momMY slice of life

Happy Valentines!

2012-02-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

I double heart love Valentines. Its one of my very favorite holidays. The way that we celebrate it in our house is a little different than the way it is commercialized, though. For us, Valentines is about celebrating LOVE, more so than romance. We celebrate the love that all four of us have for each other. A Mother's love, Father's love, sister's and brother's love, son and daughter's, and a Spouse's love. Of course, romance does come with being in-love with your spouse, so I do make an effort to make time for a little something special for my hubby, but that has never been the focal point of Valentines for us.

On February 1st of every year, the kids put out their little mailboxes.

Each night Daniel and I take turns leaving the kids a "love note" in their mailbox.

We also leave a small treat of some sort.

Every morning, the kids run into the kitchen and check for their "mail."

They love the notes as much, or even more than, the treats!

On valentines day itself, we ham it up all day long with a sappy, lovey dovey, mushy gushy appreciation for all things love.

We started the morning off super early this year. Daniel needed to leave for work by 6:30. The kids and I woke up at 6:00 am to have Valentine's breakfast with him. I'm so not a morning person, so this was really a sign of my love to him, lol!

We had red velvet pancakes, fruit salad, and a chocolate covered strawberry.

Then, I got Dylan ready for school. He and London both had the cutest valentines for their friends. I'll have to post pictures later because I can't seem to find them at the moment. But this is what Dylan took to his teacher, Mrs Lindemann. He decorated the envelope and was very proud of it. I put a gift card to Starbucks and a note that says "Love you a "latte" in it.

London and I surprised Dylan at school for lunch.

After lunch I went to his class room and helped all the kids make ice cream sundays.

The school decided to not have a Valentine's party, but the 1st grade teachers decided to let the kids have a little ice cream social. They asked the room moms to just drop the stuff off and they would handle it all. Well, Dylan's class had a Sub for the day, and I was so excited when she asked if I could stay and help her!!!

When Dylan got home, we spread out all his valentines and looked through them. This is always one of my favorite parts of the day! And London was asleep, so we had a little Mommy-Dylan time.

Dylan was very proud of his bag that he decorated.

Then, he and I made some mini red velvet cakes...

shaped in a heart, of course!

London woke up while the cakes were baking,

so she was able to help us decorate them.

Okay. Here's the deal with crafting, baking, decorating, or creating with kids.

All expectations of final product must be thrown out the window.

And then, its a beautiful, magical experience with a crazy looking product! haha!

But its made with love, and that's all that matters!

Here is my little cake...

And here is Dylan's.

London gave up on her's so I finished it for her.

Grammy came over, and once Daniel got home, we had our traditional valentines dinner. Sort of.

We usually have mini burgers and curly fries. When I went to the grocery store (on Valentines day, of course) they didn't have curly fries. I almost had a panic attack. And then I realized how silly I was being. This is what it sounded like in my head... " Who cares!? We'll have waffle fries! On to the bread isle... Nothing to use for mini buns!!!! Are you kidding!? Okay, I'll go to another store. But shoot! I don't have time. *Sigh* Okay, at least it will be burgers and fries still. I don't think it will scar my kids for life. Will it!?"

Its crazy in this head of mine sometimes.

*You should also note the balloons in the background. Dylan has gotten the same balloon tied to his chair for Valentines day since he was one year old. And London has had the same balloon since her very first Valentines. (I love a tradition, ya'll!)

We continued with our sappy-sweet tradition of going around the table and saying what it is we love about each other. It is so sappy, and to be honest,sometimes it feels a little silly to look someone in the eye and say what it is your really love about them, but I think its so important. I never want to wonder if the people I love in life really knew how much.

I hope each of our family and friend who read our little blog, know exactly how much we love you too!

Number 12

2012-01-29T19:10:00.000-08:00

Its Basket Ball season and my little ~~Dirk Nowitski~~ Dylan is tearing up the court. Well, he's having the best time ever, anyways.

Our big man is #12 this year.

This is his second year playing basket ball.

I get so, so tickled watching him play, because

I can just tell that in his little mind

the whole game is like one giant play.

Let me explain. Dylan is ALWAYS pretending something or another. When he isn't acting out a scene from Starwars or "Water Boy (a "movie" that he made up on his own... more on that later), he is drawing out a scene or writing a story down. This boy is amazingly creative. I love that about him and I want to nurture it and help it to grow. But I also want him to be well rounded. So anytime he shows interest in a sport.. I jump on it! And he loves playing ball with his friends.

But when he is out on the court...

I believe the court is a stage to him, the parents in the stands are his audience, and he is in a movie or play, pretending to be basketball star. His facial expressions are what gives it away for me. I pointed this out to one of my friends, who knows Dylan well, and she agreed that its seemed to be the case. She said "Oh! I guarantee he is playing some theme music in his head right now!" I bet she is right. And after that game, Dylan came to me and said "Did you see the serious look I was giving that boy I was defending!?" Its so funny and it makes my heart so happy. I love exactly who he is. If he wants to be athletic, we'll encourage it. If he wants to be artistic, we'll be just as happy and encourage that too. I just pray he is blessed with great talent in whatever makes him happiest and that he uses it in amazing ways one day. And that its to the glory of the Lord.

I hope I don't make it sound as though he doesn't enjoy sports, because that's not the case. I just mean that creativity comes to him much more naturally. At this age, the only important thing in sports is that he is doing his best and having fun. And he is doing both things beautifully this year. Daniel gave him some tips yesterday right before the game, and Brother must have been listening, because Ya'll...

MY BOY GOT A BASKET!!

The first basket he's gotten this season. AND the first basket of the game. And it was an amazing play. I went crazy-out-of-my-mind-psycho with excitement. I literally jumped out of the stands, started jumping up and down and screaming something crazy like "Oh my God! Dylan! You did! AHHHHHH". Most other moms sit nicely and clap when their kids score. I just laugh when I think about how crazy I must have looked. I knew most everyone sitting around me though, so I'm sure they just smiled and thought "there's Carla."

Dylan usually pumps his arms up in the air in celebration when anyone, on either team, scores. I would have expected him to do a small victory dance or something for himself, but he just smiled really big and kept on playing the game. The kid is much more cool, calm, and collect than his mom.

He's getting better with every game.

Who knows, maybe he'll be an athlete and a brilliant creative mind one day.

Or maybe just one of those.

Or maybe something completely different.

Who knows!

Whatever he does, who ever he is...

He'll be amazing.

I'm so proud to be his Mommy.

A Princess and A Knight at the Park.

2012-01-14T14:28:00.000-08:00

I used to roll my eyes at children who were out of the house in costumes.

And then mine started a love affair with pretend play and dress up.

Then I realized there is not one thing wrong with letting go of my pride (though most people actually smile and say how cute the kids are in costume) and letting them be a super hero, princess, ninja, or puppy dog for the day, even when we are running a quick errand. I think it encourages them to use their imaginations and is maybe even good for their self esteem.

So, behold.. my Princess and Knight at the Park

(if the park isn't the right place for costumes out of the house, I don't know where is)

Watch out, I may start letting them pick out their own clothes, matching or not, from time to time....

Most likely not. But maybe. ;)

London's First Hair Cut!

2012-01-14T14:12:00.000-08:00

London Paisley officially thinks she is a big girl.

I refuse to call her such, which makes Miss Priss angry, so we've settled on a big-little girl.

Anyways, she thinks she is all grown up now, because we took her to get her very first hair cut! Yes, I waited until she was 3 years and 3 months old.

I've been warming her up to the idea of a hair cut for months now.

She kept saying "NO!" very quickly when the subject was brought up.

But last week, I asked again, and all of the sudden she couldn't wait to "Get my hairs cut!"

So, I called and made an appointment for her and the most precious little girl salon for the next morning. Let me tell you, this little salon is bursting with sas and spunk and glitter. It is so cute, I can't even take it. Before London was even conceived, I use to walk past it and say (to myself or to who ever was with me) "I can't wait to have a little girl so I can bring her here." And I remember pushing London in a stroller once and passing this shop and telling my tiny baby girl, "Look, we are going to have so much fun here one day."

So, MY day, oops.. I mean HER day finally arrived and let me tell ya'll. It did not disappoint.

London had the biggest smile on her face from the time we walked in until the time we left.

Grammy, Daddy, and Bubba came with us (because its a first of something, and you know that is how I roll) and we all watched our princess get her first hair cut. We probably looked crazy. She looked precious though.

When they called her back to get her hair cut, she got the shiest little smile on her face. I don't think I've ever seen it before, and sat with it plastered on the entire time. She loved, loved getting pampered and is already asking when she can go back.

Grammy made the trip extra fun by buying a new "princess brush" and some glitter hairspray for our girl. Here's a little secret... Mommy can't wait to go back either. And best believe we're doing the nail package next time!!

Happy 2012

2012-01-14T13:59:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012, Ya'll!

Usually, I end an year with some reflection and begin a new one with goals and aspirations.

This year?

We just partied the New Year right on in!

We spent New Years Eve with some of our favorite friends, and rung in the New Year with lots of laughter, dancing, and even some fireworks.

2011, you were FABULOUS to us! Thanks for many, many sweet moments and memories.

2012, Lets kick 2011's butt, okay? :) Here's to the best year yet!

And the Rest of Christmas.

2011-12-28T17:23:00.000-08:00

After my brother and his family left,

the four of us and my mom headed to church for

Christmas Eve service.

Then we came home and hung out for a bit.

We had several sweet family members mail the kids presents,

so we put those under the tree and let them open them up

Christmas Eve night. We also let them open the gifts that they had

picked out for each other.

Before we left for MS my mom and I took the kids to Target and I gave them each $20 dollars to pick out whatever they wanted to for each other. I gave Dylan some hints about what London might want and I sort of steered London into the direction she should go. They were so proud of their gifts to each other. And I was so sure that they would each tell the other what they bought, but can you believe that neither of them let out a peep!! They must have gotten the tight lips from their daddy, because the sure didn't get it from me!

