, we met Stephanie, Sammy and Melissa for drinks at Tigress before heading to Apothecary for wine and dinner. Stephanie is in town from Boca and it was so great to see her! It was great to catch up and have some girl time!

10 on 10

2012-01-10T21:30:00.000-06:00

Ten on Ten: 10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!

(Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day)

6:30 came early this morning for Austin, so he grabbed a blanket, turned on the heating pad Eric had out for his back, and snuggled under a blanket while he slowly woke up.

I bought Lauren one of the new Lego friends sets and she loves it. She played with it all day yesterday and wanted to play with it at breakfast today too.

When we bought the set at the store, I told Lauren that Emma has a camera, tape measure and computer like I do. Her response was that she doesn't have a phone like me. The girl is perceptive.

I met Erica at Carrey's house to get some sewing done while Lauren and the boys were at school. Carrey and I made camera strap covers.

I'm so happy with how it turned out. I used my favorite Heather Ross Far Far Away fabric for the front and Aviary 2 in yellow woodgrain for the back.

Lauren checked out the birthday party supplies magazine in the car pool line.

I got this cute letter holder in the dollar section at Target in attempts to organize some of the boys homework and paperwork. There are just so many forms, worksheets and information to keep up with!

Austin made this map during free draw at school. It includes a volcano, Wolf forest, a terrifying monster, Crocodile Lake, The Dooming Castle of Deadness and finally treasure.
When I asked him what the cross was for, he said "because I love Jesus". LOVE that boy!

Rhys and Debbie made the best salad for us Saturday night and I attempted to recreate it today. It was soooo good! Just chop up some veggies, add some feta, homemade vinaigrette and homemade croutons, and voila! I'm so happy my taste buds have changed and I really enjoy veggies now.

A typical day in our house includes lots of wrestling. I really need to bust out my books about raising boys!

Texas Stars surprise

2012-01-08T20:58:00.000-06:00

Sunday we told the kids we were going to surprise them and go somewhere really fun that night. They guessed all day and never guessed that we were going to a Texas Stars Hockey game. Crazy kids didn't even get it when Lauren put on her Stars jersey and Austin put on a hockey shirt! As we were walking out the door, I told them that Lauren was a big clue. Finally they guessed it and were very excited!

Cotton candy... yum!

We met Felisha and Jared at the game to watch Hannah sing the Star Spangled Banner with her choir.

We had a great time and can't wait to see another game!

Mom's 70th Birthday New Year's Eve Bash

2012-01-03T20:45:00.000-06:00

Saturday morning we loaded up the truck and headed to 7A Ranch and Resort in Wimberly to celebrate my mom's 70th birthday with friends and family. Her birthday is New Year's Day, so we got to celebrate for two whole days.

The boys had fun jumping across the rocks in the Cypress Creek river, but really had fun "accidentally" falling in and getting soaked.

The 7A Ranch and Resort has an awesome pioneer town to explore.

Isn't the giant jackalope awesome?

Saturday night we had a western murder mystery. Everyone was assigned a character and we all dressed up in costume. As you can see, my boys really got into character!

Eric was murdered! He had a straight face for a couple seconds before he busted out laughing.

The boys immediately fell down dead too. It was sooooo cute!

Russell and Eric

We rang in the new year playing games.

We spent Sunday celebrating my mom's birthday with cake, snacks and more games.

I love this picture of my mom and Tommy playing spoons.

The ladies table was much more reserved.

Happy 70th Mom! We love you!

my 2011 finishes

2011-12-30T22:15:00.000-06:00

I managed to do a lot of sewing in 2011! I somehow finished quilts for Austin, Max, Grandma, Stephanie and Ethan. That's 5 quilts. Crazy! It's funny that just a couple short years ago, I stated on this blog that I didn't like to sew! This year I plan to finish my I Spy quilt,
Anna Maria Horner cathedral quilt, Camping quilt, Farmer's Wife and Katie Jump Rope quilt. I better get sewing!

Ethan's plus quilt

2011-12-30T21:42:00.000-06:00

I finished Ethan's plus quilt just in time for Christmas!

Ethan picked out the plus design and I love how it turned out! I used a lot of the same fabrics as Austin's quilt and added some new ones.

He really likes it!

I backed it in dark blue Pez that matches the red Pez I used on Austin's quilt back. I used my favorite wood grain fabric as the binding.

Ethan's idea of how to pose with his quilt. I love this silly kid!

I added a simple plus sign to sign the quilt and used my favorite notebook paper fabric.

I love how crinkly it got after I washed it.

Beverly did wavy checkerboard quilting on it and I love how it turned out!

I'm so happy to have made a quilt for each of my kiddos! Now I just need to finish the giant I Spy quilt in time for some picnics this spring!

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-27T16:50:00.000-06:00

Christmas morning the kids woke up bright and early. They were excited to see if Santa found them in Louisana.

Santa always organizes everyones presents in piles at our house. He's cool like that. Of all the presents they got this year, I'm pretty sure their favorites are the stuffed animal Pokemons sticking out of their stockings.

The second they opened some new Pokemon cards, they grabbed their books and put them in.

Santa left a note for the kids in Ethan's stocking with clues to their last present. After following the clues, they found their presents hiding by the fireplace.

The boys love their 3DS!

Tatum gave Lauren her old DS, so Lauren has one too! We got her a new game for toddlers and she loves coloring and putting puzzles together.

We had a wonderful Christmas with my family and feel very blessed for all God had given us!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T16:06:00.002-06:00

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-25T14:27:00.000-06:00

The kids were still in their pajamas on Christmas Eve morning when they started begging to open Christmas presents.

Austin really enjoyed Tatum's new foot spa.

We did lots of lounging around.

Grandma gave the boys Zombie Lab and they were so excited!

We drank zombie brains, ate skin and created creepy bugs.

I'd say Zombie Lab was a hit for our crew!

Every year we read Twas the Night Before Christmas and open Christmas pajamas. This year we had a Dirty Santa exchange too.

Lauren took the exchange very seriously, but wanted to keep every present she touched. Ethan was less than thrilled when he opened his camo duct tape.

My mom and dad surprised me with a Clarsonic Mia and Eric with a Belgium waffle maker. Can't wait to test them out!

We played Spoons with plastic forks and the game got violent. There were injuries and broken forks, but we all had fun. Apparently I'm more competitive than I thought I was.

That night, the boys told Buddy they loved him and couldn't wait to see him next year. They had a hard time falling asleep, but were very excited to see what Santa would bring them in the morning!

our Buddy

2011-12-24T12:06:00.000-06:00

We were so excited when Buddy followed us to Louisiana and can't wait to see him again next year!

A Cajun Christmas week

2011-12-23T15:28:00.000-06:00

Wednesday we loaded up the truck and headed to Louisiana to celebrate Christmas with my sister and her family.

