In Case You Didn't Know...

I don't know what it is about us and moving, but apparently it is good for us in the baby department. I had Brooklyn and we moved to San Antonio three weeks later, and two days before we found out we were moving to Tampa I found out I was pregnant again. We are very excited for this little one and hope it continues to grow and develop like it has. I am due April 27th, which makes me 12 1/2 weeks.

Brooklyn is also thrilled by the "baby in my tummy." She also now has not only one but two babies, "twins," in her tummy. She keeps telling us, "But don't worry mommy because my first baby is going to come out before Halloween and it is going to be a boy, but the second baby doesn't come out until right before Christmas, and that ones a girl." She cracks us up and we can't wait for her to have a baby brother or sister.

New Home in Tampa

For those of you who have asked, here is a link to the house we are building in Tampa. We looked at lots of pretty tore up houses and decided that new was our only option. It won't be finished until March/April and we don't know where we are going to live until then, but I'm sure we will eventually figure it out.

New Haven Floor Plan

In other news, Brooklyn and I head out of San Antonio to Vegas in exactly three weeks. I am officially in denial.

Say Farewell to the Alamo

It has taken me a long time to blog this, and in part it may be due to denial, but we are leaving the wonderful city of San Antonio and heading to Tampa, Florida. It is a good opportunity for Brad and for that we are excited, but we have grown to love San Antonio and will be leaving behind many good friends.

Our house is on the market and as soon as it sells Brooklyn and I will head off to Vegas to await living arrangements in Tampa. Brad has to be in Tampa January 4th and hopefully we will be there at the same time or shortly after.

Life is crazy and there are many unknowns, but I'm sure we will enjoy Tampa and all it has to offer. We will only be an hour to an hour and a half from Disneyworld so it can't be all bad, right?

Thirty, Flirty, and We Still Got It...

This past weekend I was able to escape with two of my best friends Amy and Suzie to Austin. We all turned 30 this year and decided we were going to have a weekend to ourselves with no kids, husbands, and complete freedom. We had an awesome time!

We shopped the outlets on the way to Austin on Friday night and had a late dinner at a local favorite called The Magnolia Cafe. The food was good and it was a fun "Austin-y" place to eat. The next day we took our time getting out the door and we headed for IKEA. We did some more shopping and then headed back to the hotel to hang out for awhile and get cleaned up. That night we walked around downtown Austin until we found just the right spot to eat. We ended up at this super swanky steakhouse and the food was awesome!

Now being thirty, we just wanted to feel like we still had it. We walked down the famous 6th Street and were pleased that we kept being invited into bars.

To end the night we took a rickshaw ride back to the hotel. The driver (pedaler) had helped us find a place to eat and it was a fun time. We relaxed a bit in the hot tub and of course chatted.

It was a great time. Thanks girls!

Suzie, Me, and Amy in front of the capitol.

Trying to take our own picture of the three of us in the rickshaw.

A much better picture of the three of us, courtesy our rickshaw driver.

"Princess Stories"

Brooklyn and I were sitting at the table tonight and she asked me to tell her a story, not one from a book just one I made up. So I started the story with a beautiful princess with red hair named Brooklyn. Then she stopped me (kind of like in the princess bride) and she told me I was telling the story wrong. I explained to her that it was one I was making up so I couldn't be telling it wrong. She disagreed and said she would tell me a bedtime story instead so she could show me how to do it. This was her story:

Once up a time in a far away land there lived a beautiful princess named Ariel and she loved to sing and dance and play. She was everyone's friend. Then, Belle appeared, and she told everyone that she wanted everyone to come to her birthday and she wanted everyone to do what she did. And then, Cinderella appeared and she didn't know what to wear for the party. (She asked for my help here.) And I said she should wear the blue dress. She said no, no, no, no her dress was bluish greenish pinkish. Then Cinderella went to the party and danced and danced and then snuggled up in her nice warm bed and went to sleep. Then Jasmine appeared, she was going on a magic carpet ride. She didn't know what to wear either and then suddenly she just found something and it was purplish pinkish bluish greenish. And they all lived happliy every after!

So in case you were wondering that is exactly how you tell your own made up "Princess Stories".

Visit to the Dentist

Brooklyn had her first visit to the dentist on the 4th of August and she did great. They all said she looked like Princess Giselle and she was super thrilled they thought she was a princess. It was a super fun office. She wore princess sunglasses, got a new toothbrush, lots of stickers and rode on a toy horse. The dentist and hygienist wore flavored gloves and she got to pick her favorite flavor of everything. I love that her first experience to the dentist was a good one and I wish it were that fun for me to go to the dentist.

Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy

We have season passes to Six Flags this year and they have a summer concert series. On Thursday the 6th, none other than the Wiggles came to town. This wasn't a must see for Brooklyn, but I figured why not it was free.

We picked up her friend Meg on the way and headed to the park. At the entrance some very nice people asked me if we were going to the Wiggles show and I said that we were if there were still tickets left. They handed me four. I thanked them and was happy I didn't have to wait in line to get some, plus they said bleacher. It was over 100 degrees that day and I had no desire to sit on the hot shadeless lawn. We headed off and got to ride a few rides before the show in none other than (drum roll please...) the Wiggles World.

When we got to the show we realized we had special tickets. They were not any ordinary ticket, they were won on the radio and they entitled us to front row seats. Meg is 6 and was not too thrilled to see the Wiggles, but the front row seats made all the difference. They enjoyed the show, but looked like zombies the whole time because it was so stinking hot.

D-D-Dora the Explorer

After our trip to Tampa, I had to go to camp for a week. Needless to say, Brooklyn was feeling a little lost. She is usually never away from us and it was a long week for you. Luckily, we had tickets to "Dora Live: City of the Lost Toys" that weekend and we promised her a "special day" for Brooklyn.

We started at BJ's for pizza. It is her favorite, then we headed downtown to the show. It was better than I expected and Brooklyn loved it. Afterwards, we grabbed some ice cream on the riverwalk and headed home. It was a great day and we are so glad we had such a sweet little girl to have a special day for.

Thank You Grandma & Grandpa

My mom and Malcolm were kind enough to drive out to San Antonio from Las Vegas during July to stay the weekend with Brooklyn so Brad and I could head to Tampa. It was a quick trip, but so nice to have time alone together. We have only spent one night away from Brooklyn since she was born and that was our 10th wedding anniversary earlier this year. We really enjoyed the time together and had a great time seeing Tampa. We especially loved the beach. It was white sugar sand and the water was clear and warm.

Thanks again guys! It was awesome and we super appreciate it.

Our super yummy seafood dinner.

Fabulous Fourth!

This is our trip continued, but the last post. Brooklyn and I got the chance to spend the 4th of July in Las Vegas with part of my family. We missed Brad dearly, but it was a fun time.

One of my favorite memories as a child was going to Nellis Air Force base with my cousins, grandma, and family to watch 4th of July fireworks. This year we were able to go again. They always play patriotic music (duh, its the base) and I love being surrounded by all the men and women that serve our country and this fabulous holiday. The fireworks are always pretty great too. This year was definitely no exception.

We had a picnic and hung out on the grass listening to live music while we waited for fireworks; the kids played and we all had a great time.

p.s. I also finally purchased the patriotic dress I had been coveting at Children's Place. It finally went on sale. I was so proud of myself for waiting.

Grandma getting loves from Grandma, this is where she spent most of her time. It was always about grandma!

Rhett enjoying a little ice cream.

Malcolm enjoying his sandwich. Your welcome, you know everybody loves pictures of themselves eating.

Mike just chillin'.

Sarah my sister-in-law making faces like always.

Rhett enjoying his dinner. Doesn't he look comfy?

I didn't get much of Brooklyn's time that night. She spent most of it with Grandma, but I did get a few snugs.

Brooklyn in her new dress (cute, huh?) sporting the princess pose she learned at Disneyland.

Gage, just chilling and waiting for the fireworks to start.

Two months of Craziness

So the last two months have been great, but unbelievably crazy! We spent about 3 weeks on vacation, posted below, a week home, a weekend in Tampa, and then I spent 4 days at girls camp. Life is finally beginning to slow down this week and I fully plan on catching up with things that have been long neglected, including this blog so here goes. Read below to catch up on our past two months.

Vacation: Part 1

On June 18th, we headed out of San Antonio around 4:00pm hoping to make it to Las Cruces, NM. Yes, we were driving, call us crazy, but it was really quite nice. It was a long day, but we made it and Brooklyn did awesome! We spent the night in Las Cruces and then headed for Phoenix. We haven't been back since we left and we were both excited to visit some of the old stomping grounds and see our old houses.

