Ahh... interior design...

When I was looking for examples of window treatment's today, I found this great blog! I have had so much fun today reading through it and browsing through her pictures. Her work is amazing. It reminded me of how much I miss interior design and how that was/is??? who I am.
I am always so conflicted because I never had a big taste for interiors and working for clients. I think my main reasons of why I don't love doing the typical interior designer thing is because 1- sometimes it's really hard to make things look fabulous. 2- I worry about finding things the client likes and creating a space they want and will be happy with. 3- It can be stressful to find the right things. 4- I get overwhelmed by the tiny details... accessorizing is sometimes really hard for me.

My solution: work in a specialized field! I worked at a lighting showroom and LOVED it. I loved consulting with people on lighting choices. I loved finding that one thing they were looking for and showing them new ideas that they hadn't thought of. I truly enjoyed my job. If I could make enough doing that or could even do it part time, I would. The other day I actually contemplated having the rest of my kids close together so I can be done with the mom thing and get back into the design consultation/lighting field.

From lighting, I would love to work with a contractor doing design consultation with clients. I can handle paint colors, flooring, lighting etc. Pretty much the raw design materials that go into a home. My plan is to start of working in a design center for a large building company (think Ivory homes, or Lennar etc. if you're in Texas). From there I think I would find a contractor that wants to include design consult in their business. Eventually, I want to be my own new construction/remodel design consultation service. This is always what my thoughts come down to. It's about convenience... I bring samples to the client based on what they have shared with me, thus cutting down their searching, which saves them time. I'm hoping to get there one day and hoping that there is indeed a market for it!

So there are my thoughts on my hidden career self. I think of that person as my real self and get a lot of satisfaction in being that person. Not that I don't enjoy being a mom... just that is a completely different thing. Does anyone know how I can balance and do both at the same time? I wish I could, but just can't see it happening. Thus, I wait.

Concert Report!

Michael Buble was FABULOUS!
We were sitting way up in the "cheap" seats (meaning that they are considered the cheap seats but were NOT cheap) and still had a great time. Hearing the songs live and in person was so cool. I would have to say I enjoyed it much more than any other concert I have ever been to. I would go to all of his concerts if i could. I would absolutely love to be down by the stage, but can't bring myself to fork over that much money (think around $300) just to see someone sing.
The one thing that made me laugh was his dancing. It was the kind of dancing that goes with the music, but it was just funny looking. So I couldn't ever look at his feet because it was just weird... weird that they were moving all strange and his upper body was staying still. Are you picturing it yet?
Anyway, I highly recommend going to his concert if you have the chance. It was fantastic and very fun! I know I will be going again one day!

It's Michael Buble Day! HOORAY!

Tonight Jon and I are going to the Michael Buble concert. Yes, you can all be incredibly jealous now.
The first time I heard Michael Buble was in my 7 am Perspective Drawing class at LDSBC in 2004. And I went out and bought the cd the next week.
What makes me laugh now is that my little sister didn't really like it when I made her listen to it way back then, but now she is a huge fan of Michael Buble.
I am really excited to see him live! It should be an awesome concert!
Here is a link to his youtube channel so you can check him out.

and here is a picture of his hotness. All the more reason to love him.

Summer is almost here!

Yes, it's February and we're almost ready to pull out the shorts. We had a high yesterday of 93! Granted, that was a record high and today we had a cold front come in and we're back to the 50's. But still... 93 in February!

Our pool opens in about month. I took advantage of the Old Navy baby and kid's sale and got Alex his swimming suit! It's very cute!

He already has some khaki shorts, but I hadn't gotten him any denim ones. I was thrilled when I found some cute ones for 60% off at Kohl's, so they were only $6! I also got him a pair of plaid ones and a few new shirts (they were $4.80). I couldn't help myself... they were too cute to pass up!
And of course, I had to take a picture to show them off! (the aqua shirt actually matches the plaid shorts too because there is a little aqua stripe in them).



I am SO excited for him to wear his new summer clothes! He has some little navy slip on shoes that will look great for the summer and I can't wait to get him some cute little sandals too!

A nice day outside

Today was a beautiful day!
While we were grilling up some yummy chicken on our grill (I highly recommend using Newman's Own Sesame Ginger as a marinade!), Alex ran around out in the grass. The grass right now is very much in winter deadness and is pretty long, so it was a little hard for Alex to walk around in. He fell down a LOT, but started getting better at it.
We had to make sure he avoided the new anthill we discovered by our patio. I guess that means it is almost time to put out the usual fire ant killer/fertilizer combo. I hate fire ants and having to worry about Alex getting into them and getting bitten. And I HATE the grass here. I don't think I can emphasize that enough!

