Happy Flag Day!

Happy Flag Day! Courtesy of the Boy Scouts of America, Richmond Troop. It really is a beautiful sight to see all the flags line our street!

Fun at La Centerra Fountains

We paid a quick visit to the Fountain at La Centerra so Brenna could cool off on a hot day. She enjoyed playing in the water, but didn't like getting a surprise splash in the face when the fountains would spout water. After a couple of unexpected wet downs, she decided the best way to play and avoid an getting dowsed in the face was to back in. She's a smart girl!

Memorial Day Weekend!

We had a fun Memorial Day weekend, thanks to all the vets and soldiers that make it possible. We say a prayer for all those who are serving now and fighting for our freedoms, and we ask a blessing for all the families that are left behind by those that made the ultimate sacrifice.

The Top Ten Things I Wish I Could Say!

I actually got this idea from a friend of a friends blog. She has 5 children and posts a "Top Ten" every week. With 5 children, I can only imagine all the material she gets through-out the week. After I saw her posts, I realized that I had a few Top Tens myself. So, here's my "Top Ten Things I Wish I Could Say!" Hope you get a laugh!

Summer Is Here! Time for the Pool!

A friend invited us to join them at the pool this morning so the girls could have some fun in the sun. Brenna, Avery, and Emma didn't waste any time getting wet! We had some great weather, not too hot yet, and we all had a great time! We packed a lunch and all had a pool-side picnic at the end of a couple of hours of swimming.
I'm sure this is just the first of many trips to the pool. Brenna enjoyed the water last year, but this year she's way more active. I have a feeling the kiddie slides at our neighborhood pool are gonna have tread marks in the shape of Brenna's bottom by the time she's done this summer.

I'm Painting My Toe Nails!

So, as I was cooking dinner yesterday, I eventually noticed things were quiet, which usually isn't a good sign. I lean over the kitchen counter and shout into the living room "Brenna, what are you doing?" Her response, "I'm painting my toe nails!" and indeed she was! Mawmaw sent her a Dinsey Princess dry erase board that we've been using to learn words. I left it on the coffee table from our last learning session, when Brenna decided to put it to other uses. She took the dry erase marker and "painted" all her finger nails and toe nails. When I told her "Oh no, Brenna you made a mess." she said "I'll erase it!"

Brenna's 1st Gymnastics Recital

Last night was Brenna's 1st gymnastics recital. She had a great time, even more fun that regular classes. It's amazing how far she's come in just 8 short months. She really is a natural and enjoys it so much.

The recital was alittle different than most. The recital had a jungle theme and was titled "Westwood Goes Wild". They set the kids up in groups of five. We rotated to each apparatus, spending about 10 - 15 minutes at each spot as they performed the circuit associate with that apparatus.

Bubbles Now and Bubbles Then!

We spent a beautiful day outside yesterday enjoying the warm weather and cool breeze. So what better way to enjoy it than with bubbles. Brenna got a brand new bubble gun as a "Happy" for being so brave during all the doctor visits, so we broke it in.

We Love American Idol!

Brenna's loves American Idol, which isn't a surprise considering how much she enjoys music and dancing. So every Tuesday night she puts on a show with the American Idol contestants. Kasey is her favorite. She thinks he's pretty! I guess its already begun......

Cold Popsicle on a Hot Day

Wasting away a Saturday Afternoon and the New Do

Well, for everyone that wanted to see the new hair-do, I snapped a few shots Saturday afternoon.

