Bluebonnets

It's Spring in Texas and it wouldn't be complete without a photo shoot in the bluebonnets right?  

I am homesick for the Spring in Virginia with the Dogwoods, Cherry Blossoms and Magnolia Trees, but Austin has a gorgeous Spring in it's own way.  I am quickly learning that each place has it's own beauty.  I love the wildflowers.  My parents were nice to let me get some pictures of them with the grandkids, it was a bit crazy but I think we all survived. We had so much fun with my parents here, they were a big help!

New Home

I still can't believe it's real to have our very own home.  It still feels like we are temporarily living here.  When we first arrived in Austin, we rented an apartment in Round Rock on a month-to-month basis in order to find a house.  I never realized how time consuming and crazy it can be to try and find the right home, neighborhood etc. etc., it's quite the process but fun at the same time. After several months of searching we came across this home and it just felt right.  We loved the neighborhood, the schools, the area, running trails, and trees.  It seemed like a good fit for our little family.  I can't tell you what a blessing it is to have this home. We have a whole garage...a GARAGE.  I love going grocery shopping, driving into the driveway and just walking into the house with the groceries, it's awesome.  We also love having a little yard for the girls to play. It's heavenly to just sit in the back yard and breathe the fresh air.  The girls don't quite know what do about having more space.  They are use to apartment space where they basically can always have some sort of view of me, so they feel a bit uneasy when we can be on different levels or they can't 'hear' me. When they are playing and I am not nearby, they will yell out to ask where I am just to make sure I'm there.  The neighborhood we live in had a 'Music in the Park' event the other night and it was so fun to go and meet people.  There were families everywhere playing with kids and enjoying the night.  I love the family-oriented feel that Texas has. This area is a good fit for our family right now.  As time passes on, I am realizing more and more why this place was the right choice for us. We're so blessed to have a home and I'm excited for the memories that are going to be made here.

"The happiest of moments in my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family." 

-Thomas Jefferson

In all honesty, it doesn't matter where I live or what type of dwelling it is. It can be anything from a basement 'newly wed' apartment, to a 3rd floor condo, as long as I have my little family with me my life is good. I love them and I am happiest when they are with me. Each place we have lived has been great in it's own way and it's been great because of the memories we have made there. But, I won't lie when I say we are very grateful for a little more space...and a garage. ;) 

Now I want to sleep for 8 years after moving twice in 3 months. Ha! A HUGE thanks to my parents and my cousins for moving us into our home.

VISITORS WELCOME :)

(I tried to get a picture of the girls in front of the house and they wouldn't hold still for 2 seconds so you get the iphone pic.)

Here is a picture of part of the running trail near our house, I love it.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!

We hope you all had a wonderful day celebrating our Savior, we are so grateful for His love and sacrifice.  We know He lives. It's always nice to reflect on His life because it reminds you about what this journey is really about.

Sunday was beautiful here in Austin.  The weather has been insanely perfect lately.  I love driving the streets and going on walks to see wildflowers everywhere. Bluebells and yellow flowers cover the intersections and sides of highways, it's gorgeous. Wildflowers are my favorite. 

We enjoyed a pretty walk on the path near our house Easter morning. Walks are a great way for the girls to wear out their energy and they are currently on a hunt to find a wild armadillo. We haven't found one yet but they are determined.  We'll see what we find in the coming weeks.  Ha!

On our 'armadillo hunt' I tried to grab a few Easter pictures.  It always helps to have Brett pulling faces at them so I can get them to look up.  I love these girls, they crack me up. 

Other than the walk, the day was pretty low-key. We had fun skyping with family, went to church and enjoyed an awesome Easter Dinner at the Milletts.  I wish I would have taken pictures of the dinner Sara made.  She put together an amazing table and the food was so yummy.  We look forward to every time we get to be with our cousins.  The day ended with a grand finale of Kate literally PASSING OUT, unconscious, from crying so hard she stopped breathing.  Scared me silly. And I am sure you are wondering what she was even crying about to cause her to collapse...it was over a purse.  Yes, you read that correctly, a purse.  Seriously? Abby and Kate were given cute little purses from Nani for Easter and one was pink and the other white. It was late, she was tired, and when I gave her the wrong purse she started crying and forgot how to breath in the process. Oh Kate. Two year olds are so adorable and test every ounce of my sanity all at the same time.  Even with Kate's 'episode,' it was a wonderful day, and an Easter to remember for sure.

They found a Potato Bug on the walk and obviously had to investigate with Daddy.  

Potato Bugs are a favorite right now.

I love this little cubby hand holding onto her dad.

I tried to get a picture of the girls with Daddy, but they didn't want to cooperate much. This is Brett's expression saying 'I'm trying to do what you asked but this isn't working.' Haha.

