tiny tot tuesday...

at the dallas arboretum.


fall is my very favorite time of year. i love football, the cooler weather, fall colors, the leaves, pumpkins, and the beautiful gardens at the arboretum. today the weather was perfect- sunny, not too hot, with a nice breeze sothe kids and i loaded up this morning and arrived just as the gates to the arboretum were opening. olivia loved the all the pumpkins and flowers, but today was extra special because it was "tiny tot tuesday." one area was filled with all kinds of fun for kids. first we visited james french, the professional photographer, for a picture in the pumpkin patch. i think it turned out so cute. olivia and jack were both sitting on a little bench with pumpkins all around. mr. french got them both to smile so big. much different than last year, when olivia was terrified of the pumpkins and she was crying in the picture, as if santa claus was present. crazy i know. this year it was a pleasant experience for all so i can't wait to get it in the mail. then it was off to the big pumpkin patch to take a few more pictures, play, and climb.


there was also a petting zoo with a few goats, a sheep, horse, rabbit, and i think a chicken. olivia loved this. she would have stayed in there all day. she loved the sheep and goats.


after the petting zoo we headed over to the face painting. olivia decided she wanted to be a butterfly. look how pretty she is!!!

the sweet face painter told me she does 30-40 kids an hour!! i can't imagine. she was really great and so kind to every child.

jack and i were ready to head home, but olivia wanted to make a bear puppet. she worked very hard coloring her bear several different colors. once it was just the way she wanted it, she glued it to the stick. it is her prized possession today. no one can touch it!!


we played a bit longer and then headed home. the day was mostly about o, but jack had fun too. he liked hanging out in the stroller and watching all the action.

it was a great morning. we had so much fun. we are already planning our next visit. i just hope the weather and my kids will cooperate like they did today.

on the road again...

this time to austin, texas. well, actually 40 minutes outside of austin to the hyatt lost pines resort. we had a blast!!! i know you must be thinking, "did those people really go on another trip?" yes we really did load up the car, this time with the double stroller strapped to the roof of the explorer and headed south on 35. this adventure was a business trip for mark. he attended a conference at this resort and decided since we had been away from the kids that it would be fun for us all to come along. we also invited my mom, nana, to come and help me during the day with the kids. i wasn't so sure that i could handle a 2.75 year old and a 4 month old at the pool alone. by having "nanny nana" there it also allowed mark and i to go dinner at night, which was so fun. the resort was super family friendly and so much fun.

our trip began on thursday morning. the car was packed and we hit the road. the kids did a great job in the car. we stopped in waco for lunch and then continued south to austin. we arrived and quickly settled in. mark and olivia went to check out the pool while i went searching for a wal-mart because i forgot to pack diapers and wipes for baby jack. what was i thinking?!?


the next 3 days were filled with lots of time at the pool or "the beach" as olivia called it because there was sand and a beach entrance to the awsome pool. most of the pool was 2.5 feet deep so olivia could walk around the whole thing all by herself. there was also a long lazy river that we took several trips around. olivia's favorite thing was to "bake" with the sand toys and the water.


jack also enjoyed napping by the pool and hanging out under the umbrella. he and nana had some good qualitiy time while i was in the water with o.


besides the great pool the resort had all sorts of fun FREE activities for us to do throughout our stay. we roasted smores, olivia got her face facepainted, we road bikes, watched butterflies in the butterfly meadow, searched for hummingbirds or "honeybirds" if you are olivia in the hummingbird garden, played on the playground, and learned about texas animals. we even got to pet a few live ones.

that is a real snake!! olivia is scared of dogs, but not snakes. what?? we also pet a turtle and a baby alligator.

it was a memorable trip. we wished that mark was able to play with us more, but he thought the conference was well worth the trip. it was a really great weekend. thank you again to my sweet mom for coming along and helping out soooo much. i just hope we can find some excuse to go back someday.

what happens in vegas,

stays in vegas. just kidding!! here is the recap of our AWESOME trip with my fam...
after days of preparing both myself and the kids, we dropped olivia off at school and headed to the airport. we met my mom, dad, and brother and the vacation began. the flight was good, on time, and all our bags got there. we got took a short cab ride to our hotel, Wynn. it is by far the most beautiful hotel on the las vegas strip.

this is the MASSIVE waterfall into the "lake of dreams" at the wynn. so beautiful. i hear there is a neat light show every night, but we missed that some how.

this was our view from our room. it was beautiful at night with all the lights.

just staying at this amazing hotel would have been enough, but my generous parents treated us to incredible meals, vegas shows, and some gambling of couse! we ate well, very well at several restruants at the wynn, il mulino, and a french restruant at the palms. and i hear that some great wine was enjoyed as well (i'm not a fan wine, so i wouldn't know). we also went to two shows- blue man group and danny gans. both were very entertaining. blue man group was random, amazing, bizzar, and facinating. danny gans in a one man show. he does musical impersonations. i will admit that it sounded a little cheesy to me, but it was great!! very vegas and very entertaining.

sean and mom at blue man group. we were given crape paper and asked to decorate ourselves.

sean and i walking around some casino, i think it was palazzo?

mark and i in the lobby of the wynn waiting to check-in.

there were some nice restful moments as well, mom and i were able to hang out by the pool and relax one afternoon while the boys played in a poker tournament. i was able to have lunch and drinks with my childhood best friend, meredith and her husband. so great spend time with her. we also spent time walking around looking at all the sites since it was sean's first trip to vegas.

this was an unforgettable trip. such great food, luxury accomidations, a few good hands of video poker, lots of walking, but precious time with my FABULOUS family was the best part. thanks mom and dad! where are we going next?? can we bring the kids next time??