Alex did learn to brush the grass off of his hands after falling down though, so that was cute.

Another cute Alex thing is that he has started saying bye whenever I say bye on the phone. It makes me laugh because I say bye and then have this little echo of buh after me. Who wouldn't smile after hearing that and looking over to a little grinning boy?

Alex also folds his arms for prayers (although he doesn't have a lot of patience), says amen (men!), and does the sign for baby when he wants to watch baby signing times. And he screams when he gets his diaper changed. This seems to be something that comes and goes because he the same thing for a while when he was about 8 months old. He had been really great about getting changed until about the last month and I'm hoping that he'll go back to being okay with it soon!

Sad news of the week is that Alex picked up a cold, so no nursery for him this week.
Happy news of the week is that Wednesday is the Michael Buble concert! I'm so excited!
Hope all of you have a great day and week!

Women's Conference

This weekend I went with my friend Amy to her stake's women's conference. It was really good to hear about service and how not only giving but being willing to receive it will bless us.
We also go to hear Rachelle Wilkinson speak (she's a mom to quintuplets. Her blog is in my link list.) and that was really cool.

My favorite thing though was the classes... in particular the cooking with food storage class! Now I'm having dreams of wheat grinders, yogurt makers, bread machines and dehydraters. Of growing wheat grass and food storage boxes under all of my beds (since there are no basements here).

So now I have a lot of recipes that I would usually have given the brush off because they just sounded so weird, but after trying some of them, they were actually pretty good! If you want some cool recipes and ways to use your food storage, comment and I will scan in the recipes I got and vouch for their goodness.

Hooray for food storage! Now... if I only lived closer to a cannery. Dang not living in Utah.
I will probably try to use what we have this year (since we don't have a lot) and I'm guessing that canneries would be more abundant in Arizona, where we are hoping to be next year.

Whoever knew someone could be so excited about food storage and wheat grinders. I certainly never thought I would see the day.

Alex highlight of the day - Day 2

Alex got a 4-wheeler for Christmas. He loves riding it and taking his dog or baby for rides on it. Well, actually, he likes watching them fall off of it. ;)

This is Alex "going" as fast as he can on his 4-wheeler. What a funny guy!





Still on the wheeler... he found the baby (and I love how he says baby) and then drops it and can't find him again.

Alex highlight of the day - Day 1

Another clip of Alex and the belt. I just smile when I see these because I think it looks so dang funny on him! I may be the only one that is laughing though.




And this is how I can tell that Alex has had a good nap.




He kept doing that for a few more minutes while I stood outside of his door before going in to get him. I think he would have kept doing it, but it was so cute that I had to go in!

Alex wears the pants in this house... well the belt at least

Today I put Jon's belt on Alex. I had to double it around him and the end result was quite funny looking. Oh the things we do to our children...





how does it look mom?


if you think it looks funny in the picture, it was even funnier to see him walking around with it on. The video didn't show a good frontal view, but the view from behind was pretty good!


get this thing off of me!



I will add some other Alex highlights in a new post tomorrow because he has been having a pretty funny week.


Oh, and for those who wanted it, the PB finger recipe is now added to the PB craving post.

Peanut Butter Finger Cravings

I made some PB fingers for my sunbeams for valentines. It was good because there wasn't a lot left to pig out on after I made up 5 plates. But the problem is that they were SO good that I wanted more than what I was left with.
So today I'll probably have to make some more. And I plan on eating them throughout the week. I'm already excited just thinking about the yummy-ness.
If anyone wants my delicious recipe, leave a comment and I will post it!


Sorry for the delay! Here is the best PB Finger recipe ever! My mom says you don't need to put the layer of PB over the top, but I have to say that it is BETTER with it. Jon made these for me once and I forgot to tell him that the PB layer wasn't necessary and he did it and now I can't do it without. So Mom, do the PB layer!


3/4 c. butter or margarine
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3/4 c. peanut butter

Cream together and add dry ingredients below.
1 1/2 c. flour
2 c. oats
1 tsp. soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Press into large cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes until lightly golden. Do not overbake or they will become dry (*carrie says, and they are SOOO GOOOD when they are moist! mmm...). Spread a thin layer of peanut butter over the top when slightly cooled, then frost.

