Easter Weekend

We went to Houston on Thursday for long weekend. We all had a relaxing and fun time. My dad was out of town, so it was just us at my parent's house with my mom. We went to the farm one day with the kids while Derek and his dad played golf. Then my mom and I went shopping and Derek took the kids to see his parents. Kurt and Suzy and the kids came over and we ate dinner and had an egg hunt. The kids had a blast playing together. On Sunday the Easter bunny came. The kids were excited to get their goodies. We had an egg hunt at my parents church and Barrett filled his whole basket up. It was a fun time for everyone. We left on Monday after breakfast with GrandBob and Aunt Michele.

Happy Easter!

We are headed to Houston for a long weekend. Have a great Easter everyone!

Spring Reading Challenge

I am going to participate in a Spring Reading Challenge. I saw this on a blog(yes, of someone I don't know) and thought it would be fun to list the books I am planning on reading in the next few months. I love reading and am looking forward to reading some books that are different from my usual reads and some that are just plain entertaining. The reading challenge lasts from March 20 through June 19. Here they are!

Fiction:
Swapping Lives by Jane Green
The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet
Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs

Nonfiction:
Blue Like Jazz:Nonreligious Thoughts of Christianity by Donald Miller
Real Money by Jim Cramer
Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich
Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood: Practical Parenting from Birth to Six Years by Jim Fay and Charles Fay

Plus I will read books for Book Club for the months of May and June(not yet determined).
Here you can find out about the Reading Challenge if you are interested and want to see what others are reading!

Visit from Teddy

Teddy(my dad) came to Austin last night and stayed with us. He arrived after dinner, so we decided to go to Austin Scoops for some ice cream. It was a nice treat to see Teddy and get some ice cream too. The kids love their Teddy and were happy to stay up late and hang out with him. He had to leave this morning, but we are sure glad he came to see us.

Barrett and Teddy at the ice cream storeBrooklyn loves ice cream- Isn't she cute?

Our Weekend

This weekend my sister, Kellee and her husband, Anthony came to visit us. We had a wonderful time talking and eating and doing some fun Austiny things. They got here late on Friday and we had told Barrett he could stay up to see them. And when they got here around 11, he was talking nonstop. He was so wound up. After we got Barrett to bed, we stayed up really late talking.

On Saturday, we took the morning easy and then went to South Congress Ave. We looked in some of the cute, unique shops and then went to Home Slice for lunch. It was good as always. Since it was SXSW this weekend, there was a concert on the patio behind and we got to hear a free concert. They were pretty good and the kids loved it and it was relaxing for us all. Then we went to Hey Cupcake and got some yummy treats before heading to Waterloo Park to listen to more free music. It was a beautiful day and so nice and relaxing to sit and chill in the sun. The kids were great!! We got a babysitter that night so the 4 of us could go to dinner at Iron Cactus. It was so nice just talking and hanging out and not being in a rush. It was a great time, even though there was a very annoying heavy metal band playing across the street. While were were walking around, we saw one of the bars that Brad, the bachelor owns. He was standing out front, so we head over there to see him. Much to the embarrassment of Derek and Anthony, Kellee and I go in and wait a few minutes to meet him. He was really nice and chatted with us a few minutes.
They left on Sunday after church and lunch. We had a great time with them. They are both so good with the kids and Derek and I really enjoy talking with them about all sorts of things. We are so glad they live close to us.

Lunch at Home Slice

Listening to the MusicBarrett and Aunt Kellee at Hey CupcakeBrooklyn enjoying her cupcake

Hanging out at Waterloo Park

Barrett dancing to the music!

Trip to Waco

We made a quick trip to Waco yesterday to see Kara, Shane and Elizabeth. We went to lunch at Jason's, which was a little crazy with my kiddos. Then we had to hit one of our favorite places, Barnes and Noble so the kids could play with the trains and read books. Barrett and Elizabeth are two peas in a pod and see to really enjoy playing together. They decided at one point that they wanted to go in the backyard even though it was muddy. Elizabeth had her rain boots, and Barrett decided to wear Uncle Shane's yard shoes to play in the mud. We had a good time. The kids just played and played together. And the adults even got to talk some and watch a movie after the kids went to sleep. It was fun to see them and spend time with them before Peyton arrives. We are so glad to live near them and see them often.

Kara reading to BrooklynElizabeth performing on the stageBarrett reading a Clifford book

A future Barnes and Noble worker?

Barrett in Uncle Shane's shoes- and all muddy too!

Our Weekend

We had a great weekend. On Friday after playing at the park with the kids, I headed to Dallas for Kara's baby shower. I talked on the phone for most of the way so it made m trip go fast. And thank goodness for my IPOD car adapter so I could just jam to my music and not be changing channels the whole time. My mom arrived soon after I did and then we headed to Teppo to eat. This was my first attempt to eat sushi. And let me tell you, I really liked it. I liked the salmon and tuna best. But, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. Of course, one of the pieces I picked up had a hair on it, so we got free dessert. It is kindof a joke in my family that those kinds of things happen to me and I am the one that gets worked up about it the most. (There is a infamous story of hair in food at the Kettle in Abilene(remember that Anita?). Anyways, I enjoyed the food and look forward to trying it again soon. Kellee and I also surprised my mom by telling her that we were taking her to the beach in Mexico for her 60th birthday in July. We have shocked and we are looking forward to a fun time this summer.

Mom after we told her about the tripOn Saturday, we went to the Original Pancake House for a yummy breakfast(if you can't tell, we love to eat in our family). We then, ran some errands for the shower and got all ready for Kara's shower. It was a fun time catching up with old friends and family. I am excited to meet Kara's little boy to be born soon.

Me, Kara, Mom and Kellee before the showerAfter the shower, we cleaned up and then headed back to Austin. Kara and I talked on the phone until Waco so the time went by quickly. Derek and the kids were coming home from a dinner at the church, so they were still awake when I got home. I as happy to see everyone.On Sunday, we took the morning easy and then went to lunch at Jo's on South Congress. it was fun to eat outside, even though it was a little windy. We also walked through the courtyard at the San Jose Hotel. It is so pretty and Brooklyn enjoyed looking at the fish.

Lunch at Jo'sLooking in the pondAfter lunch, we headed to Zilker Park to go to the Kite Festival. Barrett has been so excited about this all week. It was a little cloudy, but great because it was so windy. The kids had a blast and Derek and I did too. It was fun to fly the kite and try to get it really high, though I did get it stuck in a tree once. It was relaxing and fun to all hang out together and do something we could all enjoy.

Brooklyn and Derek walking up the hill to all the kiteflying actionBarrett ready to fly his Spiderman kite!Look at that face- pure joy!Mommy got it stuck in the treeThe kids having funThe boysBarrett having fun flying the kiteBrooklyn looking up at all the cool kitesBarrett and Derek flying the kiteBrooklyn getting a turn to fly the kite

We finished the afternoon off by getting drinks at Thom's and then all taking naps once we got home. It was a fun time for us all.

Drinking juice after all the kite flying