Stylin'

Diggin' the Puma© hats from Rickie Fowler!
Shout out to my bro for getting them signed and sending them to the girls.
Bella and Lexie are proud to sport their Rickie gear....Bella wore her hat to school~


Oooohhhh.....Can Rickie sign a Rolex© for Sassy? 


Thank you Bro. You da bessssT.

A Busy Break.

This Spring Break was special. Family was in town! We went downtown and explored the city in the rain. We ate some incredible food, went to a vineyard, played at the park, visited a museum, had an American Girl cupcake swaree', tie dyed t-shirts...

It was a busy week filled with great times and loving, creative memories.

Below are some of the moments captured on my iPhone or with my camera~

 

La Familia.

My Dad and Pat came to visit the girls and I for a week. Dad and Pat stayed in their RV at a local RV park. We were able to have dinners with them and show them around our city a little bit. 


We ate at some really great local restaurants, having "the best hamburger Pat has ever had", eating wonderful Mexican food (twice). Of course, you cannot be in Texas and not eat "chicken fried steak"...so, we did that too. We also went on a glass bottom boat tour!
The only thing we didn't do was saddle up a horse and ride along the river. Next time perhaps?


It has been 3 years since my Dad has come to our little neck of the woods, so it was a nice change of pace for us. The girls enjoyed the time with their Grandparents and I enjoyed having my family around!

Sparkly Sweet Dreams.

Tonight~

We watched a movie, I made special basil parmesan popcorn. I put a small jar in the center of the girls popcorn bowls with candy in them.

Taco's and Lemonade for dinner.

The girls took a bath in this chemistry "GOO" that was purple. It felt like squishy tapioca pudding. While they were doing their bath experiment, I was creating a fort in my room for us to sleep in. 

One ladder, 4 sheets, a hammer, a couple of nails, a stapler, string of lights, 12 pillows, 4 blankets, 2 sleeping bags, stuffed animals, 2 flashlights, a ton of books and a BIG imagination.....

PRESENTING....

"GIRLS NIGHT IN"

 

All That Glitters.

This Christmas, there was no shortage of bright sparkly things to catch a little girls eye. Brilliant hues of red, pink, purple, turquoise and lime green. Christmas morning has that same magical quality and feeling as when you enter the gates of Disney World©. Only, it is over in about 10 minutes. Then, all we are left with is a graveyard of wrapping paper, boxes, tissue, twist ties, bows and whatever else was binding the toy to it's package.
I made my annual Creme Brulee' French Toast, Thick Cut Bacon and Sparkling Orange Juice. 
We went to Christmas dinner at my girl, Shannon's house. Mark and Shannon made a delicious dinner and I felt blessed to celebrate with people that I dearly love on Jesus' birthday. 
Christmas is a season and a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, to celebrate life, appreciate family and to be thankful for all that glitters in our world.

Growing Up So Fast....

Hey Creepy.

The girls had a very fun night of Trick or Treat.
Lexie, 2 hours before the Halloween festivities began, said "I don't want to be a Witch anymore. I want to be Fancy Nancy.". UHHHHH, WHAT?
Then, she changed her mind again and said "Actually, I want to be a rock star". WELL, that I can do!


Bella is a Spider Queen. 
Lexie is a Rock Star.
Friends are Vampires.


The most fun for the girls was passing out candy to other kids and visiting the "MONSTER" house. Lexie also very much enjoyed sneaking a lot of candy which turned her into a monster of her own kind. 


I am thankful that in a few days the "Candy Fairy" will come and take all of the candy away and leave a small gift for the girls. The Candy Fairy works for the dentist and next to Tinkerbell©, she is my favorite fairy.


I did a photo shoot a few weeks ago in the spooky trees. Bella and Lexie's original costumes are photographed below.

Back To School.

Lexie and Bella started 2nd and 3rd grade this year. The photo above was taken on the first day of school this year. 

The photos below are from last school year, on the first day of school. 

There are a few changes. Lexie grew up a lot, she lost some teeth, got taller and was looking forward to school this year (whew!). Bella also sprouted up quite a bit, got "BANGS" (which she is already tired of by the way) and was not so much looking forward to this school year. 

 

The girls started a new school and Bella was the social Queen at her old school. So, she's going to have to start building her empire at the new school. I understand how she feels though. She was at her old school for 3 years and knew everyone (staff and PTA included)...she has her work cut out for her this year. 

Having said that, it will be a good lesson for the girls. Life changes and with that, one must learn how to adapt and embrace those adjustments. Better to learn how to conquer change now. 

