Quick trip to San Antonio

On Friday, we took a trip to San Antonio.  I took a half-day vacation on Friday and picked up the kids and caught a 45 minute flight to the hill country.  I am getting more brave to travel with the kids by myself as long as they are short flights with good availability.  Matthew was so excited to get picked up from school early to go on a trip.  Andy arrived later as he had a meeting so he couldn't leave at the same time.  We stayed at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort.  It is catered for families with a sand beach, lazy river, s'mores campfire, playground, and movie on the lawn at night.  Nanna, Papa, and Michael met us there.  It is only a couple of hours drive from their house.

Matthew enjoyed the lazy river and floating with Mama on an inner tube.  Audrey liked to play in the sand.  Audrey did not sleep very well so we ended up putting her in our king bed with us and Matthew.  She woke up at 6:30am so I left the room so that Matthew and Andy could sleep in.  She took an early nap still wearing her swimsuit and so did I.  I just laid on a reclining chair with her on top of me.  We ate at our favorite restaurant, Alamo Cafe, before heading back on a flight Saturday night where the flights had availability.  It was a quick trip but it was nice to get away and see Nanna, Papa, and Michael.

Spring time in Dallas

On April 21st weekend, we enjoyed the mild weather.  Since we traveled the weekend before, we were happy to stay home.  On Friday night, Andy and I went to our first Opera - the Magic Flute.  We didn't know what to expect but I have to say that we really enjoyed it.  He received the tickets through work so we decided to get the sitter and have a night out.  The seats were on the second row so we were close to the symphony.  After 20 minutes into the show (in German) we realized there was a screen above with subtitles.  We were just trying to figure out what they were saying for that 20 minutes.  Thank goodness we saw that screen!  It was Mozart's last written Opera and it had a happy ending.  It was fun to see a live show for a change.

Another fun activity was a family bike ride in our neighborhood.  Our bikes were ruined by getting exposed to some pool chemicals so Andy decided to buy us some new bikes.  We have the baby seat for Audrey and Andy bought an attachment for Matthew that allows him to peddle and hold on just like he is riding a bike.  But it is hooked to Andy's so he really doesn't have to do anything.  Matthew loved it.  Audrey was a little fussy so we cut her trip short.  Hopefully, she will enjoy the next bike ride.  I think her teeth were bothering her.

The only bad thing that occurs during the spring time is allergies.  Andy has been taking shots so that helps him but I have been waking up with a sore throat and the kids have all sorts of sinus issues.  We hang out outdoors mostly since the weather is so nice.

On Sunday, we went to a birthday party at the park for our neighbors.  Dara has 3 kids and they have birthdays around the same time so she had one big party for all 3.  What a great idea!  Matthew enjoyed face painting and the bounce house.  Audrey enjoyed playing with the kids shoes outside the bounce house.  LOL  They also liked the cupcakes, gold fish, and cheese balls.  Afterwards, we flew Matthew's kite in the park and he had so much fun.  We struggled to get it to fly in the air more than a couple of seconds but it was fun running with it and trying to get it to fly.

 Scary dinosaur

 Run, run, run!

Alittle boy and his kite - frustrated!

Uncle Joe's Retirement Party

On Saturday, April 14th, we took a trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for Uncle Joe's retirement party.  I flew with the kids while Andy stayed behind to do some household chores.  He oversaw the installment of new carpet while we were gone.  We are going through our spring cleaning phase and the carpet upstairs was so dirty and cheap (I call it cheap apartment carpet).  We had it steam cleaned last year but it still had spots and I can't tell you how many times Matthew peed on it when he was a baby because I couldn't change his diaper quick enough.  We also had some tile work done in our master bath that took us several weeks to figure out what we wanted with multiple trips to the tile store but we are happy with the results.

Andy dropped us off at the airport Saturday morning and the kids did very well at the airport and on the airplane.  The flight itself was short at 45 minutes and the planes have so many seats available that all my coworkers call it the "non-rev special".  We met my best friend from childhood, Suzanne, at chic-fil-A and the kids enjoyed playing together.  We went to Walmart to buy a couple of things (milk) and both kids did not have their shoes on.  I put both of them in the shopping cart and I was laughing to myself because Matthew walks around the house without shoes all the time and Andy calls him "Arkansas boy". Here we were in Arkansas going to Walmart with no shoes on.  I probably should have taken a picture.

