Sea World!

Well we finally made to Sea World and it was a blast! We had such a good time and Lauren loved all the animals! We started off on Friday afternoon and saw the Shamu Believe show, it is pretty amazing how big they are and how beautiful they are too. Lauren's eyes were so big! Next we made it to the dolphins and the shark tank before stopping off at the coral reef exhibit to see Nemo. That was it for Friday so we headed to Pappadeux's for Jeff's etoufee fix. Let's just say Lauren didn't agree with the sit down dinner so she and I played outside and looked at the waterfall. Saturday morning Uncle Nick joined in the fun we stopped to feed the sea lions first before heading to see the penguins. Then Nick and I rode the roller coaster twice and what made it so much better was that we didn't have to wait in line at all. The ride was awesome and so smooth. It made me feel so young again. Lauren then got to feed the alligators and watch the turtles take a ride. The afternoon was spent at the waterpark and we had a blast. It was overcast and windy so it was a little chilly. It was time to go when Lauren started shivering and lips turning blue, but she wanted to stay so bad. A stop at the souvenir shop and then it was time to go. It was a fun time had by all...now to start planning our next trip. As Jeff says, "I don't like to sit still."

Lauren's 1st Tea Party

Lauren had her first tea party on Friday afternoon as I was trying to pack for our family trip to Sea World. I was getting all the food and coolers ready to be packed for the big adventure and Lauren of course had to right in the middle of it. So she took one of the coolers and made a makeshift table and then pulled up her two chairs and brought the airplane along for another chair. You can see that only the most important people were invited. Of course there was Goofy he was the first to arrive, then came Cutie, and then Puppy flew up on the plane. She had so much fun giving them cookies and coffee. I went to go get the camera to take a picture and she had to get hers as well. We had such a fund time that evening we even forgot about dinner.

Yesterday I while sitting on the porch at Hilltop Lakes I smelled smothing sweet. So I looked around and found an old Magnolia tree and could see all of the blossoms. So I walked over to take a look and to smell the beautiful blossoms. The smell was so sweet and clean. Such a beautiful flower and it brought back such a great memory. Jeff and I took a vacation to Hot Springs, Arkansas one summer and I remember walking down the street and all of the magnolia trees in were in full bloom. The air was so sweet like today. It seems like ages ago that we went on that vacation. We stayed at a cabin on one of the lakes, rented a boat, and just relaxed! The evenings were so peaceful just sitting on the dock and fishing. Oh I wish we were there now!

Why do I bother?

It was the normal frantic Monday morning. You know the coaxing of Lauren out of the bed, this morning all she wanted to do was get in her pillow case and hide, the dancing around as we try to dress her and the smearing of apple sauce on the counter that was actually suppose to go in her mouth. All this and we are finally in the car on the way to school. Then like everyday she says, "I don't want shoes Mommy!" Then their they going flying off and then one sock two sock and little toes are in the air with Lauren saying, "Look Mommy ! No shoes!" So then once we get to school I am on a scavenger hunt looking for two sock and two shoe and then wrangling two feet and keeping the one shoe on while I put on the other. Today I thought why do we even bother to put the socks and shoes on before we get to school and I said because that is what normal people do. Well we are not normal so tomorrow sock and shoes when we get to school!

At least they were Baked!

After viewing the sequence of pictures from above you can see that our ride home from the Grandparents was interesting to say the least. After being in the car for four and a half hours Jeff and I were pretty much open to anything Lauren wanted to do as long as she stayed in her car seat. It started off as a fun game in that she was handing us potato chips to eat but she had to name who would get to eat them. Then I teased her because she said that a chip was for Daddy and I ate it. So she began to tease me and eat my chip. I went to get my camera to capture her adorable smile and then I heard it. Lauren dumping out the remnants of a crushed bag of potato chips. She was so excited at first and intrigued but then she got mad and the waterworks started. At this point we were in Navasota and I told Jeff to floor it. It was only a matter of time before she started throwing the chips because she wanted them off of her. Then the salt got in the cut on her finger and the yells became screams. We finally got her calmed down and at this point we were exiting to get to the house. Then she decides to put the chips in her pants and crush them. Ok she is two I don't even try to understand her thought process, but they were baked so no grease stains. So let's just say that the last two minutes of the ride Jeff and I were laughing hysterically while she cried. When we pulled in the garage I jumped took her clothes off and all she could say was, "Let's play Mommy!" Gotta love it!

Muffins with Mom!

Well today was Muffins with Mom at daycare in celebration of Mother's Day. Lauren loved the banana nut muffins, note to self, good breakfast idea. When we got there she had to find her chair with her name on it. How fitting that the animal by her name on her chair was a Lion. I think that matches her personality perfectly. As the other Moms came in she was sure to tell them and all her classmates that I was her Mommy and not theirs. She would then tell me that was Samuel's Mommy and Abby's Mommy. Afterwards we played with the new chalkboard table in her classroom and I drew eggs for her. Such a fun time!

Cinco de Mayo!

Today at school Lauren had a Cinco de Mayo celebration complete with a taco lunch! She colored Pablo the Pepper and was so excited to show me when I picked her up. She wore a cute little Mexican outfit that a friend of mine gave me and loved the flowers on it as well. The halls were decorated with somberos, donkeys, and cacti. She had lots of fun showing me all of them. What a cutie!

30 years...really?

So it is that time of year again for the St. Joseph Festival. This year is the 30th year for the festival I just can't believe it. But then again I don't ever remember a year that we didn't go except may one when we were living in Houston. There were the usuals...grocery wheel, cake wheel, auction, fishpond (oh the fishpond), and lots of BBQ. That is one thing I look forward to once a year is the BBQ. It is so yummy the beans with the right amount of pepper, chunky mashed potatoes, sausage, brisket and the chicken my favorite. There is alway so much that we end up taking home so many leftovers. This year Lauren had a blast on the Moonwalk she did not want to leave at all. After about 40 minutes of jumping (this led to a 3 1/2 hour nap so no complaints) I had to bribe her to get out with the promise of ice cream. Her and Paw Paw had a blast eating triple chocoloate Blue Bell ice cream. I am still not sure who liked it more him or her. She was falling asleep on the way home and I walked her bed where she was out in two minutes. Can we do this every Sunday?

Waffles! Waffles! Waffles!

I always wanted a waffle iron, you know one of those one use appliances that you have to find a place to store. Well I got one and then put it in the pantry and didn't use it for a few years until now. Lauren's favorite breakfast is waffles so it gets a lot of use. So on Saturdays I get up early with Lauren and we will make a big batch of them to freeze because let's face who has time to make waffles during the week. So at 7am on Saturday, no sleeping for me, we get out the waffle iron and get to work. When the first ones are ready she is so excited but asks, "Where's Daddy?" So she drags him out of bed to take part the hot waffles. You can tell from the picture that Jeff would much rather still be in bed since Saturday's are his day to sleep in, but Lauren wanted him up to eat. She was just being cute acting like Daddy.

May Crowning

One of my favorite memories of school at St. Joseph's was the May Crowning. All school mass with everyone bring flowers for Mary. Mary's Song, Sing of Mary, and Ave Maria are going through my head right now. I used to pick flowers from the garden to take, which meant that Spring was in full swing and summer was just around the corner. I usually took roses from the back yard and they would smell so wonderful. So when it was Lauren's turn to take flowers for the St. Thomas May Crowning I was so excited for her. She was excited as well to take flowers for Mary. I am so happy she gets to take part of this traditional as well.