Lampasas & Ink Lake

We paid Carl & Judy a visit at their Lampasas home last month.  Always a good time!

Our Birthday Boy!

Liv and Nate at the Houston National Cemetery

Spring 2011 Family Pictures

We have quite a few talented photographers in our family.  In fact, I just might be the only adult female in our family who can not boast this talent.  I might be bitter about this if I didn't constantly reap the benefits of having a family full of photographers :) 

These family pictures were taken by my sister-in-law, Emily.  She's fantastic.  She actually shot these pictures for us back in March but I am just now tackling the task of getting them onto my blog because I knew it would take some time for me to choose some favorites.  Thanks, Emily :)   

We've got a little girl on the way!

Good iNews! (not related to any recent Apple announcements)

My husband now knows how to fix an iPhone with a cracked screen!  That's right.  Because if you refuse to keep a protective case or screen on the expensive phone that you've dropped & cracked on more than one occasion, that's a pretty good skill to have.  He's quite proud.

How do we get our kids to play outside in this heat?

We buy a costly, high maintenance 'toy' for them to play all over.  I'm not sure how long it'll last but it's already proved to be worth its weight in gold!

a party fit for a four-year-old (Part 2)...

In my post on our girl's birthday party I failed to include a picture of one of the party highlights! 

Yep.  The mermaid cut-out. 

My mom made something similar to this for one of my birthday parties when I was a kid.  I asked her if she could re-create the magic for a modern day mermaid birthday party and she did!

can't...quite...make it...

Every once in a while I give my boy a chance at 'quiet time' instead of his usual 'nap time.'  He rarely makes it through 'quiet time' without falling asleep somewhere in the house but he does love to try.

a party fit for a four-year-old...

It's been a couple of years since we've put on a 'friend party' for one our kids' birthdays.  I realized some time ago that since a three-year-old very clearly understands the concept of a birthday party, there was no way we were going to get through the big day this year without friends, decorations, party favors, games, and a pinata...all party necessities.  Also a necessity in this case?  That all of the above incorporate lots of Little Mermaid.

Happy 4th Birthday!

 

Another girl would be fun...

 ...but maybe our son needs a brother more than our daughter needs a sister right now.

We have a new little Brenner on the way!

a nice afternoon

In case you were wondering...

There was a little bit of snow on the ground in Pine Bluff, Arkansas this weekend...and also lots of folks in  camouflage.