We laid out our cookies and milk and then tucked the kids into bed.

And then Jolly Saint Nick came for a visit.

And he sure was jolly this year.

Every year, I feel like I'm as excited as the kids for them to wake up and find their gifts.

I don't know what I'm going to do when the magic of Santa no longer lives in our house.

I guess I'll have to steel a toddler for the day.

Although, I think Christmas magic make even teens have the joy of little children.

All that to say, I do not take these years for granted. Not one little moment of magic.

Ya'll. If this ain't pure joy... nothin is.

I might start waking up extra early to do my hair and make up on Christmas morning from now on.

And that is Christmas 2011.

362 days until Christmas 2012.

Christmas Eve with the Fam

2011-12-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

We hosted Christmas Eve lunch our at house for my Brother and his family and our mom.

Yes, we drove 12 hours home and got in at 3:30 am on Friday, the day before.

No, I did not have groceries bought.

Yes, I did learn a lesson.

Once preparations (i.e. surviving the grocery store on December 23) were made,

everything else was actually very smooth sailing.

My big brother and the fam came over Saturday morning and everyone lent a hand in getting things ready. Then we sat down and enjoyed a yummy lunch and fabulous company.

My brother always makes fun me for taking food pictures.

The food each year is part of the memories though.

(You only think I'm joking.)

Then we did what the kids (big and little) like best...

GIFT OPENING!

First, I made them all sit still in front of the tree for a picture

(so mean!).

The picture bellow makes me laugh so hard. It is PURE sass from sister.

Lordy be.

My mom surprised my nephew with a Kindle Fire, and his reaction was amazing. I wish we had been recording it. He really did not see the gift coming.

And this, my friends, is my brother out gifting me.

He made my mom a beautiful photo book.

It doesn't even matter what I bought her,

a gift from the heart -that is beautiful to boot?

Game over. Bubba wins.

This picture makes me smile too.

London was literally dancing with joy when she opened

this present. It was a "bike with no wheels" aka Fisher Price Smart Cycle

that she had been talking about all month.

And I mean...

look at her face when the doll house was opened.

I think I'm as excited about that one as she is.

And then it was time for our annual family picture...

I think this was one of the most relaxed and enjoyable Christmas Eve's yet.

A Week of Christmas in Mississippi

2011-12-27T20:12:00.000-08:00

Last week we began our official Christmas with Family celebrations in Mississippi.

Its a 8-9 hour drive to my sister's house.

The kids did an AMAZING job traveling.

I would say that Mommy was the most grumpy on the road (did I just admit that?)

I'm so thankful that London is getting better at being on road trips. Until very recently she has not been a good little traveler. Dylan was always easy, but not our princess. But this year she is old enough to play with phones and electronics, watch a movie, color, ect...

Thank the Lord!

So our first stop was my big sister, Dee Dee's house. My oldest sister and her kids came over and so did some other family and we had Christmas that night.

Dylan was so excited when he opened his gifts. He cracked me up because he told me "That was so generous" when talking about his gifts. This kid amazes me. I love his beautiful heart and big vocabulary.

London was beyond thrilled with her karaoke machine and super duper cudley teddy bear.

These are two of my favorite girls.

My niece is 14 years old and is such a beauty.

The thing I love most about her is that she is as beautiful on

the inside as she is on the outside (which is something, because

girlfriend is GORGEOUS!)

And here is part of my family.

My two big sister are on either side of me and all our kiddos.

The above sentence makes me laugh because the guy towering over me

and the beautiful lady on the far right are my oldest sister's kids,

so they are (obviously) my niece and nephew, but they are actually several years

older than me. lol. I use to LOVE reminding them that I'm their aunt.

I woke up super excited on Sunday because we were having lunch with my Daddy.

If you know me, you already know this, but my Daddy is my heart. It makes me so sad

to only see him 3 or 4 times a year, but I cherrish each day I get to spend with him.

I know my dad will love this picture beacuse its him with almost all of his girls.

My other niece and my other Sister couldn't make it, but it was special to have this many of us together at once.

My dad always says he think my sister and I look a like, I see it in this picture.

And this picture will be framed ASAP because these are my two favortie men in the whole wide world.

Monday: McComb

2011-12-27T20:09:00.000-08:00

On Monday we packed up and drove two hours to from my sister's house down to Daniel's parents house. The live in the middle of no where on a river. No one gets cell phone reception or interenet. But its peaceful and cozy and its actually very nice to be "off the grid" for a couple of days, completely focused on family.

When we got to the house, the kids were beside themselves with excitement.

Daniel's siblings both drove in (all of us are at least 10 hours away) so it was a very special time to all be together. Our niece is a year younger than Dyaln and our nephew is just 3 months younger than London. This makes for an amazingly (loud and crazy) good time for the kiddos.

We spent lots of time playing outside. London's favorite thing at Memom and Umpa's house is always the hammock. Maybe we should think about getting one. She asked Umpa if he built it just for her! haha!

There's not much that is better than sitting on a swing or rocking chair with family and watching my babies run and stomp and have the time or their lives.

PS How cute are my babies in their matching Santa shirts!? Thanks Grammy

This picture makes me smile.

London not only loved playing on the hammock she loved snuggle time on it.

Daniel couldn't walk past her with out her saying

"Daddy, can you snuggle me on the hammock!?"

And how can you say no to that!?

Memom had lots of fun activities planned for the little ones.

They loved playing this fun game (why can't I think of the name of it!?)

Once the kids had gotten lots of fresh air and playtime in outside,

we headed in and put on a Christmas movie. We put all the kids on a pallet in the floor,

snug as little bugs.

Ya'll know I LOVE myself a Christmas movie.

I wish I could tell you it was cute, but shortly after we turned it on...

I found myself waking up from a nice little nap.

When I sat up, I looked over and saw this:

Memom making Christmas cookies with the kids. They are so blessed to have a sweet Memom that invest in making memories with them. I know they'll have lots of speical ones with her and Umpa.

That night we had a yummy supper

(thank the Lord for redbeans and rice that have been a cooking all day!)

and then Umpa treated us all to a bonfire.

We made smores and even sang a Christmas carol or two.

My sappy christmas-loving-memory-making-loving-cheesy ole heart could have burst.

Let me just tell ya'll. The picture above is so so funny to me. Dylan looks and acts just like Daniel. I mean JUST like him. But this whole stance, could serriously BE Daniel. Its so funny to me.

Umpa drug out this platform thing for the kids to sit on, but they quickly turned into a stage.

All the kids played on it, but London was pretty sure she was the fetured artist of this show.

Whats better than a cozy fire with your precious family?!?

And how cute is this sweet thing?

Tuesday: Another Fun Day in McComb

2011-12-27T20:05:00.000-08:00

Tuesday was fabulous for two reasons: 1) we did not have to drive any where and 2) we spent the whole day at Memom and Umpa's with the family.

We started the morning off a delicious breakfast that included Daniel's favorite: tomato gravy. Before we were married, I had never heard of this, but its one of his favorite things that his mom makes, and its super yummy. Then we spent some time relaxing and the kids all had a big time meeting their newest cousin, Dozer!

Next up was our gift exchange.

The kids loved everything and I was so impressed at how sweet and polite all four of them were. They are such good and sweet kids.

Then the boys went down and worked on building onto the house. I can't remember exactly what, but I was impressed with their handy work.

My mother in law and sister in law needed to run into town. They asked if I wanted to go, but being in the car was the last place I wanted to be ("town" is about 3o minutes away), so I volunteered to stay home with all four kids. We had fun playing with the new toys, playing outside, and watching movies. But I was glad when help returned.

By the time the other ladies came home, it was mid day and the kids were all still in pjs. I mentioned getting dressed, but Dylan declared it to be a pajama day. No need to pull my arm. I only wish I had known before I got myself dressed!

However, I didn't factor in walking the kids down to the river when I agreed to the jammie day.

Like I said, we are in the middle of no where, so who cares!?

I think it made our trip to the river extra fun.

When we got home, Memom was making Tristan a birthday cake for his 3rd birthday.

I'm not talking a round cake with icing thrown on it and some candles that is so pathetic you can't turn the lights off and sing Happy Birthday fast enough (hello, my name is Carla, and I am SO guilty of this).

Look at this bad boy!

I told her that watching her decorate was like watching cake boss!

We ended the night all snuggled up around the living room enjoying great conversation and even better company. I think we went to bed with happy hearts!

Wednesday: Family Pictures and Momma Ree's

2011-12-27T20:03:00.000-08:00

All of us kids live at least 10 hours away from Daniel's parents. So us all being together is something that is not always guaranteed or easy. Anytime it works out to happen though, Daniel's mom wants a full group picture. Understandably. And ya'll know that no one has to pull my leg to get my camera out. In the past we've gone into a studio, but this year I suggested we just do it in their back yard. I mean, what better back drop? Next year I think I'll hire someone to come shoot for us as our gift to the family, but for this year here is what I snapped:

My SIL, Lorie, took these (thanks!):

Then, we ALL packed up and piled into our cars and drove to our Momma Ree's house.

I'm ashamed to admit, but we don't always make it to her house, but I'm so glad that we all did this time. We had so much fun and made some fun memories.

I'm not sure who initiated it, but somehow we were all out in the back yard playing freeze tag. I mean, how fun is that!? Then, I looked over and had a brief moment of panic because London was not in the back yard. But then I noticed that neither was Momma Ree. So, I just looked around to the front of the house, and their they were, picking up pecans. London is still talking about picking up pecans and eating them. I use to do the same thing with my grandmother when I was a little girl and seeing the two of them threw me right onto memory lain and may have even brought a tear or two to my eyes.

We had our gift exchange with Momma Ree after that.

Her house was decorated so cute for Christmas.

I love the picture below. This is four generations of woman. Beautiful.

We so enjoyed our time at Momma Ree's. I think we made memories that the kids will never forget. We can't wait to go back again.

