Giddey-Up! Rodeo Day at school

I'm becoming a believer in making my life easier and not pressuring the kids about the small stuff. Rodeo Day came around, I didn't really have outfits, but being the "crafty" mom that I am, I threw together some stuff without even having to buy ONE thing. But, lo and behold, Pete and Hailey just weren't having it. Hailey did wear the cute little cowgirl outfit that our friend Charlotte outgrew but refused to wear her cute boots. Pete refused all in all to wear anything. So, in my effort to be the mom that doesn't sweat the small stuff - I let them go as they wanted. Now Avery, that girl is a girly-girly mom's dream. She loved dressing up and posed all around for me!

Bathtime fun

My kids are a riot. They got some new bath playthings for Valentine's Day. I could hear bursts of laughter coming from the bathroom as Daddy Pete piled the colored bath foam onto our kids. The fact that Hailey let him pile this much on amazes me. Love that spunky attitude of that kid!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Mwahhhh!!! Here's a great big Valentine's kiss from our family to yours! In the first picture, our Valentine's pic, Avery and Pete are pretending to be T-Rex's and Hailey is quite perplexed. The kiddos had fun parties at school, handed out valentines and got all hyped up on sugar.

Zoo Mania

On Valentine's Day, Pete took off work and we took the kiddos to the zoo. It was a Monday, a bit overcast and by far, our best zoo experience yet. There was not ONE large school group, only a few other visitors and the animals were out and about! Best Valentine's Day yet!

And, yes, our kiddos were tiger growling at people passing by - we are so proud.

Ashley's getting married!!!

Wow!! It's hard to believe that the countdown to Ashley's wedding has begun! We gathered at a family friend's house to celebrate Ash's upcoming nuptials! They did a fantastic job of decorating, cooking, and just plain making everyone feel special! Thank you to Cecilia, Emily, and Heather!! (Fun fact: The Gooch family has been friends of our family since Ashley and Emily were three! Emily will be a bridesmaid for Ashley in April and Ashley will be Emily's bridesmaid in October!!)



Little Miss Avery was a fantastic guest at her first shower! So proud of my baby girl! She was so funny because everytime I would tell her Aunt Ashley was going to have a shower, it got a little confusing for her!! I finally just kept having to call it a party and promise that she would get some cake!

Lake house

Pete's parents took the plunge and bought a lake house at Lake Conroe. We were lucky enough to get to spend the weekend there and the kids just loved it! Going out on the boat was a lot of fun for them as they have never been on a boat before! Pete kept yelling "FASTER! Faster!" and all three kids were perched on the front of the boat (as Grandma and I held tightly onto them!) They enjoyed running around and checking everything out, as I'm sure we will have many happy memories there!