Heading to Terrell for Spring Break

We started off our Spring Break with an oil change for the van.  Then we got into the van and drove for about 4 hours.  The kids did great traveling.  

 When we got there the kids were ready to play.  My cousin Mikey is 11 and has a lot of fun toys.  Addie made a bee line for the karaoke machine.

 Ben and Rett found the shooter guns.

 Mikey was so sweet with the kids.

 Garrett wanted to be like his big brother and play with the shooter guns.

 On Tuesday we went to Waffle House.

 Garrett was having fun with Nannie and Mikey.

 Aunt Laura and Addie were having fun too.

 Ben was ready to eat.

 I love this sweet picture of Mikey and Garrett.

 I forgot Garrett's booster seat so we had to improvise during meals.  This is how Garrett ate 2 pieces of pizza.  He was a happy boy while he was eating.

 He loves to cheese for the camera.

 Laura broke out her new scissors and did a few hair cuts. Nana went first.

 Ben's eyes crack me up in this picture.  He did really well for Aunt Laura, usually getting him to sit still is almost impossible.

 Aunt Wendy went next.

 Instead of going back to the Waffle House again, Nannie bought a waffle iron.  The kids were excited to help her make the waffles.

 Garrett was ready to help Nannie eat her yogurt.  Again he is sitting on the counter and he is a happy boy.

 Here is Uncle Bim walking with Garrett, they were so sweet together.  We were leaving the restaurant after eating dinner. Apparently I like to take pictures around meal times.

 Aunt Wendy and Uncle Joe being silly.

 Nannie's turn to walk with Garrett.

 Nana walking Ben to the van.

 Back at home and settling down for the night.

 All the ladies in their leopard print jammies.  I am not sure when this started, but Addie had leopard jammies and another person got a pair and Addie loves to match so we have all gotten a pair.

 Aunt Laura and Ben getting some snuggles.

 Nannie getting some fun time in on the tractor for the boys.

 And Pinot was there too.  The kids loved having her around.

We had such a fun time in Terrell visiting with all of our family.  I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of Quilter's Apprentice, my Aunt and Uncle's new shop.  It is a beautiful little store with a great selection of fabric and anything else you might need for quilting.  They always have beautiful quilts on display as well.  You can check them out at www.quiltersapprentice.com.

10 on 10 March

10 on 10 March 2012

Ten on Ten: Take a picture for ten consecutive hours to document the beauty in every day life.

This 10 on 10 fell on a Saturday, we didn't have any plans and we had a little girl who is still feeling a little yucky from a cold.  Even though she wasn't feeling well Addie was still ready to GO, so we loaded up the van and headed out for one of my favorite things, an Estate Sale.  I have the best husband ever because he was totally exited to go with me.

9:20 am  Headed to the Estate Sale, coffee in hand.

 10:20 Leaving the Estate Sale with my treasures in hand.  I always have a hard time with estate sales that are happening quickly after someone's death.  This woman's house coat was still hanging on the back of her closet door. Thankfully it was being handled by a professional company instead of the grief stricken family.  I did find some great things, and they will be put to good use. 

 11:20 After some driving around and looking at houses we were headed home when I asked Jon to let me run into this store.  It is just far enough from the house that we only pass it when we are on a trip and never want to stop.  I am glad I finally went in, curiosity satisfied and I don't think I need to go back. 

 Here are my happy shoppers.

 12:20 Still on the way home, we decided to stop and see the dogs that they have for adoption.  We know we can't get a dog right now, but Jon loves to look.  I mentioned it would be hard for Addie, but Jon thought she could handle it.  Of course she found a puppy that she LOVED and wanted to take home.  It was a ChiWeenie, the name itself is enough to not want to adopt it, but the puppy was adorable and I felt so bad tearing Addie away from her new best friend.  

 Jon agreed that we would no subject Addie to any more looking at dogs until we were ready to bring one home.  Isn't that the most pitiful face?  

 1:20 Back at home with a full belly of grilled cheese and chicken noodle soup.  Everyone was ready for a nap so that  I could head out for my usual nap time adventures.  

 This is how Ben spends a lot of his day. 

 2:20 Today's nap time adventure was different though because I was heading to a new part of town.  I have lived in Houston for almost 3 years and had never ventured to The Heights.  I recruited a couple of friends to go with me and we headed down to see what treasures we could find.  Here are Margaret and Anna outside our first stop.  Can you tell we were all excited for a child free afternoon?  

