Yeehaw!

This past Friday, Grace had a singing program at school.

The theme was Texas/cowboy/rodeo.

This was the first time as a Mommy that I totally failed and I know it won't be the last! First, I didn't even know about the program until Wednesday when I was walking Grace into school and I saw a sign that said, "Today is your last day to buy BBQ tickets." I thought to myself "what is that all about?" So, I asked her teacher and she said there was a short program on Friday and after they were serving chopped beef sandwiches, cookies and "rattlesnake" juice. I thought ok...now hurry home and call the family and let them know all about it...so that when I go to pick Grace up from school, I can buy all of our BBQ tickets. By that afternoon I thought I was doing ok...all the family knows...check...BBQ tickets bought...check...cute little spring dress and bow to match that was already in Grace's closet...check. Doing good, right?...WRONG! Friday arrived and I took Grace to school. As we were walking in I saw a few kids with western attire. One with a bandana...one with a cowboy hat...one that had boots on. I didn't think anything of it, until I got in the car to go home and wondered to myself, "were they suppose to dress like cowboys and cowgirls?" At that point, I just brushed it off. Then Jeff, Emersyn and I got in the car to go to the program and I was telling Jeff about all the kids and what I had seen. He said, "I bet they were suppose to dress up." I started feeling a little bad...I didn't want her to feel left out. We got to her school and I saw the decorations up where they always sing and I started feeling worse. Then they all started walking out and many of the children were dressed up to some degree and then there was Grace...looking so cute in her spring little dress, but no cowgirl attire. :o( Mommy fail #2! I felt so bad, but luckily she didn't seem fazed by it at all...plus there were other kids that were in plain school clothes too. the ONLY thing that she did ask me later was "Mommy, do I have cowboy boots?" So, I know she was at least thinking about it which made me feel bad again. I just don't EVER want my girls to EVER feel left out because Mommy was out of the loop or wasn't on top of things!

We watched the program and it was too cute as always! :o) They sang a few songs like "Deep in the Heart of Texas," "I'm a Tex...I'm a Tex," "The Eyes of Texas" (which I thought Jeff was going to have a cow because they had the kids put up the Longhorn sign...it was too funny though because Grace had the most confused look on her face because she's never seen or done "hook'em" before nor will she ever do it again. LOL). Then we headed for the BBQ sandwiches...Grace ate a happy meal from Mickey D's being that she is such a picky eater and I promised her a special lunch if she sang really well. :o) We had a GREAT time and I think she really enjoyed everyone being there. :o)

Grace's Squirrel class walking to their spot.

Looking at all the people out in the audience.

Grace's class.

Aren't they sooooo cute! :o)

The 2 little boys with cowboy hats on, Grace is always talking about.

Yawning...it's close to nap time.

I always thought it might be a good idea to have the program in the morning when parents are arriving to bring their kids to school. That way the kids aren't getting sleepy and for the parents that work...well, they don't have to come back at lunch time.

Rubbing her eyes.

Chowing down.

This would have been better if Grace wouldn't have been squeezing Emersyn too hard.

Riding the horse and not wanting to get off because she didn't want anyone else to get on it.

Spring Break

We started Spring Break off by making a day trip to Del Rio for a funeral. Jeff's uncle lost his battle with cancer. It was nice to be able to see his Dad's side of the family because we rarely see them. It was just unfortunate it was under those circumstances. We knew the trip was going to be long so we decided it was best for Grace to stay behind with my parents, plus we didn't think she was ready to understand death and all the emotions that go along with it. Emersyn went with us and going down there wasn't bad at all because we left so early and literally just took out of her bed and put her in her car seat. She slept almost the entire way. Coming back was a different story, she slept for a little over an hour and cried then rest of the way home. It was awful!!! Plus, once we pulled into San Antonio we some traffic and then hit major traffic in San Marcos due a really bad wreck. We ended up stopping just past the wreck to let Emersyn get out of her car seat...this was a big mistake...she stopped crying once she was out, but when we had to put her back in the crying was ten times worse. So, we just decided to try and ignore her crying because we knew she wasn't hungry, but just plain overly tired from crying so much that she couldn't relax and that maybe eventually she would just give it up and fall asleep. Finally about 30 minutes from home she fell asleep. Thank the Lord! But who could blame her for not wanting to be in the car for a total of about 4 hours going down and about 6.5 hours coming home.

Playing on the floor.

My niece trying to get some energy out before getting back in the car to head to Austin.

