Hair Cuts and Birthdays

Again, it has been awhile since my last blog. Of course we have been busy, so here's what's been going on.

Right before her birthday Bailey GOT HER HAIR CUT!!!! I was so nervous, but she took it like a champ. She's one of those kids that likes to know what is going to happen before it actually does, so I had been talking to her about this a lot. She said a couple of times that she didn't want to cut it, but it was just too long. She liked her long hair and would spin and dance around saying she was like Tangled. She also liked the idea of how it would be cut like Rapunzel gets her hair cut at the end of the movie. Ms. Monica had trimmed Bailey's hair before, but this time took off 11 INCHES!!! We donated the hair to Locks of Love. Bailey loves her hair cut and I think she might just be a short haired girl from now on. I think it makes her look older, but it also makes her look more like Aunt Cissy.

Bailey had an Airel themed birthday party on February 4th. We served tacos, (Bailey's favorite) taco soup, and of course cake. The cake was from Celebrations and Sweet Creations in Magnolia, and I highly recommend it. SO YUMMY! Bailey and the cousins had a great time playing together. It is fun to see them run and laugh. I am very close to many of my cousins and hope that Bailey will be when she grows up. Thank you everyone who made Bailey's birthday party fun!

We can't wait until Spring Break coming up in a few weeks. We will be staying home but going to the Livestock Show like we do every year, working the the flowerbeds, and just hanging out. Ethan will be taking his principal test. Good Luck! I will be continuing to work on my masters. The last class I took was not fun. The class I'm on now is a research class and so far it's not that bad. I am on my 5th of 12 classes. After the summer I will only have 4 classes to go. Then I'll maybe be seeing the light. As for now, my house it only clean every 6th week but oh well. We are happy and healthy and that is what matters.

Thanks for reading! :)

It's Christmas Time in the Cities

It's always a PARTY at our house! :)

It has been awhile since I last blogged. Probably because our life is a little crazy right now. Work, football (including Fantasy), pitching lessons, gymnastics, college, and everything else. I LOVE IT!

This Christmas break has been so fun! We started off the vacation with a gingerbread house. It was Bailey's first time to make one. As of today, she has almost eaten off all of the candy.

After a few days of cleaning up the house and last minute shopping, we headed to Sequin to visit Papa, Nana, and Hannah. We went to Clear Springs for dinner. Yummy! They have the best onion rings. Bailey loved playing with all 4 of Papa and Nana's doggies. Next we headed to San Antionio to see all the Christms lights and ride on the river. Of course we went to the Alamo. We never got to the river riding part because it was way too cold and the rides were two hours long. Bailey had so much fun running up and down the riverwalk and chasing the ducks. We stayed at the Indigo hotel which was very nice. We all slept in the king size bed. Ethan was so comfortable that now he is thinking of getting one for us. I'm all about that. The hotel was right on the water but kind of far down from all the resturants. We kind of liked that because we got to walk along a lot of the water. On the way back from eating at Rita's and of course getting icecream, we took a taxi cab. It was Bailey's first time in a taxi. I didn't ride in my first taxi until last year in New Orleans. Ha!

Once we got home Santa was on his way. We made cookies and Ethan and Bailey put reindeer food out on the lawn. We opened presents. Ethan got a watch along with other necessities. I got a hand mixer, Toms, and some running goodies. Bailey got My Little Pony toys, a crayon maker, puzzles, Kung Fu Panda 2, and more toys.

Cookies for Santa.

Bailey went right to sleep. Not because she thought Santa was coming but because she was pooped out from the busy day.

We slept in until about 8:30 and Bailey went straight to the cookies to see if Santa had eaten them. Of couse he had! :) She was so excited to see what she had gotten. The Slinky Dog was the only thing she really wanted and she would of been perfectly content getting just that. She got a bike and had fun outside for the 20 minutes we could handel it. It's cold!

This has been a great year for us. It has been one of our busiest yet. Ethan finished his masters and now I'm working on mine. Bailey is growing up so fast and learning so much. This has been her best year at school so far. She is such a good girl with a great personality. She keeps us on our toes but keeps us laughing.

We are looking foward to the great New Year festivities we always have at the beach with Mr. Gregg, Mrs. Bev, Kyle, Cissy, and Hudson.

