Grandpa

My dad came in for a couple of days to spend some time with Brooks.
Grandpa played at the park with Brooks...

Grandpa played in the tent with Brooks...

Grandpa bought Brooks some ice cream...

Grandpa took us to the outlet mall and bought Brooks new clothes and new shoes, and even paid for Brooks to ride some rides...

Grandpa let us drive his convertible to go get yummy donuts...

Can you say "SPOILED"?! Grandpa definitely wasted no time spoiling Brooks. It was great fun having my dad here and watching him interact with Brooks.
I love these guys so much!

Gosh - see any resemblance?

My Little Fish

Brooks has always loved the water, and this summer we have spent plenty of afternoons at our community pool. He's been taking swim lessons and watching his older cousins swim. This is the result:

Brooks is swimming! Now we do need to be there to catch him, because he's not swimming laps or anything, but considering he's only 2 - I call that swimming! He can hold his breath under water for about 9 seconds and swim about 4-5 feet. It really is amazing to watch. I am so proud of my little boy.

Tradition

When I was a little girl, it was kind of a tradition that my dad would take me to get donuts on Saturday and/or Sunday morning. We would often bring along Natalie and Derrick, but some times we'd go just the two of us. Well - the tradition continues with the next generation. My dad wanted to take Brooks to get some donuts on Saturday morning, and in Round Rock there is only one good suggestion for donuts:

I had actually never been there before, but had heard all the buzz from locals and I had even seen them featured on The Today Show as the top 5 donuts in the country!
You can kind of see the line of people behind Brooks as he's enjoying his donut.

Thank you Grandpa for taking us to get some delicious donuts...yummy!

Party at the Fire Station

Caleb, Brooks' friend, decided to take us to the fire station for his birthday. It was such a perfect idea. For anyone else out there planning a birthday party...visiting a fire station is a great option. It's FREE and the kids totally loved it. The firemen let the boys climb inside and "drive" the firetruck and everything. I think their favorite part was when they turned the lights and the siren on.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB!






(Okay, so you can't see the excitement on his face. I think he was just in awe of everything. He really did love every single second and still talks about it when he wears his fireman hat around the house.)

Happy Birthday Brodie!

Brooks is still singing Happy Birthday to Brodie. We got to spend Brodie's birthday weekend with him and all the other cousins in Dallas. Brodie had his party at a bowling alley. Brooks loved bowling! Every time he would sit and watch in anticipation for his ball to hit the pins, and then he would turn around with a HUGE smile on his face.


After an hour of bowling we moved to the party room for food and cake. Brooks ate 3 pieces of pizza and a piece of cake...really?!

Brodie had a cool dinosaur cake with a super sparkly candle.

He got lots of cool presents - including a slip and slide. Brooks and Brodie tested the slip and slide and had a blast chasing each other down the slide.

Happy 4th Birthday Brodie. We love you!

8 years later

Chad and I got some time to celebrate our 8 year anniversary out at the Lakeway Resort and Spa. We had a great time hanging out on the boat in the morning and lounging by the pool in the afternoon. I can't believe that 8 years has gone by since we said, "I do". What a wonderful 8 years it's been.

In 8 years we've lived in San Antonio, New Zealand, Colorado, and Austin. Including 3 apartments, 4 houses, and some tents and basements along the way.

In 8 years we've gone from just the two of us to: just the two of us + a dog + a beautiful baby boy + a little girl on the way. How are we so blessed?!

In 8 years years I've gone from being a girl in love to being an adult, a wife, a mother, and even more in love today then I was on July 13, 2002.
How am I so blessed?!

Here are some pictures from our getaway...
Our hotel:

A sunset boat ride:

There's nothing like a cozy hotel robe and a small glass of wine:

Beautiful sunset from our hotel room overlooking Lake Travis:

Family Fun

Well, now that ALL the family is back in the great state of Texas we had to get together and celebrate. It's so cool knowing that these get-togethers will be happening more than just at holidays every other year.
Brooks giving "Bobo" some love:

Birdie and Scoops got a pinata for the kids to swing at:

We celebrated all the Summer birthdays:

Brooks got plenty of yummy cake:

Aunt Joy and Brooks hanging out by the pool: