Making Valentines!

This year we made cute little sucker Valentines (I'm a sucker for you, Valentine!) for the kids to pass out at their class parties. The kids ate a sucker while working on their cards. We kept it simple and good thing because as soon as Spencer and Lily finished eating their suckers and writing their names they bailed on me. They didn't last long tying all the cards to the suckers. Abby and I ended up putting together the Valentines by ourselves. Abby is growing up so fast. She is so helpful and fun to work with. I can seen many years of projects ahead of us!! I'm a lucky mom and I hope my kids will always enjoy hanging out around the kitchen table with me.

A little get-a-way.........

To celebrate our 10th anniversary, Shaun and I went to San Antonio for the weekend. It was so nice to have time together and remember how much we enjoy just hanging out. In everyday life we very rarely find time to eat a meal (alone and uninterrupted) together or have more than a debriefing of the current home/family issues. We love our lives, but with the kids, church callings, work, and a few other extracurriculars, we are running most of the time. What a blessing a weekend away is!!! We enjoyed just sitting and talking about all that has been on our minds lately and about all our hopes and dreams for our young family. San Antonio is a beautiful city with lots of charm. A special thanks to Nanna and Poppa for spending their Valentine's weekend with our 4 sweethearts. You can't imagine what that meant to us.

You can't visit San Antonio without seeing the Alamo.

In downtown San Antonio there is a huge Mercado. Sifting through all the imported goods from Mexico was a little flashback of our honeymoon.

The Riverwalk was amazing. The atmosphere was so relaxed and fun. We took a boat ride on the 3 miles of the river that winds through the city. I think Shaun and I would agree that the 200 year old trees growing all around the river were the stars of the show.

On our last night in San Antonio we ate at Casa Rio, the oldest restaurant on the Riverwalk. It was great to eat out on the Riverwalk. We felt like we were a world away from our everyday life. A true vacation!

Maya Baby

Happy Birthday Maya Baby! I love you so much and feel blessed to be your Auntie Ang. Hope your year is full of hugs, kisses, and fun!

Our Little Texas Tornado

Sadie is quickly transitioning into the "terrible two's" and I'm going crazy!! She is seriously getting harder by the minute to keep up with and can destroy a room in seconds. Shaun has nicknamed her our little Texas tornado. Lily was at this stage when the gulf was pounded in 2005 with all the hurricanes and he nicknamed her Hurricane Lily. I guess crazy 2 year olds (or nearly 2 year olds) remind us of mini natural disasters. Good thing Sadie Jane is so cute, it helps me laugh through my tears.

Sadie Jane had just rearranged all the plastic ware to make room for herself during a game of Hide and Go Seek.

You can't tell by this picture but Sadie Jane can really go to town on the spring horse. She really loves it when we sing Yankee Doodle while she rides. Hopefully this helps to burn some of her excess energy.