Right in time for Christmas, Ethan lost his other front tooth!

Christmas in Louisiana usually involves boudain, dobash cake and alligators, so we hit up ULL to hunt for some alligators.

We spotted a turtle and an alligator!

We took the kids to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. It was pretty cute!

When we got home from the movies, we discovered a cat was stuck in the neighbor's tree. Being the hero that he is, Eric jumped the fence and climbed a tree to rescue the poor cat. Since the cat's hips were wedged between branches in the tree, Eric had to lift the cat out to free him. This is what the cat did to Eric in return for saving it...

Eric had 6 cat bites and lots of deep scratches from a cat that had never had any shots. After a short trip to the night clinic for a tetnus shot and antibiotics, we were ready for more Christmas festivities!

Our early Christmas

2011-12-20T12:38:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we celebrated Christmas early with Eric's parents and sister's family. We had fun hanging out at the house, eating yummy food and opening presents.

Ethan loved his treasure box filled with cool rocks Gege gave him.

Lauren insisted on putting on her new hat, shirt and shoes right away. Her new Olivia doll never left her side for days.

I made 241 Totes for all the ladies.

Leon and Eric

Sunday we headed to Temple to see Nanny and Papa.

All the grandkids

Papa made up a fun game for the kids that involved envelopes and money. He definitely had their attention and they loved every minute of it!

Happy kiddos!

Nanny and Papa got to love on Dolly.

These two look just alike! Abby's baby pictures look so much like Lauren, it's crazy!

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Christmas with Eric's family!

School holiday parties

2011-12-20T12:15:00.000-06:00

Last Friday the boys had their school Christmas parties. Ethan's was up first with treats and a book exchange. His buddy Kyle is moving, so he wanted his picture taken with him.

They read Twas the Night Before Christmas and passed the books any time the word "the" was read.

Crazy class picture

Next up was Austin's party!

Austin and his buddy Jarret had fun decorating cookies, listening to a story, making candy canes with beads and making a Santa picture with stickers. We had a great time and it was the perfect way to celebrate being out of school for two weeks!

another reason I love Buddy

2011-12-16T12:00:00.000-06:00

This morning we found Buddy had toilet papered the bathroom!

Lauren was so excited for Buddy to report back to Santa that she sat on potty, that she actually went TT in it for the first time ever! She has been using it all day and so far so good! The potty training has begun and she is expecting a big present from Santa this year. Cross your fingers for us!

Baa!

2011-12-15T21:07:00.000-06:00

Today Lauren had her preschool Christmas program. The 2 year olds dressed up as sheep and sang "Shaggy, Smelly Sheep". They were so cute!

Lauren was a cute little sheep!

Here's a short little clip of her song. There is a point in song where the kids are supposed to stomp their feet and Lauren certainly followed directions.

We were so proud of our big girl!

new traditions

2011-12-14T08:54:00.000-06:00

I love my Willow Tree nativity scene and this year my dad made me a creche for it! I love it! I'm excited to collect more of the figurines that go with it.

We started a fun new tradition and every day the kids get a treat from the Lego Pirate Advent Calendar. Instead of using the Lego box, we use my traditional advent calendar. I couldn't resist the cute Lego pirate minifigures!

Buddy has been being a little more mischievous every day.

He is so much fun and the kids love waking up early every morning to search for him. Now if we could just have them not wake up at 5 am, things would be even better!

Pre Christmas party

2011-12-11T23:14:00.000-06:00

This weekend we met up with our good friends for dinner and fun. Four couples, nine kids! As usual, I only took pictures of the kids. Lauren loved playing with Selma's doll house and stuffed animals.

Max LOVED Lauren and was all about kissing her. Lauren was less than enthused.

Erica brought over all the goodies to make gingerbread houses.

We were all impressed with Austin's symetrical house.

Ethan and Luke

We had a great time and are so grateful for such great friends!

I couldn't help it...

2011-12-11T22:52:00.001-06:00

Holiday fun

2011-12-09T20:22:00.000-06:00

My dear friend Ellen won a wine tasting for Water to Wine at a silent auction and few months ago, and Thursday we cashed it in. The wine was fabulous and we had the best time sipping 10 different wines and muching on yummy snacks to soak it up.

After the wine tasting, we headed over to Bartlett's for dinner and a gift exchange.

Being the civilized women that we are, we didn't even steal each other's gifts during the exchange.

Erica made Jennifer this cute wreath and luckily no one else had the heart to steal it from her!

It was a really fun night and only one thing was missing...

Buddy the Elf

2011-12-07T12:22:00.000-06:00

On December 1st, this little guy showed up on our Christmas tree! We had seen the Elf on the Shelf movie, so the kids were super excited to have an elf of their own. After we read the book Elf on the Shelf, we were ready to give him his magic and named him Buddy.

The next morning, the kids found Buddy riding the chicken on top of the fridge. Lauren kept saying "I cannot believe that crazy elf is riding the chicken!". It was so funny!

Buddy flies home every night to report to Santa how the kids are behaving. Every morning, he sneaks back in and hides in a new spot to watch over Ethan, Austin and Lauren. He definitely is a little mischievous elf!

The day after Buddy played with my antique sewing machine, he hid in the bird cage. The boys decided he locked himself in "jail" and made sure we left the door open so he could get out.

Buddy loves syrup!

We have had a lot of fun with Buddy and we are excited to see where he shows up next!

December Market Days

2011-12-06T08:37:00.000-06:00

Friday we loaded up the camper and headed to Wimberley for our last Market Days of the year. We were pretty bummed when it was rainy, but it turned out to be a great day. The kids had fun hanging with Gege and Granddaddy, munching on kettle corn and splashing in puddles.

Saturday Eric and Kristi made their last payment to James and Uncle Larry and are now proud owners of The Wooden Oar Kettle Corn! Woo hoo! We are so excited!

That night we went out for pizza to celebrate Leon's 65th birthday and retirement. We are so happy for you Leon! Happy Birthday!

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth

2011-12-04T19:31:00.000-06:00

Ethan lost his tooth today! He was so excited and sang "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" all day long! Tonight we put it in the Tooth Fairy Box Eric used when he was little and tucked it under his pillow.

We can't wait to see what the Tooth Fairy puts under his pillow tonight!

decking the halls

2011-12-01T12:16:00.000-06:00

Last week we baked cookies and listened to Christmas music as we put up our tree. The kids were great helpers!

The kids wore their Santa hats when we put up the tree just like they do every year.

Since my mom was at Disney World last week, my dad came over to spend some time with us.

A couple days later we put up the Christmas ornaments.

We are all ready for Christmas now!

Guess who...

2011-12-01T11:20:00.000-06:00

has two loose front teeth just in time for Christmas?