Wednesday Night and Thursday

2011-12-27T20:01:00.000-08:00

After Mamma Ree's we settled back into the car for another two hour drive to our sweet Grandparent's house.

Our Aunt Paula lives next door to the Grandparents and called to see if we wanted to go look at Christmas lights. This is one of my favorite Christmas activities to do, and the place that she took us was AMAZING. I don't think I've ever seen so many lights in one place. Dylan wanted to stay and have boy time with his Great Grandpa, so he wasn't with us. But I have a feeling that all four of us had a great night.

Thursday we woke up and very slowly got ready for the day. Almost the entire family came in for our Christmas celebration. The entire house was packed full of family. I told Daniel that I hoped he knew how special that was. Not every family is blessed in this way, and I feel so fortunate to that my kids get to be part of such a large and loving family. The day was full of happiness, laughter, and special memories.

And another Four Generation picture. How amazing that both of my kids are able to have this.

And my favorite picture of the whole day...

We left for home at the end of the party. We drove 12ish hours and got home at 3:30 am on Friday. Its always a bit of work to get back to Mississippi, but its always SO worth it.

Christmas Caroling and Catching Up

2011-12-14T20:27:00.000-08:00

Time for a marathon of catch up Christmas Post!

But first, a picture of my beautiful little man before he left for school this morning.
His whole grade went Christmas Caroling at a nursing home today. He was so excited about it. Because of limited space, they asked for no parents to come. I was a little sad, but Dylan said they had a great time. And he looked SO cute in his Christmas shirt that Grammy made for him!

London's Ballet Open House

2011-12-14T20:21:00.000-08:00

This morning, London had a special Open House at her dance class. Daniel went into work late so that he could come with us. The girls showed off a bunch of their dance skills and did two dances to Christmas Songs. They did not have to wear their usual uniforms and were able to wear something Christmasy. Grammy made London this top to match my favorite tutu. It was TOO cute. And so was the little program!

Christmas Cheer

2011-12-14T20:13:00.000-08:00

Hi. My name is Carla. And I. AM. AN. OVER. PLANNER.

Every holiday. Every Birthday. Every First. Every moment in my kids' and family's life, I always do it. I always over plan. I want to make all of life's special moments magical ones. Like Martha Stewart marries Halmark meets The Best of Pinterest magical. I over plan special moments and surprises. I can't help. I love it. But I almost never meet my own expectations. Luckily, I'm the only one who feels any disappointment when Birthday Breakfast isn't fit for a Family Fun cover or the tooth fairy forgets to sprinkle her magic fairy dust all over Dylan's bed or We don't do something Christmasy every single day in December.

I had the BEST of intentions for December. I mean, I had a whole Pinterest board committed to its goodness. Christmas magic was to fill our house and our lives almost every single day. Beautiful projects to be made, cookies to be baked, movies to be watched with peppermint coco, carols to be sung every single day, fun day trips to be made, and parties to be had. Most of those things happened, but on a smaller (more realistic) scale.

SO this week, we put on the most adorable aprons and baked some goodies (that were not Christmas cookies becaue I did not have the ingredients) for the first time all month. Lordy Be! The kids didn't care that we were popping out Christmas cookies. They had a blast baking a yummy treat for Daddy. And they looked SO DARN CUTE! It was perfect.

Christmas goodies are still on the agenda!

Dear Santa, She Can Explain!

2011-12-14T19:58:00.000-08:00

Christmas Pagent 2011

2011-12-14T18:50:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we had our annual Christmas Pageant at church. This year, Daniel and I were the directors. Well, I should clarify that I signed up to be the director. They needed someone and I'm a sucker for a Christmas Pageant. The day of the first rehearsal rolled around and I quickly realized I was a bit in over my head. So I told Daniel exactly what I needed from him and he totally earned Husband of the Year! I would say he was the director and I was co-director. Can I just say, that he is always their to bail me out when I bite off too much, and I love him so much for it!

Our kids were a Shepherd (Dylan) and a Sheep (London). This was London's very first time to be in a program of any sort and she did a great job! They both are naturals on the stage! I don't know WHERE they get their love for the spotlight from.
Here are some pictures from the night:

Oh, Christmas Tree... Oh Christmas Tree!

2011-12-14T18:40:00.000-08:00

We have three trees this year. Daniel was originally slightly annoyed with my antics. He's a one tree kinda man (and a one woman kind too, Thank you, Jesus!). But! Once they were all up, and he saw how very excited the kids were about them... his grinchy ole heart found its Christmas joy! He even told me that he was WRONG about it, and that I was RIGHT! That was just the star on the tree for me!

This is Dylan's tree. Its silver and I had already had blue and silver ornaments, so that's what we used. I let him and London put the ornaments on it 98% on their own. This is hard for me. I love a beautiful tree with perfectly spaced out decor. But this was their tree... and by golly... they got to decide how it should look. And guess what!? They did a fantastic job and were SO proud of themselves.

Dylan even put the star on top of his tree. I got so tickled with him because he said "Mommy, go grab your camera and take a picture of me putting the star on my very first tree. I'll show my kids one day!" Haha! Its not his first tree, but it is the first time he had a big (not a table tree) one.

By the time we got to London's tree, the kids were done with decking our halls. So I did it pretty well on my own. They did play in the room and sing Christmas carols with me (which I LOVED). And they did have a fabulous time playing with the tree's box, aka their private plane, choo choo train, and house.

Here is her tree. I love, love, love how girly it is. It makes my heart swoon.

And our family tree:

Christmas Jammies

2011-12-14T18:26:00.000-08:00

There is not much I like better than babes in cuddly pajamas. Make them a holiday pajama, and it increases the joy by 1000%

Christmas Everywhere

2011-12-14T18:22:00.000-08:00

One of the things I love about Christmas time are the decorations. I love that almost anywhere we go, people have decked the halls. We took the kids to see Puss and Boots at the first of the month, and I LOVED these giant ornaments. :)

Christmas Pictures

2011-12-14T18:20:00.000-08:00

Turkey Day 2010

2011-12-01T06:04:00.000-08:00

I have not been a good blogger.

But with the Holidays upon us, I have great intentions to be regular with my postings.

We'll see how that works out.

Thanksgiving was a week ago today (so I'm not THAT late posting) and we had a great time visiting with family, eating way to much, and of course Black Friday shopping! I think Black Friday should be a National Holiday. Actually, it should be a World Wide holiday. Nothing unites people quite like shopping! Only Kidding (mostly).

Our Thanksgiving celebrations started Wednesday when Daniel's parents arrived. We did not tell the kids they were coming. All day long I was so excited about seeing their reactions when they opened the door and Memom and Umpa were standing there. Dylan's reaction was pure excitement. London's was more confusion. She just stared at her Memom and then said "What are YOU doing here!?" I wish I had been recording it!

Dylan had things he wanted to show Memom and Umpa right away!

Wednesday night we just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company.

Thursday morning, as soon as I opened my eyes I thought "Oh SHOOT! I need to go get a paper!" I was about 7am and I was sure they would be sold out, but I NEEDED those Black Friday adds. So, I ran out the door and left Daniel to start chopping fruit for our fruit salad.

Luckily, the first gas station I stopped at had papers. Good thing, because I would have driven all over Denton if need be.

When I got back, I made some pumpkin muffins and Daniel finished up the fruit salad. Fruit salad on Thanksgiving morning was a tradition in family while I was growing up. I'v continued it for our family, and what was really cool is that Daniel's mom also grew up having the same Thanksgiving breakfast (except her family had biscuits with theirs). And of course, we put on the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. I love, love, love the parade. I've watched it every year since I can remember. This was my first year to ever host Thanksgiving though, and turns out that doesn't leave much time for sitting down to watch the parade. I enjoyed being in the kitchen with the parade on in the background and my two little ones watching it.

Mrs Ann helped me in the kitchen all morning and then my mom came over and helped set everything up. She also cooked at least half the food and brought it over. I love this picture of London and her two grandmothers.

Our Thanksgiving table. Not too shabby for our first go at it.

My brother and his family came over and they brought the Turkey. Your probably wondering the the heck I did. Sounds like I had plenty of time to watch that parade, huh? I really did do some cooking though, I promise!

We had an amazing spread of food. There was SO much and we have been eating left overs for almost a week. I finally told the kids I would make them eat it again after Tuesday night. And I STILL had to throw a bunch away!

*Side note: I always thought it was so silly of my Dad for taking pictures of the food anytime we had a get together. I got so tickled at myself for taking this picture!

Daniel's brother also drove up for South Texas to celebrate with us.

He stayed the night with us Thursday night.

All we were missing was Daniel's little sister and her sweet family!

This was the scene from the after math of Thanksgiving.

I hope everyone had a beautiful and special Thanksgiving. We sure did.

We have so much to be Thankful for this year!

TRICK or Treat 2011

2011-11-10T20:28:00.000-08:00

I feel like this Halloween was jam packed with parties and events. I'm really sad to tell you that by the time the actual night of Halloween rolled around, I was so tired and ready to be done with it. I tried my best to shake off the funk and still make the night fun and special.
We have a few traditions for Halloween night.

I always make a special dinner. This year I failed in a big way. I threw together some spaghetti and meatball and called in Mummy Face Pasta. No decorations or anything. Lame. But the kids didn't really seam to mind. Should this tell me something? Maybe I put to much pressure on my self when it comes to memory making and traditions? Hmm....

Then we trick or treat...

And my mom always comes over to hand out candy while we trick or treat...

Last year London was big enough to say "trick or treat" but she wasn't extremely excited about the whole thing. But this year, she was SO excited. She talked about "knocking on doors" all weekend. At the first house, she seemed just a little hesitant about the whole thing. But she followed Dylan lead and said "trick or treat!" when the lady handed her candy, you would have thought London hit the jackpot. She turned around and yelled "Ya'll! OH MY GOOOSH! I GOT CANDY!" and jumped up and down. I wish I were recording it with my video camera.

