The Thompson Family

I Wanna Hold Your Hand...

2012-01-20T09:21:00.004-06:00

We were so lucky to spend an entire weekend with sweet Molly! Put aside the one timeout we had to do for bopping poor Molly on the head, I would say we did pretty well.

Forrest and I were in Houston last weekend for Mary's wedding (my Chi-O friend from A&M). That post still to come! Kelly and Collin offered to babysit Davis for us and also host us the entire weekend. It makes things so much easier when we visit a house that is baby proofed and already has toys, books, bath essentials, a high chair, and a port-a-crib! It's also super easy when we just plan the weekend based on the kid's schedules. We enjoyed breakfast tacos, walks, play-dates, a birthday party, the park, and naps! While super relaxing...now that I re-cap the weekend, we actually did a TON!

We put the two car-seats in one car. One of us had to sit in the back to monitor Davis' behavior. See his little hand on her car-seat?

Morning playtime! Whatever toy Molly had, Davis wanted in his hands. Good thing she didn't mind sharing. Sweet Molly!

Love this pic! I'm sure Davis is holding her hand to be sweet...and not to keep her away from his pretzels. I'm sure of it.

Jingle Bells and Santa Hats

2012-01-12T15:19:00.005-06:00

Before the holiday break, Davis' school put on a little Christmas program. And oh how adorable it was!!! All the parents packed the room with iPhones, still shot-cameras, and video recording equipment in hand. In came the kids, plopped down one by one, in a row, adorned with Santa hats! Let the show commence...first was Little Drummer Boy as the kiddos drummed on their legs, followed by Jingle Bells, Feliz Navidad, and We Wish you a Merry Christmas! It took all of about 15 minutes and was the most precious thing I've ever seen!

In the handful of times I've attended something at Davis' school, he has been ECSTATIC! He introduces me to all his friends and will constantly smile and point at me, telling others I'm his mom. This was no different, and he kept shouting while pointing, "Mama, Dada, Duke!" Duke wasn't there but he got a shout-out, lucky dog!

Oh how Davis loved his Santa hat. He was convinced everyone should have one on. Noah (his friend without the hat on) kept taking it off, and Davis kept giving it back to him, insisting he wear it.

Noah prevailed. No hat.

Time for Jingle Bells! I must say, I was impressed so many kids were trusted with such loud instruments. But they were so cute!

Maggie, to the left of Davis wasn't too into the whole performance. Davis decided to help. He kept picking up her jingle bells for her and showing her how to join the rest of them.

Davis was such a ham, loving the attention. Hmm, wonder where he gets that from!

Davis Meets Shamu

2012-01-10T08:00:00.001-06:00

Other than the Disney parks, it doesn't get much better than SeaWorld! My mom decided she wanted to take Davis to SeaWorld during the holidays and it was her treat! How could Forrest and I miss out, so we all went! Now we have a year pass! I'm already ready to go back.

We couldn't have picked a better day. Most of December had been rainy and cold. Out of the blue, one random day a couple days before Christmas, it was sunny and reached 70 degrees.

Christmas tree and mariachi band welcomes you to SeaWorld!

Candy Cane Lane -- too bad we couldn't eat them!

During the Sesame Street show, Abby Cadabby made it snow!

Watching sea lions eat lunch!

Watching his FAVORITE ride, The Atlantis, make a huge splash!

Clyde and Seamore save Christmas!

Shamu was amazing...

Until we got all wet...

Lucky for us, our sweater was dry and we were happy again!

I would like to come back to SeaWorld please, one more time!

At the end of the day...

Thanks Mom!!!

Gingerbread Choo Choo

2012-01-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

Tweet Tweet in 2012

2012-01-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

It started back in 2009, my first tweet. Here we are, 2012, and I have a whopping 8 tweets! Seems like the perfect time to make a new year's resolution. I'm going to give it another try. If all goes well, I might get crazy and add Pintrest too!

I really enjoy all these new means of communication...text, blog, facetime, facebook, pintrest, linkedIn, instagram, and the list goes on. BUT (you saw that coming) people...really...do we all have enough time to be so connected? I don't. I don't even have enough time for this blog.