This will be the last year our big boy has all his teeth in our Christmas card picture! We are pretty excited about the Tooth Fairy visiting our house for the first time!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-29T20:42:00.000-06:00

We celebrated this Thanksgiving with Eric's parents in Arlington. Jennifer, Kai and the kids spent the night and we had the best long weekend hanging out!

The boys played their favorite 9 Hole card game with Jake.

The adults played Tripoli while the kids cheered us on.

We broke in Jan's new karaoke machine.

It was so fun!

Lauren loves Jake and followed him around all weekend.

The boys enjoyed ribs instead of smoked turkey for Thanksgiving lunch. YUM!

The whole fam on Thanksgiving.

In honor of Emmy and Abby's first black Friday adventure, we all got matching neon pink shirts and puffy painted "Twilight Shopper" on the fronts. We hit up Grapevine Mills Mall at 11:30 and didn't get home until 3:30. We had so much fun and got a lot of attention in our bright pink shirts. It was definitely easy to spot each other in the crowd!

We don't get many piles of leaves at our house, so a wrestle match in the leaves was inevitable.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for!

Thankful

2011-11-24T13:58:00.000-06:00

Pie feast

2011-11-20T21:15:00.000-06:00

Friday Austin had Pie Feast at school. They dressed up as Indians and Pilgrims and sang 4 cute songs.

Lauren sat right down and feasted on pie too.

I love my little Indian!

sleeping booty

2011-11-18T08:16:00.000-06:00

Lauren loves her boots Madison gave her so much she wanted to sleep in them last night. She is finally to a point where I can sneak in her room to take a picture with my Light Scoop and she won't wake up. I love the age she is at right now.

She also loves the Ugg boots Jennifer gave her. She wants to wear them every day. We are so grateful to have such nice hand me downs!

heirloom quilts

2011-11-17T10:34:00.000-06:00

I love quilts. I love to make them for my family and I love having them in my home. I'm a sentimental girl and I love thought of my quilts being snuggled on by my children's children some day. I'm very lucky to have some beautiful quilts that were passed down to me.

My grandma made this quilt for my mom and used fabric from her childhood dresses.

My mom can look at the quilt and remember the dresses she wore to elementary school. I love that. I do have a stack of the boys' favorite T-shirts in their closet so I can someday make a T-shirt quilt for them.

This quilt was a collaborative effort between my mom and Grandma. My mom painted all the pictures and my grandma quilted it.

I love that my kids crawled and drooled all over it when they were babies.

My grandma made this quilt for me too. Isn't it sweet?

I love how big it is and the bright, primary colors.

I am lucky enough to have married into a quilting family too! Eric's grandma Nanny is an amazing quilter, embroiderer and crafter.

Look at the beautiful detail on each state flower! It is an award winning quilt and I'm so thankful it was passed on to our family.

Last game of the soccer season

2011-11-14T20:08:00.000-06:00

Saturday we had the boys last soccer games of the season. Austin's game was up first at 9.

Lauren got dirty while her brother warmed up. Really dirty.

Austin had a couple goals and assists!

We got his signature thumbs up, but this time it was a double.

He had a great season and can't wait to start back up in the spring!

Next up was Ethan's game. Since the other team couldn't make the game, the kids got to play their parents!

Ethan LOVED playing against his dad.

Eventually Austin and Lauren joined in on the fun.

The boys were so happy. It was so cute and fun to watch!

Austin's team with coach Shawn

Ethan's team with coach Ken

It was a great season and we are very proud of our soccer players!

10 on 10

2011-11-10T19:42:00.001-06:00

10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!

(Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty amoung the ordinary things in your day)

I love Thursdays! The kids all go to school and I have 5 hours of kid free time. A quiet, clean house makes me so happy. When we forgot Lauren's lunch at home today, I had to run it back up to her at school. It was fun to spy on her and see her working happily on an art project.

- Insert cheesy self portrait -

I had the best time at Target buying Lauren Christmas presents. I'm so happy I have a little girl and get to relive my love of Strawberry Shortcake and Hello Kitty.

I dropped off two packages for the Patchwork Lollipop to the post office. I'm still selling fabric and soon will have a couple purses for sale in my store.

After running errands, I headed back home to tackle a mountain of laundry and watch Quints by Surprise.

After making a couple of my purses with my new 241 Tote pattern by Noodlehead, I got a little ~~crazy~~ creative and made up a scallop purse. I'm still on the fence if I love it or think it's a little too out there.

The boys had fun playing in the tree after school. Austin thought his pose for the camera was hilarious. Today was pajama day at school, so the boys enjoyed wearing their comfy pajamas all day.

Homework!
Ethan still has a little bit of redness on his face and body from getting over 5th Disease. It hasn't bothered him one bit. Lauren had it too, but somehow Austin escaped the rash.

The boys are loving their Lego tray.

After nachos for dinner, we colored, looked at Pokemon cards and played a mean game of 9 Card.

My day started and ended with laundry.

It was a gorgeous day and taking photos really helped me to focus on my family and soak it all in.

"for the boys"

2011-11-07T21:09:00.001-06:00

After seeing an old printer's tray on one of my favorite blogs, I knew I had to get my hands on one. I justified that my purchase was "for the boys", but I'm pretty sure I was more excited about it than they were. Since Ethan and Austin have so many Lego minifigures, this old printer's tray is the perfect way to display them in their room.

Eric's vintage Lego men like to stick together. Aren't they cute with their missing hands and simple faces?

The new ones are pretty cute too.

We still have some spots to fill, so hopefully Santa will bring us more Legos this year!

9 years

2011-11-03T09:12:00.003-05:00

Happy Anniversary Eric! I love you!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T10:04:00.002-05:00

This year for Halloween we had Ash Ketchum, a peacock and Luke Skywalker!

Ethan loved being Ash. Some people thought he was Handy Manny though.

Austin was the perfect Luke Skywalker.

Lauren was the sweetest little peacock!

We got to go on a hayride again this year! It was a blast!

Thanks to Sarah and Kevin for setting up and pulling the hay ride for us! We loved it and had the best time!

Happy Halloween!

Saturday soccer, sleepover and spooky soiree

2011-11-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Saturday the boys had a soccer game at 11. Since both games were at the same time, my mom, Lauren and I spent half the game watching Austin while Eric and my dad watched Ethan. We switched at halftime so we got to enjoy both games.

Austin scored 5 goals! He is so aggresive on the soccer field and so determined! It's adorable.

He does get a little cocky after he scores a goal and has a little swagger in his step.

Ethan had a great game too. He stayed right in the mix and anticipated where the ball was going to go next really well.

He had a goal and one assist! Look at that shot with the competition right on his heals.

He was so happy! It was a great day on the soccer fields!

After the game, my parents took Lauren home with them to spend the night. She was so excited to get to go with them all by herself.

Bye!