Saturday, we went to have a low key BBQ at my parent's house, to see my brother (who was on Spring Break) and of course to see our big girl, who was not very excited to see us. It broke my heart, but it also makes me feel good that she enjoys it so much at my mom and dad's house. :o)

Sunday was a very low key day at our house with tons of laundry to do.

Monday, we had a "Bachelor" partyat our house. You see it was the finale of The Bachelor and my whole family is hooked on reality TV. LOL! :o) So of course, my parents and my brother came over to watch. We grilled burgers and ate homemade peach cobbler and ice cream for dessert. Yum, Yum!

Emmie fell asleep in Uncle Chad's arms while watching The Bachelor.

Tuesday, was the park and lunch with my brother and dad. And my mom took off work early to meet up with us for a jog and dinner. :o)

All bundled up.

It was a little over cast and chilly that morning.

It looks like Grace is missing a tooth in this picture.

Not sure what happened to the picture.

Morning nap.

Wednesday morning we cleaned the house up and the afternoon Emersyn and I headed down to my Mom's office to have her new "big" girl car seat installed into our car correctly. No more carrier! Then we rushed home to meet up with a friend of ours (stay tuned for more on this later). ;o)

Sleeping in her new car seat.

She seems to like it most of the time.

Thursday, we spent the day at Jeff's parent's house. Jeff's mom had all kinds of activities planned for her and Grace to do. They planted 2 flowering plants, they had a picnic (which Grace requested PB & honey sandwich...imagine that...LOL), they blew bubbles in the backyard, they mad cookies with lots of sprinkles on them, she got to go for a spin in Pop's old jeep that he has been restoring, and play with all her toys at their house, plus watch a little bit of "toons." She even got to skip her afternoon nap! :o) We had a FABULOUS day! :o) Thanks, Nana for such a fun time! :o)

Making her PB & honey sandwich that was cut in the shape of a teddy bear.

Dig...Dig...Dig

"I can do it all by myself!"

Putting the finishing touches on it.

Notice Nana has some dirt on her pants...Grace thought it was funny to make dirt go everywhere! :o)

Now, it's time to water.

Grace's favorite part.

"Drink up little princess flower."

My Little Ponies.

This is Grace's new love right now.

Emersyn and her new toy.

It's the cutest little toy that lights up and plays music.

A princess light up stick for using when the bathroom is dark.

Eating cookie dough.

Shhh...Don't tell Daddy. :o)

Pop and Grace sitting in his jeep.

Friday, we took a trip down to Caldwell to see Jeff's grandpa, PaPa and to go fishing at the cabin. We hadn't seen him since Christmas. It was so good to spend time with him. We throughly enjoyed it! :o)

Gettin' some lovin'

Grace's 1st fish she caught.

Well, it's more like "Daddy, you stay here on the pier with your fishing pole in the water while I wait in the cabin and then when you catch one, come and get me!" LOL

Ewww...don't touch me with it!

Is he gonna bite?

With PaPa's cowboy hat on and no shirt because she was too hot.

Saturday, we had an early dinner out at the Salt Lick in Drift Wood with my family. Gosh, I just love their BBQ...I cleaned my whole plate! Then, we stopped for a chocolate concrete mixer from Culver's. This just topped it all off. There's nothing like Texas BBQ and a little ice cream to go along with it!

The whole family.

Look at those chubby cheeks.

Daddy and his biggest girl.

Yummy...fresh hand squeezed lemonade!

It didn't last very long.

Grace requests this every time we go. :o)

Look at all those rolls!

Emersyn's yummy "BBQ dinner"

Sunday, we ended Spring Break, with a birthday party at the park. My cousin's little boy turned 1, so we celebrated with playing at the park, burgers and a cute cupcake cake. It was such a great ending to a super week! Happy Birthday, Corban! We love you! :o)

The birthday boy riding one of his new toys!

He is too stinkin' cute!

He had lots of help opening his presents.

Mainly from one cute, sweaty little girl in a hot pink tshirt. ;o)

Taking a ride in Corban's new wagon.