We stopped in Casa Grande, AZ for the night and spent some time with Brad's cousin Jared, his wife Melissa and their 4 kids. We used to hang out til all hours of the night chatting, playing games, and eating junk food on many a weekend in Phoenix. We had a great time catching up, playing cards, and getting to know the kids better. Thanks again guys!


Pictures of Brooklyn playing dress up with the cousins.


The only picture we got of Jared & Melissa while we were there.

The next day we headed into Phoenix to look around. We went by the old Chase building that Brad worked at in downtown Tempe, and it was almost like a ghost town. They have sinced closed the call center he worked at and you can tell the area has taken a hit. We grabbed some pizza from Slices (an old favorite) and headed to the west side of town to see the old houses. They both looked fairly good and it was fun to show Brooklyn where we lived and the house she was born in. That evening we went to dinner with our good friends the Vehars, did a little shopping, and stayed up way to late gabbing with them. Thanks again guys for the fun time and letting us stay! No pictures from here, but they are all adorable.

Vacation: Part 2

On Sunday morning, the 21st (Father's Day), we got up and headed to Cali. We love Southern California! Who doesn't though, right? Anyways, we headed out to Anaheim to hit the beach and go to the happiest place on Earth. That afternoon we met my Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Malcolm (my mom and her husband) at our hotel and surprised Brooklyn. She did not know they were going to Disneyland with us and she was ecstatic.

We spent Sunday afternoon at the beach on Balboa Island. The water was surprisingly warm, but Brooklyn was not a fan of the water. She loved the beach though. She was perfectly content to build sand castles and play in the sand, and since grandma and grandpa were there Brad and I had a little time to play in the water. The waves were coming in pretty high and we had so much fun. In some of the pictures you cannot even see Brad because the waves have swallowed him up.

Brooklyn playing with the beach ball that we were informed beforehand was a must have for the beach.

This is her first feel of the water. She was definitely unsure of it, and surprised by the way it felt. The sand kept being swept away under her feet and I don't think she liked feeling so unsteady.

Under much duress we finally got her to play in the water with us for a few minutes. She was fine until a really big wave came up from behind and surprised us.This is the after picture. After this, she was content to play in the sand.

This is a picture of Brooklyn and I watching Brad about to get toasted by a wave. It was so much fun! He disappeared in this one for awhile.

Vacation: Part 3 (The Good Stuff)

On Monday, we headed out to Disneyland for a magical adventure. Disneyland really is the happiest place on Earth. I feel like a big kid when I am there. I know some adults get over it, but I still LOVE that place! When we first got there, our first stop was Sleeping Beauty's Castle. This is what Brooklyn had been waiting for. She was so excited! They now have a portion of the castle you can walk through and it tells Sleeping Beauty's story. It was quite spooky in there and Brooklyn asked if it was real, and I said of course it is. Big mistake, she was scared after that and wouldn't go back in the castle. Oh well, I thought she wanted it to be real, apparently, no she did not.

Here she is getting her first look at the castle.

After the castle she took a ride on the carousel, Dumbo with grandma and grandpa, and had a spin in the tea cups, then it was time or the long awaited hour of meeting the princesses.
If you have never been, meeting the princesses is an attraction. They have 3 princesses at a time in a secluded area, you cannot see, and each child gets 30 seconds to a minute taking pictures and visiting each one. You never know who you will get until you get up there. The line has to be one of the longest in the park, but for all the girls waiting in line so worth it. While Brad was an awesome dad and did some standing in line, grandma took Brooklyn to the princess shop and adorned her with her very own Sleeping Beauty princess gown. She also bought her shoes and a little crown clip. There was no waiting to put that gown on, my little princess had to be dressed like a princess to meet her favorite people. It was all so magical for her. What a fun time! After we were all outfitted we still had a little over a half an hour wait. Thank heaven for Brad! What a guy.

On her first time through she met Ariel, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. She was super excited to have them sign her princess autograph book and was incredibly proud of her signatures she was collecting. It was nice to see some of her favorites at the beginning. She was so excited and quite star struck.
After we had been through and seen Ariel, Sleeping Beauty (probably her favorite) and Cinderella, all she wanted to do was find the rest of the princesses. We asked around and found out that you can sometimes catch Jasmine in Adventureland, so off we headed. When we got there she was nowhere to be found and our little princess had dozed so we grabbed some lunch and decided to check back. After lunch we were lucky enough to find Jasmine there and we caught her just before she left. And unbelievably enough, there was no line. It was fantastic!Now, we had only met four princesses and she was determined to meet all six. Stay tuned for the rest of the story.