Where did Christmas go, Mommy?

Christmas was incredibly fun this year with a toddler in tow and now that it’s over, Marin is totally confused.  She keeps asking me, “Where did Christmas go, Mommy?”  365 days is going to be a long time for her to wait to do it all again…

There were reluctant visits with Santa,

Hours of fun trimming and ‘untrimming’ our tree,

Silly games with special friends,

Tree lighting celebrations,

Lazy mornings in festive pjs,

Too many presents to count,

Lots of smiles and snuggles,

A snazzy new fireplace,

Lots of love,

A trip to Llano for Cooper’s BBQ, 

RIBS!!! This is Texas, y’all!

We had ourselves a merry little Christmas…and we hope you did too!

Now life is back to normal….

 

More pictures coming soon from our trip to Dallas!

The way to a man’s heart….

is through his stomach.  At least that’s the way my man works….and my toddler too I guess.

Need I say more?

 

I found this recipe from a blog that I love.  I made the red velvet cake balls for Valentine’s Day.  Jason loved me.  I made this peanut butter cup dark chocolate cake for his birthday and he adored me—until I ate the last piece!  ;)

Bakerella's blog

Happy Birthday, Wizard!

Happy Fall Y’all

Jason’s birthday is always fun simply because it’s the beginning of the end.  Er, that’s not really what I mean…he’s not THAT old!  His birthday marks the end of summer & beginning of FALL.  I don’t love Texas in the summer.  At.  All.  However, I love living in Texas all winter long.  I adore the fact that we don’t own a scoop shovel or an ice scraper with fur that goes up to your elbow.  It’s the little things in life, right?

We drove out to a pumpkin patch in Elgin, TX for a little birthday outing.  The hay maze, farm animals, hayrack ride and pum-pums (pumpkins) didn’t disappoint.  Of course, the horse was a hit too.  Goldilocks would like one for her birthday.  :)

 

Are you ready for some football?

One of the best things about being from Nebraska is Husker Football.  My freshman year of college, I went to the first Husker football pep rally where Tom Osborne spoke to all of the students and said, “We {Nebraska} don’t have the mountains, we don’t have the ocean, but we’ve got FOOOOOOTBALLLLLL!”

That’s always a better story to tell when we have a winning team, of course!  :)

Here we are ready for kick-off on pay-per-view!        Go Big Red!

Cooking up some birthday fun!

Turning TWO is fun to do!  Marin had a blast celebrating her second birthday with her best buddies and her Nanny and Papa. 

Marin loves telling people (mostly strangers!) that she’s TWO.  We’re amazed with all that she picks up on for being so little.  I guess she’s not SO little any more…..

Only 4 weeks old.  So sweet…

Getting ready for her birthday party.

Good Morning, Birthday Girl!

Sweet friends…

Balloons are always a hit!

 

Frosting is an even bigger hit!                                     

Raise your hand if you had a great birthday!

Bahama Mama

What better way to kick off the month of August than a trip to the Bahamas!  We spent an amazing week with great friends on an incredible beach.  Marin loved swimming in the pool at the hotel and beach house, but we had to do some major coaxing to get her in the ocean.  Once we figured out that the SAND was freaking her out, we were good to go….carry the child from the house and place her gently in the water.  Ah, the Carribean Waters aren’t so bad after all! 

Catching a few zzzzzz’s on the plane.

Getting ready to hit the pool after a long day of travel.

Early morning walk on the beach with Daddy.

Our ‘guest’ house.

 

The main house.

Good friends, great memories!

Get a grip!

Only a teacher could appreciate the grip that Marin has on her pencil!  Her favorite activity right now is writing her favorite letters in her notebook….M, O, and an occasional L.  She’s also pretty zippy at drawing ‘cirsees’ (circles). 

A buzzin’ good weekend

Who doesn’t love a venti caramel macchiato triple shot with two sugars? [In her dreams.] Water in a Starbucks cup will do just fine too!

Fun with Nanny and Poppy in Texas

Goldilocks loves her family...grandparents, great-grands, auties, uncles and cousins. We're fortunate that she always goes to our family with open arms and kisses. Jason's folks came from Nebraska for a visit and Marin had a blast with them!

Having a ball at the park with Nanny.

Opening Poppy's new Kindle was exciting for everyone.

Thanks for making the long trip to visit us!

Memorial Day Weekend

We have a patriotic kid on our hands. Goldilocks l-o-v-e-s flags.  She spots them everywhere: houses, parking lots, parks, car dealerships and the mother-load of all flags in her world can be found at……. ‘Wobby Obby.’ {Hobby Lobby}

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Fishy, Fishy in the Brook, er Pool

Swimming lessons have been more fun than what we ever expected.  Marin isn’t in love with the idea of being under water, dumping water on her head (who is??), holding her breath or jumping off the side of the pool, BUT she loves to float on the giant ‘lilly pad,’ kick her legs while floating in the ‘motor boat,’ sing swimmy songs and finally go down the slide at the end of class! 

Goldilocks is not going to win a gold medal in the breast stroke any time soon, but thanks to Emler Swim School she’s less afraid of the water and ready to hit our neighborhood pool.  Good enough for me…. 

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Picasso? I don't think so!

Painting a birthday card for Grammy.

Love bingo markers for little hands!

Oh? You didn't want me to eat the paint?

Monkey See, Monkey Do!

These two monkeys follow each other around all day long. It's no surprise that they mimic each other's actions sometimes!