Playtime with Rachael

Now that I have a 2 year old again, I get to go to our church playgroup with all of the other cutie-pie 2-3 year olds. However, it is VERY different this time around for me. I am one of the oldest ones there with these cute young moms who have their only child there. It's difficult for me to include myself in their conversations about coupons, menus, family home evening packets (been there-done that), and working out. They are all really nice, but trying to find my niche. This is one of the playgroups that Rachael and I attended where we toured a firestation. My friend Lorian got volunteered to try on the fire gear (yikes). It was 100 degrees in that station and they put ALL of the gear on her. She was a great sport. Rachael loves hanging out with all her nursery friends so I will continue to go.

Ladie's Lunch (again)

I am very happy with the neighborhood that we live in. Last week I was able to do lunch with my friends that live near me. Lynn, Amber, Jen and her daughter Kayla came along. They have all been so welcoming and kind to us since we moved in. I also think they are happy to have neighbors that are finally taking care of this house. Apparently it was vacant for 6 months before we moved in and the yard was looking pretty sad. (we just planted a bunch of flowers last Saturday!!) Anyway, we went to one of my favorite new mexican restaurants: Los Cucos and enjoyed chips, salsa and great conversation. Kayla is the CUTEST little girl. Her hair is darling and brought her purse filled with "My Little Ponies." Thanks ladies for a wonderful time and for my sister in law Amy for watching Rachael so I could enjoy some girl time with my neighbors.

My Girl's Weekend

I am lucky enough to have a wonderful husband that knows for sanity sake...I just need to GET AWAY! So, that is exactly what I did last weekend. I drove up to College Station first, picked up Lisa, and then we both drove to Dallas to hang out with one of my BFF's Laurie. It was a blast. We laughed, talked, broke all of our diet rules, got pedicures, went shopping, and saw a movie.

This is one of my favorite moments. Laurie found some fab shoes at Dillards that were $90. It was hard to resist, but to keep her marriage together, she walked away. She later found some similar ones in the KID SECTION at Payless for $8. Only Laurie could get away with wearing a size 6 shoe. Who else can do that??

Later when we went to the movies, Lisa got cold. Um, Lis, it's like 90 degrees outside, but that's okay.

We also went to a great shop called The Funky Monkey. LOVED this place. So vintage..I found a great ring and Lisa got a watch.

Sam Moon was a definite stop. Several purses later, we hit the road (and the rain).

The Pedi's were great. We also learned that vietnamese people like Star Trek.

I am not sure where the picture is of all of us in Laurie's bed watching a movie, but we did that too. Thanks Laurie for being the Hostess with the Mostess. Also, thanks Lisa for listening to me in the car for HOURS while I talk about my family drama. Love ya both!

Easter 2009

Because I am behind on my posts, I do want to talk about what we did on Easter before I forget. It was a wonderful day because we were able to have my parents who were visiting from Idaho, my brother and his family, Mark's brother and his family and TWO sets of missionaries. In total counting our family that is 22 people....and it was a blast. We had a BIG dinner with lots of ham, potatoes, salads, etc... And of course CANDY. We split up the older/younger kids for an egg hunt and had the elders hide the eggs for the older kids (um..I think there are some eggs we haven't found yet..seriously). Here are some pictures of the hunt. Jane, Rachael and Kimball were all eating their candy as they went. It was hilarious. They were stuffing their mouths as fast as they could and loved it. It was so fun and am so thankful that I live near family this time around in Texas. I still can't believe my parents DROVE all the way from Idaho to be here. It was great to have them here.

Happy Mother's Day Mom/Grandma

This is a picture of my beautiful mom, my lovely grandmother, and my baby Rachael just a few months old. My mom is the picture of virture, sacrifice and love. She adores all of the accessories of life including a great movie, her rose garden and of course...JEWLERY. My grandmother is at a fragile age of 90 and struggles everyday to be comfortable, yet is one of the strongest women I know. These 2 women are a part of who I am and will always be admired no matter how old I get. Happy mother's day to both of you. I love you both.

Swim Team: The West Memorial Tiger Sharks!!

Well, I have officially overloaded our schedule. Besides soccer, baseball, scouts, homework, etc.. I have now added swim team to the daily schedule. My friend Audralyn (whom I have known for 12 years and is wonderful) called me and told me she had signed my kids up with her kids for the team. Alright! I said..and swallowed hard. Truth be told, I really did want my kids to do it. My boys really enjoy her boys and it is a great chance to be around other kids from the church. It does make my schedule so crazy, though..but will end soon with soccer and baseball. As you can see from the pictures, the boys are really excited to be doing it.,,and even Rachael enjoys the practices seeing her BFF Ava. (they hang out at the pool together eating fish crackers, etc..) Too cute. I think the most difficult thing with this is that come summer, the practices are everyday at 7:30am. The boys aren't too thrilled, but what they don't realize is that they are so used to waking up early anyway that they won't even notice it. (I hope!) We are looking forward to a fun summer!!

I'M BAAAAAACK!!

I know, I know it has been FOREVER since I have posted anything. To tell you the truth, I have been a little overwhelmed with life and my cyberspace silence has been lingering in the back of my mind for a long time. So, I'm going to slowly catch up on the ENTIRE MONTH OF APRIL because a lot happened. Mark's grandfather passed away at the end of March and I was so glad that he was able to go to the funeral and spend time with his brothers and sisters. He flew out to Portland and was there for about 5 days. Mark told me that his fav part of the trip was helping his dad dress his grandfather in his Temple clothes. It was a sacred time for the family and I'm so glad he got to do that. He also enjoyed spending time with his siblings and being the "brother and the son" for a while.

Shortly after the funeral, Mark's parents came and spent some days here with us. We appreciated that even though Mark's dad's dad had just passed away and they hadn't been home for a while. We pulled the kids out of school for a couple days and went to Sea World in San Antonio. The boys enjoyed the shows and LOVED going on the roller coasters with mom, dad, grandma and grandpa. Austin and Daddy got stuck at the TOP of the Steel eel for a while (like 45 minutes)so they could fix the break system (nice). Needless to say, they got a little sunburned! We rented a house I found on VRBO and was fun to have us all under one roof. Mark and the boys stayed an extra day and did the water park in Sea World and had a blast! We also did the River Walk (which by the way I will NEVER do again with a baby...not stroller friendly) and ate at a Mexican Restaurant. All in all, it was good to see Grandma and Grandpa again and to spend time with Matthew and Catherine even though they had just closed on a house the day we went down!(WHEW!) All in all, it was a great time and we will be back to Sea World because we bought year passes for everyone!