We made a trip to visit our long time friends from Virginia, the Gordon's.  They now live in San Antonio, which has been so fun for our family. We had a tradition to make cascarones every year for Easter and the kids loved it.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 We had a fun weekend celebrating the Irish holiday. The weather has been amazing and Texas has been very good to us on all fronts.  Many people have welcomed us in and made us feel at home and we are very grateful.  Great people make all the difference. Even though we are enjoying our time here, sometimes homesickness has a tendency to still creep in.  We have found a good way to help overcome the 'homesickness' is to get together with awesome friends, so we had a St. Patrick's Day Party.  Friends help take your mind off things and make life fun. The party was a good time and of course involved an element of chaos, which you can always expect with a large number of kids. We did silly pictures, ate green food, and even managed to survive a scavenger hunt. Ha!  The Millets came over for a green brunch Sunday morning, which was a highlight. Memories were made and I think we even avoided getting pinched. :)

A few of the faces from the party.

Kate refused to have her picture taken.  

The girls wanted to get Brett into the fun and dressed him up. He was a good sport.

Amber and I did the St.Patrick's Day 10K in Temple, TX.  It was a windy run but beautiful with fields of yellow flowers.

Big Girl

This girl has to be one of the easiest kids to potty train.  I am in shock.  Honestly, I was avoiding potty training because I really don't like it AT ALL, but really, who does?!  When I trained Abby I tried to push her too soon and that turned into a disaster.  So, with Kate, I just plain avoided it. I dreaded the moment I needed to break down and train her. Well, she has been asking since November to go on the potty like a big girl.  I didn't want to start training and then move across the country so we avoided it at the time.  When we moved to Austin she continued to ask me and I kept trying to push it off with excuses (basically because I'm a wimp when it comes to this department. ) She continued to ask until one day I decided to break down and face it.  In fact, why not, we're still renting and I would rather teach her in this rental than in the house. ;)  (That's not very nice of me to do to the apartment is it?)  We made a day of it and I was really surprised when she grasped onto it so quick.  The difference between her and Abby is I was forcing Abby to learn too soon and Kate wanted to learn.  Poor Abby has to be my experiment for so many 'firsts.'  Anyway, we are basically accident free after a week and I am one happy momma.  I know we still have a ways to go down the road, but she has made huge progress and is so excited to be wearing big girl panties all day long with basically no accidents.  The only problem I am facing now is that I shouldn't have given her an M&M or a jelly bean each time she successfully went to the bathroom. She has now learned to 'work the system' with her rewards. She knows if she just goes 'a little,' lots of times, she gets more treats. Hmmmm. Now to wean her of the bribes....wish me luck on that.  But Hallelujah, we have success with one of my least favorite projects. :)
Way to go Kate!

Cousins

My Cousin Sara lives here in Austin and we absolutely love having her family close by.  They have done so much for us as we have adjusted here and we are very grateful, such a blessing. A few weeks ago Sara and Dan made a trip to Utah to visit their daughter, Amy, at BYU for her birthday.  Little did we know that the real purpose of the trip was to have Amy's boyfriend ask for Dan's permission to marry his daughter.  Pretty eventful trip for all. Congrats Amy!  We got to stay home with the rest of their kids while they were away and had a great time. The girls were estatic to be able to spend hours upon end with their cousins.  We played games, made food and went on some cool nature walks around the area.  They are awesome kids and really helpful.  Gratefully everyone was alive and well when the parents arrived back home, even the dog.  The only fatality was the fence.  We had a huge wind storm pass through knocking out their back fence.  Opps. 

We love having family nearby.

 Kate was cold and Jared offered his coat... So CUTE!

  The girls were in heaven playing  'beauty parlor' and we had some 'fun' with it too.

I think the car might be a bit small Jared.

Outlet shopping.  (The outlets are 10 min. away.) Dangerous.

Lindsay making tortillas...she's a pro.

 Jared found the Utah version of Monopoly.  I felt pretty cool when I bought the Great Salt Lake.

  

This kid was offering free foot massages.  Like I said, this family is awesome.

Haircut

Kate's hair was getting pretty crazy but I kept procrastinating having it cut because I didn't want her to lose those beautiful curls.  Well, the girls love playing 'beauty parlor' and as a result of multiple twisted combs in their hair and mom desperately trying to revive it, it came time for a haircut.  Since we still don't know much about the area, I just took her to the local cheap Hair Cuttery.  She felt so big sitting in the chair and having her hair done.  It was cut a little shorter than I thought and a bit uneven, but gratefully hair grows back. As we left because the young stylist picked up some hair off the floor and taped it to a certificate for her 'First Hair Cut'. Very sweet and nice of them to think of us, though it was funny when I looked down at the paper. It was mixed with all colors of hair from all the previous clients of the day. (A bit gross, but it's the thought that counts.)  I think Kate's hair was taped there somewhere. Ha! ;) Don't worry, I had picked up a small (clean) lock before we left.  

Best result of the cut, she kept her curls.