3 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. margarine
1 tsp. vanilla
canned milk (really, who has canned milk? I used regular and it was yummy)
cocoa

mix until desired consistency and darkness.

I am the Literati (scrabble) champion!

For FHE tonight, Jon and I dueled in a game of Literati. He was on one laptop and I was on the other.
I started out with using all 7 of my letters to spell "racings" and thus got a 35 point bonus. That combined with all of my other superior spelling skills got me mad points and I won.
257-185.
Jon has yet to beat me in scrabble/literati. I pretty much rock. Well, as long as I don't play Amy. ;)

Mmm... chicken cordon bleu

One of my all time favorite foods is chicken cordon bleu. I grew up with just buying the little frozen guys and then making sauce to go on top. Really easy. But I hated waiting for sales on those little buggers and then figuring out how many I could fit in my freezer to stock up on. So they have grown to a rarity at our house.
In MILs house, MIL actually pounds out the chicken and then tops with ham and swiss and maybe bread crumbs? Either way, she is a much better woman than I because I don't think I have it in me to have that extra pounding step.
Today I made a great discovery. Well I actually discovered it a couple weeks ago and actually made it tonight.
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole.
SOOO GOOD!
And so easy.
Needless to say, I'm a fan.

Here's the recipe folks so you all can make it! (oh and for those with babies Alex's age, Alex DEVOURED his. He loves saucy casseroles and this one has cheese and sauce. Bonus!)

4 chicken breasts
4 slices of swiss cheese (I used the individual packaged slices for a milkier, saucier effect. I also used 6 because it worked better in the pan)
4 slices of ham (I used packaged deli ham. I should have cut it up into smaller pieces. I also did 2 pieces of ham on top of every slice of swiss since it was thin slices. It would also be good to do just small cubes of ham everywhere. I'm guessing you'd need a cup or 2)
1/2 c. sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
Seasoned bread crumbs (I used italian)

Brown the chicken breasts for about 4 minutes on each side in a hot skillet. Cut up the breasts into bite sized pieces and spread out in a 9x13 greased pan. Lay slices of cheese over the chicken, then the ham on top of the cheese. Mix the sour cream and the cream of chicken soup together and spread over ham. Top with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.


So there you have it. You should all make it some time this week!

He went to Nursery!

So this is for yesterday. I had a headache last night and didn't get a post done.
What I wanted to share was that Alex went to nursery and didn't end up in the primary room screaming after 5 minutes!

Jon took him in and sat with him for about 5 or 10 minutes until he seemed okay enough for Jon to go. And apparently he did well for a little while. I had to laugh at all the people who reported to me afterward. My friend Erin (the primary president) said she went in there and he was doing great (yay!). My friend Angela also went in and she said that he was crying, so she hung out with him for a bit... sung some songs and held him and he was okay again.

Of course he cried when we came in to pick him up (he was just so relieved that we came back for him I guess) and just wanted to be held and loved.

So we'll see how it goes next week. I may have someone sit with my class for a bit during sharing time so that I can sit in nursery with him for a while.

Oh and the report from the nursery leaders: He loved snack time and bubbles. I'm not at all surprised.

It's raining, it's pouring

Yesterday and today we got hit with the lovely Texas pouring, soak you in a second, rain. We actually love the rain here. It is always such a wonder to watch water pouring down the street and into the huge drains within minutes. I had to laugh this fall when it was pouring rain in Utah while I was there and my aunt was amazed at how much and hard it was raining. I felt right at home because that is how every rain storm in Texas is (unless, it's just misting). Seeing my aunt get so excited about pouring rain made me smile.

I think the thing I love most about these early spring (yes, spring is in February in Texas) rains is how the day after the rain, there is suddenly green everywhere. All it takes is a day of rain and it's like the grass is on steroids and turns green overnight. It amazes me!
So next week I look forward to green grass, although we won't be out playing on it. St. Augustine grass is AWFUL! I have, however, found some businesses that have planted Kentucky Blue Grass and I always take my shoes off and bask in the wonderfulness of the grass whenever I go there. (My most recent discovery was at Rudy's! Yay!)

So there you have it, I love the rain and hate the grass. How's that for a random post?

Our Valentine's day!

Yesterday was a great day!
I didn't do any dishes or clean my house because it was a holiday. Okay, well I did put the dishes in the sink and clean off the counter and pick up the toys, but beyond that... nothing.

