My Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed

It's a Monday.  I found myself sitting on the couch twiddling my fingers.  I had already gone on a "Walk" with Audrey and her dolls around the living room 3 times.  It was time to do something I wouldn't normally do.  

I LET her jump on my bed.  She was having such a fun time that I had to pull out the camera.  She had to jump with each one of her toys. In between jumps she fashioned a necklace out of my belt.  She was pretty excited about it, especially the fact that it was pink.  

 Screaming.

 She went from jumping on the bed to putting a bucket on her head.  I guess you're never too old for peek-a-boo.  She would scream, "There she is" every time she took pulled it off  It was an eventful morning to say the least.
She got quite the workout.  You would never know that I did her hair this morning topped with a bow.  I can't tame her hair during the summer!  I love this little monkey.  

Making Ourselves Pretty

Every morning while I'm getting ready for the day Audrey pulls a chair up to the counter.  She pulls her box out of the closet and climbs up on the chair.  Her box is full of things she's collected from all over the house:  Finger nail polish, cuticle oil, chapstick, bows, headbands, mirrors, a comb...etc.  I told Paul, anytime something is missing I know where to find it.  

Then she tells me that she's going to do her makeup.  I love to watch her pretend and I love that we get to do girly things together.  She's the best girlfriend ever.  I hope that someday when she's all grown up that we can still have these moments while we talk about what's going on in her life and who her latest crush is.  

Independence Day (Fireworks)

We picked up some fireworks and did our own this year.  It was so much fun.  I think we'll do it again next year.  I was not disappointed with Texas fireworks.  Audrey loved it so much that she continues to ask me everyday if we can do fireworks again.  In another year baby girl.  

 A little unsure about fire in her hand.

 I love this picture.  Paul was asking if she wanted to shoot off another firework and she got so excited.  She didn't even have to say yes.  

 Relaxing

 I burned my hand after lighting this one.  Mental note...next time use a stick lighter.  The fuse kind of blew up in my hand.  

Independence Day

I love the 4th of July!  I am so grateful for this country I live in and the freedoms it provides.  I'm grateful for those who have fought and continue to fight to protect those freedoms.  It's because of these men and women that I can enjoy friends and family today.  

There's nothing better than a homemade burger and a lot of watermelon.  Yum!  It was so hot.  We turned on the sprinkler really high,  and pulled out our pathetic pool.  James and Jenny and their kids joined us for the morning and afternoon festivities.  The kids loved running through the water and splashing in the pool.  I'll pretend the fun didn't end in Audrey pushing Jane rather harshly down the slide and me putting her to bed.  Nap time was in order.  Audrey keeps telling me that it wasn't very nice of her to push Jane.  

 Adult time was good too.  It's been a while since we have seen them.  It was nice talking about houses and what the future could bring.  Maybe we'll live closer to each other.

After her nap.

Something New

We had some really good friends move to Saudi Arabia.  When they left they brought a few things over.  Audrey couldn't be more happy to have these in our backyard.  I couldn't be more happy to have something she can play on to run a little bit of her energy out.  

It's so nice to use our nice big backyard for something.  I should have done something about this a long time ago.  

 Texas grass.  Ahhh....don't you just want to lay down and take a load off?  I have mixed feelings about it.  It's nice with a blanket, kind of.  Audrey doesn't mind.  She doesn't know any better. 

 The best part, I had a really big spot where I had no lawn because I attempted a garden last year.  We only removed the garden box a month ago and the spot is already almost completely filled in with "grass". Yes!  The perks of having a weed for a lawn.  It's a blessing.

Paul's Birthday

I feel really bad.  Paul's birthday this year was rather uneventful.  It was probably the worst birthday ever.  He stayed home to take care of me because of my self inflicted eye injury.  I took a nap because I was so dizzy from having my one eye dilated.  When I woke up I was determined to at least make him a cake.  I did my best.  It turned out terrible.  I think the fact that I couldn't see very well played a part. Audrey was the best helper.  She was singing Happy Birthday the entire time which I'm sure was Paul's favorite part.   

Here's to hoping his next one is perfect to pay him back for how horrible this one was.  He is the best husband and Daddy in the world.  I'm thinking a really large party with lots of people.

Our First Family Vacation

 Last week we went to San Antonio.  I feel terrible because I couldn't get pictures of most of it and sometimes I forgot my camera.
We took a road trip. Before we left I downloaded all the Disney Princess tunes I could find.  Audrey loved singing as loud as should could to every single one.  I love that she's old enough to sing along.  Paul was probably thinking that it's about time we have another man around, but he loves his girls.  We got there late at night.  Audrey was confused about the whole sleeping in a hotel thing, but it didn't take long before she got used to that big queen sized bed.
While we were there we visited a lot with Paul's brother.  It was really nice to have him around.  I think Audrey knows her uncle Grant more than any of her aunts and uncles.  He takes road trips out here all the time.  She loves him.  She was so excited to spend time with him.  I wish I could have captured it in pictures.  We went to see the Alamo, walked the river walk, went to a vintage store, and ate some surprisingly good pizza at Rita's pizza.  I say surprisingly good because we walked in at noon and no one was there.  We thought for sure something had to be wrong with the place, but it was really good.  We managed to eat the entire massive pizza in one siting. Later in the day Grant took us to an indoor go-cart race track.  I was a little nervous I have never done anything like it.  It ended out being so fun!  I kept finding rubber on my pants and in my pockets.  Bucket list....check.
The next day we went to church with Grant and visited with my cousin Cindi.  I don't know Cindi very well.  She's older than me and has always lived pretty far away so I never really got to know her.  It was such a great experience.  I hope to visit more.  She inspired me in so many ways.  Her two little girls are beautiful, kind, and so well mannered.  Her home is beautiful and her neighborhood make me want to lived there. Don't be surprised if you find me in San Antonio someday.
On Monday we went to the Schlitterbahn.  It's a pretty amazing water park.  If I lived closer I would probably buy season passes.  Audrey loved all of it.  She was always braver than I expected her to be. When we went to leave she cried  because she didn't want to leave and then she fell asleep in my arms while we headed out to the car.
I don't want to admit my stupidity, but for memory sake here goes.  after leaving schlitterbahn
I was feeling claustrophobic and my wristband could not come off soon enough.  I grabbed a pen and stuck it in one of the holes and yanked.  The pen went into my eye....awesome.  I thought I had just bruised it and that I was going to be fine until Paul told me that my tears were bloody.  We went to the instacare and found out that I lacerated the white part of my eye and scratched my cornea.  I couldn't open both of my eyes without being in pain.  It was a good thing it happened at the end of our trip.  We went to bed that night and in the morning Paul packed us up. It was probably the most painful trip home. Thankfully after a couple of days and a couple more trips to the eye doctor, it was looking so much better.  My eye wasn't solid red anymore and the pain was minimal.  I'm so grateful I still have an eye.  It's still blurry, but that's supposed to go away with time.

Despite my eye, I really enjoyed our trip.  I was so grateful that Paul was able to take time off and take time to do somethings that he enjoyed.  Happy Birthday Babe!