Dylan is a Trick or Treat Pro by now. He was so patient and kind to his little sitter, waiting for her and going slowly so that she could keep up with him. I think his favorite part was walking with our friends to all the houses.

Then, we usually come home and slip the kids into their matching Halloween pjs. Then we dump out all their candy and let them "ooh and aww" over the huge pile that they collected. And then we snuggle up and watch a Halloween movie while we sip on hot chocolate. That is not what played out. We got in later than I planned, so we went straight to the dumping and the "oohs and awws", the kids put on random pjs (they had slept in the matching ones the night before and London wet herself in them and I hadn't yet washed them), and then they went to bed.

I don't feel too too badly about it though. We've watched a Halloween movie every Sunday night in October. We've had several versions of "spooky" hot chocolate. And the kids were their matching pjs plenty of times. But next year, I will not let all of the hoopla leading up to Halloween overshadow the actual day. I might even cut back on what we commit to (probably not, but maybe).

Trunk or Treat

2011-11-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

Our church had its first (hopefully anual) Trunk or Treat this year.
They did an amazing job with it. There were games, food, bounce houses, and trunk or treating.
It was fun to see all of our friends and enjoy a family night together.

Halloween Costumes at the Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-10T20:06:00.000-08:00

One of the kids' sweet friend had a costume party at our favorite pumpkin patch the weekend of Halloween. Here are a few pictures of my two sweet peas in their costumes at the PP...

Grammy's Fall Festival

2011-11-03T05:44:00.000-07:00

My mom had a Fall Festival in her neighborhood a couple of weeks ago. She invited us to come over and go with her. Daniel had to work that day, so it was just the kids and I. The weather was perfect and the people in charge did SUCH a great job with the festival.

They had lots of little carnival games for the kids. London and Dylan both liked the dunking booth the best, I think.

London couldn't quite get the ball up high enough to touch the red button, even though they were letting her stand right underneath it. So, I held her up so that she could throw the ball straight at it. When I picked her up, I asked the man working the booth if I was going to get very wet. He said, "Just a little." BULL! I was SOAKED! Like, my face was drenched. As in my makeup was half on half off. Oh well! It was worth it because London and Dylan both laughed like crazy over it, and London was very proud of herself for dunking the boy inside.

Mr Tbll didn't have trouble knocking the red button and dunking the kid.

Also, London was enthralled with this bean bag toss. Its such a simple game, but I think she could have stood there throwing the bean bags into the holes all day long.

They also had a little "Fear Factor Haunted House" set up with lots of gross things in it.

London and I didn't love it, but Dylan and Grammy thought it was great.

We all did a cake walk, and London won once. She got a dozen cookies that she shared with all of us at dinner.

They had a small "pumpkin patch" set up. I think this was my favorite thing. The kids each picked a pumpkin and got to decorate it with paint pins that were supplied. Then we got take home the pumpkins.

Confession: I hate face painting stations. The thought of the same sponge and paint being used on kid after kid makes me sick to my stomach. When I see them, I dodge them like a bomb, distracting the kids as fast as I can and moving them as far away from the face painting as I can. No such luck this time. The kids saw it before I did. I originally was going to say no, but decided I should just let them. I mean, I haven't heard of a kids face rotting off due to catching a skin eating infection from face painting lately (or at all). I'm glad that I let the indulge a little. They both picked spiders and thought they were hot stuff. Please believe though, I will continue avoiding those booths like a prisoner and a jailhouse.

Thanks for inviting us Grammy! We had a blast!

London's Ballet Costume Party

2011-11-02T17:40:00.000-07:00

London's ballet class had a little Halloween party last week.
I took her to the store to buy a costume, but she was set on being a puppy and wearing a costume we already owned. Well, we got home and the costume was too small. I dug out this a Garden Fairy costume from her closet and she wanted to be a fairy right away. What makes me gitty about this little costume is that she actually wore it when she was 1 years old (it was big on her then... and she was a very chunky baby) and it made me crazy happy to see her in it again.

The thing that excited London the most about this party was putting together goodie bags for her class friends. I've done goodie bags a ton of times with Dylan, but this was the first time with London. She is not in preschool, so there has never been an occasion. We had a lot of fun picking goodies out at the store. She picked a little plastic pumpkin filled with candy, stickers, and small bottles of yummy smelling hand sanitizer (she loves any kind of lotions, soap, or sanitizer).

London LOVES makeup. She watches me do mine and begs me to put it on her. Of course, I don't usually, but for the special day I put a little blush and just touched her lashes with my mascara. She ooooohed and ahhhhed over herself for minutes. I asked her if she knew that she was beautiful and she said YES! haha! I'm glad that she knows it. All the girls looked adorable and they all had a great time. She sees Dylan get to have class parties all the time, so it was fun for London to have a special celebration too.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-29T20:48:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, we took the kids to our favorite pumpkin patch.
We've gone every year, except for the year London was born, since we've lived in Texas.
The first time we took Dylan, he right around the age that London is now.
I remember that day well.
Dylan was so excite about everything there.
The jump houses and "BIIIIG" slides were his favorites.
He did a crazy flip on the huge blown up slide. And scared the bajeezus out of us. (He was fine, TYJ!)
He was SO excited about the little train there, and I believe he rode it twice.
It seems like that was last week.

I can't believe that this year we took a SEVEN year old Dylan and his three year old little sister.
It makes my heart so happy.

And this year was better than ever.
London has been twice before, when she was one and two, but this was the first year
that she could do most everything there. She was so excited about it all,
just like Dylan was when he was three.
She shocked the socks off of me by going down that same huge slide that Dylan did that crazy flip on.
She is not a daredevil like her big brother.
I think its because she had Dylan with her though.
And I think Dylan loved having her there to play with this year.
I love seeing their love for each other develop and grow.

We had a great time taking hay rides, picking out little baby pumpkins, jumping in bounce houses, and running wild.
I planned to go several times, but this month was so busy that before I knew it, today was the 30th and we were going back for only our second visit this year. The patch closes after Monday, so I think two visits are all we're doing this year. Maybe we'll get to frequent it more next year. Because we really, really love it. And its a special place for our little family.

Here are pictures from our visit early this month
(pictures from today to come soon)

Life Lately

2011-10-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

Life lately...

has been very full.

Like something on the calender almost every single day for the past several months kind of full. We've been very busy and have done some really fun things, and I am so sad I didn't take time to blog about them while they were fresh on my mind. I'll see what I can recall...

We've had lots and lots of birthday celebrations lately.

I mean, we've litterally had a birthday party to attend every.single.week

since mid August. And this weekend, we had THREE parties, one each day.

This means we have lots of people in our lives that we care about and want to celebrate though,

and for that we are thankful! And who doesn't love birthday cake every weekend? (besides my waistline, that is)

The weather has been so beautiful for the past couple of weeks.

The highs have been in the 80s and low 90s.

Listen, this isn't perfect weather, but after dealing with

three digit temps all summer and no rain,

we will take it!

And we will spend as much time outside as we can.

At the park, walking the block, strolling the shops, anywhere we

can soak in the this weather.

Dylan's school is keeping us very busy also.

I love being involved in anything that my kids are involved in,

so I sign up to help with most anything I sign them up to be part of.

This means Londy and I are at the school quite a bit, and even more

so the past few weeks due to big events being held. I wouldn't have it any

other way, but sometimes I feel a little bad for sweet London having to tag

along everywhere. She's a good sport though! And my big helper. ;)

Last month we were busy with homecoming and spirit week, the "Fun Run",

the start of bookclub, and lots of other little things.

And last week we got to take the kids to do something very fun and special...

The CIRCUS!

We went with a few of our friends

and we all had such a great time.

The kids loved everything,

But their favorite part of the night was

for sure getting to ride the elephants!

I'm sure there are a thousand of other things I would have blogged about

had I done it sooner, but that's all I can think of at the moment.

Right now, we are soaking up Fall and all things Halloween.

We went to the pumpkin patch for the first time this year today!

London's BirthDAY

2011-10-06T19:27:00.000-07:00

If you know me, or have read this blog, ya'll know we do birthdays big
here at the Hilburn house. So, on top of throwing fun parties,
our birthday girl/boy gets to celebrate ALL DAY LONG on their
actual Birthday.

We start off with them waking up to ballons in their room.
London even slept in her bed so that she could wake up to birthday balloons
in her room!! (Big achievement!)

Then comes birthday breakfast:
London wanted a flower and her name.

Then comes presents...

My dad and Brenda sent her an LSU cheerleading outfit.

She LOVED it. This was her reaction when she pulled it out.

She said "OH MY GOSH!!!!"

I laughed so hard, I cried.

I hate character clothes/shoes/bookbags/anything.

But London saw this iCarly bookbag at Target and nearly

passed out from desire.

It went on super clearance and I sent my mom to get it.

So glad I did. She was beside herself with excitement.

We always let birthday child pick where to eat on their special day.

London picked Chickfila.

So, we went and checked Dylan out of school. (He left right after we opened gifts)

and headed out. But not before stopping to take a few Birthday Pics...

After Chickfila, Grammy took London to Target

and let her go on a mini shopping spree.

I was so tickled because London seemed like she really didn't

know what to do. I guess she is use to me saying "Not today.",

"No, Baby... Put that back."

So when my mom would say "Do you like it, London"

she would say yes but then put it back on the shelf.

We had to keep telling her she was getting to take some toys home.

So funny!

Then we headed to Chuck E Cheese for even more fun.

Please note these little boots.

London's best pal got them for her and

she no longer wants to wear any other shoe.

Then we came home for my favorite (new) tradition.

Letting the sibling make a birthday cake.

London decorated on for Dylan all by herself on his Birthday.

And Dylan was very excited to return the favor to London on hers.

He had many more ideas about what he wanted on his cake to her...

And I let him pick everything, from frosting to sprinkles

to writing to the shape of the cake.

Finished product...

London loved it and Dylan was so proud of his self.

I seriously love this tradition and cant wait to see how the cakes

get better and better as they grow up.

Who knows, maybe they will get each other cakes

even when they are all grown up.