I have a love-hate relationship with technology. Forrest got the new iPhone for Christmas (he had a Blackberry before), which I love because we can now easily send photos and videos back and forth. BUT I'm going to have to get used to Siri, because Forrest was talking to her the other night and from the other room I shouted, "what?" I thought he was asking me to remind him something for work the next day. I guess I should be glad my role as secretary has been replaced.

If you either a) want to read my tweets or b) see how long my new year's resolution lasts then you can find me here @CFrancese!

3 Christmases and a New Years Eve

2012-01-04T09:10:00.000-06:00

When will we ever stop? I feel like I've written this before. After every Thanksgiving and every Christmas I recap our neverendingholidaycrazyness and say "next year we will just go one place." Here we are again, three Christmases in three different cities. And to top it off, a New Years Eve in a fourth city! Here's how it went down...

Christmas weekend #1 was with the Segers. This is Forrest's mom's side of the family. She has a BIG family. A whopping 45 of us were at the family farm in Beeville for a jam-packed fun-filled weekend. The count would have been higher if everyone had been there, but we were missing a good handful. We sat around the bonfire, ate lots of Christmas fudge, opened gifts, planted palm trees, let Davis drive Pop's truck, played scrabble, and sang Christmas carols of course! I think my favorite part of the weekend was attending Skidmore's Methodist Church, we filled up one ENTIRE side of the church. We also met all 5 of the other parishioners!

Christmas weekend #2 was actual Christmas Eve and Day, spent in San Antonio. Forrest was on call and fortunately did not have to work. My parents and sister joined us. We hosted Christmas lunch at our house with Forrest's parents, my Aunt Robin, Uncle John, and their two girls Camille and Catherine. Our tiny little home went from buried in Christmas wrapping paper that morning to 12 place settings at the table.

Santa brought Davis a new bike!

Yay for Choo Choos!

Christmas Lunch

Mom, Ann Marie, Robin

Christmas weekend #3 was celebrated at the Thompson farm, Nockenut. This is Forrest's dad's side of the family. We were so lucky the weather was nice and warm because it made being outside really enjoyable. Richard made a delicious grilled shrimp dish, we opened gifts around the tree, and finished the night by a warm fire. Davis loves being outside, so Nockenut is a great playground. He especially loves to ride the mule and constantly asks everyone to take him for a drive.

We rang in 2012 with our friends at their family ranch near Columbus. It's a beautiful home and we truly felt like we were on an actual vacation for the 24 hours we were there! With a treehouse, a pool, a barn, golf carts galore, John Deere tractors, swings, and a closet FULL of toys - Davis was in heaven. We had all set our goal to make it to the 11pm New York new year and were surprised when we actually made it to Texas midnight! Happy New Year!

Check out these adorable kiddos in these precious rocking chairs!

They are listening to The Night Before Christmas, read by Mister Bear!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T10:00:00.000-06:00

Room Make-Over Part 2 and Done!

2011-12-20T10:32:00.001-06:00

It was a slow process, seeing as the last time I posted about redecorating our entry room was back in May! This is part 2 and I've decided I'm done! There are a couple things that this room still needs and would be nice to have, but seeing that we will probably be putting our house on the market soon, no need to spend more money for the final touches.

Don't leave home without one!

2011-12-18T09:10:00.000-06:00

It's time to go? Okay, can I take a few of these trains with me?

Let me just see how many I can tuck under my chin...

Day at the Park with Barley

2011-12-15T08:00:00.001-06:00

Have you met Barley? He's one of a kind. Sometimes we like to call him "Boss." Him and Duke are the same breed, but aren't related. We can't even joke that they are ken because they absolutely hate each other. Barley is an extreme alpha dog. Barley lives with my parents and is a fabulous dog when he's the only dog and when there aren't any kids around to freak his freak. He loves to paddle board and always has a toy in his mouth. When I was pregnant with Davis, there were talks of possibly giving Barley to another loving home. I am so glad we didn't!!!! He is the most caring dog towards Davis, more so than Duke. They read together, eat snacks together, cuddle together, and slide together...

