October in a Nutshell

I haven't been so great at blogging lately.  Instead of giving a list of excuses that aren't good excuses at all, I'll just give some highlights of our October.

Gaga (Grandma) came to visit for our first cold weather weekend.  We cooked, played, and went to the pumpkin patch!

Amongst many football games, band concerts, and Cowboys games, we found time for the State fair.  This was my first time ever attending and Evan's first time as well.

Evan rode one ride.  About 3/4 of the way through he was done and ready to be O-U-T.  At least he enjoyed himself for a little bit.

On Halloween Eve we finally decided to break out the pumpkins and get our carving on.  I wish I could say it was a success.  Instead we ended up with a toddler who wanted NOTHING to do with the pumpkin guts, and a mama who spent 30 minutes crafting an Elmo pumpkin that just fell apart.  Oh well.  You win some, you lose some.

Halloween night was a grand success.  Our good friends came over and the firefighter and princess had a blast!

Overall I'm going to call the month of October a success.  We definitely had our downs, but I am willing to say that our happy times made up for anything else we went through.  Thank goodness for good family and kind friends!

Summer Catch Up

I have let the craziness of my life get the best of me and this little blog of mine has taken a major backseat.  I wish I could say that I "needed a break" but in all honesty, I just kind of forgot about this journal of mine.  Oops.  

I was going to write one long post about the rest of our summer, but I couldn't narrow down my picture choices.  

Behold, our zoo visit with Adam and Emily!

Evan and Lilian...sharing a special moment with a cheetah

This tortoise is yummy

Emma LOVED the snake!

Intrigued

We absolutely LOVE spending time with the Haberers.  We wish that we could live closer to them.  In fact, the boys have decided that if we ever live in the same city, they will play golf every Sunday morning.  Church Sunday night.  Boys and their dreams!

Five on Friday

I'm linking up with Darci, Christina, and Natasha for Five on Friday!

1.  I have commitment issues when it comes to home decor.  I can't seem to decide what type of frames/art that I want in my house.  I want to paint the walls, but don't feel like dealing with it.  Until I figure it out completely, I'm DIYing a little art project.  I found my inspiration from Sherry and John of younghouselove.com.  You gotta love those two!

YHL Inspiration

2. I have gotten back into running.  Little by little I am getting my groove back on the road.  I love to run, but it kills my knees.  Hopefully I keep this up once school starts!

running the track with sprinklers

3.  We have been dominating splash pads lately.  We took Evan to a splash pad before he started walking and it was just okay.  Now that he is walking around independently, it is so much fun!  He is so happy and thrilled to play in the water.

4.  This week I read The Fault In Our Stars in just 3 short days.  It was such a good read and I absolutely loved it!  I HIGHLY recommend it!  I am now looking for some other novels to read before school starts back up.

5.  Our pup, Joey is doing so much better!  He continues to hop around on three legs and is getting used to life as a tripawd.  He lacks the confidence to jump on our bed but is getting around just fine everywhere else.  We are so happy he has all of his stitches out and is a happy dog again.

I hope you are enjoying your Friday and your weekend is filled with fun!

It must be summer when...

You spend your days at the lake!  We have a lake nearby (a short 40 minute drive) with the perfect little beach.  

We went with some good friends to enjoy some wear out the toddlers time family time.  Blair and Evan had a blast wading in the water, splashing, building sand castles and being tossed from parent to parent.

The best thing about this trip was that it was FREE!  You know I love free summer activities.  We have been exploring other free options including splash pads and fun activities at home.  We better soak it up while we can because we have t-minus 26 days until we return to work!

Low Key Fourth

We spent our super low-key fourth of July with my family in Houston and Louisiana.  My grandparents live in Louisiana so we try to visit at least once a year so Evan can receive extra love and kisses.  

The drive down to Houston was eventful because Evan actually fell asleep!  I can count on one hand the number of times Evan has napped in the car on a long ride.  Usually about 2 hours in he starts the screaming game.  Unfortunately for my parents, Evan's trip from Houston to Louisiana was exhausting.  My dad (so sweetly) claims that Evan was just trying to keep him from falling asleep while driving.  That is why he screamed for so long.  Thanks for being so understanding Dad!

We spent one day in Lafayette where Evan was able to meet my Aunt Nina and Uncle Luis.  I don't know what I was thinking, but I forgot to get a picture with them!  He was given extra love from my Grandma Flores though.

playing in the kitchen with Grandma Flores

Of course we cannot go to Louisiana without staying with Grandma Winston and Grandaddy!

Evan had his first encounter with stairs!  He became obsessed with climbing up and down, up and down.  I know that some people love their two-story homes, but two days climbing made me perfectly happy with my single story house.  

The rest of the Louisiana trip was spent playing and relaxing.

Overall we didn't spend a ton of time in Houston, but we were still able to play outside.

Evan checks out the kitty

comfort from Grandma

I'm super excited because Evan and I will be flying down to Houston in August to spend 5 days with my parents.  My mom and I already have a long list of fun activities planned including the zoo, children's museum, splash pad, etc.  My biggest worry is the plane ride.  Hopefully it will go well!