We ordered pizza for dinner, after which Jon cleaned up Alex and then we gave him his Valentine's present, a little wooden bead wire maze things (from Ikea!) that they have at Dr.'s offices and such. He absolutely loves it! He's a very easy little boy to love.
Then we got Alex ready for bed and Jon read him his new book from Grandma C. and put him to bed.
After he was in bed, Jon helped me make some peanut butter fingers to take to my primary kids today. He also dipped strawberries for us to eat with our sparkling cider later. Then we watched I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, mixed up some frosting for the peanut butter fingers and frosted them, and then we exchanged gifts.

I made a playlist online for Jon of songs from the TV show Friday Night Lights (which he is sitting listening to right now. I guess he likes it!). Jon got me tickets to the Michael Buble concert (which I am SO excited for!) on the 27th, a beautiful necklace, and a message in a bottle which was really cute. The second part of his present I didn't give him until tonight. I put a quote on the wall in Portuguese for him.
Here are a few pictures of it:

It says "Real love is forever" in Portuguese. He loves it and so do I! I love how warm and romantic our room feels and that the words just add to it. I couldn't stop looking at it all day today because it's so cute!

So between not cooking for days in a row (because we have leftover pizza and fancy dinner), having a cuter room, a happy baby, and going to the Michael Buble concert, I have to say that we had a very good Valentine's day this year.

And for today's post.... some videos!

I was supposed to post this yesterday, but didn't, so here it is!

I just took some videos while Alex was eating that I thought would be fun to share!


Eating a peanut butter sandwich. I especially love the look he has on his face when he's holding the knife at the beginning.





dipping his peanut butter sandwich in more peanut butter...







I will post some pictures later tonight (and retry a video that isn't working)


here are some pictures! (a lot of them of course!)

hmm... dumping out my bowl of puffs is interesting...



OOO!



what a cute face!



look at that grin!



I see you mom!



mmm... peanut butter!



it's fun to dump my drink into my food (this is why they make spill proof sippy cups)



OOO! There is peanut butter on my finger and it is going in my mouth!



mmm... now this is the way to eat peanut butter!



better take a closer look



Sticking out my tongue is funny!



more cute grins!




and more silly looks playing with mama!




what a funny boy




This is how Alex gets my attention. All day. Isn't it nice?



this one reminds me of Uncle Brent



see my tongue?



putting together Alex's Valentine's present



reading Mr. Messy



Thanks for sticking out that long post of pictures and I hope you enjoyed them!

making up for yesterday by talking about yesterday!

So after Alex's nap yesterday, we headed over to our friends, Kenn and Amy's house to prepare a fancy dinner together for our husbands. We figured that making a nice dinner together would be much less work and stress than trying to do one ourselves.
I do have to say that it turned out fabulously!

We made spinich honey mustard salad, lemon honey cornish hens, a delicious carrots, lemon, and apple recipe from The Lion House, onion rosemary potatoes, and whipped cream Valentine cake.
Everything went so well together and it could not have been better!

And the best part? Tonight I get to sit at home and do nothing for dinner since we are ordering pizza. Not having to cook dinner? Now THAT is a good valentine!

Now to finish throwing together my gifts for Jon and think about cleaning up the house a little and my day will be complete!

oh ya... charlie bit me!

My friend Michelle gave me this link to a funny you tube video and I have watched it over and over because I think it's so funny.
So go watch it and laugh!

"and that really hurt, Charlie! And it's still hurting."

Mr. Happy

So Alex LOVES Mr. Happy. As in the Mr. Men and Little Miss books by Roger Hargreaves.
We had a ton of these books growing up and a few Christmases ago, my parents gave each of us 4 of the many books, so we have Mr. Happy (Brent), Mr. Nosy (Mathis), Mr. Messy (Carrie), and Little Miss Chatterbox (Cindy).
It's not too big of a surprise that Alex also loves these books.

He also has a bump soother that he gets really excited about when we get him out of the fridge. He puts it on his head and everything.




I started drawing Mr. Happy (well within everyone's skill range!) for Alex and he LOVES it. We draw him on his magna doodle, Alex laughs, I erase it, and then repeat the process a few times. This has been working out GREAT for church entertainment!

And I keep finding Mr. Happy stuff!
The other day at Target I nearly bought him a Mr. Happy t-shirt.
I also happened to find a Mr. Happy bath mitt and almost bought that too.
Of course when I showed Alex both items he was all smiles and laughs. Who can resist that?! I did, but I'm not so sure I can do it again.

