The crew headed over to Casey's to celebrate Summer's birthday. Only Summer couldn't make it. She became sick the night before and since we already had plans, we carried on and celebrated her in spirit! But I did get some great pictures that I wanted to post.


Joseph must have sat and licked on this fake ice cream cone for 20 minutes. Forgot to tell Casey she may want to stick that baby in the dishwasher. Ooops.

And we wonder how germs get spread so easily.

Or do we? Actually, I know darn good and well how they get spread so easily. I mean, why wouldn't Blake and Ethan have wanted a good lick of that delicious ice cream cone too?!


Blake has this super cute "roller coaster" that he can ride down. After awhile though, they thought crawling down it was just as fun as riding in the cart.

They are too darn cute!





Baby Abbs was there too. Bringing the cuteness factor of our Birthday-Party-Without-Summer to off the charts.


And here is the unveiling of the cake, made by Yours Truly!

I had a blast with this one. Minus the baking, baking mess, making of the icing, the hours of intense labor decorating it and the cleanup. It was really fun! It may not sound like it to you, but it was, really!


I tried a new butter cream icing recipe than last time. I don't know if I could really tell a taste difference, but this one certainly spread differently. I also used some new presses to make the swirl design on the side and for 'Happy Birthday'. That was super fun to do and way easier than relying on your steady hand to pull through for you.


Some particular little bodies couldn't wait to get their hands on it!

Summer likes raspberry filling so I was sure to have that. Complete with fresh raspberries and one of her favorite flowers on top. It was super cute! (Have I already said that?)


From all of us: Happy 30th Summer!! We missed you!!

(Now at this point we ate her cake without her. I am serious. No way was that monster of a cake going back home with me whole. I did however think of her with every bite and it was delicious!)

Timber!

What the Heck?

Josh emailed me after he got to work one morning and said to check out the fence.

Man! There was a big ol hole in the darn thing!

We're guessing the garbage truck went a little crazy on trash pick up day and was a little too close when they picked up our can.

Either that or they thought they were doing us a favor since the darn thing is so ugly. Perhaps they are urging us to go for a wooden privacy fence.




Luckily it wasn't super duper bad and the boys bent it back as best as they could.

The thing is, how could that dude not have known he was ripping our fence to pieces?! I know he had to look to make sure the arm was lined up. Do you mean to tell me he purposely chose not to leave a notice that that happened?! Or worse, he wasn't paying attention and didn't even know. I don't like either option here, folks.

Glad Josh's truck wasn't parked in it's usual place or who knows where our bumper would have ended up.

An Emerging Picasso?

Perhaps not, but boy was I a paint brush wielding fool last night!

Casey has been wanting to do this for months. We headed off to Painting With a Twist to create this fluer de lis gate covered in wisteria. I had it pretty built up in my head, so I am so glad it was as cool as I hoped!


What a great idea the gals had who created this place! They offer different art to paint through out the month so you have plenty to choose from -- Casey had her eye on this painting so when it came up on the calender for last night we decided to try it!

They have everything set up for you...paint brushes, paint, easels, and canvas. The lively instructor started us out "globbing on" lots of white and encouraged us to find our own rhythm with the strokes. We followed her instruction through the night and finished up with a beautiful work of art!!

Our neighbor saw it last night when I got home and I think he said it best...

"You painted that? Man, it actually looks like something!"

Josh and I laughed...

"No, I mean, like, I can tell what it is! That's good!"


I wish the wisteria was purple like in real life...but I didn't think to ask if I could change the colors. I'm sure they try to keep it simple by limiting the colors used, but next time I'll ask.

I cannot wait to go back again...or better yet, find an easel of my own and add another hobby to the long list of stuff I try to do and only sometimes can. Darn priorities always getting in the way.

I thoroughly enjoyed painting last night. I know it sounds cliche but I really found myself lost in it a few times. Many of the "students" were chatting and laughing and having a great time and I was so enthralled in my strokes and blending and highlighting that the whole class went by and I realized Casey and I hardly got to visit!

The amazing thing was how different everyone's painting ended up being. It was fun seeing how everyone interpreted the instructions and what direction they went with the overall look.

Now I have to find a place to hang my masterpiece! Wait! Father's Day is coming up. Hmmm...hope Josh likes gates covered in wisteria.

Mother's Day

I'm really starting to like this mom thing! We get our very own holiday! It's about time someone stopped and took notice!

Ha. I get plenty of notice around here. My husband and sweet sweet baby seem to like me a lot. I get lots of hugs and kisses and really, that makes it all worthwhile!


We headed over to mom's house for a little celebrating. There were LOTS of hugs and kisses going around.


But most importantly, we didn't have to cook! We ordered BBQ and had a whole mess of fixings to go along with it. I made a fabulous Tres Leches cake and sister Shannon and the girls made chocolate covered strawberries. It was serious stuff.

If you need a Tres Leches recipe I am so the person you need to talk to. I should just post it here but then I'll want to make it again and I don't think one person can consume that much cream and sweetened condensed milk that close together.

But now I know what to make when I want to see a family's eyes roll back in their heads simultaneously. And hear a collective "ooooooh".



There was a little Ring-the-Cayden going on when we arrived. We usually enjoy throwing things at the kids but this was even more fun!



I asked Tammy to bring her fancy camera (like she ever goes anywhere without it!) and snap some family photos of us.

