Wordless Wednesday

Spring Break

This Spring Break, the kids and I had some crazy fun...at home! We thoroughly enjoyed our time together. We stayed at home and made the most of our days. We spent nearly every waking hour outside---the weather was gorgeous! Here are some of the things we did over Spring Break...

We played dinos... Made some new friends...

Played outside (a lot!)...

Drove the gator...

And jeep...

Played frisbee...and got too close where big brother was throwing....and got a boo-boo on our "fore-noggin"...

Swung on the tree swing...

Played in our playhouse...

Dug for fossils in our backyard....

And found some!....

I took advantage of the warm, spring weather and started potting some flowers...

And admired the ones that were already blooming....

And took particular awareness of our beautiful Japanese maple tree in full color...

All the while, I read books! I completed 2 books over the break. Both are great books, and I highly recommend them.

So that was our Spring Break in a nut-shell. It was relaxing, fun, and enjoyable. The boys and I enjoyed our time together and made the most of it. Happy Spring!

Spring Bridal Shower

My sister-in-law, Sarah Ann and I hosted a bridal shower for Randy and Andy's half-sister, Maggie. She is having a spring wedding around Easter. We hosted an intimate gathering of friends and family for her special day. Here are some photos of the nice afternoon.

The party was from 2-4pm, so we had a light food selection. Chicken salad on white rolls, a beautiful fruit tray, mixed nut and mints. For dessert, we had a chocolate cake, filled with chocolate ganache. Everything was very good! A close up of the cake. Maggie's wedding theme is centered around cherry blossoms. So, her cake was decorated with cherry blossoms. It was a beautiful cake. (And delicious too!)

A beautiful display of wonderful fruits!

Fresh white rolls, chicken salad and swiss cheese. Yum!

The sparkling fruit punch was a big hit! It was easy and delightfully light and crisp. The fresh torn mint and strawberries really added flavor! You can find this wonderful recipe for the punch here .

There were beautiful spring bouquets for accent.

Who can have a party at tea time without serving tea? A selection of teas complimented the cake.

The guests, enjoying conversation...

Here is a picture of me, Maggie, and Sarah Ann. Sarah and I had a wonderful time hosting the party for Maggie. We look forward to her wedding day, and hope that her wedding is as beautiful and special as she has planned.

Hill Country Getaway

Towards the end of February, my mom, cousin Kimberly and Aunt Barbara all met up for a girls weekend in Fredricksburg. We had a great time. Kimberly and I had this idea when she visited back in September to have a "Barbara Reunion" weekend. Growing up, Kara and I would spend a week (or longer) every summer up in Burleson visiting, playing, and hanging out with our cousins, Kimberly and Angela. Kelley even joined us a couple of times! We always had a great time. Barbara was the coolest aunt ever too. She would let us stay up late...eat whatever we wanted (whenever we wanted!), took us on awesome trips (Galveston, Six Flags, Water World, Fort Worth Zoo, etc), let us stand up through her sunroof and sing at the top of our lungs through the country (our favorite song to sing was Bruce Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac")---come on, who doesn't want to sing their heart out to that song??? :-) Anyways, on these excursions with Barbara, she paid for everything. She hardly ever allowed my parents to give her any money while we stayed at her house---and Kimberly and I had this idea, that we should honor her---and take her on an excursion---paid for by us! Unfortunately, Kara couldn't join us due to her work schedule----and we know Angela was with us in spirit----and my mom joined us to help celebrate the awesome woman Barbara is. We had a great time in Fredricksburg. We rented out the top floor of a cute bed and breakfast, shopped the streets of Fredricksburg, and drove to Center Point and ate lunch at the Camp Verde General Store.
Kimberly and I had our picture taken on the bench of the front porch of the Camp Verde General Store. Our Gran-Gran grew up in this area and would pull tricks on an elderly couple that would sit on this very bench to eat ice cream on Sunday afternoons. We all agreed that our "reunion" weekend occurred way too late---so we decided that we should try to do this at least every year or two. We're hoping that when Kimberly and Steve move to California, we should have our next reunion out there! Kelley and Kara---are you in? And while Heather and Laura Lea never participated in our summer extravaganzas, wouldn't it be fun for all of us, girl cousins, to have a reunion? :-) Think about it...