January 30 - Winnie

Here she is folks-Winnie. The infamous puppy that Julia is obsessed with-OBSESSED. She goes to our neighbor's house every day to play with her (sometimes more than once). Luckily, Winnie's parents (Will and McKenzie) think Julia is adorable and enjoy her company. They also think Julia is hilarious..she told them she was going to have a carnival with games and she is going to sell jewelry in order to earn enough money to buy and take care of her own puppy. Very entrepreneurial! r Winnie loves Julia and let's her carry her around, super cute!

January 29 - Crazy Travel

Hola peeps-sorry for the lack of posts recently. My goal is to update this blog twice a week but the last few weeks have been tough. I was in Orlando last week for our national sales meeting (the days were long, we went from 7am-10pm almost every day but we stayed at the Ritz so at least the facilities were impressive) and this week I was in Gainesville for a new product rollout project. Actually, as I type this right now I'm at a hotel near the Jacksonville airport and I fly out at the crack of dawn tomorrow. On Sunday, JD flies out of town for a week of work. We usually don't travel like this back to back but this is just a crazy time!

A quick update on the last few weeks...

We took the kids to Armand Bayou Nature Center a few weeks ago and had a wonderful time walking around the trails and seeing a historic house. The kids were able to play with an old typewriter as well as a piano.

Last weekend, I flew home for 24H to see the kids and we went to Emma's birthday party. It was jam packed with a petting zoo, pony rides and bounce house. The kids had a blast, Julia especially loved holding the chicks. I was home long enough to go to the party, take the kids to school the following morning and having lunch with Julia before heading back to the airport. 

Luke loves his swimming lessons and the kids are having a blast with daddy. Unlike boring mommy (hehe) he takes them to Sonic for milkshakes and Build-a-Bear!

Happy Thursday everyone!

Emma's party

Armand Bayou

Future Orca

There were several companies having conferences at the Ritz last week including KPMG..I couldn't resist posing 

January 12 - My Labbies

Why are labs such amazing family pets?

They let their human sister and her friend dress them up...

 

 

They love to read books with the little man and snuggle time afterward

 

 

They are my dedicated reading buddies at night

 

 

Love my labs! 

January 8 - I Want a Puppy!

Tuesday
"Mom! MacKenzie (neighbor at the end of the street) has a new puppy. Her name is Winnie. She is so cute, I'm in love with her. She's grey and white and just so cute. I really want my own puppy." - Julia

"I'm sure she is cute." - Mommy

Wednesday
"Mom, quick! Come outside, Winnie is out and I want you to meet her. She is the cutest thing I've ever seen." - Julia

Mom runs out and meets the cute puppy. 10 minutes later...

"Mom, when can I get my own puppy?" - Julia

"You aren't getting a puppy. We already have two puppies, Amelia and Karma." - Mommy

"Mom, those are dogs. Your dogs.  They follow you everywhere. I want my own puppy. Please, pretty please with cherries on top?" - Julia

"You know puppies turn into dogs, right? The answer is no." - Mom

"If you get me a dog, I'll let you kiss me and hug me. And...we can snuggle." -Julia

"No. Who is going to wake up with the puppy in the middle of the night? - Mom

"Me, I'll do it." - Julia

"Really, will you now? Who is going to walk the puppy?" - Mom

"Me." - Julia

"Who is going to pay for the puppy? Puppies are very expensive." - Mom

"Can I do chores or something to pay for the puppy? - Julia

Conversation continues in the car...she is getting increasingly upset.

"No, that's won't cover it." - Mom

"This is so unfair, I wish I had money, like a credit card or something!" - Julia

"How about this. When we give Karma back to Uncle Bryan, we can get a puppy." - Mom

"When will this be? - Julia

"Two years." - Mom

"Two years?! Do you know how old I'll be in two years?! Unbelievable!" - Julia having a breakdown

Thursday
"Mom, as soon as the weather warms up, I'm having a bake sale. I'm going to earn money for a puppy. And so I can buy a collar and that kind of stuff." - Julia

January 5 - New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year everyone! We celebrated at our neighbor's house and the kids made it until 10pm. It was a fun night filled with lots of delicious food, fun and fireworks. Now....2015! Bring it on! 

This year I have two resolutions:

1. Finish the master bathroom

2. Get Karma in shape (she is 20lbs overweight)

Do you have any resolutions?