Time to Trim the Tree

2011-12-12T08:00:00.000-06:00

Saint Nick

2011-12-10T08:00:00.001-06:00

"Hi Santa, it's me Davis!"

What do I want you ask?!

I want that exact Choo Choo Train over there!

Reindeer Ride!

Gobble Gobble!

2011-12-07T12:40:00.002-06:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Most of it spent with family, eating turkey, and watching football. The rest of our time was spent driving! We started out in Beeville at Forrest's family farm. Davis had a blast playing football outside with his cousins and sitting by the huge fire (yay for the lift on the burn ban)! The next day we were sad to leave, but knew we could not miss out a day (possibly the last) in Aggieland with the Longhorns! With A&M heading to the SEC next year, who knows what's in store for the traditional Thanksgiving UT vs A&M football game. My family set up a great tailgate, pumpkin pie and all! Spence Park is the place to be! We got to see the Aggie Band march (a huge hit for Davis) and we also were close to the Alumni Center (great for bathroom breaks, changing diapers, and of course...pictures with the Aggie ring). Forrest was lucky and had a ticket to the game. Davis and I headed back to the hotel around 7:30pm. I enjoyed a glass of wine and we fell asleep in the 3rd quarter. Pathetic, I realize this, but turned out to be a good thing because I didn't have to endure the last part of the game. My favorite part of the trip was getting up the next morning and walking with Davis around campus. Kelly and Molly happened to be staying at a hotel next to ours, so we ventured out with our strollers. Who else was up at 7am in College Station that morning, no one. We had the sidewalks to ourselves! After a big family breakfast, packing up, and then eating one last time (La Bodega, delicious) we got on the road to Austin. Afterall, what's one more family stop for yet another Thanksgiving meal.

Big Rocket!

2011-11-23T08:00:00.001-06:00

Dear Davis,

Lately your imagination is taking off! Literally. Apparently you really want to go to the moon. Dada asked you what you want to be when you grow up. You both decided that astronaut would be a good fit (Dada explained the job to you) and you are so excited to take the "big rocket" to the "moon in the sky." You asked us for a map to get there! Each time we talk about it, you tell me different people are coming with you. The first time it was me and Duke! Lucky us! Now you want to take "Meal and Cat" (Camille and Catherine) with you!

I asked you about flying to the moon while we were in the car waiting for Dada to run an errand...you have crazy hair and Duke is panting in the background...we had just come from the park!

Dream big and it just might come true...

La la la la

2011-11-21T10:59:00.003-06:00

We love birthday parties, especially Elmo themed birthday parties for a sweet sweet friend. Davis had a blast playing in the yard with the other kids and loved playing basketball with the big kids. We really haven't been to too many birthdays, so the festive hat, goody bag, and cake were a BIG hit. Before we got out of the car, I asked Davis to be on his best behavior. "Be good Davis" and he replied, "I nice!" And he was so nice. Thank goodness! My favorite was watching him watch the birthday girl blow out her candles. He could barely contain his excitement, there was a lot of clapping and shouting, "my cake!"

Cheese for the camera usually results in squinty eyes! Check out the red icing from Elmo!

Car ride home, happy with his goodies!

Davis Wore a Tux...and Renee & Robert got Married!

2011-11-14T10:18:00.008-06:00

Last weekend my cousin married her best friend and we were all there to help celebrate, from beginning to end! Renee and I grew up down the street from each other as kids and all my childhood memories are filled with stories growing up together: going to the same school, gymnastics, Christmas afternoons comparing what Santa brought us, riding bikes, watching old movies and singing songs from Sound of Music, playing on the golf course, trips to Rockport, and the list goes on and on. Now we are adding another person to our family and I'm excited to create new memories with her and her husband, Robert.

We started the weekend off right with a girls brunch at Moonshine. This is one of my favorite places to eat, if you go, the mac and cheese is a must order. I think we all agree, mustard in our new favorite color!

That night, the celebration continued with the rehearsal dinner at Headliners Club, a restaurant on top of a bank building. The view of Austin is beautiful at night! Toasts were made, happy tears were shed, and delicious food was consumed!!

