The Most Magical Place on Earth!

We just got back from Disney World, and we had a blast, however I now feel like a need another vacation. It was so busy and very hot and humid, awesome combination for this curly haired girl. We were there for five days, and it was so amazing to see my sweet little girl get so excited about Princesses and characters all over the park. Her thing is pin trading, she just traded pins for the thrill of it, and this mama was a little annoyed when she traded the collector pins for ordinary ones. My mother in law finally convinced me that I had to let her do her thing, and just look away when she was trading, that was super hard for me!

This trip was supposed to be a "Grandparent" trip, until I asked if me and Alex, my sister could tag along. They ended up taking Maddie to a character dinner to meet Cinderella and her sisters, while Alex, Bryson, and I hung out at some of the parks. It was so nice. This year Grandmama and Papa surprised Maddie with a trip to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and she was so excited, and it was the cutest thing to see. The hair styles they have to choose from are a little much, believe it or not the one we picked was one of the best one. 

Bryson was so good  AMAZING this trip, he hung in there and would nap in the stroller, and just look at everything. He was able to ride some rides with us, and loved it! His favorite thing was looking a the giant fish tank in Epcot, we stayed there for a while! He DID NOT enjoy the characters, they freaked him out, it was kinda cute to see. 

Brandon was not able to come with us, because he ended up going TDY at the last minute, kinda annoying but that's the job I guess. We missed him so much! He will be back home in nine days, he will be home for a week, then off he goes to NY for three more weeks, crazy! Tell me about it! I'm ready to have him home for more than a weekend, but I'm so thankful he has a job and is able to provide while I stay at home.

It has been such a blessing to have my sister here this summer, it would be so lonely to be here alone while Brandon is gone. The house is so quiet, because my mother and father in law took Maddie with them to NC to spend some grandparent time with her, and she is loving every minute of it. She says every day is "Maddie Day" she just loves her grandparents, and I'm so blessed that God blessed her with two sets of amazing Grandparents that just pray for her, and love her to pieces. God is so good! 

Here are a few things I learned about Disney

~ No matter how cute you want to look, it's just not gonna happen after 9 hours in the park

~ If you are planning on meeting Flynn Rider from Tangled, it's just not gonna happen, bummer, he is so cute in the movie ;)

~ The evil queen from Snow White is super funny and SO in character, she asked me if "I was traveling with dwarfs" because I was holding Bryson, she also refused to hug anyone for a picture.lol

~ Some people don't wear deodorant, and you have to learn not to give the stink eye

~ The Disney cast members are all so nice, and willing to help you with anything

~ DON'T go in the Summer, way too hot and crowded!

~ Treasure each and every look in your childs face, when they meet a Princess, soon they will be too old. They grow up way too fast.

~ Enjoy it even though you are too tired or hot for it. 

Of course now here are some pics of the trip 

A Little Princess

Six years ago, God blessed us with one of the biggest blessings one could ever ask for, our little girl. Tomorrow she will be six years old, OMG!! yes, I went there! I can't believe that she is that old. Then I got to think in just twelve short years, she will be going to college, I can't even go there or the tears will just start to roll.
We had a "friends birthday" party last month, I know crazy, but our family was in town so we did it. Tomorrow we will having what she calls a "Maddie Day" we eat her favorite food, which is pasta, we make peanut butter balls, and give her a Birthday present from us.
This year she was set on getting the new American Girl of the year, Mackenna. However on a visit to Panama city we went to Ron Jon Surf shop, and all she ever wanted now was a surf board and some Toms. Who is this kid? Well, we got shoes and a surf board for her room, to use as decoration. She said she will save her money for Mackenna.
We are loving having our family here, and it has been so nice to get to go to the grocery store by myself at times. We have also gone on a few date nights, no complaining here.

Father's Day

With Father's day only being a few days away, I wanted to take a little moment to just thank my husband. He is the most amazing father I know, and is truly a man of amazing character. I know that in times I get so frustrated because he might be goofing around a little to much with the kids, when they are supposed to go to bed, and its late at night, but deep down I know those are the times that our children will remember. I read a quote once, and I can't remember where, but it stuck with me, "Marry a guy, who you would be proud if you had a son that was just like him" or something among those lines. Well to get to my point, I feel like I have married that guy, I pray that Bryson will one day be just like his dad, and love God with such passion. Don't forget to tell your father and husband how much they mean to you, and how blessed you are to have them in your life. 

