It's a Beautiful Day

Saturday was a wonderful day. I got to spend all of it with my precious family. It started out with going out to breakfast. This is such a treat for me! Our passbook expires soon so we decided to make one last attempt to get our $$ worth. So, we thought we'd go to Cafe Brazil, but that coupon wasn't good until after 3pm, the we decided on a little French bakery near our house, but it had changed owners and would no longer honor our coupon, and finally we ended up at a diner across town. All that work to save $5. :) From there, we went to a birthday party for our friend's twin boys that turned 1 year old this week. It was a blast. JG got to play on a slip'n'slide, in a plastic pool, color with sidewalk chalk, pop water balloons, and eat cake instead of a real lunch!! Ava got to watch all the fun and take a nap in my lap in the shade. Jesse and I also got to spend time catching up with some of our friends. From there we headed to the Flight Museum. JG enjoyed seeing all the planes, but loved the space stuff. He also got to jump in a bounce house and was having so much fun that we had quite a struggle getting him out. (He even included the bounce house in his thank you prayers tonight.) Saturday made my heart overflow with joy at the privilege I have at being the wife of Jesse, the mommy of JG and Ava, and a friend of K's.

5 versus 2

On Tuesday, my friend Tracy and I decided to do something a little crazy. We took our kids to the zoo. All 5 of them, yes 5, and yes, just 2 mommies. Tracy's 3 little ones: Jaden (age 2), Caleb and Andrew (twins, age 1) and my 2. The night before our adventurous outing as I was packing our picnic lunch, I beseeched God for a pleasant day at the zoo. You know, the normal stuff like don't let us lose any children, let everyone come home with all their fingers, no gorilla attacks, and no throwing up please. I was afraid that if this outing to the zoo didn't go well that I'd never want to attempt going out again. Well, God came through. The day was wonderful! We made it through with only one minor incident.... a poopy swimsuit and a bath in the zoo sink, need I say more. I'll have to include no poopy swimsuits in my next zoo day prayer. So, we will be heading back to the zoo very soon. Possibly even next week. Anyone up for joining us?

Night Night Ava

Tonight when I was cleaning up JG's room, I put Ava in his rocking chair so she could watch. JG immediately climbed up in the chair with her and said "I read Ava a book." He opened one of his books and made up a story to go with the pictures. Either JG's story was really boring or she was really tired. You be the judge.

Playing Tag

I have lots of friends who love to blog. My friend Christy tagged me in a blog game, so now I have to post 8 random things about myself.

The Rules:**I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.**Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.**People who are tagged need to write their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.**Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Here goes:
1. I have some double jointed toes. I can move some toes completely independent from others. Creepy, I know, but it sure is useful when trying to multitask.

2. I hate drinking out of plastic cups. Well, disposable plastic cups are okay. Regular plastic cups sometimes peel and I can literally taste the plastic flavor in my drink. Yuck!

3. I really like cooking. I frequently browse Recipezaar.com and am addicted to watching the Food Network (usually during the kids nap time). JG already knows who Rachel Ray and Emeril are and sometimes right before Jesse gets home from work we watch a little cookin' together. He really seems to like it, and who doesn't love a man that can cook!!

4. I also love to read. As a kid, my mom would have to hide my books from me sometimes, otherwise I'd read the WHOLE day away. And sometimes, when I didn't want her to take my books, I'd lock myself in the bathroom with one!! I've probably read every fiction book in my home at least 4 times. I think it might be time for some new ones. Anyone read anything good lately?

5. Here's a list of things I wanted to be when I grew up: art teacher, librarian, writer of children's books, florist, mom, wife, and missionary. I've done 4 out of the 7! That's not too bad.

6. Jesse makes fun of me because I put everything in freezer. Chips, cookies, candy, grated cheese, and many more. If you want to know if something freezes well, you can ask me because I've probably tried it. I think it keeps things from getting old so quickly and I kind of like cold chips. Thanks Mom, I learned that one from you!!

7. Least favorite things to do (besides cleaning house): check my cell phone messages (usually because I don't listen to them very often, and when I finally do, there are something like 30 messages, and they are all out of date) and go to the doctor (that sometimes leads to mild anxiety attacks and spiking blood pressure).

