Trip to the BEACH!

We had so much fun! We went to Corpus Christi. We also took our niece, Ella, and the girls were so excited to get to the beach. This is all we heard on the way there..."Are we at the beach yet?" Yes, every 15 minutes...until finally....they fell asleep with about an hour to go!
When we got to the hotel, the girls were still asleep, so we drove to the beach to figure out where we wanted to end up. We ended up on Mustang Island, only 15 minutes from our hotel. By then, the girls had woken up, so we just changed in the car, and went to the beach! We never even realized how much sand was to come....

The girls absolutely LOVED the beach! They couldn't get enough of it. Jilian was a little freaked out by the salty water (she did NOT like it in her eyes) :) But, Ella loved to crash into the waves. Each day they both got more brave and would go out just a little more than the day before. Don't they look like little models, running on the beach?
We finally decided to go back to the hotel and actually check in this time....look at ALL the palm trees! We packed a cooler full of snacks, sodas and lunch meat, and ate our meals in the hotel room. The only meal that we ate out was dinner. It worked out great (and made for a cheap trip!) The hotel was a suite, with a seperate living area with a fold out couch and a refrigerator. Every night after dinner, we went swimming in the pool at the hotel. This was even after being at the beach for four hours! It was perfect for us...the girls had their own 'room' and so did the grown ups. They had a little slumber party!The next day, we went to the Texas State Aquarium. The girls had a lot of fun, but considering how much it cost, we would have rather been at the beach!

Then, off to the beach again!

Goofy Girl!

My two favorite girls!

We attempted to take a tour of the USS Lexington, but we only made it half way through! The girls were good, and they were very interested in the sights. I, on the other hand, was not fond of walking a million flights of VERY steep stairs with two toddlers. It was a beat down, and if you know Jilian, then you know that she has her mother's grace. I spent half the time picking her up off the floor! :) We spent about 4 hours each day on the beach (as you can see from my lobster skin) and just soaked up the sun. It's really funny how some much needed R&R can be found next to the ocean. Everyone was at peace...the girls had a million things to do and never argued once (on the beach, that is). They were just so....content. And, even Brad and I got some much needed beach therapy....

We can't wait to go back.....

(BTW, these are just SOME of the 365 pictures I took!) :)

Baby Got Back

Jilian pointed to her posterior in the tub the other day and called it her 'gluteus maximus'! That's right.....she's gonna be a doctor! She also called her breast muscles her 'pectoralis'. She learned all this at school. They have a fitness instructor come once a week and get active with the kids. She told me that 'the teacher told us to sit on our gluteus maximus!' I love it! Hehehe!

Busy, Busy, Busy....

Jilian started her new school on July 6th, two weeks ago. She absolutely loves it! She talks about her friends all of the time, and she has a few that are her 'best' friends. She was a little clingy on the first morning, but my thing is 'no lingering because that will drag it out', so I high tailed it out of there after a few minutes. I checked back about 30 seconds later, and she was helping the teacher handing out breakfast. I'm so proud of her! When I called later that morning, they told me that you couldn't even tell it was her first day - YAY! Her FAVORITE teacher (actually, she's the director) is Mrs. Acevado. She LOVES her! Whenever we leave, we have to find her and say goodbye. When I pick her up, I end up standing outside the door just watching her play and interact with the other kids. I usually get interupted by a parent giving me a weird look like 'We're pros, we don't watch them anymore.' But, I love to watch her and meet her friends. She, of course, knew everyone's name on the FIRST day - my little elephant memory! I can already see a difference in her with the way she interacts with other kids. Like Ella for instance....we've been trying to get her to be kind, and if Ella (this is just the kid we see most often around Jilian's age) wants something Jilian has, then let her have it. She did that a lot this past weekend when they were in town - I'm so proud!


