Easter 2012 - Yes, I know it's October.

Um, yes, you read that right - I am doing a post on Easter in October. I had all the pictures loaded but never actually posted them - so here goes.

Let's just hope I can remember what we did for Easter.....

Oh yes, the Easter Bunny came and left a bunch of eggs in our front yard this year.  This was weird, since he normally leaves them inside the house.....

This crew was excited nonetheless, but had barely any time to "hunt" as we had to get to Church.

My sweet 11 year old girl!

My boy who rarely smiles - this one borders on a genuine one though!

And this little man - off in a world of his own making.

And the hunt is on!

Ok -- I know that was overload, but I couldn't bring myself to delete even ONE picture.  I can't with a subject that cute!!

What do i LOVE????

Love....exciting and new....come aboard...we're expecting you.....

cheesiest song ever.

and it's a tv theme song to boot.

why is that the LOVE song that is in my head today?  valentine's day?

i don't know.

being that today is February 14 (valentine's day and my aunt & uncle anniversary - hi aunt bev!!) i wanted to reflect on a few things i LOVE.  cause you all are dying to know.  ah, it will be fun to look back on a few years from now.

besides the obvious, my God, my hubby, my sweet kiddos, here are a few things that make my heart go pitter-pat.  including the over-used app on my phone, instagram....someone tell me to stop already....

 hubby found a heart-shaped chip on sunday and presented it to me as a valentine.  ah, ain't that sweet?

 this guy.  nuff said.  oh and the daddy behind him.  i love him too.

 and this guy.  rare to get a smile on camera with him but since he just won a trophy, it kinda snuck out.

 and this girl - my one & only salesgirl extraordinaire.

 green monster smoothies - it has lots & lots of spinach folic acid in it and you can't taste it - i promise!

appreciation notes that my brody writes.  he just says it like it is "sometimes you are funny."

PINTEREST.  need I say more???  where else would i get the idea to make cinnamon rolls in the waffle iron (shout out to connie for suggesting it too!)

 this schedule board that my family looks forward to writing up each week.  no more 'what do we have going on tonight?' thanks pinterest.

 ahhhhhhh.
sorry - distracted by this adorable sick kiddo.  why are they always so scrumptious when they are sick?

 my new running shoes.  these babies make me feel like I am running on clouds.  seriously.  never underestimate the power of mew running shoes when you are training for another half.  they actually make me LOVE running. crazy, i know.

a huge stack of books that Sis and I read this past weekend.  they are all "Bluebonnet Award" books and she has a fun quiz coming up on all the books in March.  as an adult, these books were fantastic and Sis & I had great conversations over some of them.

sunny days are here in Texas.  how i love playing outside in the afternoon.

I hope you day is filled with all things that make your heart go pitter-pat.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Go check out even more fun Valentine's Day posts at this fun Tuesday link up:

p.s. what else do i love?  when you all visit my family travel blog and leave me some love there too.  today is all about ice cream!!!

Santa Said What?

Every holiday season, we look forward to Santa coming to our 'hood.

He takes the time out of his very busy schedule to visit all the adorable kiddos in the perfect setting.....the neighborhood pool.

Cause nothing says "Christmas in Texas" better than Santa sittin by the pool.  All we needed was a sunnier day.

And this year, Bubba has taken a particular liking to "Ho, Ho, Ho" (as he calls him).  He will sit on the big guys lap as long as we let him.

And tell him exactly what he wants for Christmas.

Santa may not understand his garbled 2-year-old-speak, but he did his best.

Brody of course reminded Santa of his 3-year request for a go-cart.

Bubba is taking good notes on how this is done.

And then Sis gets her turn, not holding back, tells him she wants an iPad 2.

He leans close to her, beckons her to get closer.....

and whispers, "If you believe in Santa....and Santa believes in you....he will bring you an iPad."

What?????  Thanks Santa.

Christmas? Me Stressed? Not yet......

