Anthony's Birthday

The Little Man had another birthday to attend last Saturday - this time, his buddy Anthony was turning 2. It was outside at a local park, where it was a bit warm, but the fun was unstoppable. 

This is what the boy had on when we left the house and arrived at the party. However, as we were leaving and I felt the heat outside, I grabbed a white t-shirt to switch into if it was too hot for that heavier button down top.  As soon as we arrived, I realized that was a good call. It WAS hot and I changed him into that shirt as soon as we reached our destination. 

There is a great shelter at this park!

There is also a pool, which was not open.

Much to Anthony and LM's dismay!

Of course, Max was there, too!

And his big sister Eva!

Max and Anthony both have transitioned to the next age classroom - not the same one, mind you, but they have left LM's room. This has left LM looking like a very old child in his class, with all the new incoming babies around! He will transition next month near his birthday, and will be in Max's class. Funny thing is, that class and LM's current class go outside at the same time, and according to LM's teacher, they run to the fence and hug through the fence every day. So cute!

The bouncy car was a hit with all the kids

Three didn't really fit, though...

After the playground, some juice!

LM was mesmerized by the balloons.

I asked him if we should have balloons at his party.

He said, "Yes."

There was also fruit!

And cake!

It was a fun party!

Thanks Anthony for inviting the Little Man!

See you soon.

Well, Hail!

On Wednesday afternoon, our area of town was pummeled with a sudden and short but dastardly hail storm. The worst of it was just south of us - and I mean just south of us. Less than a mile - so we feel pretty lucky. Funny thing is, I heard the storms coming on my way home from work, with the Little Man in tow. He's been a little under the weather this week, and fell asleep on the way home. I decided to drive over to the hospital parking garage to sit out the rain and let him sleep for a few minutes. I didn't know hail was coming.

I sat in the garage for about 30 minutes and then remembered something I wanted to borrow from my in-laws, so I drove to their house. They weren't home, so I decided to go on home, just as it REALLY began to rain. And then HAIL. I have to tell you golfballs coming at your windshield is NOT fun. I pulled over as fast as I could and hid under a tree. This was right next to the lake, so we could watch the big hail splashing into the water. It was amazing!

Eating hail.

When it subsided, we came on home. At home, we found lots of hail in the yard! We walked around and checked it out. The Little Man ATE several pieces, even as I was telling him not to eat it, which didn't slow him down at all. I thought we had received a lot of hail until I saw photos and heard from co-workers just south of us who had yards that were so covered in hail it looked like a blanket of SNOW. They also had broken windows and windshields, so we were very lucky.

All of these photos were snapped with the phone...not great photos, but they tell the story.

Do you have plans for the weekend? We do - busy weekend ahead! First, Little Man has his friend Anthony's birthday party. This will be a highlight, as Anthony and Max have both transitioned in the last week to the next classroom and he misses them! He looks so OLD in his class now, as he is the oldest one there, and there are many new one year olds around him. Then, we have to get our house ready to have my work colleagues over. It's an "end of season" get together to just visit and eat some good food. It's the first time we have done this. I hope everyone comes and has a good time. But, we have to get a few things cleaned up (read - moved to the bedroom so no one sees the clutter) before they get here at 6 on Saturday! 

Then, of course, Sunday is Father's Day so we have lots of fun planned for that day too. It'll be great. Whatever your weekend plans are, I hope they go well. 

See you soon.

Girl's Weekend

I went on my first ever girl's weekend (besides a weekend with my mom, I suppose) last weekend. Some of my good girlfriends from undergraduate collected, eventually, in San Antonio, and we had so much fun! I am not kidding here - I mean, I knew I would have fun. But, it was even more fun than I imagined! My college roommate Cathy drove down from Arkansas on Thursday. Then, she and four more of us left Friday after lunch for Round Rock and Kellie's house. We ate dinner that night with all of us and our friend Marcia who could not go on to San Antonio. It was great she could come out for dinner and catch up! Then, Saturday we took our time to get to San Antonio, making a stop at the Shady Grove, one of my favorite Austin restaurants, on the way.

In San Antonio, we ate some more, visited, went to the spa, shopped, took the river cruise, watched a movie, and just hung out together, catching up. On the way back to Dallas, we stopped at the Salt Lick in Driftwood for some awesome barbecue. We hope to make it an annual thing! Here are some photos:

Tricia and Jennifer at the Shady Grove

Cathy and Kellie

Me and Carolann

Our great hotel room at La Mansion del Rio

The view from the balcony of our hotel room

Cathy on the balcony

Walking the river.

Fake desserts at a restaurant on the river.

A duck family on the river.

The classic riverwalk shot.

San Antonio, of course (Saint Anthony)

Salt Lick

It was fabulous, ladies! Thanks!

I was ready to get home after the weekend to see my boys. They had fun without me, of course, but I think they were happy to see me too. ;-) I can't wait for next year's girl's weekend. It was great!

See you soon.