Babymoon!

Brian and I are back from a wonderful Babymoon! I dropped the boys off with my parents Friday around lunch time and then headed to get a much needed massage. After that, we went to dinner at Sullivan's Steakhouse and then headed down to Galveston for the weekend. We had to drive through a super crazy thunderstorm to get there but made it in one piece. We stayed at the Harbor House Hotel which is just off the Strand on Pier 21. The room was fabulous and I got a wonderful surprise - a bouquet of beautiful flowers! Saturday we caught a couple of grown up movies - something we don't get to do often (I think the last thing we saw was Twilight back in November). After the movies, we headed back down to the island for dinner at Gaido's on the seawall. While we had to wait a bit to be seated, the food and service was well worth it. With our bellies full, we decided to drive around the island and see some things we've never found. We drove around UTMB which was huge and then found A&M Galveston which was not so huge. Sunday morning we got up and started making the long drive back to Katy. We got to my parents' house around 11:30, picked up the boys and then we all headed out to lunch at Chuy's. All in all, it was a fantastic weekend getaway!!

Putt-putt and pizza

We ended our weekend with another birthday celebration. We got together with our local Katy crew to play putt-putt and then hit Double Dave's for games and pizza. The kids all had a blast playing putt-putt. I think the water hazards were the highlight for James, John and Cameron. They loved throwing rocks and their balls into the little streams. After we finished golfing, we played the games at Double Dave's to kill some time before the dinner buffet started. I definitely did the right thing by reserving the party room as it was packed last night. I think the owner said they were having a spirit night for a school or sports team. After everyone finished eating, we let the boys open their presents and then ate cake. The overwhelming theme of the evening was Star Wars. James received some really great play sets, including a storm trooper helmet, which I had a lot of fun assembling this morning. John got a new princess figurine set, which will replace the doll set he got at Christmas (all of the clothes are either lost or ripped), and more Legos to build "castles" with. They also got some new movies to add to their collection and an awesome wagon to use at the park. Here are some pictures from the afternoon.


The boys playing putt-putt.



James and I watching John take a turn.

The whole gang.

Opening gifts from Uncle Will. Star Wars and Princesses.

Getting ready to blow out the candles. James picked a HULK cake.

Hill Country Flyer

This past Saturday the boys rode the Hill Country Flyer for the very first time as a way to celebrate James and John's birthdays. I've never been on it either but Brian went as a child. We are so blessed that almost Brian's entire side of the family (sorry you couldn't make it Aunt Sarah) was able to spend the day with us. We packed the boys lots of snacks and toys to play with since it took right at two hours to travel from Cedar Park to Burnet. We at lunch at a little Mexican restaurant not too far from the train station and then walked down to the town square. It was sad to see that many of the shops and restaurants on the square were closing down. Thankfully we did find a little shop that sold ice-cream so the boys got a treat before getting back on the train for the ride home. Poor John was wiped out from several days of little to no nap so he quickly fell asleep on the ride home. After dinner, we went back to MaMaw's house to eat cake and open presents. Thank you all for the wonderful learning computer, games, swim clothes, books, movies and Wii party game. Here are some pictures from the day.


Getting ready to start the trip.



Waiting for the train to start moving.



John passed out on the way home.



Opening presents.



Our new learning computer.

Happy Easter!!!

Our Easter Sunday was really nice. It rained in early in the morning while we were packing up the tents and then rained again just before lunch but after that, the weather was awesome!! The kids did an egg hunt in the backyard before dinner and then had fun with confetti eggs after dinner. James found the coveted golden egg which held $10. We went to Target today for him to spend his money. We had lots of really great food and even more desserts and candy. Here are some photos from the afternoon. If you're wondering where John is, he took a really late nap and missed all of the fun.

Gifts from the Easter Bunny.

John and his Easter presents.

Hunting for eggs in the backyard. James showing everyone the golden egg.

James getting Cameron with a confetti egg.

Another good one of James getting Cameron.

Another Family Campout

This past weekend, we went on another family camping trip. This time we went about an hour and a half away to Huntsville State Park. We really lucked out and got a great spot. It was big enough for all of our tents and still had plenty of open space for the kids to run and play. Plus it was close to the bathrooms. The park was really awesome. They have lots of trails and outdoor activities like horseback riding, paddle boating, canoeing, swimming, fishing, etc. I definitely think we'll be going back there in the future. This time we stayed three nights which was just the right amount of time. We really lucked out and had gorgeous weather up until the morning we left and even then it wasn't that bad. We had checked the forecast the night before so we packed up everything but the tents before going to bed. Here are some photos from the weekend.


The squirrels had no fear what so ever. This one jumped right up on our table and stole an Oreo right out of the package.



Brian took James and Cameron out on the paddle boat Friday afternoon.

John taking a turn on the big bike.

Katie teaching James to ride a two-wheeler. It's going to take a lot more practice for him to get it.

Latest Home Improvement Project

Well we finally broke down and had the interior of our house painted. The builder used really cheap flat paint and it got so dirty, so easily. We got a really good recommendation from some friends and after hearing his price, decided to take the plunge. They started early Saturday morning and finished up just before dinner on Sunday. The main color for the common areas is a light grey with maroon accent walls. We chose a really great blue for the gameroom upstairs. We're really pleased with how it all turned out. Brian spent Sunday night and Monday afternoon putting all the furniture back and hanging everything back up on the walls. The boys and I came home (we had been camping out at my parents' house since Saturday morning) Tuesday afternoon and I've been cleaning ever since. I should be all finished today. Here are some photos from before, during and the final product.

3D/4D Ultrasounds of Baby Jude

Today we had our second visit at Peek A Baby to look at Baby Jude. We went last Saturday with my family but he wasn't really cooperating. After about 5 minutes, he turned his face into the placenta and wouldn't let us look anymore. Today went much better. We got lots of really clear pictures of his little face. He looks a lot like John did during his 3D ultrasound. We can hardly believe that we'll be meeting this little bundle of joy in just a few more weeks.

We got a really good shot of his ear during our first visit.



He's got one arm up by his fact and the other under his chin.



A good profile shot.



Another look at his cute face.






Just for comparison, here's a picture of John during his 3D u/s back in 2006.