It's Tuesday and it's 2 days until December and it's the beginning of the holiday season....I do not have time to BLOG.......  
Actually, I do - I am making every effort to relax this season and not get caught up in the holiday frenzy, so I am joining up with my girls, Shawn & Impulsive Addict (and yes they are MY girls, that's not just a saying, check out all the fun we had in Austin last May if you want to see why)Last week in Church, our pastor said something that I took to heart and am going to take to heart this Christmas season.  He was speaking on getting all caught up with the Holiday Craziness (shopping, decorating, baking, parties, etc.) - FYI: I love all this "holiday craziness", but HATE the stress that comes with it. 
He said, "Everyone is running around, obsessed with finding the perfect gift, when GOD has already given us the PERFECT GIFT when he gave us Jesus." His message was to relax and focus on the reason we celebrate and not get so stressed.
I walked out of there feeling so much more at ease with my lack of preparation for Christmas.  Being gone in Nowheres Oklahoma for 4 days didn't help get Christmas up, ya know.
So, that is my goal.  I want to feel relaxed this season.  Hmm, but can I really?
- We took down all the decorations on Sunday afternoon (over 20 boxes worth).  They are sitting in my garage.  It's Tuesday and we have only gotten the outside lights up, all my Department 56 (31 of them) houses put up above the cabinets, and the tree is up (no ornaments yet though).  Oh, and our stockings are hung.  How do I feel about living in Christmas chaos - no biggie.
- We do an advent calendar in which every night has an "event", like watch The Polar Express together, read A Christmas Mouse, go look at lights, etc.  This year, they might get candy in their Advent calendar.  I still have 2 more days to get that organized.
- I always stress out over the Christmas Card.  (don't judge me, you know you do too!!) I had the perfect idea for a family picture which the hubby nixed (truth be told, I felt a little relieved).  We took some great pics of the kids at the ranch and 30 minutes later online, we had a great card ordered.  yay.
- Our Elf, George, should be arriving for his visit on Thursday, December 1 - I have a feeling he is going to get into a ton of mischief thanks to my good friend Pinterest......
-And speaking of Pinterest, there are some amazing things that I really want to do, but again, it adds to the stress for me....

 thanks to ucreatewithkids.com 

 thanks to squidoo.com

thanks to centsationalgirl.com

And this is just 3 pictures of the tons of stuff I have pinned on my Christmas board....just the thought of "making" these crafts breaks me out into hives...... hmmmm.....rethinking the crafts....
-There are so many fun events happening here in Austin that I would love to do with the family.... Lighting of the Christmas Tree, ice skating on the roof of Whole Foods,  An Elf quote-along, Christmas shopping in Fredricksburg, and the North Pole Flyer.  We are actually going on the North Pole Flyer with a big group of friends - we have an entire car to ourselves for the 3 hours - so excited....
-Last year, we started a tradition that I want to continue - we hosted a Christmas Pajama exchange for Sis and all of her friends - it was adorable.  This year I am thinking of doing a separate one for the moms.  Instead of cocoa and cookies, maybe wine & chocolate???
- And Christmas presents?  I have a few things...I didn't do anything yesterday on Cyber Monday.....I just haven't gotten there yet....
So, as of now (Tuesday, Nov 29), I am officially NOT STRESSED about Christmas.  I am not going to allow myself to get stressed (I am going to keep repeating this to myself until it's true).  IS IT POSSIBLE?  We'll see......
Happy Holidays Y'all!!

Halloween 2011

Halloween 2011 was spectacular - it was one BUSY weekend!!

Matt & I were invited to a Halloween Party (Adults- eek!!) on Friday and went as Clive Bixby & Julianna - Modern Family...get it?  Yeah, most did not - I think we were a little too conservative compared to some of our friends...... 

 Pam, Sam, & Sookie.....

Heff and his "fiance"

On Saturday night we hosted "Fun, Family & Frito Pie" in the cul-de-sac.  I LOVE eating frito pie out of the frito bag and hanging with my neighbors as the kids get to freely play - so much fun and it was a perfect night for it!

And then came Monday - the kids got to dress up as a book character at school, so this often corresponds with how they pick their Halloween costume - can we find a costume that can fit a "character"???

Presenting, my Star Wars Clone Trooper and American Girl Doll, Julie (we stretched it with a Go-Go Dancer costume).  

 And who can resist my little monster??

 We have awesome neighbors to Trick-or-Treat with too.

Bubba was attempting to be "scary" - How does a Monster go????

This little guy got the hang of Trick or Treating REAL QUICK - he was adorable!!

"Trik Treet!"

"Than Too!!"

 My clone trooper was running all night - this is all I "caught" of him.

 He finally settled down with a sucker....

 And I actually got a picture with my cutie.

 I kept snapping pics of this one too - I know her time for Trick or Treating may be coming to an end soon.

Now to get creative with the 5 pounds of candy sitting in my house........argh!!!

Hope everyone had a GREAT Halloween!!!