Last week we went to the Houston Children's Museum (an amazing place that I cannot recommend enough). The Grinch was on hand for photos and everyone had fun building rockets in the Invention Lab (Uncle Bryan's rocket when the farthest, great job Uncle B!). After a few hours, we went to Star Pizza, rated the best pizza in Houston. There was an all-you-eat-pizza buffet and it was AMAZING. Luke ate more than I have ever seen him eat-6 slices! Julia had 7!! Amazingly, when we arrived home they immediately went to the pantry and started snacking. I guess they are both going through growth spurts. 

The Grinch

Making rockets is a serious business

Book store fun

December 28 - Magic

Happy holidays everyone! After a wonderful Christmas day, the kids are having a good time playing with their new toys and the adults are enjoying vacation. The weather has been gorgeous (except for today, it's cold and raining) so the kids have spent almost every day outside playing. If they aren't outside, they are having fun playing new video games or watching movies. Uncle Bryan has been introduced to the awesomeness known as 'Just Dance' for the WiiU and it's safe to say he's getting more exercise this trip than he bargained for! My wish came true this year-happy and healthy family. Thanks Santa!

Enjoy these photos everyone!

Christmas Eve snuggles

Christmas Eve - cookies and carrots

Luke was very excited about this stocking stuffer and tried to eat it at 7am in the morning!

Present time!

Merry Christmas with my furry baby

Luke's new car, they love it!

December 24 - New Traditions

It's Christmas Eve...JD and Julia are cooking in the kitchen, Bryan and Luke are playing a video game, the dogs are snoozing and Bing Crosby is singing in the background. I've already done an emergency Target run (it was busy but not too horrible) and the house smells wonderful. Life is good. 

Last night we had a holiday block party with our neighbors and had a great turnout. Everyone brought a dish to share and we had chicken, chili, stew, tons of sides and yummy desserts. The kids rode their bikes around the cul-de-sac for hours while the adults all caught up. The last time we had a neighborhood get together was 4 years ago (Luke was a teeny tiny baby) so we all decided to make this an annual affair going forward. After the party, we started a new tradition with the kids, Christmas tree campout. JD and Bryan built a tent fort and the kids snuggled up. They loved it!

Merry Christmas eve everyone!

Christmas Eve

December 20 - All I Want for Christmas

Julia's most recent holiday wishes...

"All I want for Christmas is a wiggly tooth. Do you think Santa can make that happen?" -Julia

"Hmm, I don't think Santa's magic can help with that." -Mommy

"All I want for Christmas is my own baby. Ideally, a one year old baby girl and I will name her Sparkles." - Julia

"Wow, interesting. Who would take care of the baby when you are in school?" -Mommy

"You." -Julia


Hmmm...these are two wishes that won't come true Christmas morning! 

December 15 - Picture Perfect

Last week we did a few photo shoots with the kids for our holiday cards. When I say 'photo shoot,' I mean I forced the kids to get dressed up and pose in a Santa and elf hat. Julia was totally on board and having a ball, while Luke had zero interest (ZERO) in sitting still for a photo. And forget any sort of natural smile out of him, I tried for 45min and this photo was the best I could do (and I had to bribe him with chocolate to get this). Even though we don't see their gorgeous dimples, I still love this picture. So imagine my display when I went to make the card and discovered the photo quality wasn't good enough for the card. Arg! So....the following night we repeated the whole process using JD's phone (which takes much better photos). It was another 45min of trying to get the kids to smile naturally and Luke to sit still. We never saw the dimples but there were some cute photos. I mailed our cards out today so hopefully you get yours soon.

Happy Monday!

December 8 - Penny the Penguin

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! We bought our tree on Saturday (8' noble pine) and decorated the house this weekend. JD and the kids put the lights outside and we have a new addition to the yard, Penny the penguin. The kids and I bought Penny on Thursday after dance class and Luke has been obsessed. He moved Penny (his name choice) around the house at least 20 times on Friday and Saturday deflating her and then inflating her. JD and I are thrilled Penny is finally up outside on a timer so Mr. Dimples cannot play with her. 

Although it looks like Christmas in our neighborhood, it certainly doesn't feel like it (our house smells like the holidays though, I always have a candle burning!). It's been pretty warm and humid for the last few days and the kids have been having fun riding their bikes and scooter.

Amelia even had a play date yesterday with our neighbor's new puppy, Hank. Hank is 6 months old and he is already bigger than Amelia! They had fun except when he tried to swat Amelia in the face (trying to play, it wasn't aggressive) but the old lady wanted no part of that. She showed him who was boss!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Just call her Punky Brewster