Then, for a little drama, our a/c went out last Tuesday. Jilian and I came home and it was 92 degrees IN THE HOUSE! We jumped back in the car and went to Chick-fil-a for dinner and some play time. I called the a/c tech, and he was finishing up a job and would be right over. Well, when I got to thinking, it would take hours for us to cool the house down after he left, and our poor a/c is not very good. So, Jilian and I decided to stay in a hotel just down the street. We happen to know the owners so we got a deal, and it was so fun. It's brand new, too, and really nice. Jilian got to pick her own bed, and we kept the a/c at about 65 degrees so we could soke up all that coolness and take it home with us!
The a/c tech left at around 9 pm, and had to replace a simple part. Luckily, he didn't even charge us because we're about to buy a whole new system from him. Yes, that's right.....we're finally getting a new a/c. It's about time, I know, and long over-due. We had just decided the weekend before this happened, and I guess this was our a/c's way of thanking us....? We learned that we need a 5 ton for our house, instead of a 4 ton because of our 14 foot ceilings in the ENTIRE house. Why did it take us so long to figure that out? Now, maybe I can get it to cool below 81 degrees when it's 103 outside.....


Of course, we always have fun when the Wileys come to town. Jilian loves her cousins! She went to the front door (which they never come through) and wanted to wait (for about 3 hours) for them to come. Well, once they finally got here, the kids had so much fun together. We went to the Rangers game on Saturday night. We got to the ballpark about an hour early and tailgated, Donovan/Wiley style (kids in tow!) with sandwiches and chips/dip.Look at these precious kids.... It was a great way to spend time with our amazing family!
Here's a view from the top....And we even caught a glimpse of the new Cowboy Stadium.... With the crazy weather that happened today, the girls were able to swim outside....And sing in the rain.....They also got to play 'Mommy & Baby' which required ALL of Jilian's stuffed animals to 'take a nap' on Jilian's bed....We're always sad when the Wileys leave, but we'll see them in a few weeks when we pick up Ella and go to the beach! The girls are so excited.....

Happy 4th!

We have quite a lot to report! Hope everyone had a great holiday. We sure did. We started a bit early on Friday night with some sparklers (pink, of course!)

We spent Saturday with our great neighbors and Mimi. We went to the McKinney parade in downtown with both next-door-neighbors, Cole and his mom and Jocelyn and her parents (some of Jilian's best friends).

I got a little crafty and made some fun 4th of July pins and wands....they were fun (even if no one noticed!) :)

Then, we went to see fireworks that night. The kids had so much fun!So, I discovered this new store called Charming Charlie. Hello? This is the BEST JEWELRY STORE, EVER! It's even better than Sam Moon. It's more of an upscale Sam Moon, but with the same prices. AND, the whole store is COLOR COORDINATED!

Some of my finds.... and I only spent about 40 bucks!

Today, we went to First Monday in Canton. Okay, so the best time to go to First Monday is the Sunday after Independence day at 8 o'clock in the morning. The weather was great (didn't get too hot until about 1, on our way out) and it wasn't packed AT ALL. There was hardly anyone there. And, the vendors that didn't want to take much home, started slashing prices. We got some GOOD deals. Here are some of my finds....

One more brag alert....Jilian put this whole puzzle of 24 pieces together BY HERSELF!

Well, wish Jilian and I good luck! Brad left for his first trip with his new job tonight and doesn't come back until Wednesday afternoon. AND, Jilian starts her new school tomorrow! She is so excited! Keep ya' posted....

I need your help!!

Now that Brad will be traveling, I'm in charge of feeding our family! I cannot cook; I can bake real good. :) I need some really EASY recipes. Or easy casserole dishes that I can cook night-of or freeze. Please help - I don't want my 3-year-old to starve because Momma can't cook. I even have recipes that Brad makes that are really good that I can share with you! *smile*

Oh, one more thing - since it's *like* 80 degrees in our house when it's *like* 103 degrees outside, I don't want to use the oven....that's the only stipulation. Otherwise, let the recipe swap begin!

Thanks *in advance*!

Cutie Pie

Jilian was telling me a story last night about the swimming pool that she, Uncle Tim and Ella went to last weekend. The was telling me about the 'ladybug' water feature (not sure what that is) and she said 'One of the other ladybugs, *and you're gonna love this Mommy*, was yellow!' Can't you just hear her saying it with a little sigh and some drama? And, she knows my favorite color is yellow. I love how she can take what she knows about us and apply it to her surroundings.

She also helped me last night in putting up some of her decorations that haven't made it on the walls yet. She found a picture frame and put it on her book shelf. She came running out of her room to come get me so she could show me 'Come see what's next to my radio; it's soooo cute!' She's so funny; I can't stand it!