Where has your kid fallen asleep?

Barrett chose a most unusual place to fall asleep tonight. Barrett missed nap today because our friends Ryan, Travis and Ms. Tricia came over. We had been collecting their mail while they were in Hawaii and so they came to pick it up and of course all the boys played and played. After they left, Barrett and Derek headed up to the pool for a while. So, we sit down to dinner and not too long into the meal, Barrett says he needs to go to the potty and go poop. So he goes in there and a few minutes later Derek goes to check on him. Barrett has fallen asleep on the potty! Can you believe it? I guess the poor guy was so tired he just could fight it any longer. We got a big kick out of this and it will be funny to tell him tomorrow. He's such a funny little guy.

Pots and Pans?

The pots and pans we have were the ones we got when we got married. Some of them are starting to show their use and are looking really old. I know that several of you are good cooks and cook often, so I am looking for recommendations. Stainless, Nonstick, cast iron, do you need some of each? I have no idea. Any brands? We have Calphalon and like those, but I am open to any. I also would like something I could put on the stove and in the oven. Any advice would be appreciated!
Oh, while I'm at it, any knife recommendations? Kellee & Anthony really like the Miracle Blade, so I am looking at those. Thanks!!
On another note, I went to a restaurant supply store today. It was fun to look at everything. Their prices seemed pretty good. They have everything you can imagine.

Port Aransas

This past weekend we went to Port Aransas. We left early on Friday morning. The kids were great in the car. We arrived in Port A around lunch and met up with the Walker's for lunch. It was an overcast day, but we headed to the beach anyways. At least we didn't have to worry about the kids burning. Barrett loved the beach. He jumped in the waves and had a blast playing in the water. Brooklyn liked the water too. She kept crawling into the waves. After a while though, we decided to just have her play in the sand and she loved it. She was constantly covered in dirt! I loved going to the beach as a kid and still do. I am so glad my kids had a fun time and I hope to make many more trips to the beach with them. We ate lots of good food, got to relax at the pool and the beach, hung out with our friends the Walker's and McDonald's and had a wonderful weekend!

Tate and Barrett listening the the music at dinner

Barrett digging in the sand. He loved building sandcastles and then knocking them over.He's such a cutie. He is really excited to run and jump in the ocean!Barrett wanted me to bury him in the sand!Then it was my turn to get buried. Barrett thought it was just great getting to bury me.Brooklyn playing with her sand toys. Here is our little beach baby. Notice the sand around her face, she kept eating it!One of the shops had you walk through a sharks mouth to get in. Barrett really liked this!Me and my little boy!! He is so much fun!Wow, that water was cold!Brooklyn loved crawling in the seaweed. Aren't Texas beaches so pretty?Derek helping the kids build a sandcastle that they can knock over.Aren't these the cutest boys ever?The hotel had a waterfall at the pool. Barrett liked getting wet from it. But, he really liked getting in the hot tub with me!Brooklyn liked getting in her float, out of the water. She just would sit in it on the sand! Such a funny girl!We grabbed lunch and dessert at this little place on out way out of town. They look all tanned and relaxed!

BROOKLYN IS 11 MONTHS!

Brooklyn is 11 months today. Here are eleven things about her.

1. Brooklyn is pulling up and can stand a few seconds by herself. Though, she has little interest in taking steps, thank goodness.

2. She is crawling up the stairs fairly well. No accidents yet! She wants to be upstairs with Barrett instead of down with me I guess.

3. Still no teeth. Poor girl! She has two teeth that are about to poke through, but none so far. I think she is in some pain and I hate that for her.

4. She is so happy and smiles all the time!

5. Brooklyn has become attached to a little tag blanket that Jennifer made for her. She smiles when we give it to her. She likes to chew on the ribbon and needs to have it when she goes to sleep.

6. Brooklyn has pretty much decided that she doesn't want baby food anymore. She loves pasta and chicken and almost anything she can pick up herself.

7. She was started trying to feed herself with a spoon. This is quite messy!

8. Her hair is starting to come in. It has little curls at the bottom and it is so cute! Her hair is pretty blond and she still wears a bow whenever we are out of the house!