So today I decided to see what stuff they had online. I figured there had to be some cool stuff somewhere if Target had toddler's shirts and bath mitts.
I didn't find much because I got stuck on the main website for the Mr. Men. CLICK HERE to go see it! Apparently there is a show on Cartoon Network! SWEET!

Anyway, they have coloring pages you can print for each of the characters. You can also watch a little clip of each character and then play a game involving each one.
Alex LOVED playing the Mr. Happy game (you click to poke him and he talks and laughs). He was entertained by that for at least 15 minutes, which is always good in my book.

I plan on printing a few Mr. Happy's out for his coloring enjoyment this week!

He eats vegetables!

After going on a vegetable strike for oh... a few months, Alex finally decided to give them a chance last night!!! WOO HOO! The parents have gained a point in the parents vs. child competition!

I gave him frozen peas a couple of days ago (which I had been doing pretty much every day since they used to be fail proof) and he flat out refused to eat them, so I decided to stop trying.
Imagine my surprise when I, on a whim, cooked him up a frozen veggie medley (corn, green beans, peas, and carrots) and served them with BBQ chicken and some extra BBQ sauce for dipping with a new Ikea fork and he actually ATE THEM!!!!
He was really into dipping the bean in the BBQ sauce and, of course, just sucking it off. But he did like stabbing chicken and veggies with his fork and eating them all by his self!
So hooray for dipping and hooray for Ikea plastic utensils!

The Things Alex Says

I know I just posted, but I wanted to do a list of the words that Alex says and thought other people who read this may want to know too!

we all know he has uhh ohh down.

he also knows

1. dog
2. woof
3. moo
4. bock
5. gobble
6. ooo ooo (monkey)
7. frog
8. ribbit ribbit
   
9. ssss (snake)
10. rrrr rrr rrrr(bear. I have to find a video of him doing this. It's so funny!)
11. mow (cat)
12. baa (sheep)
13. heeeee (horse)
14. naked (said like nay)
15. button (said like buuu)
16. ball (ba)
17. up
18. dada
19. mama
20. eat
21. milk (miiilll)
22. more (mo)
23. bean (bee)
24. bee
25. cheese (chee)
26. baby (bee)
27. stinky (stee)
28. mess
29. hat
30. hot (hhhha)
31. truck
32. brr
33. mmmmm
34. lacrosse (oss)
35. football
36. apple
37. applesauce (babababa)
38. bread (brebrebre!)
39. chair (chhh)
40. tree (tee)
41. blankie
    
42. binkie
43. book
    
44. bath (baa)
45. ya
46. uh huh
47. grandpa (pa)
48. grandma (ma)
49. pea
50. wash
51. banana (nana)
52. pretty (pre)
    

It's amazing how much he knows. He understands what we are saying to him and knows what things are, even if he can't say them himself. Most of the time he tries to say stuff after I do and usually does a pretty good job.

Some other cute things he's been doing:
brings me books to read to him
grabs my hand to put something in them and then loves it when I give it back to him
always goes over to the toy closet after eating breakfast in excitement
shakes his hands off after washing
shakes his little music maker maracas
shakes his head just to be silly
shakes his head to say no
constantly sits and stands repeatedly in his little rocking chair. This is often accommponied by his many ups
will say up repeatedly until I get him up on the couch
likes to lean back on the couch like mom and dad do
talking on the phone (he walks around in circles and says "uh huh" and "ya")
when we ask him if he wants a bath, he runs over to the gate saying baa and tries to get the gate open or climb over it
loves throwing balls back and forth. He recently learned to kick them too.
will grab my hand if he wants me to go somewhere or if he's sitting on my lap he'll grab me and grunt like he's trying to pull me up.
loves to close the gate when we come downstairs in the morning
loves watching daddy's basketball games
has recently found out how fun being chased by mom is. He giggles and screams and tries to run away and it's so funny!


I know there's probably more that he does and says, but this is all I can think of for now! I have such a cute little boy!

Random things I want to talk about today

Things I love!


Whirly Pop anyone who knows me also knows how much I love popcorn. Microwave popcorn is good, but not quite as tasty as freshly popped popcorn. We got a whirly pop for Christmas and it gets used several times a week. YUM! It's the perfect thing to go along with our new Netflix subscription!