That would make my heart so, so happy!

And that wraps up London's Birthday Extravaganza!

More on London's Pajama Party

2011-10-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

We had the party at a local dance studio.
They did such a good job with the games and entertainment,
and they were so helpful in set up and break down.
I'm sure they thought we were a little crazy when
we started walking in with tons and tons of decorations and props,
but they were so nice.

The entertainment was some dance games and a bouncy house.

I think the kids all had a great time.

London really loves to dance.

Sometimes, she gets a little shy about it,

but once she lets loose, she has the best time!

London has been talking for MONTHS about having a pinata at her party.

On our way to the party, she said "Did you remember the pinata?!"

And she asked me no less than 10 time during the morning of the party

if I would remember to bring it.

So I might would say that the pinata was her favorite part of the party.

Also, she seemed quite worried about the decorations.

For a few days leading up to her party she would ask things like

"Are you going to decorate my party, mama?", or

"How will you decorate it?"

The morning of, she said "Where are all my decorations?"

I assured her over and over that we were decorating and that she would

love it. I was just so tickled about this. She sounds just like her

mama, needing to know all the details of the party.

I'm a nut when it comes to having a plan.

Maybe London is the same way?

Also, she was quite excited about the cake.

She wanted to know who made it.

We actually got it from the Target bakery (doesn't it look great though!?)

and after we told her that, she kept saying

"I love the cake that Target made me!"

She is so funny!

My mom read all the kids, London's favorite book,

"Polly's Pink Pajama's"

London can quote almost every page of the book, so she really

chimed in to help Grammy read the book. So cute!

I looked over and saw Daniel sitting down next to London with his cookie

and milk. I love that he didn't hesitate to get down and enjoy the party

with our little princess. He is such a good Daddy.

At the end of the party,

London handed out
"Good Night Kisses"

to all of her friends.

This was just Hersey kisses bagged with a cute

tag that said "Good Night Kisses from London."
My wonderful Hubby put them together for her.

She really loved handing out her goodies.

We took her gift home and opened them.

I'm a fan of doing it this way because it feels

much less chaotic and I feel like we can focus on

each gift much better this way.

And that is for parties at the Hilburn house for this year.

11 more months until the next one :)

London's Pajama Party!

2011-10-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

We had London birthday party on Sunday.

Her all time favorite book is Polly's Pink Pajamas.

I'm not kidding, she ask for this book several times a day.

She can recite most of it. I don't know why she loves it so,

but she does. So, it was no brainier to me that she should have a, as

Polly would say...

"Pajama Party!

Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!"

I had a lot of fun finding ideas for this one.

And my mom was my right hand (wo)man.

Seriously, I could not have pulled it off with out her

and that sewing machine of hers.

They say that love is in the details.

If that is true, then this party was

exploding with love.

So much love, that I'm going to dedicate this

whole post to purely the "love" of the party.

This wreath welcomed our guest. It was actually the

wreath that my mom made for London's hospital room when she was born.

I love that we were able to reuse it three years later to celebrate that very day!

I bought these glass drink dispensers on the cheap this summer,

and they are one of my favorite buys ever. Putting a pretty ribbon

and cute sign on them is such a fun way to add a touch of piz-zaz to any party.

"Sunshine Juice" was Orange Juice.

"Pajama Juice" was Apple Juice.

Mommies need coffee with breakfast, right?

Now for my very favorite part, the food table.

I told my mom

that I wanted it to look like a bed. I wanted the theme of the table

to be "Breakfast in Bed". I asked her if she could make a headboard, and

man-oh-man did she deliver!

And for the food...

And another favorite was the kids' table.

I told my mom that I wanted it to look just like a made up bed,

and again... she hit the nail on the head!

And Ya'll. This is really one of my favorites...

as a party favor, I asked my mom if she could

make pillow cases for each kid.

As with everything, she exceeded any expectation that I had.

Oh wait! This might be my favorite! Lol! Actually, I couldn't

pick a favorite if I tried. I loved everything so much!

At the end of the party, my Mom read a bedtime story, Polly's Pink Pajamas,

of course. And we had cookies and milk for the kiddos.

And this? This is how milk should be served at a kids party!

This is another easy go to, fun detail that I always do for parties.

Again, I found these big tubs for super cheap at Target this summer,

and for any party I just throw a cute thank you framed on it.

And I have to brag on my sweet, sweet husband. He helped me all.day.long

Saturday getting ready for the party. And Sunday, he was

on top of things. I couldn't have managed with out him either.

Our Birthday Princess LOVED her party.

Just like her Mommy, she is already talking

about what to do NEXT year!

Happy 3rd Birthday, London!

2011-10-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

London Paisley,

You are three years old today.

Its hard to believe that could be true.

In part because I can't believe three years

have already passed since the day you were born.

In part because it doesn't seem as though

you've only been here for three years, because

I can barely remember life before you.

Three years ago today, you made our family complete.

I had prayed for a little girl for years, and on the day you

were born, that dream came true.

You are everything I ever dreamed a little girl would be,

and so much more!

You are funny and smart. You are sassy and kind.

You are bossy and opinionated. But, you are

quick to mind and are usually very well behaved.

You are feisty. You are very, very affectionate.

You give us hugs and kisses all the time.

You talk all the time. You love to sing and dance.

You love telling jokes and riddles.

You make me smile every single day.

Two was a fun year for you.

You made lots of friends.

Your communication skills blossomed beautifully.

You grew into a beautiful little girl, rather than a small toddler.

You learned so many new things.

You began dance lessons and swim lessons.

You even got to moved out of the nursery and into a Sunday school class.

Two was a great year, but I believe three will be even better.

You have lots of fun things planned for you this year.

There will be lots of playdates, lessons, trips to the park,

snuggles and kisses. I know your going to grow and learn

so much more this year. I can't wait to watch you.

You bring so much spirit and joy to our family.

You are so beautiful, inside and out.

I love you more and more every day.

Love Always,

Mommy

Party People

2011-09-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

I try to be very careful to not post pictures of other

people's kids on here. So, while I have tons of pictures of

all of our sweet little pirate guest, I'm limited to what I can share.

But here are a few pics so you can sneak a peak at how much fun the kids all had.

Arrrgh! Its a Pirate Party!!!

2011-09-23T19:25:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across a pirate party several months ago and new

instantly that I had to talk Dylan into picking pirates as his theme.

Luckily, it wasn't too hard to get him to jump on my party train,

or should I say...

my party ship!

I'm a believer that love is in the details and that love is what

makes a party special. I researched more hours than I will

admit too and bookmarked tons and tons of websites.

I was so happy with how it turned out.

But most importantly, My Birthday Boy had the best time.

I am so sad that I did get more pictures, but I was running around

like a chicken with my head cut off, and I didn't think to hand my

camera to a friend. :( Lesson learned. Actually, I might start

hiring a photographer?

So here are some of my favorite details:

All Little Pirates need some yummy Grub...

The "grub" table included (from left to right)

Cupcakes. I can not even believe that I didn't get picture of them. They were SO cute!

Some were white with red x's and some were blue with white skull and cross bones.

PBJ roll ups held together with little pirate swords. My hubby get credit for that cute

little detail.

Polly's Crackers (Cheeze Its) and Peg Legs (Pretzel sticks)

Veggie Grub (Veggies and Ranch)

Arctic Water (was meant to be ice water. But we forget the ice,

so it should have been called Caribbean water)

Pirate Punch (fruit punch)

Love the flag. My mom made it for Dylan.

On the kid's tables, we had Pirate Punch (strawberry soda)

and Pirate Juice Boxes for little siblings.

Pirate Grammy welcomed our little guest and transformed them into Little Pirates!

This was such a small detail, but one of my favorites.

This was his gift table:

X marks the spot letting our little Pirates know they've arrived

to their destination!

Daniel and I planned the games together.

He is pretty fabulous at this sort of thing.

First up,

the Pirate's need to have some Pirate Training

before become REAL pirates.

We set up an obstacle course.

First, the kids "walked the plank"

Second was a Peg Leg Race. Kids hopped on one leg to the

buried treasure.

Then, they dug for treasure... with their TOES!

And lastly, they had to crab walk back and tag the next pirate to go!

Daniel and I showed them how its done:

Then we had a "Cannonball Toss".
AKA water balloon toss.

I think this was the favorite for a lot of the kids.

Our last game was a Treasure Hunt. Daniel set clues all over the park.

At the end, the kids found a treasure chest pinata.

Sadly, I did not get any pictures of the treasure hunt.

And then comes CAKE!

And again, I can not believe I didn't get a picture of it, but Dylan

had the cutest little cake. We only used it to blow out candles at the party

but we did eat it the next day at my moms.

*Whew*

Now its time to start planning next year's party!

Just kidding!! (kind of)

Dylan's School Birthday Celebration

2011-09-23T06:55:00.000-07:00

I made the mistakes of asking Dylan what kind of cupcakes he would like me to make.
He said Power Rangers.
I said, "Okay! Which one!?"
"All of them" he tells me.
"Like, some of each color"
*sigh*
There are 5 colors.
And.
They all have different mask designs.

But, what my Birthday Baby want, my Birthday Baby gets!

London and I took them to his school and stayed to celebrate with his classroom.
The kids were all so excited about the cupcakes and went on an on
about how "cool" they were.
And my boy was beside himself with joy.
Worth it!

I really am glad that I made those cupcakes, even if they were a little bit stressfull.
But next year, I'm thinking I'm going to just suprise Dylan
with a (simple) cupcake design! :)

Dylan's Birthday (at home celebrations)

2011-09-22T12:36:00.000-07:00

I mentioned it briefly in a previous post,

but birthday are a big, big deal here in the

Hilburn house. We like to go all out!

By we, I mean me, of course. I never fail to make tons

of work for myself, pouring all sorts of details into the day.

My hope is that I also am not failing to make magical memories

for my babies.

My parents always did it big for birthdays, and I have the

BEST memories from them. So, I guess we know where

I get it from.