9. Brooklyn doesn't like to be alone. If we leave the room, we can hear her crawling to us. She puts her little head down and crawls super fast.

10. Brooklyn is talking some. She has been saying dada for a while, but now she is saying mama and baba(bottle). She is babbling all the time.

11.We love our little girl. She is so much fun and happy!

Eight Wonderful Years!

Happy 8th Anniversary Derek!!Don't we look so young?
Today Derek and I have been married for 8 years. It seems like it has gone really fast and at the same time like we have been together for forever. When I think back to our wedding day, I had no idea how wonderful marriage would be. But, I was so happy and ready to be Derek's wife. We have both changed in lots of ways from the people we were when we met and when we were first married. Time has only made me love Derek more and more. I realize how lucky I am and how blessed my life has been since Derek and I got together. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband who loves me so much. Derek makes me laugh, always makes time for me, provides for our family, and is a great father. He is patient, laid back, considerate, helpful and such a positive person. I am so blessed to have him as my husband. He is the love of my life and he makes me so happy. Happy anniversary, honey! I love you so much. I look forward to many more fun and exciting years together and memories to make.


And, a happy 3rd anniversary to Kellee and Anthony! We love you guys! You are such a sweet, loving couple. I hope you have a great day!

New York

Derek and I just returned from our trip to Manhattan. It was an awesome trip. Here is how our past week has gone.

On the 4th of July we went to Houston and had dinner with my mom and Kurt, Suzy, Shaelyn and Jackson. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory and celebrated my moms birthday. B and Shaelyn had a blast playing together. When we were leaving I asked if he had fun playing with his cousin Shaelyn. He replied" She's not my cousin, she's my girl!" How cute!

On Thursday, we went to Derek's parent's house to drop of the kids. We hung out with the girls and grandparents and Rich before we headed to the airport. We left a little late, but made it up in the air. We got to NYC in the evening and went to the apartment where we were staying. A friend of my dad's has a place in Manhattan and he let us use it. It was a spacious apartment in Trump Place on the Upper West Side. We had a great view of the Hudson River, Central Park and Lower Manhattan. It was great!

On Friday, we headed to Central Park. We took the subway there. We started by Strawberry Fields. We saw the apartment John Lennon lived in and where he was shot. We strolled the the park and hit the high points. It was cool to see places that we have seen in movies. There were lots of people reading, laying out and picnicking in the park.

After going to Central Park, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was awesome. We saw paintings from s many famous people including Monet, Matisse, Picasso, Degas, Manet and many more. We also saw a clothing exhibit featuring women's clothes from the 1920's. It was such a neat museum. For dinner we went to eat at Hell's Kitchen in Hell's Kitchen. The food was so good! Our friend Freyja recommended it and it did not disappoint. After our yummy dinner, we went to see Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre. The play was so good. It was entertaining and the actors were so talented. It was a great story. I highly recommend seeing it if you have the chance, though be prepared for some flying monkeys!On Saturday, we went to the West Village and had brunch at the Cornelia Street Cafe. We went to Washington Square Park and walked around West Village and Greenwich Village. We went shopping in So Ho. It was fun to look at all the boutiques, but it was really expensive in most stores. I did find a few things though! We also went to Little Italy. All these areas were neat and diverse. It is cool to get a feel for all the parts on Manhattan. After that, we went to the apartment to change for the game. We headed for Yankee Stadium. We got to see Roger Clemens pitch. It was cool to be in the same place where Babe Ruth played and lots of other famous people. Derek was so excited! We had hot dogs and cracker jacks during the game. The game was a long one and we ended up leaving in the 12th inning. After the game, we went to Dylan's Candy Bar and got a shake and frozen hot chocolate. So good! We also made a pit stop at H & M, my favorite store!!!

On Sunday, we rode the Subway to Grand Central Terminal. It is such a beautiful building. We also went to Times Square and it was amazing to look at all the signs and activity. It is so busy there and so much is going on!Derek went up the Empire State building. He loved it. He got the audio tour(highly recommended) and saw Manhattan form the top. He also went to the 1o0th floor and saw the city from even higher. He spent lots of time there and it was one of his favorite things on our trip. While he was on the Empire State building, I went shopping. There are so many fun shops to go in. And I love shopping! We met up around lunch time at Steve and Barry's and checked out the new SJP clothing line.

