401

hey ya'll. i know, it's been quiet around here for a while. we had a super busy holiday and i really just wanted to hibernate with the family and enjoy the time together. getting back into the groove of routine, school, everything has been a bit of an adjustment...crazy how two weeks of no routine, sleeping in, staying up too late can get you all out of sorts! i have also been suffering from some pretty extreme migraines...last week i had one day without a headache...ONE DAY! not how i want to live. i'm off to the neurologist on the 25th to get this sorted out. i'm sure it's a messy combination of hormones, stress, & allergies. bo says i'm just crazy...that the longer he knows me the crazier i get...not sure what that says about him! lol! anyway, above is a pic of my cowgirl after a spend the night with her nonna & cousins and then a day at the stock show & midway {rides}! i picked the kids up at 5 after their busy day. they both fell asleep in the car on the way home, sacked out when we got home, slept through the night and in until 8:30ish this morning. i couldn't believe it! they have never been so exhausted! i know they had a blast!

well, i hope to catch up and post a few pics from the holiday soon! lots going on, but want to make sure i get a few photos up from our family holiday!

oh yeah, and this post is titled 401 because it's my 401st post! wowza!

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visions of sugarplums

the annual santa photo...no tears this year. amazing how much can change in 365 days. last year ava didn't even want to sit with bo dressed up like santa, let alone some stranger in a red suite at the mall. this year she couldn't climb up on his lap fast enough and rattle off all of her wishes and dreams! and then hollis...no tears, but was a little hesitant. thinking he only did it because sister was all for it. he wants to do everything and anything she does, including carry a purse and accessorize with all sorts of fancy jewelry. {he even wanted me to paint his nails this morning when i was painting avas....no, i didn't...bo would have died!!!}

we are celebrating christmas eve at our house tonight since bo has to work on christmas day. of course we have all been passing around some stomach bug and it was daddy's turn today. poor guy. hopefully he will feel better in the morning. the kids and i watched polar express together and it was so much fun getting ava ready for bed tonight talking about santa coming. she wore her special santa pj's and left the big guy some oreos {bad mommy...didn't get around to baking cookies today...} and a few pieces of lucky charms, they are her favorite little treat lately, so i guess she figured santa would appreciate some. we read a few favorite christmas stories and then she went to sleep faster than ever before...maybe it had something to do with me telling her she had to fall asleep for santa to come :) . looking forward to the morning, seeing that christmas magic that children bring to the holiday. the kids are in for a few special surprises ;) should be fun! i hope you have a merry christmas. take the time to soak up all the love from your near and dear ones. i love christmas. now off to watch a little christmas vacation and set up worlds largest interactive train set!
**update on the trainset...bo ended up putting it together...too complicated for my level of patience tonight! so thankful for a wonderful husband...even sick, he still will do anything for his babies! love him so much.

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being thankful...

{ ava's handprint turkeys before i added the beak, feet, & of course, the gobble!}

so much to be thankful for. today. and every day.

a husband that loves me no matter what.


children that light up my world and have taught me more about love and life than i ever could have imagined.

family. all my wonderful family. step's, in laws, blood, friends that are more like family. i am blessed beyond belief to have been given the amazing family in my life.

a life that is more wonderful than i ever could have hoped for.

thankful for you.

xo,
a

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lazy blogger....

so i totally ripped off this awesome collage from jen's blog! {hope that's okay}...i would normally just link ya'll over to her blog to see the collage of our stockyards day....but i love our little family picture too much & had to have it on my blog, too! {seriously, both kids smiling, the husband looking mighty handsome in his denim work get-up, & a picture of myself i don't think it too eww..that's a good day for us!} you can still see what she thought about her stockyards experience over here though!

{click to enlarge}

we had so much fun spending the afternoon walking around the stockyards with jen and jon when they were down for a visit. {besides a little mama frustration with a certain two year old that was determined to do everything during lunch BUT eat...looking back, me thinks she was wanting some extra attention and being naghty was how she decided to go about getting it} ate at riscky's, swung through billy bobs, and enjoyed a "cattle drive"! ava had a blast riding EVERY automated pony ride available...some of them twice. then we headed down to granbury for some rest and relaxation!
i miss you.
xo,
a

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catching up...

soooo, we have been crazy busy around here the past few weeks...we had company, zoo visits, dinners out, stockyard roaming, granbury visiting, fishing, birthdays, recovering, cleaning, the list could go on and on...nice to get back to life as we know it, but definitly missing my bestie and vacation is always, always lovely!

happy birthday to this guy! my dad turned 61 last friday. we celebrated with an afternoon boat ride and then a small get together with some of dad and maryann's granbury friends. was a gorgeous day and i think my dad had a blast! {that's miss zoe on my dad's lap, all back from the puppy groomer...isn't she cute?!}

ava relaxing on the couch {avatar was on...probobly not the most age appropriate thing we could have had playing, but believe me, this didn't last long, she was up and around after a few minutes of recharging!} i think she was pretty worn out after our week away!

caught her first SUNFISH...not "croppy"!

here she is telling bo she can do it by herself! so cute!

check out jen's blog to see some cool collages of our zoo fun! her blog is darling, i think ya'll will love it!
xo,

a

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easter eggstravaganza!

this easter weekend was full of family gatherings, fun, love, gratitude, & much to ava's excitement...no naps...too busy for that! the busyness of the holiday started for us on saturday morning at bo's mom's house and then off to is dad's! it was a gorgeous day, we spent most of it outside, enjoying the sunshine and breeze {and as any parent out there knows, if you have a toddler that hasn't taken a nap...you want them outside!} so here are a few shots from our saturday! {all at bo's mom's}

hollis and maddy, she is growing up SO much, turning into such a gorgeous young lady!

sydney! {cheesin' for the camera}
yummy {& oh so cute!}

maddy and sydney

donna, kristi and hollis

+ ava making a gorgeous face!

uncle ricky...thinks hollis seems like an a&m kind of guy! :)

even though holidays are so nuts for us, lots of driving, visiting, non stop action, i wouldn't have it any other way. so many amazing people in our lives & we are blessed beyond belief.

more pics to come...i have tons and tons from the weekend!

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today

we are finally ALL healthy. it was gorgeous outside. my girl loves collecting rocks and diggin' in the dirt. the sunshine did us all some good.

check out those rocks {and the dirty fingernails...yech...no worries, she got a bath right after!}

hope you had a beautiful sunday.

xo,

a

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on top of the world...

& feelin' good!
we had such an awesome weekend with family from minnesota! i so wish we lived closer to my cousins, aunts and uncles...they are so awesome!
for now...here's ava at the jump jump again showin' off for the fam! she loves this thing and is determined to get a flip going...still hasn't gone over, but working on it! so cute!

hope you all had a great weekend! {more pics of our weekend of fun coming soon!}

xo,

a

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