While Lauren was having fun with my parents, we went to a Halloween costume party. It was really fun to dress up and we had a great time!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T08:50:00.000-05:00

Last year Ethan was very disappointed with our Halloween decorations, so this year we decided to step it up a little. We added a witch for the front door, spiders, webs, spooky orange lights and a ghost. Ethan is now very satisfied with our house. Yesterday Eric carved up their pumpkins for them. Lauren's is Mickey Mouse, Austin's is a scary vampire and Ethan's is Snivy from Pokemon. Pretty spooky, huh?

We are all ready for some fun Trick or Treating tonight!

Halloween fun at school

2011-10-30T08:59:00.000-05:00

Friday the kids got to dress up at school! The kindergartners had a big parade around the school. Aren't they cute?

Lauren waived to all the big kids.

Luke Skywalker

After the parade, I volunteered in Austin's class while they had some spooky centers to learn about the five senses. They made some yummy witches brew to taste and loved it.

They also had to smell some mystery items and guess what was in the cup. Of course, our stinker Austin is peeking in this picture.

Then I had to say goodbye to Austin and head over to Ethan's classroom to volunteer for their Halloween centers. I was in charge of Bingo and it was great to get to know all the kids. Isn't our Ash Ketchum so cute?

It was a great morning and we are looking forward to more Halloween fun!

Enchanted Rock

2011-10-28T19:11:00.000-05:00

Saturday we loaded up the truck and headed to Enchanted Rock for some tent camping. Yep, you read that right! Tent camping is a big change for us camper people, so we were excited to give it a try.

The campground was gorgeous! There was a fun playground for the kids. Unfortunately, the bathroom facilities were under construction, so we were forced to use porta potties. Thanks to my dear friend Erica's efforts, we at least had one semi clean porta potty to use.

When we heard that the restrooms were out of order, my prankster husband decided to bring his own.

I took this picture from our campsite. Isn't the view amazing?! The boys are watching a couple deer running behind the bush.

Lauren loved feeding this fat squirell potato chips and peanuts.

Erica also had a fun craft for the kids. They painted the cutest Angry Birds out of acorns and had so much fun.

The kids and Dads went on a hike in search for a Geocache. Even though they aren't smiling in this picture, they were so excited when they found it!

Lauren was voted MVP of the hike.

While everyone else climbed Enchanted Rock later that afternoon, Lauren and I took a nap in our tent.

Crazy girl woke up halfway through her nap and moved to the hard tent floor.

Woo hoo! The top of Enchanted Rock!

Scenes from our campground

The wildlife were amazing! The deer almost ate out of the kids' hands!

Camping mommas

The kids had fun running around in the dark with flashlights, glow sticks and headlamps.

Ray popped up some Jiffy Pop and everyone got a big kick out of it.

Who knew glow sticks could be so much fun?

The kids did great in the tent.

After the kids went to bed, we sat outside to enjoy the stars and conversation. That's when all the critters started coming out...

This grey fox, a raccoon, a deer, a squirrel and an armadillo all came up within 10 feet of us. It was crazy!

Despite a migraine, questionable porta potties and cactus spikes stuck in little hands, it was a wonderful weekend spent with dear friends. I love making special memories for our kids and will always remember our family's first tent camping experience!

Today I'm enjoying...

2011-10-27T16:05:00.003-05:00

my sweet little girl

She is getting so big and is so much fun. I love that she can communicate now! She always makes me laugh.

Organizing

Today I took full advantage of my 5 hours of kid free time. I cleaned and organized important things like Legos and Star Wars figurines.

Happy kids

I was so happy to see the kids reading together nicely, even if it is a Pokemon book.

Cold front & warm chilli

Enough said after our scorching summer!

Sherry's San Antonio Birthday

2011-10-25T20:55:00.000-05:00

Thursday night my mom and I drove to San Antonio to meet up with my sister, Trevor and Tatum to celebrate Sherry's birthday. We had a great time walking down the Riverwalk and eating yummy Mexican food together. We ended the night watching the kids swim in the indoor/outdoor pool at the Marriot Rivercenter.

Friday Sherry and I went to the Women of Faith Conference at the Alamodome. Patsy Clairmont and Andy Andrews were hilarious! The music was inspiring and I'm so glad I got to go. I enjoyed every minute of it. Even though we got yelled at by our cab driver, the Alamodome only served Pepsi products and we didn't get to meet Amy Grant in person, Sherry had a great birthday.

Happy Birthday Sherry! I love you and I'm so thankful to have you as my big sister and friend.

Fall Fest 2011

2011-10-25T09:10:00.000-05:00

This year our school had their Halloween Fall Fest a couple weeks before Halloween. I bought Lauren's peacock costume last year after Halloween and Austin picked out his Luke Skywalker costume. Ethan insisted on being Ash Ketchum, Pokemon trainer extraordinaire. Since his costume wasn't ready yet, we borrowed this awesome skeleton costume from Luke.

The kids were very excited to go to their very first Fall Fest. We had a great time Trunk or Treating. Constanze had a pirate trunk and it was so cool!

jib jab fun

2011-10-17T14:59:00.001-05:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Soccer Saturday

2011-10-17T12:56:00.000-05:00

We started off our Saturday morning with Ethan's soccer game.

Ethan had a great game! He is a pro at staying with the ball and anticipating where it's going to go next.

The cheering section.

Check out that kick!

Then it was Austin's game. I just love back to back soccer games!

Lauren and Eric kicked the ball around during half time.

Then the whole family got in on the fun.

Lauren was actually in the goal too!

Austin scored 6 goals! He did great at passing this game too!

We are so proud of our soccer players!

School pictures 2011

2011-10-13T09:11:00.001-05:00

I'm so happy with how the pictures turned out!

Columbus Day camping

2011-10-12T11:38:00.000-05:00

We spent our Columbus Day camping with friends at Leisure Resort in Fentress. The kids had a blast playing with Matthew, Madison, Hannah, Haden, Conner, Julius and Vivian. They all get along really well and loved exploring together.

We had fun going on nature walks

and checking out the San Marcos River.

The kids built a dam again like they did last year.

The guys really wanted to get in a float before it started raining and didn't let a few sprinkles get in the way of their plans!

Then the rain really started!

The rain really came down Saturday night and made our campsite a muddy mess. Not so good for our camper, but wonderful for the kids. They loved exploring the mud and mess.

Laruen and I got a little creative inside and played peek-a-boo to stay dry.

As usual, I took a ton of pictures of kids and none of the adults. Oh well, I'll try to remember next time! It was a fun, muddy weekend and we really enjoyed spending time with friends!

Austin's Teddy Bear Picnic

2011-10-11T10:59:00.001-05:00

Last week Austin's kindergarten class did a study on bears and got to bring their favorite teddy bear to school for the week. When Austin got to school Friday morning, he was surprised to learn that all the teddy bears had made a mess in their room and run off. The class went on a bear hunt to find their missing teddy bears.