We went to Wall Street and then to Ground Zero. Such an emotional experience and took us both back to that horrible day! It was good for us to go there. Then we went to Chinatown. I love going in a ll the junk shops. Derek loves giving me a hard time that I love souvenir shops and all these shops on Canal Street filled with cheap, well, junk! But it is fun to look at and deal with the people in the stores. Every store had a secret door and there was the Coach, Chanel, Prada and Gucci knockoffs. it was so funny as they tried to be all secretive. We even climbed several flights of stairs to this little room filled with all these purses. Derek was thoroughly amused by all of this. It was so fun.

For dinner we went to San Luigi's in the Upper West Side. The food was delicious! Derek said it was the best meatballs he's ever had. It was so nice to relax and talk and not be in any rush. What a wonderful time!

On Monday, we went on 5th Avenue and looked at all the fancy stores. We went in a few. So expensive!!! But fun to look at and dream... Anyways, after that we went on a boat cruise around Manhattan. We saw the Statue of Liberty, Chrysler building, Brooklyn and Queens and lots more. It was nice to sit and be together. We ate lunch in the West Village at a pizza place and then went to Magnolia Bakery and had their famous cupcakes(we actually ate the cupcake first, but oh, well!). So good!!!

We went to dinner at Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay's restaurant. It was so good! The bread pudding and prickly pear margarita were especailly good. Derek said his steak was the best he's ever had. Of course, we didn't see Bobby Flay, but it was great anyways!

On Tuesday we heaed back to Houston. My mom picked us up and we were so excited to see Barrett and Brooklyn. I think they were happy to see us too. After a dinner at P.F. Changs we went back to Austin and both kids slept the whole way.

We had a wonderful time on our trip . It is so good for us to get away and just be together. We had no worries and no schedule(well, a little one if you know me, but I was fairly flexible). We just talked and got out of our usual routine. A huge thanks to GrandBob and Grandmomfor keeping the kids so we could go on our trip. We appreciate it so much. An thanks to thegirls(B & B's cousins), Rich and Leigh for helping take care of the kids and keeping them entertained. Our kids are so lucky.We are back home now, enjoying being together and Derek is on his sabbatical this month. So more fun times ahead!

Fire Station, Melting Pot and Birthday Wishes

Yesterday our church playgroup went to the fire station where Heath works. Barrett was so excited to go see the fire truck and see Heath in his "costume". The kids got a tour of the station, got to see the firemen come down the pole, get on the fire truck and spray the water hose. Barrett was trilled to spray the hose. Brooklyn pretty much ate snacks the whole time, but Heath did give her a fire hat that she was pretty excited about. After going to the fire station, some of us went to eat at Waterloo. It was great for the kids to run around and us eat in relative peace.

Barrett, Heath and TateBrooklyn in her fire hatBarrett is liking the fire truck

This is a big tire on this fire truckSpraying the hose is so much fun!
The whole gang. That's alot of kids!

Last night for dinner, me and 4 other friends went to the Melting Pot. We were celebrating-US! We all have birthdays over the summer months and each year we go to a birthday dinner to celebrate. The cheeses and chocolate fondue were so yummy. We were all stuffed at the end. Our waiter, Kenny, brought us some champagne(sparkling for the pregnant girls) and we toasted to good friends! it was a night full of laughs. I am so lucky to have these friends in my life. I love you girls!

Ready to go to the Melting Pot for dinner.Julie, Jessica and ChristyMe and Andrea All smiles after our yummy dinner and evening of fun!

And, I wanted to wish my mom a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We wish we were there to celebrate. My mom is just awesome. She deserves a day to relax and pamper herself. My mom never complains and she is a great Christian example to me and whoever she comes in contact with. She is so thoughtful and I cherish the relationship I have with my mom. My kids are so blessed to have her for their Nana. She is so loving, patient, selfless, giving, and loves them so much! Have a great day Mom! We look forward to seeing you tomorrow. And we love you!

Mom and her girls!