I've been wanting to get some nice pictures taken since winter but it wasn't in the cards until now. These turned out beautiful! I played with them in photoshop and sent some off to my and Josh's grandma's. They looked really profesh when I printed them out! Score!



I was really surprised at how cooperative Joseph was.

Pleasant surprises are his thing, man.


The weather was nice, but man, my allergies were killer. I finally made a doctor's appointment to try to nip these babies in the bud. Got me some Flonase and Allegra to add to the arsenal.

In case you need more details about my ailment...I'm doing much better, thanks. Post nasal drip is under control.



Beautiful families abounded that day.



There was some relaxing going on too. This was after Josh, Joseph and I bottomed out and almost tipped.

That thing is for the birds.

Or three lighter-weight kids.






Josh and Joseph got me the sweetest bracelet with a Mother's Love charm and a silhouette of a little boy's head. It was perfect and I'll always remember my second Mother's Day with them.

Sunday we got together with Josh's mom and had a super fabulous Mexican food dinner. It was really a great end to the weekend.

Happy Mother's Day to you too!

Unless you're not a mom in which case Happy Mother's Day to ME!

Old City Park: Part II

Before I got carried away in that last post with my dream of being Laura Ingalls Wilder's neighbor, running through the field of wild flowers in my cute bonnet...the whole reason we headed out to Old City Park was to go to story time with the boys.

And to let them run like the wild banshees they are!

We're free!

Freeeeeee!

And they're not really wild banshees. They're super kiddos. I don't even know what a wild banshee is.


We started out with a little log cabin building. I don't think our day would have been complete with out that for sure.


We sang a fun song..."buffalo gal won't you come out tonight"...and listened to this great lady play her mountain dulcimer.

Reminded me of listening to Uncle Earl play his dulcimer on the front porch at Grandma and Papa's. We'd all be sitting around watching the day go by. A country porch...glass of ice tea...life is good.


We played sandpaper blocks, a washboard and a really noisy beaded gourd.





Look at Joseph in his little pioneer buckskin vest!


We made a buffalo mask...


...and played some pioneer kid games.


We were living off the fat of the land, I tell ya.


We checked out the vegetable garden, the chickens in the coop and pumped water too.


Then we headed out to visit the mules. I was a little weary...but Joseph was all over those guys!


Yikes, watch your fingers, Joey!!


After a few last bluebonnet pictures we called it a day.

It was a long day.

It was tons of fun though and the boys especially enjoyed themselves. And to top it off, were on best behavior. That alone made it a nice morning.

Off to dream of buffalo and chopping wood for the long winter...

Old City Park: Part I

Tammy and I took the boys to Dallas Heritage Village a few weeks ago. I always love going there. It's a "living history" park in downtown Dallas that is a little village of buildings that were from the Dallas area in the 1800 and 1900's. The park has story tellers and people in costume interpreting what life was like in those days.




These lunch pails were lined up in the school house. I wonder how far you'd have to ride your horse to get to school?

Oh wait, they walked.

In the snow.

Up hill both ways.


Joseph loved the school house. He sat with his McGuffy Reader and learned a lesson or two. He couldn't remember what he learned though.

He's got my memory. Or rather lack thereof.





These pieces are from the 1900 Blum house, a traditional Jewish home. I am absolutely in love with the Victorian era style of decorating and this house was IT. It had floral everything and lace everywhere and very ornate details. It had floral wallpaper next to damask wallpaper next to wallpaper with floral damask scrolls. Even the ceilings were wallpapered.

This home was built in Plano in 1900.


"Technological innovations such as early electric light fixtures, linoleum and a cast iron cook stove in the kitchen, and a metal shingle roof indicate the new level of comfort available in homes in 1900."

Here is "Mrs. Blum" making a kosher meal for the fam. This house was one of the first with indoor plumbing and both electric and gas light fixtures. The light fixtures had electric bulbs on the bottom of the fixture and gas flame on the top because you never knew which would be working - guess "service" was spotty!

The bathroom looked a lot like the one I grew up with on Clayton...with the white hexagon floor tiles and heavy porcelain fixtures.





I could have looked around in the General Store all day. It really truly does take you back in time. I almost felt as if my horse was tied up outside waiting to take me back home after I splurged on a new bonnet and purchased my dry goods.

Oh and got Pa his new glasses since the baby broke his old ones.

And a hard candy or two for the kids for after dinner if they behave themselves.










As much as I loved the Queen Anne style house, the 1845 log cabin/dog-trot house stole my heart.

It was decorated so lovingly with handmade laces, bedding, and curtains even though the floor was and walls were made out of logs and dirt. I asked the guide about that and she said these settlers were wealthy and brought all of their "big city" possessions with them when they made their home on the frontier.

I would love to live in the late 1800's for just a little bit. Just to see what it was like! Maybe I was a pioneer farmer's wife in a previous life and it's calling me back!


I imagine waking with the sun to start my day. Instead of heading to the concrete jungle to ride an elevator to a cubicle, I head out to the garden or barn to work. Not that I've had to work in an office building for some time now, but I've always had day dreams about living off the land. I guess I'm crazy like that.






The sun was giving me some amazing light to photograph the fountain on Main Street.





I'll live in the days of yore as long as there is Dr. Pepper. I guess that rules out my pioneer dreams, eh? Vim, Vigor, Vitality! Yes, sir!

Up next, Old City Park: Part II!