Our cousin pic with a new addition

Robert, Renee, Claire, Ann Marie, Forrest, Me and Michael

Wedding Day!!!!!

Perfect way to start the day, a little massage!

Beautiful bride about to get her makeup done!

Time for Davis to get ready too! Ring bearer!

Davis and Ruthie rocked the house when they walked down the aisle. Davis gave everyone a wave on his way to the alter. I am just kicking myself I didn't think to video it with my iphone! After all his waving, he got to the alter, saw me, held up one finger and said, "One more!"

After the ceremony, we all rode a shuttle bus back to the hotel for the reception. Davis had a blast on the bus. He was excited not to be in a car seat! This is him telling the bus driver to, "GO!"

Singing Wheels on the Bus..."beep beep!"

I had a sitter all ready to take Davis after the ceremony. It was super late, he was walking down the aisle right around bedtime. But once at the reception, he was AMAZED by the band. He spent most of the night just staring at them. He had a few dance moves in there too!

Renee and Robert's first dance!

Good-bye Mr & Mrs Bain!

Snoozin'

2011-11-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

The many ways Davis likes to sleep...

Good Times had at Ole

2011-11-09T08:00:00.001-06:00

Ole Holiday Market was a great success and a truly fun week spent shopping, drinking, and working (of course)! I love getting to spend some quality time with my Junior League friends and raising some money at the same time. I even got to spend a little time enjoying the family day activities with Davis!

The Reading Nook

Blowing Bubbles thanks to the Children's Museum

"Like That"

2011-11-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

Many weeks ago (I'm a little behind on blogging) we were in Houston for Molly's baptism and got to spend some much needed time with Annie and Papa (my grandparents)!

Molly in her beautiful gown!

Davis making a donation to the church!

Davis and Annie riding the train at the Galleria!

When we got home, I asked Davis a couple questions about Molly...

Halloween Recap by Davis

2011-11-04T14:42:00.000-05:00

Boo for Boo Boos!

2011-11-03T14:16:00.001-05:00

Our Halloween weekend didn't go quite as planned. We were supposed to have a blast at the school Fall Fling, Forrest was supposed to go fishing, and I was supposed to go to Renee's wedding dress fitting.

Friday evening did start out fun at the Fall Fling. Davis' school hosted a great carnival with pony rides, a train, a bouncy castle, food galore, and lots of fun. We were there having A BLAST and then the next thing we know, we are riding in an ambulance to Methodist Children's Hospital.

Davis is ok, thank goodness! Another little boy at the Fall Fling ran into Davis and knocked him to the ground, Davis hit the back of his head on the concrete. Other than screaming horribly, we thought he was okay. But when we put him down to walk, he couldn't. It was the scariest feeling in the world. He seemed dizzy and couldn't find his balance. To make sure the injury wasn't serious, once we got to the hospital, the doctor ordered a CAT scan. Davis was such a big boy and so brave through the entire experience (unlike his mom who couldn't stop crying). He enjoyed the ambulance ride, there was so much to look at in the back of that truck. He loved the wheel chair ride up and down elevators to take us to the CAT scan. And he even liked the CAT scan because I made a huge deal out of the "big O" he was about to go through. He hasn't stopped talking about it.

Fall Fling Train Ride! Before the boo boo...

After the boo boo, at the hospital.

Davis was getting sleepy, but was making us laugh!

And after a long weekend with sleepless nights reliving the boo boo, we had a faBOOlous Halloween! I got Davis dressed in his Mickey costume and told him to go look in the mirror. As soon as he saw himself dressed as Mickey, the giggles and squeals wouldn't stop! He kept shouting "I'm Mickey!!!" while pointing to himself! We went to a neighborhood Halloween party, then to Nana and Pop's house, and then back to our street to do a little trick or treating! Davis was great at going up to each house, knocking on the door, saying trick or treat, reaching for one piece of candy, and saying thank you. He carried his pumpkin bucket the entire time! There were a couple spooky houses and scary costumes, but Davis wasn't phased by them at all.