3:20 The shopping was so much fun.  I only bought one little thing, but the shops were so inspiring.  I was too busy looking and kept forgetting to take pictures.  There were some very high end antique and furniture stores, there was an amazing vintage clothing store, and a couple of antique malls that are still my favorite kind of shopping.  Do you like the rain boots?  I was ready for the mud from the mornings rain.  

 4:20 The shopping was fun, but the girl time was better.  Here I am enjoying a Pumpkin Spice latte, YUM.  I love that this place has them on the menu year round.  

 5:20 Anna got the award for best find.  This little two drawer piece was adorable and she talked the guy down on the price, Way to Go!

 6:20 We drove back out to the suburbs just in time for dinner.  I literally pulled into the driveway as the delivery person was leaving.  Garrett had a full belly and he was a happy boy.  

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my day!

Successful Shopping Trip!

I always feel a little crazy when I plan on taking all three kids out for a shopping trip.  Today I wanted to go to a garage sale and then to get new shoes for the kids.  

 Garage Sales are always exciting with all three kids.  Garrett did great, Addie shivered the whole time and looked as pitiful as she could.  I think she was mostly upset because they didn't have any killer whales.  Ben was a mess.  I still can't believe he didn't break anything.  The owners just laughed at him though and said he reminded them of their son when he was little.

 I ended up finding some really neat things, the lady that got there right before me bought $100 worth of amazing things and I am thankful she did or I would have felt like I needed to buy more.  I am looking forward to working on a few of these pieces, it is going to be fun!

The next step on our shopping adventure was to the outlet mall for shoes.  The outlet mall is about 40 minutes away, but well worth the drive.  We arrived at Stride Rite at the outdoor mall in the middle of a rain storm.  Trying to hurry with a baby in a sling and a heavy double stroller was not one of my more graceful moments, but we got into the store.  Measuring the feet of three squirmy kiddos when relatively well.  Just as we started to look for shoes Addie had to go potty, of course.  This happens every time, I think the 40 minute drive has something to do with it, so we had to get everyone back into the stroller, go outside in the rain again and go to the restroom.  Doesn't this sound like fun?  Some good news, Ben went potty outside of our house for the first time, we are really on our way to potty training him!

We made it back into the store and this is what we walked away with.  Garrett is the one that prompted this trip because he is now walking and none of the shoes that we had from Ben were the right size or kind of shoe.  Addie and Ben both got some new shoes that can get wet, because these kids LOVE the water and get into it whenever they can.  Addie got an extra pair of shoes for church because it was BOGO 50% and it only made sense to buy a fourth pair of shoes.  

We made it into two other store, Gymboree and Carters.  I knew it was time to pack things up when Ben said he had to go potty again and proceeded to pull down his pants and pull up.  Thankfully I stopped him in time so I didn't have to clean anything up, but we definitely headed to the van pretty quickly.
Now the trick is the 40 minute ride home, at lunch time.  Today I was prepared and had a packed lunch for all of us to eat.  The kids feasted on PBJ, chips, and apple juice while watching Rapunzel.  This is just another fun day, I hope you are all enjoying your Friday.

Rodeo Day

Here in Houston there is another holiday besides St. Patrick's Day, Rodeo.  The Rodeo comes to Houston for a few weeks and Addie's school does a Rodeo day that is adorable.

I tried to suggest clothes for Addie's look, but she put this together all by herself.  I love her little sense of style, and a little bit of attitude.  

 Ben was willing to take a few pictures, but by this point her was done.

 Garrett had little boots on for about a second.  This is the only picture I could get of him, when he stole his bother's hat.  This picture was taken right before Ben pushed Garrett down and took his hat back. It is hard to take pictures and protect them from each other.

 Jon and I were both able to go and eat lunch with Addie, hot dogs and baked beans, Yum!  Addie was so excited to have us there.

 Jon thought he was going to try and fit it, so cute.

Stickers!

 A big thank you to our friends Will and Drew for a special package of stickers in the mail.  Addie asks every day if she got anything in the mail.  She was so excited when I said yes.

 I couldn't pick just one picture, all three kids were just making me laugh.

 Thanks Will and Drew and of course Jen for our stickers.  If you ever want to make a child's day, just send them something fun to open in the mail.  It doesn't have to be big or expensive, but something just for them is magical.

I hope you are all having a great week!