Playing "Train"

I especially love the days when the kids get along beautifully. These are the days that I'm thankful for having them all so close together.

Playing in PJs

I don't really know what they were doing...I was just entertained...

Do you see the annoyance on their faces? There MIGHT have been a few snowflakes falling and they MIGHT have been a little under dressed....oh well, live and learn...right? :)

Fall Cakes

LOVE Gracen's intensity when she's doing something creative

I also love to watch her delicate hands.

Can you see the difference in personalities?

A little lick won't hurt

The tongue helps her get it JUST right.

He concentrates so hard when he's "working"

Watching his design unfold

I grew up decorating sugar cookies with royal icing for EVERY holiday...and totally loved it. My Mom was amazing at creating family traditions. I've tried to take a page from her book, and create those special moments for our family too. I've taken some of hers and added some of my own. I also like to do the roll out sugar cookies and royal icing with my kids...but man, is that a lot of work. Props to you Mom for being so consistent with it. I have not managed to do it for all the big holidays...so this is my 2nd choice...decorating cakes. I don't think the kids have an opinion either way. They like doing both. So in November we made "Fall cakes". I love doing creative stuff with my kids...it's really peaceful in those moments and I enjoy seeing what my little budding artists come up with...It's also a special time around the table as we create sweet memories, and stronger bonds.

A Rainy Fall

It's really sad I know...but I was REALLY proud of the girl I made.

Apparently Play-Doh is serious business

Sneaking a few bites-gross. I wondered for a moment if she had Pica.


It was so rainy this Fall...so we had to break out the Play-Doh, among other things on a pretty regular basis around here.

Carving Mr. Pumpkin

We had fun carving our pumpkin. We roasted the seeds afterwards...and they weren't very good. I'll need to hunt down a better recipe before next Halloween. On a side note, Aiden was in his underwear...so most of the pictures I couldn't put on my blog. :)

Glitter Pumpkins

My friend Danielle gave me this idea for Glitter Pumpkins. She does this every Fall with her kids as their little Fall tradition. And a bonus...you get to decorate with these adorable things. The kids had a lot of fun with this...so I think we're going to keep it in the craft rotation.

They might just be related...

Aiden is slouching...Gracen isn't taller than Aiden. :)

There was excitement in the air on the first day of school...can you tell? The kids were unusually goofy...

Shaving Cream Fun

A little shaving cream goes a long way.

The Vet

I've been trying to teach the kids how to play imaginary games...does that seem ironic? I LOVED playing school, house, library, and "Kids In Cooperated" (anybody else play that??), and anything else I could think of. Oh, my best friend Jo and I would play 20/20 when we were in like 3rd grade...no joke. One of us would be Barbara Walters, and the other one would be the mother who just gave birth to twins. Oh, I'm laughing just thinking about it. But we called her Barbara Wa-Wa. We must have heard one of our parents imitate her or something. Anyhow...the imagination is amazing. Okay, maybe my kids are too young to think of those kind of scenarios...but I'm trying to help them along. So, one morning we played "Vet". Mommy was the vet, and if you'll notice they each have an animal with them. This is them hanging out in the "waiting room", waiting to be called in by the doctor. Doesn't this look for real? It was making me laugh...I just had to snap a picture.

The Mysterious Package

I received this box last week, with Huggies diapers, wipes, and baby wash!! But there was no note attached or any kind of clue as to where it came from. I do love mysteries...however, I would love to thank the person who sent this to us. So, if you are a blog reader of mine...thank you so much!! What a thoughtful gift! We love diapers...especially with all of the bottoms around here. :)

Phil's Ice House

She was "selling" ice cream.
This thing spins around when you sit in it.

What a cute city boy!

Cool Slide

Ahh...their first "Amy's Ice Cream" experience...Sweet Cream.

Side View of playground

Side view of restaurant.

Ready to conquer the playground.

Ride 'em Cowboy.

Fun Retro chairs


Okay, so if you haven't been to Phil's Ice House/Amy's Ice Cream on Burnet Road, you gotta go. It is so fun! It's a really neat place that has a lot of Austin flair to it. Phil's Ice House has some fun, fair food...burgers, corn dogs, hot dogs, onion rings, Frito pie...in other words, don't go when you're dieting...you'll be outta luck. But they play fabulous music...and you can sit inside or outside. There's a cool retro photo booth to document your time there. And attached to it, is Amy's Ice Cream. It's a one stop shop....and of course, the bonus feature for all of us parents, is the attached, covered playground...SCORE! We all had a blast. Grier was having a rough day, so we decided to leave her at my parents' house to take a much needed nap. Aiden and Gracen loved it, and enjoyed being together, minus their little tag-along. Check it out...you won't be disappointed! Here's the website:

http://www.philsicehouse.com/

The Zoo

***Ridiculous amount of pictures

Handsome guy
A little fearful

Sliding with the Otter

Watching the Monkeys

Lunch

Super Sweet Moment

The Birthday Butterfly

Notice their purses? They took them everywhere ALL day.

We went to the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco on Gracen's birthday...April 13th. Yeah, this post is SUPER late...but I took SO many pictures and couldn't figure out which ones to post...so I posted them all. Actually, not even close. I mean, I really took a lot. This is the coolest zoo, and seriously kid friendly. Our family had a blast. I wore the baby most of the day...so she was a trooper. The weather was perfect, and all the animals loved the attention from the kids. There's an awesome playground in the middle of the park. There's also a clear acrylic-like slide that runs right through the otter tank. So the little otter is swimming all around, as you're sliding down...very cool! There's a lot to see and do. It's pretty affordable too. I ran in to a friend of mine from Dallas! Crazy stuff...her family loves coming to the Waco zoo...and they have the Dallas Zoo, and the Forth Worth zoo close by...so that should say something. Oh, and right now there's a really cool Texas exhibit...so lots of fun, native animals. I would totally recommend packing up the kids for the day and heading north to check it out.