They searched around the school and found the bears having a picnic in the cafeteria! It was raining outside for the first time in months, so the bears had to have their party indoors.

The kids enjoyed eating biscuits, honey and grapes with their bears.

Austin and Maddie

The kids had a great time at the Teddy Bear Picnic!

Pokemon obsession

2011-10-06T10:00:00.001-05:00

Somehow my children became obsessed with Pokemon. It all started last year when Ethan's friends wanted to play Pokemon on the playground, but Ethan didn't know what it was. Being the cool mom that I am, I recorded a Pokemon for him so he would know a little about it and be able to join in on the fun. Ethan quickly learned all about Pokemon and got his brother and sister obsessed too.

When my parents took the kids on a road trip to my sister's house this summer, I sent little presents for them to open on the 7 hour trip. I made a huge mistake and included some Pokemon cards. I've only bought them a couple packs of cards, so up until yesterday they only had a handful of cards each. That all changed when they were given this...

A giant box full of Pokemon cards! Jackpot!

I bought them some binders with sleeves so they could organize their cards and they had so much fun putting them together!

This little girl has her very own binder full of all the pink, girly Pokemon cards and she loves them every bit as much as her older brothers!

I collected Garbage Pail Kids cards when I was little and Eric collected baseball cards, so it's fun to relive the fun again through our kids!

Wimberley

2011-10-03T21:00:00.002-05:00

Friday we loaded up the camper and headed to Wimberley for Market Days. The kids and I haven't been in a couple months, so we were excited to get back out there. Gege and Granddaddy met us and watched the kids for us Saturday so Eric and I could pop kettlecorn.

Saturday was a gorgeous, busy day and we celebrated by eating dinner at Ino's Brew and Chew. After 10 years going to Cypress Creek Cafe, we now have a new favorite place to eat. The food, prices and atmosphere couldn't be beat. It was nice to relax on the back deck with Eric's parents and the kids while listening to live music.

The kids loved Ino's too!

It was a fun Wimberley and we are looking forward to next month! Thanks Gege and Granddaddy!

Lauren's first haircut

2011-10-01T15:09:00.000-05:00

Friday I took Lauren to get her first haircut and manicure. She loved the the pink car she got to sit in. We had to bribe her with two lollipops and a Barbie movie to sit still the entire haircut.

The hairstylist trimmed up the back to make it a little more even.

Lauren enjoyed getting her hair blown dry.

All done!

She loved the girly room in the back. She sat in a big chair and danced on the stage before she got her first manicure.

She was a very happy little girl and I was too! I always dreamed of taking my daughter to the beauty shop and it was so nice to spend some girl time with my little sweetie!

praying mantis fun

2011-09-30T08:37:00.001-05:00

The boys found this cute little guy in our backyard the other day and wanted to keep him as our pet.

He was very tame and let the boys hold him.

Ethan let him crawl all over his head. Yikes!

Austin made Ethan grab him off before he got to his neck. Smart kid.

Lauren wanted me to take her picture with him too. Who knew a praying mantis could be so much fun?!

and the winner is...

2011-09-29T09:26:00.000-05:00

Erica!

Random Integer Generator

2 - Erica

Timestamp: 2011-09-29 14:19:51 UTC

Thanks for the comments and for taking time to read my blog!

GOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLS!

2011-09-28T10:46:00.000-05:00

Saturday the boys had their first soccer game of the season! We joined a new league, so they have new coaches and teammates.

Look at that form!

Before Austin's game, the coach had the players do a couple side line to side line races.

I love the determination on his face!

Lauren was very encouraging to her big brother.

Austin scored 4 goals!

Goal!

He gave his signature thumbs up after each goal.

The field Ethan's team plays on is huge! The league allow 4 players on the field at a time for Ethan's team and Austin's team can have 3.

Ethan missed playing soccer this spring when he played T-ball, but he jumped right in again.

Ethan scored a goal! It was a great shot from pretty far away from the goal. He was so excited and so were we!

We are so proud of our little soccer players!

4 year blogoversary giveaway!

2011-09-26T16:36:00.003-05:00

Today marks my

four year

anniversary of blogging!

It's hard to believe I have published 862 posts since September 26th, 2007. Wow, things have really changed around here since then! Blogging helps me to keep things in perspective and focus on how much God has blessed us. I love that we have a record of our family's day to day life as well as the special moments like...

learning to ride a bike

In honor of my blogoversary, I am giving away a custom made ruffle sunglasses case of your choice to one of my readers. Just leave a comment for a chance to win and I will announce the winner on Thursday. I would love to hear from you! Thanks for reading!

worn out

2011-09-25T19:02:00.001-05:00

This is what happens at 6:30 pm after spending one night at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Austin's quilt

2011-09-22T08:52:00.000-05:00

I finished Austin's quilt! I used Cluck Cluck Sew's raw edge circle tutorial and love how it turned out!

I used over 50 different fabrics that I collected with this quilt in mind for Austin.

I used my favorite American Jane Pez fabric in red for the backing.

I added a handwritten note for Austin like I did on Lauren's quilt.

Beverly with Bluebonnet Star Quilting designed the quilting for me and I love it!

He loves it too!

I love my baby boy. He is so sweet, funny, playful, determined and smart.

Next up, Ethan's plus quilt!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-21T20:26:00.002-05:00

Schulenburg camping

2011-09-19T11:59:00.001-05:00

This weekend we loaded up the camper and headed to Schuelenburg to hang out at Felisha's dad's cabin in the country. They have acres of beautiful land and we had the best time exploring, eating amazing food and relaxing with friends and family.

The kids had so much fun! They love spending time with Haden, Hannah and Conner.

We went fishing in a pond full of giant catfish.

Our little fisherman caught a fish! He hooked a GIANT fish, but it broke the fishing line before we could reel it in.

There were so many beautiful backdrops, so I couldn't resist snapping some shots of the kids.

The kids loved riding in the utility vehicle.

Austin and Ethan even drove! Scary!

Speaking of scary...

Never fear! It's a BB gun and Eric was standing right behind him. It was a little stressful for this paranoid mom, but they had a thorough gun safety lesson before they started.

The guys got in some skeet shooting and the boys practiced shooting Eric's BB handgun.

Pull!

The kids had fun chasing around an armadillo and pretending to be one.

There is something so peaceful about the country. The kids begged us to stay and Eric and I didn't want to leave either. It was so relaxing and fun!

I am now bound and determined to find us a house on a little plot of land just north of Austin!