Let the Summer Begin!!

I love weekends, spending time with the family, the kids, going shopping, and getting a tan. I use to have Diet Coke in there as well, but as of 3 months ago I gave it up. I thought that maybe I needed one yesterday, so I purchased a Diet Coke before church, and to tell you the truth I hated it! It was not satisfying at all, trust me I can't actually believe I'm saying this. I now enjoy peach green tea ( I make it at home, I know I'm cool), sparkling water with a little flavor, and lots of water with fruit in it. Just in case you were wondering what I drink now that I kicked that Diet Coke habit to the curve. 

This last weekend we went shopping, had a date night, ate a lot of food, pet some birds at a pet store, went to the pool, and enjoyed lots of time with the kiddos and the hubby. I know we did a lot, trust me it's not always like that, we just got into some sort of kick to get out. I know what you are thinking...no we did not go to the beach, we will hit it up this summer a lot. 

It has been so hot here and it seems like its going to stay for a while. We have been in the upper 90's for a while, and let's not mention the humidity, don't get me started! We needed to find a way to get out of the house to burn energy and stay cool at the same time. This last weekend we got season passes to one of the water parks close to our house, it's nice to have this park only 15 minutes away. The kids loved the water, and we for sure be regulars at this park this summer. It was so cute to see Bryson splashing in the pool, he enjoy it so much, and I loved getting a tan. 

Brandon with a bird that eventually walked to his neck, and would not go back, it was pretty funny.

Maddie with a bird, she is way more brave than I'm, NO I did not want a bird on me. Yuck!

See how white my shoulders are? I will be taking care of that situation this summer!

I sure pray these two will be best friends!

Don't you just love Bryson's hat? He such an old man. ;)

Here is that big hat again, but you have to do what you have to do. I have a blonde haired little boy that will burn if he is not wearing that. I did the best I could with the hat, that's the only decent one I found. Boys just don't have cute clothes.

We found a lil' gem

Usually on Sundays we hang around the house and relax after church, well this Sunday was an exception. We had been laying around and I decided we needed to get active, I had hear of this place about 7 minutes away from us called Turkey Creek Trail. I decided to try it, Maddie complained the entire time, she wanted to stay and watch "Soul Surfer" for the 40th time! I told her she would not be disappointed but kids are funny and she kept on complaining. This mommy does not do well with complaining...so off we went to the trail.
As soon as we got there, it already was amazing! There are trees everywhere and a wood bridge sorta trail if that makes sense, along the walk you can see turtles in the creek and lots of beavers. The coolest thing is you walk to the top and you bring your own tube and ride it down the creek. It was so cool, Maddie of course felt bad for complaining and she enjoyed every minute of it. "Next time we need our bathing suits" she reminded me. I was nice to get out and get active, when you feel like laying around.

Mother's Day and Field Day

Things have been a little CRAZY around this house lately, we are counting down the days till Mr. B gets back home. Mean while we have been keeping busy, and can I tell you I can not wait for summer, it's gonna be a busy one for sure.
I was planning on going to church on Sunday morning with the kids like we do every other Sunday, but it was storming pretty bad, and this Colorado is not really used to the lighting and thunder followed by massive amounts of rain. If that wasn't enough the tornado siren went off, it was nothing short of chaos in this house, a little girl who is really scared of tornados, thanks to my little sister, Lizzie who introduced her to the movie "Twister" a big shout out to her, NOT! and to top all of this our little dog, Oscar thought that the louder he barked the better. Do you get the picture yet? Needless to say we missed church.
Around noon the weather cleared up and was actually kinda pretty we decided to get lunch at one of my favorite places to eat, Zaxby's, I know not healthy at all but it's so good! The kids and hubby got me a ring, mason jars (I know what you are thinking how "country") but everything tastes better when you drink out of a mason jar, and I also got new make up. They were so nice! Really, I'm the blessed one to have such amazing children and well of course a husband. Sometimes they drive crazy, but I would not have it any other way.