i can't believe it...

jack is 4 months old!!


it seems like just yesterday that i was lying in the hospital counting the days until i would finally meet him, yet i can barely remember life without him. he is a perfect addition to our little family. this week we went to the doctor for his 4 month check up and shots (4 of them, so sad!). some things remain constant, like the spit-up, loving the swing, the occasional "shower" during a diaper change, thumb sucking, and that he loves having lots of attention. but with all those expected things, the past four months have brought lots of changes. jack now weighs 13 lbs 8 oz (25%). that seems kind of small to me, but since he doesn't keep much in his tummy i guess that is good. he is 25.5 inches (60%) and his head is 16.75 inches (60%). he is making more sounds and trying to mimic anyone who will "talk" to him. he is trying to roll over, but hasn't quite mastered it. (that is our assignment before he goes back at 6 months.) he is holding up his head well and loves to sit up in the bumbo seat. we are changing formula once again to try and get a handle on all this spitting up. as soon as we figure things out with the formula jack will start rice cereal. look for pictures of that experience soon.
i am overwhelmed when i think about how blessed i am. the lord is so good to me and my sweet children are a daily reminder of that. the last four months have been filled with so many emotions and so much excitement. i pray the next 4 days, weeks, months, and years will be more of the same, with less spit up and laundry! :)

we're baa-ack!!!

yes, this bowlin family is finally back in our sweet little house at least for a few days. we had a great time in las vegas with my family. i will post more about that later, but this past weekend we made a trip to amarillo, texas to visit mark's grandparents and extended family. mark's dad was born and raised in amarillo and his family (his parents, brother, sister, nieces, and their families) still live there or very close. we are the furthest way and don't get to see them that often so our trips are always special. we planned this trip about a month ago so that we could visit and introduce jack everitt to everyone, especially granny (danny's mom) since jack shares her maiden name, everitt. (yes, that is where that spelling with an "i" comes from.) over the last several weeks granny's health has been failing and she is ready to go and be with jesus in heaven, so this trip became even more important and special. selfishly i am glad the lord was not quite ready for her to come home because we needed to see her at least one more time. it was an incredible weekend and one that i will cherish for a lifetime. my sister-in-law wrote a BEAUTIFUL blog about the weekend, her thoughts, and the wisdom that granny has shared. if you have time, it is worth reading. i left this weekend with so many of the same thoughts, but also thanking god once again for all the blessing of my bowlin family that i am so lucky to have married into. here are a few pictures of granny with the kids (olivia, abby, kingsley, and jack)...

granny with 4 of her 7 great grandchildren.

jack everitt bowlin with his granny

am i crazy????

i think so. i do it to myself, for some reason i let ANYONE talk me into ANYTHING. i think what really happens is that i don't ever want to miss out on the fun, but by doing so, i create chaos in my life. so as i sit here typing this blog (which is so important) i am overwhelmed thinking about all that will take place in the next few days before i leave on vacation with my family. friday, playdate with friends. friday afternoon we will leave for waco for the 3rd baylor game in 3 weekends (that's one every weekend since the season began, and yes we must go, remember we are true and faithful fans). we will stay the night with some friends so we are not traveling on I-35 with the crazy truck drivers and it is just fun to stay with our friends, brad and mary. saturday at some point we will journey back to dallas, that is if my husband does not convince me to stay one more night and just drive in sunday morning. so on sunday we will all be getting ready for the week. mark and I are heading to las vegas with my family (the blanchettes). so fun, yes, but we have to get there before the fun begins. well, at least to the airport on monday morning. this is an adult only trip, as any vegas trip should be, at least that is my opinion. so that means not only do i have to pack my suitcase, help with mark's wardrobe selections, but i have to get my 2 kids ready to spend part of the week with B and part with aunt chrissie. that means my to-do list is out of control!!! laundry, laundry, and more laundry, clean the house, updating the family notebook (this has all the detailed instructions, important phone numbers, doctor info, etc. so it is important), grocery store, go to the dry cleaners, and the list goes on. so, this will be the last you will hear from me for awhile. i will put on a happy face while out in public, but if you were a fly on the wall in my house you will see a crazy woman. i will update the blog when we get back. i will share pictures from the trip and any fun that my kids have while i am away.

some times you want to go where everybody knows your name...

and for us that is AMIGOS. a friend of mine told me about this little mexican resturant in our neighborhood 3 years ago. mark and i gave it a try and we have been going at least once a week since then. the food is great, but the people are the best!! it is a precious hispanic family that owns and operates it. somehow they are all related, at least i think so! we are always greeted by name, with a smile, and never have to place a drink order because they all just know! olivia has literally grown up there. going there was her "first outing" as a 7 day old infant. i figured it was safe since it is small and they are like family. the waiters love olivia and try and teach her spanish. she is actually learning. she now says, "gracias" and "de nada." i think dora the explorer and diego might be helping too! jack too made his first visit at 7 days old. did i mention the food is great!! i thought i might list the bowlin top 10 most ordered items (margaritas not included):

#10- Adrian's Plate
#9- Tex-Mex Platter
#8- Crispy Tacos
#7- Carnitas Tacos
#6- Carmones Diablo
#5- Pasta Pablano
#4- Tamales
#3- Amigos Pancakes (brunch on saturday and sunday)
#2- kid's chicken taco
#1- homade ranch dressing

oh, i also should say that the salsa is homemade and they give you this yummy tostada FREE before your meal. they even make a special one for the kids.

i thank you julie w. for introducing me to the best mexican resturant around. i love the people, the location, the patio on nice evenings, and the fact that they do all the cooking and cleaning for me at least once a week!