We surprised my uncle and cousins by showing up at the retirement party.  Uncle Joe had a party at his club house with 2 other guys that were also retiring from AT&T.  We went to the club house last year for Uncle Joe's wedding and Matthew had so much fun running around with the other kids.  He remembered and he was excited to play with them again.  We ate our favorite BBQ and enjoyed cake.  We went back to hotel where the kids enjoyed running through the halls and jumping on the bed.  We all slept well in a king bed.

In the morning, we met Uncle Joe and Aunt Janet for breakfast at IHOP.  My rental car wouldn't start so Joe had to pick us up until he could jump start it later.  We had to move car seats (which are such a pain)  but we made it and he got our car working after breakfast.  Apparently, I left some flood lights on over night. Oh jeeze!

We swam in the hotel pool and then headed off to the airport around noon.  The weather was rainy with some storms in Dallas so our flight was delayed one hour.  But the kids did well and we ate turkey sandwhiches and soup at the airport before flying home.  They were tired and slept on the plane.  Andy picked us up at the airport and we arrived at home early enough to enjoy the rest of our Sunday.  It was a quick trip but it was nice to visit with family and friends.  I grew up in Fayetteville until we moved away when I was 8 years old so the small town feels like home to me.

Matthew and Audrey with Jocelyn and Lillian at Chic-Fil-A

Audrey lost her ice cream 

 Audrey with Aunt Janet

 Lauren, Joe, Janet, JP, and Jeremy

Matthew having fun with pool balls and Audrey wanting to join in

Happy Easter

What an eventful weekend! On Thursday, we started the day with doctor visits for Matthew and Audrey (16 month and 4 yr old checkup). Both of them needed shots and I was amazed when Matthew didn't cry. He had a vision and hearing test and passed with flying colors.

Audrey's 15 month old stats:
Weight:  21 lbs 42%
Height:  29 3/4 inches 16%
Head Circum:  18 in  47%

Matthew's 4 year old stats:
Weight: 35 lbs 42%
Height: 39 3/8 inches 30%

 Then I took Audrey to the passport office so that we could get a passport in case we want to travel to the Caribbean some time in May to celebrate Andy's birthday (a little belated). Later that afternoon, we went to Great Wolf Lodge for a fun water park adventure. We met Macie out there and Matthew was having a blast with her. Mama and Matthew spent the night with Macie and her mama and the kids enjoyed story time at the hotel just as much as the water park. We stayed there until 3pm on Friday while Lori and Mary K watched Audrey at home. I was able to hit a few stores with Lori at Grapevine Mills mall before dropping her off at the airport.

On Saturday, we finally took Mimi out for breakfast. We went to the pancake house and started the day off right. After the kids naps, we went to the mall for a little shopping and then we ate at a restaurant in the quadrangle area outside so the kids could run around while we ate. They loved it. In the evening, we had a babysitter watch the kids and we went to the Easter vigil mass. It was a long ceremony where I was confirmed into the catholic church. It was a great experience for me and the service was done with such passion by the priest. The service started at 8:45pm and ended at midnight. We ate cake and punch afterwards for a nice reception.

We were all exhausted that night. Audrey was having poop problems so she woke up at 2:30am and didn't go back down until 4:30am. Andy and Mimi woke up at 5:30am to take Mimi to the airport. We had a relaxing day at home on Easter Sunday. It rained in the afternoon so we all took a good nap at the same time. Andy stayed busy smoking a ham and ribs. They were delicious! We had an easter egg hunt in the back yard and met up with some neighbors where we saw the Easter bunny.

Thank you all for your love and support with my journey with the RCIA process. I am excited to be able to fully participate in the communion with the church now. I have made some good friends through the process and it makes it feel more like a community when you know people. We wish all of you a blessed Easter!

Happy 4th Birthday!

Matthew had a busy week and weekend. Matthew was counting down until this birthday for a week. Andy started off the Wednesday morning by taking Matthew out for breakfast for pancakes. Matthew was so excited to spend some daddy time. Then he dropped off his cupcakes at his school for his friends to celebrate. His teacher had a picture of him on the door and said "guess who is here - it's the birthday boy!". Mary K and Lori came into town. We ate dinner together and celebrated at home together in the evening with a few gifts. On Friday, Nana, Papa, and Michael came into town and brought more presents. The kids were running around in the backyard when they came home. Audrey sure loves her Papa.

On Saturday, Matthew had a fun party at pump it up. The kids ran around on the bounce house equipment and dressed up like pirates before eating pizza and cake. All of Matthew's friends were there and he was living it up. He was asleep on the ride home because he was so exhausted. The weather is still chilly but that didn't stop Matthew and Michael from getting into the pool. They were swimming on Saturday and Sunday. It was a fun filled weekend.