Animal Park Adventure

My parents and my sister came to Houston to visit and we decided to go to an animal park not too far from our house. It was so great! We were all freezing, but we still had a blast. Aren't Matt & Talia SO cute!? They look so much alike, it's so fun!

OK, so this Ostrich was possessed or something. It came up to me and went crazy on the bucket of food. I thought, "Man, if I'm going to have any food left, I better put it in the center of the tram." Nope. The ostrich just stretched his neck and gobbled up the rest. I was sitting on the edge, but he reached 3 people in to get the food. It was just a tad unnerving! You can see by the picture that the food was just FLYING into his mouth, he was eating so fast!

Aeron was enthralled by all the animals! He just couldn't stop cooing at them, and when he would take a breath, he got this funny scowl on his face. It was pretty funny to watch.

Seriously up close & personal. These animals were HUGE! You can only see a small portion of their horns. All the other animals in the park would give these a wide berth and so we were a little nervous at first. But once the food was there, they didn't mind at all to be touched. It was pretty amazing.

Here's part of the gang. That's Brandon's family in the front. Matt & our kids were in the back of the tram and so we got all the stragglers.

Here are Aeron & I at the petting area. He was completely transfixed. It was so neat to see him experiencing this. Everything is always so new & wonderful through his eyes.

New Furniture

Here're the bookshelves we got. They are a really pretty cherry color. I think that after I hang some curtains and organize all the stuff on the shelves a little better, I'll be about done with this room. I was originally going to paint the room a nice warm brown, but now, I'm not so sure. Maybe I just need to go to Home Depot to find that oh-so-perfect color?? Sounds fun to me!

Here's the bed and two nightstands. I was so excited to show them off that I didn't even finish putting on the knobs. I'm such a dork!

& Here's our new dresser. Matt & I are still marveling that after 8 years of marriage, we FINALLY have bedroom furniture that are actually made of wood & not particle board! YEAH!!!

Merry Christmas to Me!

So, I was looking back and remembering what I used to get excited about when I was a kid. Things like: My new bike, Barbie dolls were a big hit with me, a pretty dress or fun outfit was always a good thing, and when I got my ears pierced I thought that I had flown over the moon. OK, so I still get excited when I get a new outfit, but I thought it was funny that now I'm excited about a Washer and Dryer or something equally boring to any 6 yr old. I guess now that I'm an OLD woman, I'm entitled to be wierd. :) My point? Yesterday I got a new bedroom set and 2 bookshelves for the den & I can't stop looking at & touching them. Am I insane or do I just need to get out more? It's like Christmas all over again & I LOVE IT!

Ta Daaaa!!

So here's the finished project. It was more fun doing the faux painting than I thought it would be. It was like I was creating something instead of just painting. I also had Breanna & Melinda giving me pointers the whole time. Thanks guys!

Opinions Wanted

So, I'm almost finished with yet another painting project... But I need some advice. What does it need? I'm thinking of doing a faux finish with a darker paint so it looks more European. Any opinions?

Here's a before shot from before the house was even finished:

And the after or well, the 'almost done??':

Isn't my husband awesome!? He always does my 'touch up' painting because I suck at it. He's such a rock star!!!

Miracle of Miracles!

I decided that since it doesn't happen very often, I'd document it. The kids had a blast helping with the dishes. We cranked up the music and all pitched in. Both Talia & Brandt had to change their clothes afterward. They were absolutely drenched! What a fun time doing chores... Now if I could be this creative with getting them to clean their rooms we'll have it made.

Our House... Is a very very very fine house.

People have been asking to see our new house, so here's a couple of pictures. Enjoy!

This is the upstairs family room on the right side of the room. The left side is open for the kids to play and will eventually have the futon when we buy some living room furniture.

Here's my favorite room in the house! I Love my kitchen! Its about 3 times the size of the one in Bellevue. I actually enjoy cooking now. Who knew I just needed a little more space.

This is a shot coming down the stairs looking out over the living room/dining area. The master is off to the right as well as the downstairs bath.

Speaking of the downstairs bath. I've been doing some painting. Well, I started doing some painting and began with this room. So, here's a before of the downstairs bath...

And the after. Now all I have to do is finish painting 6 more rooms, and I'll begin to put stuff up on the walls. Yep, that's right. We've lived here since Oct 12 and I still have yet to put things on the walls. Sad, huh!? When I'm done painting, I'll post those rooms too.

New Year's

This year we brought the New Year in with style. Nyquil and Sudafed were our guests of honor at our party! Even though we're sick, we're still in good spirits and even managed a fun photo opp. I love this picture: all the loves in my life!

Birthday Girl

A big happy birthday to Talia! She is such a big girl at 3 yrs old! At least she thinks so. We had a little party earlier with some friends, but forgot the camera. I just have to face it, I'm getting old. Here's a couple that I did remember to take: Brandt was adamant about having birthday hats! Talia was just excited to blow out the candles and open gifts.

She dresses up in her new princess dresses every day. I swear the girl goes through 3 outfits a day before settling on a frilly dress. Laundry gets exciting with her around!

I'm not even getting started on her earrings that she got from her Gramma. Needless to say, they were her favorite gift! Thanks, Gram!

It's a start, right?

Hey Friends & Family! We thought we'd jump on the bandwagon and start blogging our lovely little history for others to enjoy. (Well, ok, that's debatable - but at least we'll enjoy reading it on occasion.) I know that many of you are 10 times better at this than I will ever be, but at least it is a start.

I wanted to share a couple of pictures that we took a couple of weeks ago in a park downtown. It is still crazy to me that its January and still in the 70s! Gotta love it.

Ok, I know I'm completely biased, but aren't the kids adorable? It was so funny; we spent an hour taking pictures and they wouldn't really smile until we said, "OK, LAST one!!!" I guess that's all you really need.