But by the end of a "birthday week", yes we celebrate as much

as possible for a whole week, I am so tired that I can barely

stand up straight.

But the kids talk about their birthday week ALL.YEAR.LONG.

Worth it.

So, so worth it.

So lets get started with Dylan's SEVENTH birthday week.

Birthday Breakfast!

Per my Birthday Boy's request, Power Ranger Pancakes.

Every year, I leave the kids gifts on the kitchen table so that theysee them as soon as they wake up. We open them after breakfast.

A few months ago, I was online and saw the neatest idea tothe birthday boy/girl's room up with balloons the night before their birthday.I knew instantly that this needed to be a new family tradition.Once the kids were asleep (they both slept in Dylan's room), Daniel and I blew up a tonof balloons and threw them in the room. I was so scared the cat or dog would popone and wake the kids up in state of panic (NOT the surprise I was going for, but thankfullyall went well. Dylan and London were both just beside themselves about the balloons.

Another thing we do every year is let the birthday person (we do this for grown ups too!)pick a special place to go eat. Dylan has chosen hibachi several years now.

Everyone loved it.At the end of our meal,they brought out this cute hat and sang happy birthdaywhile someone played bongos.It was so fun.Londy says she would like to go there for her birthday too!

As our big gift to Dylan, we took the family to Lego land.

For dinner, I told Dylan I would cook anything he wanted.He asked for chicken nuggets and mac and cheese.I didn't complain about the simplicity of it, not one little bit.That evening, I baked Dylan a cake and let London decorate it all by herself.Ya'll. Its hard for me to let go and not worry about thing being pretty.But London was SO proud of her cake and Dylan was too.Worth letting go.

Our sweet friends and neighbors came over and sang Happy Birthday and had cake with us.

Happy Birthday, Dylan!

2011-09-05T19:58:00.000-07:00

I feel like I was just sitting down yesterday to fill out pages in his baby book, but atlas I'm sitting down tonight to write down Birthday wishes for my sweet baby's 7th Birthday. Dylan is seven years old today. Wow. That does not even seem possible.

We had a wonderful day that was full of fun and sweet memories. I can't wait to post every single detail, but I am so tired that I can not even see straight, so it will wait for tomorrow. Birthdays are a big deal here in the Hilburn house. I mean, they only happen once a year, right? And you only turn 7 (or 3, or 25, or 30, or...) once in your whole life! If Birthday's don't call for celebrating in a big way, I just don't know of anything else that does. My goal is always to make the day special and full of fun from the moment our Birthday boy or girl wakes up until the time the go to bed. Its a lot of work and planning, and at the end of the day I feel like I've been hit by a train, but its all SO worth it. We're investing in memories here. That's what I tell myself and Daniel.

Again, I'll do a full recap soon, tonight I just want to record a little note for my Birthday Boy. We go back and read the blog as a family from time to time, and I also plan to print it soon, so I treat it much like a journal. So, bare with me if your not into the mushy gooshyness that is about to ensue.

Dylan,

My sweet, sweet Sunshine. I can hardly believe that you are seven years old today. I know I say it every year, but I feel like I was just holding you in my arms and rocking a newborn baby to sleep. Now, you are a big boy that still loves for your Mommy to hold you in my arms while you fall to sleep. You might not fit cradled in my arms any more, and your getting closer to outgrowing my lap, but you will never outgrow the love I have for you in my heart.

I remember once taking you to the mall when you were a tiny baby. You were probably about 4 months old. While we were strolling around, I over heard a little boy asking his Daddy for a guitar. The dad said "Maybe when you turn seven in a few months." I looked down at you, a tiny little baby, and thought "Wow! One day HE will be seven." Back then, that seemed like light years away. It would surely take you thousands of years to turn seven, to become a kid and not a baby. I'll never forget staring at you and wondering what you would be like when you finally did grow into that seven year old kid. I wondered if you would want Daddy to buy you a guitar or if you would want action figures, or maybe video games? What would you look like and how would your voice sound?

Let me tell you, Love Bug, you are every bit as amazing as I ever dreamed, on that night or any other, that you would be.

You are funny and smart. You make us laugh every single day. And there aren't any days that go by that we are not impressed by your smart little brain. You are a fast learner and are eager to learn all sorts of new things. You remind me so much of you Daddy in that way. I hope that trait sticks with you for all of your life.

You are kind and compassionate. You blow me away with the kindness inside your heart. I can't even put words to it. You are just a ray of pure sweetness. You are of course like anyone else and can be angered or maybe you act ugly from time to time, but it really is a rare thing. Again, I pray that this sticks with you for the rest of your life.

You are SO creative. You are always creating. Coloring, playing make believe, writing stories, writing songs and movie scrips. I really believe that you will do something with all that creativity one day when you grow up.

I don't mean to make it sound as though you are perfect. No one is. You make mistakes. We have bad days. You and your sister fight. You are typical little boy in that way. And there is not one thing wrong with that. You not perfect, but you are perfect for us. You are the most perfect fit for our family and we love you so, so much. You were a big surprise when you came into this world, Dylan. But I have no doubt in my mind that you were God's exact plan for me and for Daddy. You made us parents and you made us a family. You taught us a love that we could have never imagined. And you teach us new things all the time.

Seven is going to be great for you, my love. You will have so much fun in first grade. You're going to love all the new opportunities that seven is bringing you. Some things you are already looking forward to are, boyscouts, sleepovers, and baseball. And there are so many more that you haven't even thought of yet. Six was brilliant and such a fun year, but I think your going to love seven even more!

I love you with all of my heart. As big as the sky.

Mommy.

Celebrate!

2011-08-30T05:09:00.000-07:00

This weekend was all about celebrating.

Saturday morning, London and I slipped out, just the two of us, to celebrate a beautiful little birthday girl who was having her 3rd birthday! "L's" party was so much fun, and London had the best time. The highlight for Miss Priss was definitely getting to ride a horse! She is still talking about it..

Saturday evening, my mom came over for Dylan's favorite meal...

Breakfast for Dinner!

This was not meant to be anything special, just some breakfast foods for dinner, but one thing led to another and the next thing I know it became an event of its own.

Dylan decide he would set the table for us.
He did it "all fancy".

Then he decided that he needed to write the menu on our kitchen chalk board.

Which could only mean that our kitchen was now a restaurant.

And a fancy one at that.

Dylan was our waiter.

After a delicious dinner,

Dylan decided a dance party was in order.

So, dance we did...

Dylan cracks me up with all the things he thinks up with for us to do.

Sometimes I wonder where he comes up with this stuff.

We love it though and want to encourage his creativity and love for the small things that make life so fabulously grand.

Speaking of fabulous and grand, Sunday was our fabulous Daddy's birthday and it was quite grand. Actually, it was completely laid back and relaxed, but that's exactly what he wanted and so its what he got, which is grand. :)

I am cherishing all these sweet moments of life. Its always in the back of my mind that sooner than later my babies will be all grown up and life will be so, so different. I'm thankful everyday for being Mommy to my two sweet babes and a wife to an amazing man. Its a privilege that I try to never take for granted.

Here's to celebrating life and all of the little moments that make it so sweet!

My Little Ballerina

2011-08-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

My beautiful baby girl is now a Ballerina.

I'm going to fess up, and admit that this is actually her second week of ballet.

Her first day of class was last week . I brought my camera, but if you know me, you already knew that. The only problem was that I failed to make sure the camera had its memory card in it.

*sigh*

By the time she got home last week, her hair had fallen down and she just wasn't

"Look at me this is my first day of Ballet" picture ready.

So we're faking it.

For sake of picture taking...

this is her first day of ballet (with mommy's camera).

Look how beautiful this sweet ballerina is...

The thing with London is that you really never know how she is going to react to something new until she reacts. Vacationing with her is never extremely easy because she does not always do "new" well. Leave her in her routine with things she knows well, and she is the sweetest, happiest little love bug. Go with the flow, she is not though.

Before her first class, I told Daniel that I was just holding my breath that she would like it and want to do it. Here's another thing about London... if she doesn't want to do it, she's really not going to (with out a big fight anyways). In the days leading up, I would ask her if she was excited and some days she said she was, but some days she would give me her best pout and say "NO! I'm not doing ballet!"

So you can imagine my relief that she doesn't like the class

she LOVES it.

Thank you Lord!

Its so sweet to watch her in class. She listens and follows directions so well. I could just eat her up with a spoon, she is so sweet and cute!

I can hardly wait until her first recital!

First Day of First Grade

2011-08-23T16:26:00.000-07:00

Its official. My little man is a First Grader!

He was so excited about starting school, that he actually asked to go to bed Sunday night. And that's really something coming from a kid who is always asking for one more _____... whatever he can think of to get out of going to bed.

Lets talk first day now:

I always make a fun breakfast for the first day of school. Those who know me well, know how I love an excuse to celebrate. And going to first grade? That's a great excuse!

I saw these rainbow waffles on the web a few weeks ago and I instantly knew they were going to be part of our first day festivities. How cute are they?! The kids loved them.

We got dressed and headed out the door to....

TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES!

Here is my little man ready for the first day!

THEN we headed to school.

For the first time since Dylan's been in school, and perhaps the last for the year, we were early enough to have to wait in the cafeteria. I was sorta impressed with us.

I have this same shot for every year that Dylan's been in school. Stay tuned for the "Over the Years" photos.

After about 10 minutes in the cafeteria, we were dismissed and sent to the classroom.

I remember the first day of Kindergarten, Dylan was so timid and unsure of what to do. This year, as a first grader, he was sure and confident. He didn't look to us for help, he simply did as he was told by his teacher. He gave us a quick kiss and was ready to start the day.

Mommy, on the other hand, was ready to take a seat in the corner and quietly watch for the rest of the day.

As seems to be our tradition, we took London to the park for some special time with Daddy and Mommy. We wanted to make the day fun and special for her too, because we know its an adjustment for her, just like for the rest of us.

