The circus came to town

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!