Hittin’ the Gym

Over the long MLK weekend (Jas had Monday off), we had lots of rain in Austin which meant lots of time inside.  Fortunately, our good friends invited us to come play at their school’s gym and burn off some energy.  Yes, please!!! 

While Oliver sunk three-pointers and dunked the basketball, Marin jumped on the trampoline and cheered for him!

We learned that Jeff has mad skills on the scooter…dribbling AND scooting simultaneously??  What a stud.

Trudy was a fierce competitor on the bouncy ball. 

Here’s Jas right after he nailed a backwards dunk. 

Not bad for being trapped indoors on a rainy day!

Hooked on Phonics

Marin created her first self-portrait in January.  She’s very proud that she drew ‘such pretty eyes’ on it!

 

Drawing with markers is her favorite activity right now and she will sit and draw for long periods of time. She’s especially good at writing the letters: O, H, M and the number 2. 

In addition to writing, she sings the letter sounds all day long:  “The H says, hhhhh (heavy breathing) the H says, hhhhh (heavy breathing), every letter makes a sound the H says, hhhhh (heavy breathing)!  Thanks to her favorite DVD she can do this for e-v-e-r-y letter of the alphabet.  

This sweet pea is totally hooked on phonics!

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).