Ready

2011-09-12T20:41:00.000-05:00

When Ethan was born 6 1/2 years ago, I cried every day I was home with him during my 3 month maternity leave. I wanted to stay home with him, but financially it wasn't possible at the time. When my maternity leave was up and I went back to work, Erica took care of Ethan for me. I had cried so many tears before I went back, that I did fine when I was there. My heart just wasn't in it though, so I decided to start looking for a baby to take care of at home.

A couple weeks later, thanks to an ad Erica had up for her own tutoring services, a wonderful lady called me to see if I was interested in caring for her child. When I told her how much money I needed to make in order to quit my job, she told me she would double it. My prayers were answered! A month after going back to work at Dell, I got to stay home! I knew at the time it was God's plan for our family and I'm so thankful His perfect way enabled me to stay home with my children the last 6 1/2 years.

Now that the kids are in school, I really feel like it is time to go back to work. I'm hoping to find a job where I can work from home several days a week. If you would have asked me if I wanted a full time job 3 months ago, I would not have felt the same as I do now. The boys are in school and doing so well. My busy little girl misses her brothers during the day. She loves school and seems to thrive there. Our tenative plan once I get a job is to have my mom take care of the kids after school. Lauren will go to school from 8 to 2 every day, then my mom will pick her up, pick the boys and work on homework while Eric or I work in our bedroom (AKA the office) for a couple hours. It seems to be a win-win for our family and I feel such peace with it. Eric and I really feel God is leading us down this path. I am very excited about it and I actually have my first interview Friday. Prayers are appreciated!

The adventures of Buster

2011-09-11T13:00:00.000-05:00

Austin's kindergarten class has a class pet named Buster that gets to go home with a different child every week. This week Buster got to go home with Austin! Buster has a special journal where we will document all the adventures he goes on.
(Last year Ethan got to bring home Spot, and you can read about his adventures here)

Austin rode his bike home from school Friday to find Buster waiting for him.

Austin was very happy to see Buster!

Austin took Buster on a little ride around the cul-de-sac on his 360 big wheel.

To make Buster feel right at home, Austin and Ethan got out all their dog stuffed animals to keep him company.

Austin's very favorite thing to do is play 9 Hole Golf card game, so Buster got to play a lot of cards this weekend.

Austin showed Buster the view from up high in the tree.

It was a fun weekend and Austin loved spending time with Buster!

Ellen's birthday celebration

2011-09-09T08:50:00.001-05:00

Wednesday night we got together to celebrate Ellen's birthday at Cru Wine Bar. The food and wine were delicious!

Our waiters were ~~delicious too~~ very entertaining!

It was a very fun night and I'm so lucky to have these ladies in my life!

Happy Birthday Ellen!

Labor Day camping

2011-09-08T10:14:00.003-05:00

We celebrated our Labor Day weekend with friends at Pecan Park in San Marcos. The river was down, but there was still plenty of water for swimming and tubing.

Ethan took this picture of us with my phone.

The kids had a blast in the pool. For the first time since having kids, I didn't have to get in the water with them! It was awesome! The boys can swim like fish and Lauren loves swimming around in her puddle jumper.

After a long day playing hard, the kids relaxed in their pajamas and watched Tangled.

Sunday Eric and the boys floated down the San Marcos River with Markus, Constanze, Suzanna, Julius and Vivian. The boys loved the hour and a half float!

Eric and Markus just happened to have matching swim trunks. How sweet!

Lauren and I enjoyed a nice nap and then waited at the river to watch them float in. When Constanze offered to watch Lauren so I could float with Eric and the boys later that afternoon, I jumped on the chance. I LOVE tubing! Thank you Constanze!

It was a relaxing weekend and we are looking forward to fall camping!

Lauren's first day of school!

2011-09-06T09:12:00.001-05:00

Today is Lauren's first day of preschool! She was SO excited this morning!

She is going to the same preschool the boys went to, so she is very familiar with it and very proud it is now HER school.

She may be most excited about the Star Wars fruit snacks in her lunch box.

She LOVES her kitty princess nap mat and carried the kitty pillow around all day yesterday. Should be interesting to see if she falls asleep on it during nap time!

When I jumped ahead of Eric and Lauren to take this picture, she said "Go Mom. Go, go, go!" in a sweet, but annoyed voice. She was ready to get to school!

She ran right in her classroom and started playing. No tears, just excitement! WOO HOO!

Now it's time for me to go enjoy my first day kid free in 6 1/2 years!

Lauren's nap

2011-09-01T21:07:00.001-05:00

This is how I found our little sweetie during her nap today. I guess her bed wasn't as comfy as snuggling with her stuffed animals on the floor!

art of the day

2011-08-29T12:59:00.000-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-25T09:35:00.000-05:00

First day of school 2011

2011-08-22T15:44:00.006-05:00

Today was the first day of school for the boys! They were all pumped up and ready to go!

Our big kindergartner was very excited to start school! He is so happy to have his friends Madison and Jarret in his class with him.

Ethan was all ready for first grade! Look how much he has grown since his first day of kindergarten. Ethan has two boys in his class from last year and his best friend Vivian is in his class too!

Lauren wanted her backpack on too and posed for pictures with her big brothers.

We ran into our friends up at the school and Tye, Madison, Ethan, Austin, Julius and Vivian all got to walk in together. I'm so thankful our friends are our neighbors and we have kids the same age!

Ethan and his first grade teacher. She is so sweet!

Austin was lucky enough to get Ethan's teacher from last year! We love her and I'm so happy Austin is in her class. I am room mom this year and I'm really excited about it.

Mr. Cool had his hands in his pockets just like his big brother did last year. So cute!

Both boys had a great day and are excited about going back tomorrow!

Austin's day

2011-08-17T08:17:00.002-05:00

My baby boy starts kindergarten in less than a week. While I am very excited for him, I am feeling a little nostalgic about this milestone in his life. No more lazy days at home with his momma for Austin. I documented a day in his life so we could look back on how life was before he started school.

Austin woke up this morning at 6:45 and immediately wanted to do his very favorite activity... play a card game! He and Ethan played a couple games of 9 hole golf while I drank my coffee and tried to wake up.

Since it's been over 100 degrees for months now, we have only been able to really enjoy culdesac time in the mornings. Austin loves riding his scooter.

Madison and Adam came out to play, which made Austin very happy!

After playing in the front, it was time to relax and watch some Pokemon.

The boys got in a quick game of foosball before we headed to the pool.

Austin can swim! We have had the best time this summer going to our neighborhood pool to swim. The boys can do the slides now and they LOVE them.

Angry Birds time!

The kids had frozen yogurt pops for dessert after dinner.

The boys are all about climbing trees. I love that our trees have gotten big enough for them to play in!

Austin's day started with a game of cards and ended with a game of cards.

I love our card loving, funny, competitive, compassionate little man and I am excited to watch him grow this year!

Best $5 ever!