Brides and Back to School

On August 6, 2011 Cissy and I got a new sister. Alida!!!!!! We are so happy that she and her family joined ours. The wedding was just beautiful and the reception was so fun. Ethan and I always say that we would marry each other again if we could have the same reception that we did almost 7 years ago. Every time we go to a wedding we talk about that great memory we have. Bailey did so great as the flower girl. Those of you who know her well, know she is NOT shy. Well while walking down the isle she kind of covered her face but stil did pretty good. She still talks about the fun. Just yesterday she said, " Look Momma. I'm gonna be in the wedding." She put her hand together and started walking slow. I couldn't break it to her that it was over. We love you very much, Bubba and Alida.

So school has begun. So far this year looks pretty good. My class seem really sweet. I always say I will take good behavior over academics any day. :) Bailey is loving her new class with Ms. Mandi. She talks about her friends all the time. Right now we are working towards getting donuts on Friday. She has been having a little problem with keeping her hands to herself so if she has a good week, it's Shipley's on Friday. Man, I hope she makes it. :)

Fruit and the 4th

On the 4th we decided to have a relaxing night at home. Ethan smoked a brisket and Bailey and I made a delicious angel food cake. Since Weight Watchers has snuck itself back into our house, I thought this would be a light dessert we could make. I'm usually not a big fan of angel food but this was delicious. And only 4 points. Bailey loved adding the blueberries and strawberries. As you can see, one of the stars (blueberries) has decided to secede. (Must be Texas.) Grandma came over and brought her slicer. We made baked potato chips and the slicer made it really easy. Just like the Kroger deli. :)

Later in the week Ethan went to Philadelphia for his annual "boys baseball trip." You probably don't want all the details from that. Bailey and I took our annual trip to Alvin. We went to Kema with Jaime, Todd, Brady, and Belle. Bailey had a blast on the Ferris wheel and train.

The next day we hung out at Jennifer and John's pool. Seeing Shelby, Sawyer, Brady, and even Belle (she's 1) swim, made me realize Bailey needs swim lessons this fall. She likes to be dunked but won't let go of whoever is holding her. It's funny that she has no fear at the beach but in a pool she holds on for dear life. At Shelly and Matt's we had fun just relaxing. Jess brought over Sprinkles cupcakes and Bailey was in heaven. Definitely not on Weight Watchers but worth it.

On our way home we stopped by Froberg's Farm and bought fruit for the week. I love going to the farmer's markets. We always get so much more and it is much fresher than at the stores. The best part is that it's cheaper. We got all this plus a fried pie for Ethan for $12.00.

Our summer is slowing down. No more trips are planned, but we have had so much fun so far. I am kind of ready to just hang out and relax. Next week we are going to work on getting the office decorated and actually looking like an office. Look for before, during, and after photos to come.
I thought I'd add that as I type Bailey is asking Chip if the ice cream man is here. :)

The Beach!!!!

I thought we'd start our blog with Bailey's favorite place to go. THE BEACH!!! We had so much fun this week. (June 27-July 1) We played on the beach, rode on the Rhino, and caught crab with our new flashlights. The first night Cissy and I went to the grocery store for all the goodies. Ethan made his famous gumbo and even Kara liked it. :) Cissy, Kara, and I spent the days relaxing on the beach while Bailey played in the sand with Ethan. They tried to build sand castles but the tide was really high and it soaked them every time. The current was really bad and just being in the water shin deep would knock us over. There were a lot of surfers and they were fun to watch. Later in the week we saw dolphins jumping in the waves. It was hard for Bailey to see them since they just look like black specks jumping from the water. Ethan and Kyle rode up and down the beach in the Rhino and had fun pulling out the cars that got stuck in the sand. We were sure they had fun looking at the beach "scenery" as well. The girls took a Rhino ride and I can definitely say there is a different between the private and public beaches. The public side was so dirty and filled with trash. I guess what makes the biggest difference is that cars and trucks can't be driven on the private side. We are so blessed to have friends, no FAMILY, that welcome us to their house anytime. We wished Dr. Landshark and Mrs. Bev had been there. I'm sure we will see them soon but not soon enough. Thank you MR. GREGG, MRS. BEV, KYLE, CISSY, and BABY HUDSON for an awesome week. We love you all so much!!! XOXO