I couldn't wait for Dyl to get home and tell me all about his day. He had a great time and so far, loves the first grade. He did note that its going to have "Hundreds of sheets of work" every day, but he's not discouraged about that! Here's to a great year for our sweet boy!

Dylan,

We are so very proud of you.

We know you are going to have an amazing time in the first grade and that you are going to learn and grow so much this year.

My prayer for you this year is that you will have lots of fun, make lots of friends, and learn lots of good stuff. And that above all, that you always feel how very loved you are.

Sunday night I sat down with Dylan and "interviewed" him about becoming a first grader, just like I did when her entered kindergarten. The answers were cute and pretty funny. I'll post that soon. Tomorrow is all about our princess starting ballet!

Meet the Teach & Sunday School Promotion

2011-08-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

I'm still in slight disbelief that summer is over.

That could be partially due to the fact that it is still over 100 degrees

with no change in sight.

*sigh*

But, we are ready for school to start

and SO ready for fall.

Friday night, my sweet love bug had "Meet the Teacher" night at school.

He was so excited about it. He woke up on Friday counting down the hours until

he found out who is teacher was and who was in his class.

And for some reason, Mommy had a few butterflies for him too.

But of course, everything went great!

We are very excited about Dylan's 1st grade teacher.

We've heard nothing but great things about her, and

we know it will be a great year.

Dylan was a bit bummed because he had three friends that he was

REALLY hoping to have in his class and he didn't get any of them.

BUT he does have at least five friends in class with him,

and he is very excited to meet knew friends.

And I just have to take a moment to brag on my sweet, sweet little man.

One friend that he really wanted to be in class with,

is in the classroom across the hall.

When we got home and were talking about it,

Dylan said

"I'm pretty sad that "H" isn't in my class. But I am

so happy for him, because he got "T" in class with him

and "T" is his very best friend."

Dylan has the most kind and tender heart of anyone I know.

I told him I couldn't be prouder of him !

This morning was also a big day.

It was Promotion Sunday at church.

Dylan went to the 1st grade class,

which made it pretty legit that he's a

first grader, in his opinion.

And this is the part that just really blows my mind.

London is no longer in the nursery,

but is now in Sunday School.

I'm mean, really?

I swear I just had her.

She was so excited and so proud

that she got to go to Sunday School.

She thinks she is a big girl now!

So Long Summer!

2011-08-19T19:31:00.000-07:00

Summer 2011 sure was good to us.

I can not even believe that its come to an end.
I feel like I was just counting down the days
until school let out.

I've been pretty MIA from blogging.
Mainly because there just hasn't been tons and tons to write about.
Its been over 100 degrees for something like
50 days.
Ridiculous.
I have never taken so few pictures in a month
as the number I took in August.
I think its something like 50.

Its too hot to lung around a camera.
Its to hot to do much of anything.

This is what our Summer Days have looked like...

Staying up late and "sleeping in" (this means 7:30-8am)
*this is how the sleep all the time, melts my heart*

Staying in doors as much as possible.
*Daisy says it really is the dog days of summer.*

Making a weekly trip to Chickfila with our friends.

Swimming. Though, we have gone much much MUCH less
this month than we did the first of summer. Its to hot for
anything, I'm telling ya!

Occasional outings to the snow cone stand or yogurt shop.

Lots of inside playtime with playdough, coloring, board games, puzzles,
and best of all, our imaginations

Getting ready for Ballet and School to start!!

The kids had their first paid baby sister a couple weeks ago. Mom and I went to see The Help. It was SO good and it was special to see with my mom, as we were both born and raise in MS.

We had a "big" outing last week.

Dylan went to work with his Daddy.

*Cutest thing ever*

I don't know who was more excited, Dyl and Daniel.

My mom, London, and I all met up with the boys during THEIR lunch break (so cute!) at our favorite mall. After lunch, Daniel headed back to work and the rest of us did a little shopping and lots of playing..

Then we went back to Daniel's new office for a tour of the place.

Notice half the pictures in this post are from that one day.

Lol. Its pretty much the only "big" outing we've done in a while.

I can't wait for Fall weather.

I plan to be outside

All.The.Time!

We made this two weeks ago...

And now its down to just a few rings.

Monday is the first day of school,

and as sad as I am to see Summer leave,

I'm excited to start the school year!

So long Summer,

thanks for being so good to us!

See ya next year!

A Crazy Weekend.

2011-08-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged much lately,because there has not been much to blog about.
Life has been pretty uneventful
and that's not a bad thing.
We've just been chilling out,
trying to stay out of this crazy heat,
and enjoying summer.

This weekend, however, was...
eventful.

My sweet boy started having some real tummy pains on Thursday night.
We had a really rough night and had trouble sleeping due to the pain,
but he eventually fell back to sleep, and slept through the rest of the night.

Friday came and he seemed to feel completely better.
A few times during the day, he said
"My tummy hurts just a little bit"
but nothing major.
He wasn't his normal peppy self,
and spent most of the day lounging
and watching TV.
I just chalked that up to him not sleeping much the night before.

Friday night, he fell asleep with out much of a problem.
He still was saying it hurt just a little, little bit.
Well, around 2:00 the in the morning
he woke up in a lot of pain.
I tried to get him to breath through the pain,
relax, take a warm bath, watch cartoons to get his mind off of it,
or anything else to help him get through the night.
He had no fever, so I really wanted to make it through the night
and take him to his Pediatrician in the AM.

The pain eventually was seeming way to bad to be normal.
I called my mom and had her come stay with London
and Daniel and I took Dylan to the ER.
They were so nice and friendly and so quick!

The Doctor recommended a cat-scan.
At first glance, it seemed he did have appendicitis,
but with further review he did not.
Turns out he was just...
very backed up
(to say it nicely).

So, some medicine and strict diet and two days later
Dylan is back to his normal little self.
We are so thankful.

We are going to follow up with his Pedi to see if there
are things we can do to avoid this in the future.

I have to say,
I was SO impressed with my sweet boy
while he was in the ER.
He was so calm and brave
with everything that had to be done.
He had to have an IV,
which I was nervous about,
but he did not shed one single tear
or even jump when they put it in.
He wasn't phased by the cat-scan.
He was just so grown up and brave.
We were so proud of him!

As I said, we are so thankful that this was something
minor and that could fixed easily.
I kept thinking how grateful I am for our healthy family.
Its such a weird feeling to see your child
getting a cat-scan and seeing all his little insides
on the screen. Thank You, Jesus, that we didn't
find anything badly wrong in his body.

Today, we are going to go have fun and enjoy
being healthy and feeling great!

And by the way..
I can not even believe its the last week of summer!!!
CRAZY!

Umpa Meom and Paw Paw!

2011-07-19T16:28:00.000-07:00

The Rest of Our Vacation

As sad as we were to not have more time at the Grandparents' house,

we were equally as excited to get to go down to Daniel's parents house.

They live on a beautiful river

and it is oodles of fun to be there.

When we arrived, we were greeted by some special guest.

Four furry ones.

London and Dylan were so excited about the kitties

you would have thought it was they were the best thing ever.

They were pretty darn cute!

Dylan made a b-line to his favorite spot at Memom's and Umpa's, the hammock.

I mean, it was literally like

"Oh, We are so glad ya'll are here! Where is Dylan?"

because he was already in the hammock before we had even

hugged necks!

In the same way that open space is with soft green grass

is our sanctuary of sweet goodness at the Grandparents,

this beautiful stretch of river is just plain happiness.

The kids love, love, love to skip stones into the river with Umpa.

And we all love slipping our shoes off and wading through

the cold water of the river.

Seriously, look at these views.

And I really didn't get a picture that does it justice.

Every time we are down there

I think to myself

"This is the perfect place for Yoga"

I mean a view like this just feeds the soul

spoons of peacefulness, no?

Too bad I don't do yoga.

After a little river time

we headed back to the house

for what might be my new favorite dish!

Memom made a Eggplant casserole that had

shrimp, ground beef, cheese, and tons of other

yummy things in it.

Seriously...

SO good.

I'm gonna have to get that recipe!

Just like in the country

(actually, this is also the "country" but I always call it the river")

the kids went straight to sleep.

Fresh Air and lots of outdoor play

its the best remedy for sleep, I think.

Daniel and I stayed up

and enjoyed some grown up time

with Umpa and Memom.

We always love this time with them.

When we woke up,

we had biscuits with the yummiest homemade jelly.

Then, my littlest bumkin went with Memom

and Daddy to do some morning gardening.

Sister makes a great little country girl.

And she rewarded herself with a little R&R in the hammock.

Daddy tried to snag a turn,

and London and I had lots of fun trying to flip him out.

I'll let you guess if the two of us were

strong enough for that one!
He's so sweet though

and let us "flip" him for fun,

which London thought was the best thing ever.

Lorie, Daniel's little sister, came down with her kids

and all nine of us jumped in kayaks and took a little trip down the river.

I took London in mine and Daniel had Dylan.

Dylan loved the whole thing, even flipping out once.

London was less than thrilled with it all.

I don't even know what everyone else's reaction was to it all

because I was so caught up with London fussing,

me trying to not flip us,

and to be honest, getting it over with

(because of the fussiness).

But from what everyone said, they enjoyed it.

We came back to the house and were rewarded

for our hard work in the river

with some of the best red beans and rice that

ya ever did have!

We took a little nap, and then the kids enjoyed some

homemade popsicles.

That night, we met my Daddy and Brenda for Dinner.

This is of course, my favorite part of any trip to Mississippi.

He is doing well,

looks great and is as happy as always.

There are no words for how much

I love my Papa Poo.

So, I'll spare you all the sappy-cheesiness of me trying.

Seeing him just does my heart so much good.

I could hug him a million times.

And I'm so grateful to his wife for taking great care of him

and for always driving him up to meet us and

treating us to dinner!

Sunday was the day to go home.

Just like with the Grandparents

we never feel like we've had enough time

with the In laws and are always sad to leave.

But it was bitter-sweet,

because after 10 days of an amazing vacation

we were all very ready to be home.