When the trick or treating was done, I thought we were headed home to crash in bed! Instead we decided to sit on the porch and hand out candy to the late nighters. I can't decide what Davis liked more...getting candy or giving candy. As kids came up to our porch, Davis would squeal, and loved filling their buckets with handfuls of candy.

Davis really really really enjoyed Halloween. He loved everything about it from the color orange, to the pumpkin patch, to the witches in the trees...I'm scared to put away all our decorations for fear of a Halloween withdrawal. We put away our Halloween book and have started to read the Thanksgiving Gobble Gobble book with hopes that he will love turkeys as much as witches!

School Pics

2011-11-01T09:49:00.004-05:00

Davis might be telling me, "no school mama" on our way to school every Tuesday and Thursday, but here's proof he's having so much fun and loving school!!!

Davis and his classmates!

That's Maggie on his right, one of his favorites!

Chapel! Davis will talk and talk about chapel and how he prays.

This particular day was bless the stuffed animals day.

His teddy bear is behind him.

Each school day Davis comes home with a new piece of art!

Pumpkins!

2011-10-24T11:22:00.002-05:00

Davis has been VERY into Halloween this year and I love it! He is constantly talking about pumpkins. He asks daily to go to the "punkin patch" and loves telling me that owls are nice, they fly and they "hooo hooo hooo" in the tree! He likes walking around the neighborhood looking at decorations, like the "big orrnge punkin" and the witch who is stuck in a tree.

Here are a couple pics from the pumpkin patch! I had a cute fall outfit for him to wear, but seeing that it was 90 degrees, I just pulled out an orange top! Maybe it will get cooler this week and I'll be able to dress him in fall clothes, I'm sure Davis would LOVE to go back to the "punkin patch" anyways!

Badminton, Golf, & Bubbles

2011-10-20T13:30:00.000-05:00

A couple weekends ago, Davis got to enjoy playing with my cousins! They climbed trees, chased bubbles, and hit a couple balls into the creek! What fun! We also enjoyed a delicious brisket cooked by Papa Dickson! It was the perfect lazy sunny day with a nice cool breeze!

Daddy's Boots

2011-10-18T13:27:00.000-05:00

Super Bass

2011-10-13T16:36:00.001-05:00

Just in case you missed it...

Ole! Ole! Ole!

2011-10-12T10:40:00.003-05:00

If you live in San Antonio (or close enough to drive) and love to shop, eat, and drink...then you need to be at OLE! I volunteer for the Junior League of San Antonio and help out with this big fundraiser. It's NEXT WEEK, which is why I've been busy with that and not this blog. I promise to give you a Davis update soon!

Ole Committee!

BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE

Smokin' Good Tri

2011-10-04T11:56:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we went to Kerrville for the inaugural "Smokin' Good Tri." First of all, I'm loving Kerrville. It's another one of those adorable little hill country cities with cute little shops and delicious little cafes. I had been before to visit some friends, but this trip, as I was biking through town, I really got to enjoy the charm of the city. Well, at least I tried to enjoy the charm as my legs were burning and my butt was needing a break from the bike seat.

My cousin, my mom, and my sister all joined me in the fun (it's easy to say it was fun once it's over). Friday night we arrived in Kerrville and enjoyed a great italian meal at Valentino's. If you ever go there, order the pizza! The next morning, we woke up to a very very chilly start. Thanks to the cold front it was a lovely 55 degrees. I couldn't wait for the sun to come up! We arrived at the transition to set up our gear about an hour before the race and tried to huddle close to get warm. My dad was there to cheer us on and I was seriously contemplating having a cup of coffee with him instead of getting in the water. I was dreaming of Uggs and a sweatshirt!

With a fall triathlon, the water is luckily still warm from the hot Texas summer. So actually starting the race, wasn't bad. The water was 77 degrees! The thing I was nervous about was getting out of the water and getting on a bike! Turns out, my body was in such shock from the cold, I barely noticed everything going numb!

This triathlon, I've decided, is my new favorite course! I was expecting many many many hills on the bike and run (hello, it's the HILL country) and was pleasantly surprised when I didn't run into any. I also really enjoyed this race because there were only about 200 other people racing (compared to thousands like other races I've done).