When I was in High School, we moved the last 6 weeks of my Junior year to not only a new school, but another state. I got a violent shove into "make it or break it"...and you know what, I jumped in head first! So, in keeping with the old adage, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Bella will be just fine! Queen "B" will be ruling her kingdom by the end of next week, I'm certain of it.

Christmas Card

I took the girls out on the Guadalupe river for a "Christmas Card" photo shoot. This one happened to be one of my favorites. Somehow, though, Shutterfly/Costco/Wolf Camera NEVER printed them. It's the strangest thing. So, because they never printed the pictures, in all fairness, I kind of never sent them the photograph, you guys never got your Christmas cards. Really, who needs to get technical or point fingers? Here it is, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy January 16th, Season Greetings....May all your dreams come true.

Christmas 2010

This Christmas was a season of simplicity, change, love, strength and faith for us. Many aspects of our lives have changed over the course of the year.

Back in June, I took an amazing trip to France. I was able to delve into the culture, see the appreciation that the French have for life and to understand first hand the way they celebrate it. It was an eye opening experience to see such happy people who seemed to hold a great deal of value in family, friends and the enjoyment of life with less of an emphasis on the size of their homes or the make of their cars. I'm not saying that this doesn't exist in America, but what I am trying to say is that as a culture, the French seem to have figured out that "things" don't create happiness.

This was a subtle lesson that I didn't even realize I was learning, at the time. However, the experiences that I took away from France aided in the transition that was soon to come in our lives.

Sometimes we fail to "see" all that is magnificent in our world. Whether it is a sunbeam that created a rainbow, an outburst of laughter from a child, the kiss of a loved one or the simple fact that you have a roof over your head and food on the table. I hope that you celebrated the glory of God, the love of your family and the many blessings in your life this Christmas holiday.

Something to love.....

The girls made this heart out of bendaroo's and had placed it on the balcony of our beach condo. It was nestled up on a little mound of sand. I thought, hmmm, ironic, I DO love the beach. I also really love my kiddos and their creative minds.

No Tricks

Bella was "Frankie-Stein" from Monster High and Lexie was Cleopatra for Halloween. We did our annual hay ride through the neighborhood and got about 18 pounds of candy. As always, we crept through the neighborhood spook house, rode on the hay ride and then had a cookout in the streets with neighbors and friends...a tradition that we started 3 years ago. Hopefully, a tradition that will carry on for many years.

Southern Fried

Tootie, Gran-P and Nona were having a good ole time at the party!

My sister in law (Mel)...first of all, let me say, seriously? she is pregnant and as it would happen, had the baby the morning after orchestrating this wonderful party. seriously? who looks this good at 9 months?

Anyhow, Mel (supermodel) makes the most insane, incredible paper mache' pinata's I have EVER seen in my life. This cow is no exception. A pinata people, isn't it somethin'?

Mel and Moose (my bro) had a real shindig of a party for "Tootie". She had a great birthday party and this was the 2nd year in a row that we were fortunate enough to attend. What a GREAT job Mel and Moose!

Then, as luck would have it, we got to meet "Bob the Builder" as Tootie lovingly called him. This was his first photo session....in preparation for the many years of Aunt Sassy snapping shots of him every millisecond for the rest of his life....

What a blessing to have spent such quality time with family and to experience the miracle of God in this sweet little boy.

Y'all come back now, ya hear?

Upstate New York

Duck Duck Duck, Daisy? I love the flowers that were in bloom this time of year in Upstate New York. I took a bunch of pictures of different flowers, but I loved how unique these little guys were. They look like duck-heads to me.

The Adirondack chair was originally called the Westport chair, named after the small town in New York. I loved the color combo and the little diva's that adorned these chairs!

About 9 years ago, T-bone took me to these falls and I really enjoyed the hike, the creek, the scenery, but I was freezing cold and just wanted a big blanket and a cup of hot chocolate.
This time, the falls were even more exciting to see because the girls really loved skipping rocks and sinking their toes into the chilly water. I could sit and listen to the sound of a waterfall for hours. It is such a beautiful and tranquil place in the Adirondack Mountains.

This carnival is in a town on a little beach somewhere an hour and a half away from Caznovia. The carnival remains in tact year round, but reminded me of a fair in Texas that is seasonal. The girls loved riding the rides and walking around, winning a prize for shooting a target on a duck, you know, eating funnel cakes, seeing the world's smallest unicorn and buying happy faced rocks. I'm kidding.

We had a great time, thanks Mary, Skyler and Jakers. We love you guys!