And that wraps up all of our vacation.

I don't know if I could pick a favorite

place or activity from the trip.

We had so much fun everywhere that

we were able to go.

But I do know that my very most

favorite thing of the vacation

was simply having my hubby

all to myself with our babies

for ten days straight.

My heart is still full of happiness!

Day 8:Grandparents House

2011-07-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

Daniel's Grandma and Grandpa

are some of the most wonderful people

that I have ever had the privilege of knowing.

I remember the first time that I met them,

they made me feel so welcomed as part of their family,

even though I wasn't yet married to Daniel.

I joke with Daniel that if we ever split up

I get the Grandparents.

I love them like my own.

And being at their house out in the middle of know where,

breathing in fresh, warm country air,

watching my babies run barefoot in more outdoor space than they know what to do with

from my seat in a swing,

listening to stories of sweet memories of the past,

sharing opinions of events present,

and feeling insaid amounts of love in the air...

Its pure heaven

pure bliss

for our family.

Daniel and I have always said that Grandparent's house is like

our own little sliver of heaven.

Its peaceful and quiet

and yet filled with

laughter and happiness.

And to kick start all the happiness

Grandma always cooks the most amazing breakfast for us.

Seriously, we've gotten in be more than once and said to each other

"I wonder what she's making for breakfast"

The menu changes often,

but it is always

"Slap Yo Mama Good".

I mean, these pancakes were boarding on sinful...

And breakfast was made sweet by this sweet little girl singing us songs with her Great Grandparents. Dylan joined in and we got a fabulous concert to enjoy while we ate.

My little sprouts wasted no time getting outside.

I don't think the table was even cleared before London had found her way

to one of her favorite spots,

the big tree swing.

Dylan found a cozy spot right next to Grandpa another swing.

Dylan adores Grandpa

and I think its safe to say

the feeling is mutual.

Grandma and London picked some tomatoes from the Garden.

I love watching my city babies

getting to live country life

for a few days.

London is crazy about Grandma.

They spent lots of time playing with bubbles.

I think the place that the kids spend the most time at

is the tree swing.

One or both of them are at it

at most times.

And it seems to never fail that Daniel will push

Dylan at heights that make my stomach flop.

Dylan's sequels of excitement and smile that is

plastered on his face are so priceless.

And how do you cool down on a hot

Mississippi Summer Day?

With a Smith County watermelon

of course.

I swear I have dreams about those things.

Almost every time we are down there

Dylan has something up his sleeve

that he wants his Grandpa to help him make.

And every time, Grandpa figures out a way to make it happen

and takes Dylan and Daniel

to his workshop to build this or that.

This time it was a boomerang.

Another staple at the Grandparent's house are those little

squeezable coolaid drinks.

I admit that I don't usually let the kids drink them at home

because they are filled with sugar,

but all "sugar rules" get put aside

while we are here, and the kids drink

those bad boys like they are

at an all expense paid bar or something.

A sign of a good summer day in the country...

Again, I had to set my "sugar rules" to the side

for the kids to make chocolate pudding with Grandpa.

They thought they were in heaven!

The babies sure do get spoiled with goodies and love...

They have been married fore over 50 years and you can still see

true love between them. They are a true inspiration.

After lunch,

we said our
"See ya later"s

and headed out.

We are always sad to leave.

And we are already looking forward to Christmas!

Day 7

2011-07-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

Day 7: Lunch and the Grandparent's house

When I was booking our trip, I went back and forth a million times on how many nights we should spend at the beach. When I settled on 4 nights, I was kind of worried that it wouldn't be enough time. But thank the Lord, it was just the right amount of time. As the kids get older we might add to the length of time we are beach side, but for this stage of life, 4 nights was just right.

And any sadness that we did have about leaving our cute little condo,was eased by the fact that we were heading to Mississippi to spend some fun time with our family.

On our way to Daniel's grandparents,

we stopped in Mobile, AL to have lunch with my

Uncle Billy and Aunt Shirley.

It has been much to long since the last we saw them

and it was nice to catch up.

The trip from Mobile to the Grandparent's house was about 2 and a half hours, and London slept the entire time. My big boy played his little Didji the whole way. And Daniel and I indulged in great, uninterrupted conversation.

We arrived at the Grandparents with lots of daylight left in the day,

and the kids wasted no time running out to their back yard to soak

up some fresh country air!

Dylan and London even helped Grandpa water the Garden...

They looked like good ole country kids!

By the time the we had dinner, and the sun went down

the kids could barely keep their eyes open

from all the fresh air and all the running around they did.

Daniel and I stayed up and talked with Grandma and Grandpa on the back porch for a while, which is one of our favorite parts of visiting with them.

It was a great day.

Beach Trip 2011 Part 3

2011-07-17T17:12:00.000-07:00

Day 6: Last Day at the Beach

Maybe we just had to work up to it,

but this was the only day that we spent

a huge chunk of time on the beach.

I think we were there just over four hours.

Of course, it was our last day.

It was a great last day though,

and its always good to end on a sweet note!

We started off with a walk on the beach.

I am going to be embarrassingly honest now,

since this whole blog is meant to serve as a sort of journal for our family,

even though the bit to follow is a pretty embarrassing.

Walking alongside the beach first thing in the morning is one

of my favorite parts of a beach vacation.

I planned to do this every morning that we were there.

Of course, that didn't work out because of this and that.

Since this was the last day, I was determined that

we would go for a walk and look for seashells.

As soon as we got down to the beach, London threw a huge fit

because she didn't want to go for a walk.

We calmed her down a bit and pretty much told her she didn't have a choice.

We were going for a family walk.

She begrudgingly strolled along with us, pout on her face most of the way.

We couldn't have been more than a few steps in when Daniel says

"Hey you know the pass code to get into the condo with out the key, right?"

Ummm.. NO! I DON'T

WHY?!?

"Well, I didn't bring the key. I thought you knew the code and we would just get in with that. This way I don't worry about losing the key."

ARE YOU JOKING!?!

I was so stinking mad that I'm almost certain there was steam coming out my ears.

The walk back to condo with a thousand bags in weather that is no less than one hundred degrees in bad enough with out the daunting task of figuring out how the heck to get back into the room.

I should have taken a deep breath.

I should have said "Ok, we can deal with it later. Lets not let this ruin our morning"

Shoulda.

Instead.

I screamed at an embarrassing level (thankfully, not many people were out on the beach yet)

and threw a temper tantrum suitable for a five year old.

And.

I cried.

I know...

I swear I'm not just a big ole bratty baby.

I wasn't crying just because my walk was screwed up and I was now locked out of my condo in heat that could kill a cactus.

It must have been a build up every every single plan that got popped like a water balloon over my head.

Still.

I over reacted and had to apologize

to both Daniel and the kids.

Failed attempt to walk the beautiful beach and temper tantrums behind us, we settled into perfect spots on the beach for what was a lovely and relaxing morning. Daniel and the kids worked on a sand castle while I watched from the cabana. London ran back and forth between the boys and me. She spent a good deal of time sitting with me, singing songs and talking, while we watched they boys hard at work. This was one of my favorite moments of our trip.

They boys took a break from building our sandcastle and we all jumped in the ocean for a while.

We attempted some buggie boarding, but our board was too badly broken.

We still had a great time splashing around and body surfing.

We came back up and settled back into more of the same...

relaxing, sandcastle building, and then taking ocean breaks.

And after at least an hour of hard work,

Daniel and our little ones finished their work of art!

Sandcastle complete, we enjoyed a little more time at the beach and soaked in the last bits of it, at least until next year!

We then headed back to our condo for some time in the pool, rest, relaxation, and then dinner with this view...

Gulf Coast 2011,

You were a fun trip
Thanks for the memories!

2011-07-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

Day 5: Beach Day

I was excited about this day, because we had no plans other than being beach side.

We started our morning of at a slow, vacation pace.

We wondered down to the beach and set up shop for a few hours.

When the kids started to tucker out, we headed back to the condo.

I may or not have bribed them to make the long walk up the hot-as-you-know-what sand with an ice cream sandwich. Actually, I may or may not have done a whole lota bribin' on this trip.

Once back at the condo, we jumped into the pool to play for a bit before heading up stairs.

Then the kids both had a nice long rest time while Daniel and I played some video games.

I know, I'm a cool wife, baby!

Actually, I feel asleep.

Lets go with "it the thought that counts" bit again.

Once everyone started stirring again,

I cooked a little dinner and we ate at the dining table with the ocean as our view.

*Bliss*

After dinner, we headed back down to the ocean for a little more beach time.

We frolicked a little in the water, but the kids were pretty close to done for the day.

I was able to bribe... ugh.. I mean get them to nicely take some pictures for me.

I think the pictures bellow are maybe my favorite of the whole trip.

I only wish I would have looked cuter for the family shot. Oh well. I'm afraid this is a true depiction of how I looked the whole week. No make up and crazy hair. Thank the Lord my hubby loves me, even when I'm not made up!

4th of July (cont)

2011-07-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

The wait was still an hour long, but there was so much to see and look at that time went by pretty quickly. We didn't eat until almost 8:00 though and our pumpkins are use to eating at 5:00. I new it would be a late dinner, so I gave them a very late snack, but they were still starving by seven. So, we did what all good parents do and bought a healthy snack for them, virgin daiquiris. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed the grown up version. They were very filling, but they did the job of tieing over the kids until supper.

We finished dinner just in time to walk out onto the deck of our restaurant and watch the fire works.
I double heart love fireworks and I couldn't wait to see them over the ocean.
The show did not disappoint. It was one of the most beautiful ones I've ever seen.

We snuck out just a little early to beat what would have been some CRAZY traffic. I was a little sad to miss the grand finale, but we were able to see them on our way out in the car and we avoided waiting in traffic for an hour or more. We missed being with family, like we usually are, for the 4th of July, but this was definitely one for the memory books! We plan to be with family and friends next year, but we are so glad to have gotten this experience.