Dallas

The week before Spring Break, Jeff had a work trip planned to Dallas and the girls and I decided to make the trip with him. Grace was beyond excited because we were staying at the same hotel we stayed at last summer before Emersyn was born. It's a really neat Hilton! They have a fish tank in the main lobby (which Grace loves because the concierge men let her feed the fish), they have 2 swimming pools (1 indoor and 1 outdoor), tons of tennis courts, a man made lake with a trail around it and it's close to the airport which Grace likes because she gets to watch the airplanes as they come and go. Plus, because Jeff travels so often he receives special perks when he stays at Hilton hotels like access to the executive lounge which has continental breakfast in the morning and appetizers and drinks in the evening. Grace loves to go to the lounge because they have all kinds of cheese and crackers (which is a staple in her diet) and many different types of desserts. I can't lie I like to go too because they always have yummy food like shrimp cocktail (which I rarely get to eat because Jeff is allergic to seafood), quesadillas, boneless buffalo wings, chicken caesar salad, etc. This isn't the best place to take kids because it's all business men and women. We got some looks, but that doesn't bother me. Anyone with kids understand and the others...well, let's just say they are missing out. LOL

Here's how our trip played out...

Day 1

The girls and I had so much fun! We started out with a fabulous breakfast. I wish I had someone to make me breakfast everyday, but instead most mornings I don't eat because there just isn't any time. I know, I know this is the worst thing you can do because it's the most important meal of the day, but when you have kids some things fall by the way side. Then we went exploring...we walked down to the indoor pool to check out the temp and even though it was inside it was still a little cool. I think if it's an indoor pool it should be close to bath water. So instead, I let Grace throw the beach balls in the pool over and over. She had a ball! ;o) After playing by the pool, it was time for Emmie to have a bottle and take a nap. While she was taking a nap, Grace watched a few "toons" and then I let her run up and down the hallway to blow off some energy. Then she played with some stamps that she got for Christmas and last it was time to throw in a little learning...letters: their sounds and words that begin with each letter. After all of this it was time for lunch. I made her a peanut butter and honey sandwich with cheese puffs, grapes, blueberries and carrot sticks. Topped off with some refreshing apple juice. :o)

Emersyn woke up and she had another bottle and then it was Grace's turn for a nap. After a short little nap, we decided to go walk around the grounds outside. We watch some men play tennis. Grace found a tennis ball! Then we walked down to the lake and watched the ducks swim and catch fish. It was such a beautiful

day!

Finally, Jeff had arrived back at the hotel after working and we when to the lounge for some appetizers and drinks. Then Jeff and Grace went to pick up

a gourmet pizzas for dinner and we ate in the room. Very low key, but so much fun! :o) Then it was time to catch some zzzz.

Day 2

Let's just say this day was not very enjoyable for me or Grace. Grace was bored the entire day. I couldn't seem to keep her attention and she was making some bad choices and got many spankings that day. By the time Jeff got home I was spent. So we

both decided we all needed to get out. We decided to take the girls to The Rainforest Cafe. None of us had ever been. Grace was all excited until she saw the crocodile that was life size and was making noises and chomping his teeth toegether. Next, she her all the "rainforest" noises coming from the restaurant and it was a bit dark in there. She was terrified and practically jumped in my arms! She told me she wanted to leave. I talked her into walking around the restaurant to check it out. She finally decided we could eat there, but I had to hold her! It's a really neat place, but I can totally see why she was scared. We sat by the big mushroom and the rain which was away from all the big animals, but we could still see them. Dinner wasn't very good and a bit expensive, but I guess you pay for the atmosphere. Grace, also, got a butterfly balloon that a lady made for her. By the time dinner was over...Grace was sitting beside me and not in my lap...so progress was made! :o)

Day 3

Woke up...went down to breakfast, then walked down to the indoor pool and of course they finally had to temperature just perfect, but of course we didn't get to swim because we were leaving a little after lunch and we had a late start. But --- Grace did get to throw the beach ball in the pool for a little while and then we headed back up to our room for Emmie to drink her bottle and take a nap. While she was sleeping...Grace watched "toons" and I packed all of our stuff up, so that we could just pack the car and head home when Jeff got off work.

Overall, we had a great time! :o) But I know the girls were ready to be home...to roll and run around!

This was Emersyn's portable crib that she could actually somewhat roll around in and play with her toys.

Coloring.

Daddy and his girls before bed.

Notice Grace's face...she had really bad allergies and was all congested.

Is this not the cutest?

Emmie loves to play with her feet and suck on her toes. LOL

One of Emersyn's favorite spots to sit in our hotel room.

She could see all the cars on the highway and the airplanes coming and going.

Lots to look at.

Lounging on the bed together.

Being brave and venturing out to color.

The girls and I at The Rainforest Cafe.

Emersyn after her bath.