The hair cut went well. Brenna has had her hair cut before, but only at home. The stylist that I use quit working at a saloon. She lives in our neighborhood, so now she just comes over to my house when Brenna and I need a hair cut. It works out really great for me! Anyway, I decided that I would take Brenna to a place called Snip-Its. It's a kiddo hair saloon. They have a play-area with balls, and puzzels, and cranks to turn. Then the chair has a TV in front that plays movies, with a special chair for Mom, and an animal cracker dispenser. We counted all the colors of the sucker jar while she got her hair cut. I told the lady that we were trying to grow all the layers out and to keep as much of the length as she could. I'm not sure she listened, but she did do a good job, it's just alittle shorter than I wanted. We look like the last 8 months never happened! It's just fuller than it was then. I'm still trying to come to grips with the fact that we may have short hair for several more years. Of course, she's beautiful no matter what, but a ponytail would be a nice alternative every now and then! After the hair cut, they give the kids a card to insert into the "Magic Box" which sqeaks, squels, and honks and then spits out a surprise. In her case it was a sticker!

After spending the early Saturday afternoon at a birthday party, we continued to waste the day away with some outside fun! We started off in our backyard on the playhouse.

San Antonio Get-Away

We decided to take a short trip to San Antonio for a little get-away before the weather got too warm. We got off to a rocky start. But we made the most out of the vacation, and it turned out to be a great time. I planned the trip about a month out, and originally was concerned that we may not have gone soon enough to beat the heat, as Houston was already pushing into the the 80s in early April. Turns out the heat wasn't our problem, rain was. About a week out, I started checking the weather forecast for San Antonio only to find rain, rain, and more rain. As the vacation got closer, the chance of rain only got higher. Then, just two days before we planned to leave, Brenna started to run a fever. After two doctor visits (the last being the morning we left), we got the thumbs up from the doctor that she was good to go. We struggled a little bit with symptoms while we were away, but nothing that keep us down.

Mom and Dad flew down and went with us. We left on Thursday afternoon and made the 3 hour drive to San Antonio. We stayed at the Hilton Hill Country Hotel and Spa. It was fantastic! We got connecting rooms that shared a living room with a large balcony, so we never felt crowded and Brenna had plenty of room to play. It was just across the street from Sea World and only about a 15 minute drive to downtown. The hotel was beautiful and a great place for families. The grounds were kept to match the hill country style with four huge stone fire pits that they lite each night for the kids to make smores. They play a family movie each night outdoors in the courtyard (and indoors in one of the ballrooms on rainy days). They had a playground, three pools, and a hot tub. Unfortunately, we didn't get to enjoy any of them because Brenna was sick.

Shamu garden at the hotel

Brenna's New "Big Girl" Room

Well, I guess it's official. No more bottles, diapers, pacifiers, or cribs. Brenna's not our baby girl anymore, she's our big girl! And getting bigger by the minutes (at least it feels that way, it's like she grows an inch a week!) So, after much deliberation we converted her crib to a full sized bed. Which meant, time to decorate!

Decorating her new room was almost as much fun as decorating her play room! Of course, when given a choice, Brenna wanted her room to be pink. I considered painting, which I would love to do, but since we don't really think we'll be here for more than a few years, I wanted to keep things neutral. One day I'll have a house that I can paint every room the color that I want. Until then, neutral always helps the resale! So with a pink pallet, I went off in search of the key element, the bed. I narrowed it down to 3 choices, which I emailed to my Mom and best friend. My mom chose #1, Jodi chose #2, therefore I bought #3 (ha! it just turned out that way.....) After mixing and matching, I think the final product came out pretty good. Since we didn't paint, I made an attempt to accent one wall with a border, which I thought helped break things up alittle.

Just as a reminder, here's the "Before" pictures of Brenna's nursery.

The Easter Bunny Came.........Ok

Happy Easter Everyone! We give thanks for our risen Savior!

The Easter Bunny stopped by our house this morning! However, whether it be morning sleepiness or the lack of expectation, Brenna wasn't too impressed. I forgot to talk-up the Easter Bunny this week. Before this morning, he was just the guy that dropped off the eggs! I forgot to mention that he was a friend of Santa Clause the brings sugary snacks to sweet girls and boys. Even still, Brenna took it all in stride and appreciated her chocolate, no matter what means it came by.

Brenna's Easter Basket!

Brenna's First Easter Egg Creation!

Today Brenna created her first real Easter Eggs! It was an adventure! As always, she was excited to get started!