simple saturdays...

i love them!! this past saturday we didn't have ANYTHING on the schedule, it was a BEAUTIFUL day, so the 4 of us headed to mi cocina to sit on the patio for lunch. it was so fun to just be our little family...

enjoying some tasty food...



and laughing together!!


i am hoping for some more "simple saturdays" filled with sweet family time, perfect weather, yummy food, laughter, and most importantly-- the kids taking good naps!!

spring break highlight...

was going to disney on ice with a bunch of our friends. all my "worlds" collided for this event. my mpe friends, wacky wednesday friends, and my bible study friends all enjoyed the fun. the show was great, but as my sister-in-law said, it could have been about 20-30 minutes shorter and been perfect!

kingsley, o, and abby with their tickets to the show.

mickey was great!!! he was my favorite part of the show.

ariel was miss o's favorite part of the show.

unfortunately we could not get a picture with all 87 of the "hot tots" (that's the name of our faux daycare) but here are the kids of all my bible study friends. not a great pic, but you get the idea.

olivia loved every minute and at the end she said, "mommy where are they going?" i said, "i guess they are going home!" her response, "well, i want to go to florida and see them all again." i told her to tell her daddy and see what he says about a trip to disney. :)

mani, pedi...

yes, i desperately need one, but i am not planning on my 3.5 year old and her friend lilli do the honors...

lilli & o's nails & toes

gotta love the creativity of 3.5 year olds. we laughed and then misty and i proceeded to use a half of a box of wipes to remove the "nail polish," aka markers.

dinner with rico...

about a week ago, my parents hosted a business dinner at their farm. it was titled, "dinner with rico." rico is my dad's miniature donkey and one of only three permanent residents of the farm (the 2 cows make up the other residents). anyway, a roofing convention (my dad is in the roofing industry) that my parents attend each year was in dallas this year, so my dad decided it would be fun to have his business associates and friends load buses and head to gun barrel city, texas for a truly texas dinner. the weather was cold and rainy, less than ideal for an outdoor event, but after a few adjustments the evening was a successful.

the tables were set...

my brother, chef sean, prepared the yummy "texas style" meal for 60...

smoked chicken quesadillas, fried bacon wrapped quail, homemade salsa and quacamole-- those were just appetizers.
then he and his team made brisket, fried turkey, steak, homemade green bean cassarole, jalapeno cheese grits, and marinated carrots (a family recipe). he didn't forget dessert-- apple crisp and mini pecan pies with whip cream. it was sooo southern and super tasty!!

the guests of honor (according to my dad) were present..

olivia and jack all decked out in boots and jeans...

and rico, of course!!

and the favors...
a jar of gun barrel city salsa.

it was a lot of work to pull of this evening, but it was so much fun! i loved looking around the tent seeing all the smiles on peoples faces.

walter the waltzing worm...

has found a home. yes, this pink squishy stretchy worm that was buried in the 'prize box' at the dentist office has a very happy 3 year old to love and care for him.

olivia's trip to the dentist included-- choosing a toothbrush, toothpaste, tooth polishing flavor, fluoride flavor, and sunglasses to wear, olivia asking me to leave the exam room so she could be a big girl and get her teeth cleaned. (she noticed that the teenagers didn't have their mommies with them, so she didn't need me either.) then dr. kogut (he's the dentist) came in, again i was asked to leave by my "big girl" and when i came back in she was digging through the 'prize box' looking for the perfect prize to top off her dentist experience. after a few minutes of debating whether to choose the big ring with a sparkly purple stone or the worm, the choice was made- pink squishy stretchy worm!!! i bet the teenagers who didn't want their mommies to come didn't choose a pink squishy worm, but i won't tell her that!
i am happy to report that besides leaving with the pink worm we recieved a good report. olivia got a "A" on her brushing and her teeth are in good health!! she proudly left the office with her bag full of dental goodies and pink worm in hand. on the way home we were talking about the experience and she said, "mommy i am so glad that i found walter the waltzing worm." my response was, "what did you say?" she looks at me and in a sassy tone says, "walter the waltzing worm, mommy!" i say, "oh, where did you hear that?" olivia says, "at school we sing a song about walter and now i have him!!!"
so my little girl who desperately wants to be a "big girl" still remains a 3 year old, loving walter the waltzing worm with sparkly clean teeth!! :)

(sorry i didn't take any pictures-- i hate that you too can't see walter for yourself.)

back from mexico...

(the view from our balcony)

we have been back for a little over a week and i can't believe that i have not a moment or two to blog about our super fun trip. we had a really great time, and of course my kids loved the vacation at nana and gramps' house. i will let the pictures retell the highlights of the trip...

"cheers to a fabulous first night and a relaxing vacation!"

the boys-- brad, mark, and steve

the girls-- kristy, me, and mary

all six of us!! (fun times with the camera timer and lots of wind!!)

i would not allow mark to take a picture of me sitting and reading (for obvious reasons), which is what i did most of the trip and LOVED it!!