8. Things I'd like to try my hand at in the next year: refinishing furniture, painting (canvases), photography, and running (I'm thinking of training to run a marathon... is that crazy or what!! I guess I'd need to buy a jogging stroller for that one. I use to run 6 miles a day or more in college but that is nothing compared to a marathon).

People I tag: Carrie, Sandi, Maren, Kim, and Kaela.

Play Date

Today, Ava had her first play date. Anna (4 weeks old) and her mom came to go consignment sale shopping with us.

I've Been Garage Saling

Merry Christmas early JG! I hope you like your new $5 bike.

Lifehouse's Everything Skit

A friend emailed me this link. It's a 5 minute skit depicting the struggle in the spiritual realm.

Ava's 2 months old

I'm a little late posting this, but Ava turned 2 months old on the 9th. She is such a sweet baby. I love how it only takes a quick swaddle, a few pats, and a snuggle to get her to fall asleep. She has started to try and suck her thumb, but more often then not, ends up with her middle finger and index finger in her mouth. You can hear her sucking on them in the middle of the night through the monitor. I guess she takes after me, I sucked my thumb too.

This months highlights include her first trip to San Antonio, shopping with me (without big brother), playdates at the Hewes' house, Rachel's 2nd birthday party at Pump It Up Jr., meeting the Courtney's, Thursday night dinners with Paige, and swimming at Nana's (well, not swimming, but napping on Poppy while we swim).

Doesn't she look cute trying to laugh at JG!!

Childproof?

JG has recently become able to open all the doors in our house. I use to be able to shut Ava in her room while I took a shower (to keep JG away) or keep JG out of the bathrooms with a simple close of the door. Not anymore. So, I decided to simplify my life and buy door knob covers. I was really excited when I put one on the pantry door this morning. I could now dream of days when I wouldn't have to walk into the kitchen and find whole containers of Oatmeal spilled on the floor or come running at the crinkle of a candy wrapper. Within 10 seconds of installing the cover, JG was in the pantry again. So much for childproof!

A New Recipe

Ingredients:
1 (4oz) container strawberry applesauce
1/4 cup whole wheat pasta, cooked
tomato sauce to taste

Mix tomato sauce and pasta, then add applesauce to taste.

Tonight, JG was eating strawbery applesause and some whole-wheat pasta with tomato sauce on it. I look over and he's adding the applesauce forkful by forkful to the noodles and stirring them around. I said "JG, what are you doing?" He looks up, smiles, and says, "Making a new recipe." He eats a noodle and proclaims "Mmmm, this is yummy!."

The Elusive Smile...

I have been trying to catch Ava's smile on camera for weeks now and have finally succeeded (well, Jesse did). She smiles all the time, but as soon as the camera is out, she starts staring at it like it is the most fascinating toy in the world.

Ava close up

Can you believe those beautiful blues?

Labor Day Weekend

Over Labor Day weekend, we all drove to San Antonio to introduce Ava to my (Jesse's)family. With a 2 month old baby who likes to eat every 2 hours during the day, and an energetic 2 year old, our 5 hour road trip drags on for 7-9 hours. When we were on track to go through Austin at 5:30, I decided to avoid the traffic and cut over to 281 through the Hill Country. We drove through the Balcones Canyonlands between Liberty Hill and Marble Falls. It was beautiful. One of the biggest things I miss about living down there is the proximity to the Hill Country and all the hills. Up here, the highest vantage point we have is from the ramps at Interstate intersections.

Now, each year on Sept 1, the dove hunting season starts. So my dad, brother, and I planned to go to my grandfathers ranch near Bulverde, a mere 30 minute drive from our house. I had a great time. I think I'm going to have to go on opening day each year now. Even though it rained earlier in the day, there were plenty flying between the front fields and the front tank. I shot 6 but could only find 5. These are some of the pics my dad shot while I was busy shooting dove :)



The following evening my grandfather grilled the dove along with the other fajitas we had at his house with the rest of my extended family. JG insisted on trying them. He liked them so much that he kept trying to get every last bit of meat off of the tiny bones. I guess they are just the right size for his little mouth. I can already see my little hunter in the making. I can't wait until he is old enough to come out with us.

Overall, I'm so glad we were able to make it down this time. Two days spent driving is never fun, but it was worth it just to spend time with the family. And it was worth seeing my parents and brothers get to play with my kids. Thanks for a great weekend, Mom and Dad.