2011-08-16T11:01:00.001-05:00

While we were waiting for the marching band to play on Saturday, Jan and I stumbled upon a garage sale down the street. When she saw this foosball table for just $5, she couldn't pass it up.

After a few minor repairs by my handy husband, it was in great working condition.

We are really enjoying our new indoor foosball table. Thanks Jan!

Marching band

2011-08-15T23:36:00.000-05:00

Saturday a local high school band marched down the streets of our neighborhood as a fundraiser. We could hear the music coming down the street and the kids were excited to see the band. Despite her grumpy face, Lauren was excited too. :)

She may be a little pouty at times, but she is very resourceful and had no problem moving her chair while carrying her cup and two stuffed animals!

While we were listening to the band perform, Ethan said "Hey Mom, this music is on Charlotte's Web!" I guess we need to take him to a football game and let him enjoy a half time show!

Birds of a Feather

2011-08-15T07:27:00.001-05:00

Last week Ellen, Erica and I took an art class at Cordovan Art School and made a mixed media painting.

Being the perfectionist that I am, I first headed to Archiver's scrapbooking store to buy my own paper for my painting. I wanted to hang it in Lauren's room, so I bought paper that matched her bedroom colors.

Each of us painted our watercolor background different colors. Instead of putting the birds on a wire, Erica and I chose to paint some branches for them to sit on.

My painting!

It was a lot of fun and I love how different each of our paintings turned out!

The Farmer's Wife

2011-08-12T08:54:00.004-05:00

I was so excited when Erica got me the book The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt for my birthday. The book explains what happened in 1922 when The Farmer's Wife magazine posed this question to their readers: "If you had a daughter of marriageable age, would you, in light of your own experience, have her marry a farmer?" The magazine at that time had 750,000 subscribers, and received over 7,000 letters. The best answers to the question were included in the book, along with the traditional quilt blocks they inspired. There are 111 different six inch quilt block patterns included that will make a gorgeous sampler quilt.

I had read about a Farmer's Wife quilt-a-long in blogland here and thought it would be really fun to make a sampler quilt with modern fabrics. After being inspired by these gorgeous blocks, I knew it was the perfect use for my treasured Summer in the City and 1974 fabric.

So far we have made 4 different blocks, but I couldn't resist making a couple duplicates just for fun. I am so excited about making a quilt just for me out of my favorite fabrics! This quilt-a-long is a great opportunity for Erica, Carrey and me to try some new quilting techniques too. Hopefully we will learn a lot and have fun doing it! These little squares are addicting! Anyone else want to join us?

Proof...

2011-08-11T11:50:00.000-05:00

At least one of my kids has eaten brocolli!

Road trip!

2011-08-10T21:42:00.001-05:00

Tuesday morning I loaded up the kids and headed to College Station to visit my old friend Rebecca and her sweet girls. Molly and Lauren are one month apart and Morgan is 7 months younger than Ethan and 7 months older than Austin.

Love their silly faces!

We took the kids to the Children's Museum in College Station and the kids loved it!

Lauren LOVED painting! I've never been brave enough to let her paint at home, but now I'm going to have to!

We ended our fun day with a movie and cookies.

This is the picture you get when a 5 year old decides they want the window in the picture! :)

Lauren and Molly

2 1/2 years old

Here they are 6 months old! Aren't they so cute?

It was a fun visit and I'm so glad Becca and my kiddos have the chance to be friends too!

soccer dad

2011-08-08T17:05:00.000-05:00

A couple months ago Eric joined an indoor soccer league and this week we got to go to a game. A lot of his games are late at night, so we were excited to be able to go cheer him on.

Eric played defense this game and the boys couldn't understand why he wasn't running the entire game. Austin shouted "Come on Dad, no more walking! You need to run!" It was so funny! Eric did great and we were so proud of him!

2 outta 3

2011-08-07T10:14:00.001-05:00

This summer I had three goals with Lauren:

1. Move her to her big girl bed

2. Take away her pacifier

3. Potty train

Moving Lauren to her big girl bed wasn't bad at all. When she wakes up in the morning, she knocks on the door to let us know she is up. I knew she wouldn't be as easy as the boys who waited in bed and called my name until I came to get them, but I am pleasantly surprised how well she has done. She falls asleep great and it has been relatively painless process until... we took away her pacifier.

After the dentist encouraged us to ditch the pacifier at Lauren's first dental appointment, we told her she couldn't have it anymore. Let's just say it didn't go over as easily as it did with the boys. She no longer would stay in her bed and it was a rough couple of days. Erica got to witness this first hand when we were sewing together one evening and she saw this...

The next morning I put the childproof handle on the inside door handle and she quickly learned to stay in bed.

Notice the two pink blankets? I made a rookie mistake. After we lost one of the two pink blankies Lauren sleeps with every night, I decide to make her a back up. This time I made it hot pink and bigger so she cover up with it in case we were ever in a blankie emergency. Well, now instead of needing one blankie, she now needs two! Aye, aye, aye!

As for #3, no luck so far. None at all, with no hope in sight. Oh well, two out of three ain't too bad!

WIPs

2011-08-03T10:59:00.000-05:00

Since I finished up Austin's quilt and the I Spy quilt on our sewing weekend, I decided to start up some more! I bought this pattern and plan to make a throw size quilt for our living room. I love the Anna Maria Horner fabrics I'm using and can't wait to get started!

After I finished Austin's quilt, Ethan gave me a deadline of four weeks to finish one for him. He started off saying he would like it finished in one week, but I negotiated to four weeks. I showed him some different patterns and he decided on a plus quilt. It was so easy to cut out that I already have all the pieces laid out and ready to be sewn. I may actually have my part done within four weeks since it's such an easy quilt to put together!

I'm really happy with how it's turned out and can't wait to send all three quilts to my favorite long arm quilter!

Soleil

2011-08-01T16:13:00.000-05:00

Saturday we met some friends for dinner and drinks at Soleil at the Oasis. If you haven't been to the Oasis in a while, it has changed a lot and is very cool!

The sunset was gorgeous!

The food and drinks as Soleil were great! Truffled parmesan fries? Yes, please!

The kids spent the night with my parents and Eric and I thoroughly enjoyed our night out.

It was so wonderful to hang out with some of my very best girl friends.

We may or may not have taken 148 pictures that night. We may or may not have had just a tad too much to drink when we took these Charlie's Angels wanna be pictures. The background was just too perfect to resist!

We had the best time and can't wait to do it again soon!

wordless wednesday

2011-07-27T08:05:00.003-05:00

cribless

2011-07-26T15:56:00.002-05:00

Monday we set out our crib with the trash! Drop side cribs are no longer considered safe, so there was no point in keeping it. It served us well through all three of our babies. It's so nice to have more space in Lauren's room. Now I need to paint her dresser to match her bed and make her pillow shams. Always something to do!