While at Sam's club a couple of weeks ago, we happened upon some of the greatest stuff ever! Popcorn Seasoning!
I no longer have to melt and painstakingly pour butter a little at a time, stirring after each addition. (I am a master popcorn maker. Ask my sister.) This wonderful stuff is butter flavoring and salt all in one. We simply put it in with the oil and kernels in our Whirly Pop and it comes out ready to go and tasting delicious! I highly recommend both the seasoning and the Whirly Pop!




Our TV!
Jon was able to find us an awesome deal on a refurb and we used the $300 from work toward it, so it was an even better deal. Watching movies is MUCH better on it than on our little 27" (not that that was bad, it's just that this is better!).
And after 2 days in a row of Alex pulling the DVDs off of the shelf, we finally got the glass door put on and it is wonderful. Hooray for good deals at Ikea! (which reminds me... the baskets on our TV stand... another thing I love. 3 for $10!)





The bike trailer!
This thing is AWESOME! We've actually had it since November, but didn't have a bike to pull it with. Small detail. We found a bike for me on clearance at Wal Mart (hooray for clearance!) and got the trailer hooked up last week. Alex did not want to get strapped in at first, but after we got going, he was in love. When I ask him if he wants to go on a ride, he runs to the back door and will bang on it until I open it and we go out to the garage. We've been able to see a lot of the neighborhood and everyone loves seeing us ride around. Now to get a softer seat for the bike. I'm sure that will be the next thing added to my list of things I love!






Pouch Slings!
I love that when we're out I don't have to get a cart if we're in a store just to wander. I also love having it on hand when we're using the stroller. Without fail, babies always get sick of the stroller, so it's nice to have a change. Alex LOVES riding with mama in the sling!
(Here is a picture of 9 month old Alex using the hip hold. This is how I still carry him. I need to expand to a back carry!)




Clearance sales!
I think I get this from my mom. I love the feeling of getting a good deal. This isn't always a good thing, but I have gotten some wonderfully sweet deals on things! (read: the bike trailer above and my fun new sewing machine below).

Being green!
No... not my skin color. I love doing things that I feel are helping the environment. I know... that makes me a little weird. I just love the feeling I get when I use reusable cloth bags (picked up some great ones for $1 at Garden Ridge!), cloth diapers, recycling, and using low amounts of energy (making do with lower/higher temps... using ceiling fans and dimmers, turning off the lights etc.). One day I hope to build a house from sustainable materials... complete with solar panels! I'm also hoping to one day get motivated enough to plant a small garden and thanks to Amanda, may actually try out doing compost instead of sending out garbage.





Netflix!
I love getting a movie in the mail, watching it that night, and then sending it out the next morning. After going over a year without really renting or going to movies, I'm excited to get caught up on the many that I have missed.


and of course... my little family!
what can I say? They are wonderful! Everyday I get to watch my little boy learn something new. He is constantly making me laugh with all of the cute and silly things he does. Jon is always so supportive and I love watching him with Alex. He puts him to bed every night and gives him baths. He even changes his cloth diapers! What a great husband!

A weekend with friends!

My friend Liz, her husband Dan, and their little girl Anna came up to visit from Houston for the weekend. After babies napping, we didn't have a lot of time to do stuff (darn those babies!), but we still did get to enjoy the LBJ museum, the state capitol building, and looking out over Town Lake before they headed out. Oh, and of course, Rudy's!

Really, we just had fun getting together with them and having them over at our house. It was a short visit, but we enjoyed having them!

Pictures to come later when I feel like getting the card out of the camera.

Liz, Dan, and Anna

Me and Jon in the elevator being silly

the babies LOVED the fountain outside of the LBJ Library/Museum

Me and Alex

Liz and Anna

It must be love, love, love (Anna really wanted to hold Alex's hand... Alex wasn't having any of that.)


I love all of the Texas stars at the capitol building. Notice what the lady (Justice? Peace?) is holding...

The door handles have stars in them. I also really liked the door hinges. They said Texas and probably also had a star on them.


Of course the beautiful rotunda has a star in the very middle top.


And the floor in the rotunda is centered around 2 stars. Hooray for the Republic of Texas!


Jon loves all the memorials honoring the Confederate Dead. He gets a kick out of them.


Us in front of the capitol. I need to do some photoshopping so you can actually see us, but the lighting on the capitol is beautiful!


And Liz, Dan, and Anna in front of the capitol.