The next day Maddie had Field day at school, and Bryson and I went to support her, she is after all doing a sack race, and a relay. She loved hearing us scream her name while she was running, I should have made signs, well that might have been a little much. Yes, I'm that mom!! It was wet and it rained the entire time, but it was fun.

Having iced coffee in my mason jar, and YES it does taste better.

Maddie after her sack race, they came in 2nd.

Maddie's sweet friend

Cheering on the sidelines

Just had to put this up, he is getting so big.

Our Baby Turns 1

We celebrated our little guys first birthday on Cinco de Mayo, how fitting. I just can't begin to explain the joy and sadness it brings to my life, first of all we will no longer have a baby, and since this is our last one we are savoring every moment. He is such a blessing to this family, and is full of joy!

 I can't believe that just one short year ago we were at the hospital 6 weeks early waiting for this lil'guy to make his entrance into this world. God is so GOOD! he really has shown just how much we need him and with out him we would be lost. Bryson had a tough first 8 months, from being in the NICU for 25 days to having open hear surgery to correct a problem he had, God was with him through it all. I keep telling him that God has a very special  purpose for him. We are so grateful for him, and can't wait to see him grow up to be the man God wants him to be. 

Right now Bryson is not interested in table food or a sippy cup. He can hold his bottle, but refuses to do it, but he makes up for it by being a good sleeper ;). His favorite toy is a phone or the ipad, loves to watch Oscar, his sister can make him laugh anytime, and he HAS to have a ton of blankets around him to be able to fall asleep. He is now 18lbs, and is super tall. His hair does not stay down no matter how hard I try to gel it down, it sticks right up like Alfafa from the Little Rascals. He finally had 2 bottom teeth, and does not like to use them to chew. Here are a few pics of the big man.

Beach Trip and Mr.Lizard

Isn't he the cutest?

Maddie has an obsession with Surfers, this is her surfing pose. 

Pretty!

He just loves his big sister!

Our little buddy.

We are enjoying living 10 minutes away from the beach, don't get me wrong, but I have some things that bother me a little about it. Here are just a few, if you know me this is kinda comical.   There are bugs, lizards, and frogs everywhere, and this girl is not really a fan. 

This morning when I took out the trash, little did I know that there was Mr. Lizard chilling on my trash can! Really?!? You have got to be kidding me! Mr.Lizard decided to jump on my arm, and of course I did a little dance, by now I'm sure anyone that saw me thinks I' crazy. I guess that is just something I'm gonna have get use to. All right, I'm done complaining. 

Here are a few pics of our beach trip, Madison and Bryson love it! Bryson really enjoyed playing with the sand, Madison loved the water. The water here is so pretty, it looks so crystal clear. I know that we will be heading to beach often, and there will be more pics to follow. Can't wait to get a tan! 

A New Home

We are finally getting settled in our new home, and we are enjoy it.  After all the packing and unpacking, loading and unloading, I'm proud to say we are box free! Our neighborhood is awesome, and very quiet. Maddie has made lots of friends on our street and they come knocking on our door about 50 times a day, I'm trying to not get annoyed by it, I guess that is a good problem to have. Brandon has started work, and to tell you the truth, I kinda miss not having him around at 3 pm. Oh well life goes on.  

Having the beach near is great, and we are gonna for sure be out there quite a bit. Bryson is already a fan, and of course Madison loves the sun more than her mamma would like. Talking about the weather, I will HAVE to get some product to control this hair in the humidity, I have a feeling lots of $$$ will go into that. We have found a church that we love and we can't wait to meet new friends. Right now I'm trying to enjoy this season of life, kinda slow for the moment, but we all know that will change soon so I savor it while I can.  My days right now consist of taking Maddie to school, going to church, playing with Bryson all day, and of course cleaning. I know you are jealous. God is so good to us and brings us so many blessings every day, I'm just so amazed by his Grace. 

Here are a few pics of the house, I will post more once Madison's bed is up, and the guest room is finished. We can't wait to share.

Our awesome backyard, complete with a tree house, fire pit, TV, and a trampoline. Talk about fun!

Part of the playroom/office. Still a work in progress.

Remember I told you there were lots of Maddie's friends? Well here is a few of them, some days there are 8 girls in our backyard.

This pic would not rotate, I don't know why/

Another pic of the office