Instead of throwing her sliding storage drawer out too, we decided to repurpose it in the boys' room. It is now a Lego drawer that slides under their beds.

It's working great and the kids love it! Installing the wood floors forced us to reorganize our stuff, and I'm loving the lack of clutter and everything having a place!

Roller skating!

2011-07-25T13:53:00.001-05:00

Saturday the boys went roller skating for the first time at Charlize's 6th birthday party! They had a blast!

Ellen and I got in on the fun too!

Happy Birthday Charlize!

The boys had so much fun they both want their birthday parties at Austin Sports Arena next year!

Lauren's big girl bed

2011-07-21T21:29:00.001-05:00

Look who has been sleeping in her big girl bed for the past two days! Nanny and Papa gave us Lauren's beautiful bed and she feels so big sleeping in it. We are about to be without a crib for the first time in 6 1/2 years. Woo hoo!

while we were working...

2011-07-20T07:58:00.002-05:00

the kids were having a blast!

They had fun spending the night with Gege and Granddaddy, swimming with their cousins, playing on the slip and slide, bouncing on the trampoline, going to the park, watching movies and staying up late. The boys had a sleepover with Jake at Jenn and Kai's house while the girls stayed at Gege and Grandaddy's house with Lauren. Aunt Jenny sent me these awesome pictures of the kiddos.

Look at our tough little rocker guys!

I'm so glad the kids had a great time and I'm very grateful to have such wonderful family that enjoys our kids as much as we do. Thank you Jennifer, Kai, Gege, Granddaddy, Emily and Abby for taking such great care of our kiddos! We love you!

It's done... almost!

2011-07-19T13:24:00.006-05:00

108
hours worked installing flooring

11
take out meals

5
nights without our children

42
tiles Eric had to smash and scrape up

36
Boxes of laminate wood in dark oak

9
door frames that had to be sawed and banged out

3
closets that had to be floored

120
linear feet of baseboards I painted

1,000,000
feet of carpet tack line that had to be pryed up
(ok, not really, but it really felt like it)

6
rolls of underlayment I laid while Eric installed the flooring

4
power tools

800
square feet of new floors!

We love how it turned out! Our house feels so fresh now.

I can't wait to see what the boys think of their room!

We rearranged some decorations to update the living room.

We had to completely drain and clean the aquarium in order to install the floors. In the process, we lost Hoover, our giant sucker fish. Hopefully the kids won't be too upset and will enjoy getting new fish for the tank.

Although it was a lot of hard work and a big undertaking for us, we are so glad we did it. I think I gained a couple pounds during the installation since the only breaks we took were to eat, so I really enjoyed mealtimes! We wore ourselves out. Eric installed some of the baseboards, but we ran out of time so some of them will have to wait. Any advice on how to clean the floors? I'm on the look out for a great dust mop now that the construction work is done. We miss our kids like crazy and can't wait to see them!

the installation 64 hours in

2011-07-16T21:22:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure if our kids will ever be able to come home! At the moment, we would not recommend installing your own floors! I'm sure it will be worth it in the end, but DANG, it's a long and tedious process.

We love the part we finished! The first couple days of the installation were actually fun. I got to use power tools and told Eric how awesome I was about 50 times. Today my euphoria wore off and I'm ready to be done.

After the floors and baseboards are done, look what I get to put back. Grr!

while the kids are away...

2011-07-15T08:11:00.000-05:00

Thursday we packed up the kids and sent them off with Gege and their cousins for a 4 night trip to Arlington! They were all very excited! It's Lauren's first time to be away from us so long, but so far so good!

Instead of relaxing and enjoying our kid free time, we are installing new flooring. It's hard work, but we can't wait to see it all done!

Lauren's new pillow

2011-07-13T08:29:00.000-05:00

I finished Lauren's pillow! It's made out of the same fabrics as her quilt, but I added some fun new ones.

I think she likes it!

Selvage Sister's getaway 2011

2011-07-12T22:02:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was our second annual trip to Emilie's Quilt Haus in Stonewall. We started off our trip by eating in Lakeway at the delicious Texas Star drive through. Then we shopped for fabric at The Cotton Cupboard in Lakeway and Valli & Kim in Dripping Springs. It was so fun! I love shopping for fabric and the stores did not disappoint!

I love Emilie's Quilt House. It's so nice to have your own design wall and giant work space!

We sewed up a storm, ate, drank and ate some more.

Erica and I had fun trying on some old fashion hats and gloves that were decoration in the house. We may have been born in the wrong era.

Saturday afternoon we headed to Fredricksburg to hit up two fabric stores and grab some dinner. Since we have such an old lady hobby, we gave ourselves some nicknames for the trip. I'm LiLi, Carrey is Coco, Melissa is Mimi, Mindy is Minky and Erica is LaLa. Not only are we quilters, but dorks too! : )

We had dinner at Auslanders after our giddy excitement from visiting our favorite fabric store.

Before we headed back to Stonewall to slave away at our sewing machines, we scouted out a fudge shop. Chocolate dipped pickles, bacon and jalapenos? No thanks!

The fudge on the other hand, was divine! We almost polished off this whole box of fudge before we went home.

I finished Austin's quilt top! I cut most of the fabrics last year and started sewing them in Wimberley back in March. I'm so happy to have it finished and can't wait to get it all quilted up for him. It's a very fun and colorful quilt, just like Austin.

The other ladies made fun of me because I didn't stop to take breaks and was determined to get a lot of work done. I went with a mission, and it felt so good to accomplish it! Since I rarely get time to work on my sewing projects, I really enjoyed crossing some projects off my list. I ended up finishing Austin's quilt, most of the I Spy quilt, a sleeping bag for Spot and started a pillow for Lauren's bed.

I love how the I Spy quilt turned out! All I need to do now is add a border and make up the backing. The kids love looking at it and playing the I Spy game.

It was a wonderful weekend and I'm so glad I have friends who love fabric and sewing as much as I do! I'm very grateful to have such a sweet husband who encourages me to enjoy my time away while he has fun with the kids!

Thanks?

2011-07-05T11:21:00.000-05:00

The boys are back! After 4 days in Louisiana, we are so happy to have them back home.

Along with their suitcases, the boys also brought home some "new" toys. Lots and lots of new toys.

The toys were Trent and Trevor's from years ago, but they are still in great shape. We got a giant container full of Bionicles, bucket of Legos, dozens of Star Wars figurines, bag of army men, tons of books and 2 LeapPads. Now I'm off to find a place for all our new toys and hopefully get rid of some old ones!

4th of July weekend

2011-07-04T19:35:00.000-05:00

We spent this weekend celebrating the 4th of July with Felisha and Jared in their new pool. It was so nice to relax and spend time with great friends.

Lauren took great naps while we played in the pool and then enjoyed lots of pool time herself. It was so fun!

Happy 4th of July!