Thanks for cheering us on Dad!

My mom got 3rd place for her age group!

Davis' Favorite Things to Talk About

2011-09-30T11:26:00.004-05:00

"I march!" Stomps his feet and walks around, usually grabs his trumpet. We saw the high school band march by our street last week.

"I walk Duke." Grabs Duke's leash and wants to walk him outside. Always drags out the sound of Duuuuuuke.

"Nap school, snack school." What he does at school.

"Meow are you?" Looking for cats in our neighborhood.

"Nap!" Davis will point his finger at me and tell me to take a nap (I close my eyes and fake snore), then Davis whistles or plays his trumpet to wake me up. He laughs every time. And so do I.

"Ball hoop." Time to play some b-ball.

"No ice." We've had enough falls and bruises to know that mommy usually grabs an icepack. So now, every time there is an "I bonk" incident, it's quickly followed by, "no ice."

"Annie Choo Choo." When my mom comes in town, she always takes Davis to ride the train at the zoo. There is an association here. When we talk to Annie on the phone, Davis always says, "Choo choo, duck." After they ride the train, they go feed the ducks!

"STOOOOOPPPPP!" It's loud and it's long. When Davis sees a stop sign or red light, he yells stop! Then he follows it with, "gooooo!"

"Pease, tank you!" Davis knows one of these two words will get him something. Usually he tries please first. Then he follows with a very loud and enthusiastic, thank you!

"O, B, D, T, & A" These are Davis' favorite letters! For 'T' he sticks his arms out straight to make the shape of a 'T' and with 'O' he makes a circle shape with his hands.

Day Out With Thomas and Papa Tom

2011-09-29T08:00:00.001-05:00

Last weekend Davis and I went to Austin to hang out with Papa Tom (my dad) and ride the Thomas train. As I've mentioned before, Davis has a slight obsession with trains. All we hear about these days is, "All aboard choo choo!" Usually we ride the train at the San Antonio Zoo. It's a great little train that takes you around the zoo and park. Davis has never been on a BIG train, until now.

Our ride to Austin. He loves his "mickey glasses."

First night in Austin we went to the Oasis with Papa Tom.

There was a beautiful sunset behind us, but you can't see it in this picture.

Say Cheese!

We arrived in Burnet, Texas in time for the first train ride. The place was empty, which was nice. Davis had the entire Island of Sodor to himself!

Davis kept telling me, "big choo choo!"

After the train ride, we explored the blow-up train and the golf!

That night, after a nice nap, we went out for yogurt! Austin Chill is a great yogurt place where you build your own cup! They charge you based on weight. Just my kinda place! Davis had delicious strawberry yogurt! Don't worry, that cup is NOT full of yogurt. Can you tell he loves it?

Papa Tom and Davis. He loves to march and salute these days!

Remembering Pop Today

2011-09-28T08:56:00.003-05:00

John Francese

Breakfast Date

2011-09-27T10:36:00.004-05:00

I was in Austin last weekend and was able to get together at delicious Maudies for some catching up, Molly and Wills time, and queso!

Davis and Wills eating breakfast, Davis was enjoying the salt and pepper!

Me & Molly

Our breakfast consisted of: swinging a baby to sleep in her carrier, crayons flying over balconies, a fit over the salt and pepper, sippy cups banging on tables, cuddling with a dog, meeting all the people around us, and a spilled iced tea!

After two hours and a big tip, it was time to leave.

Naps & Snacks

2011-09-20T15:26:00.006-05:00

I am absolutely loving Davis' new school, St. David's! Davis on the other hand is still warming up to the idea.

The school is very small, so in just a few short weeks everyone knows everyone! I feel like, not only for Davis, but it's a great transition into big-kid-school for me. It's only two days a week, so packing lunches and dealing with backpacks isn't too overwhelming. Also, since it's not mandatory, it's so laid back...miss a day, running late, no biggie! The pressure is off! At least for a couple years!

Some days Davis squeals his teacher's name (Empy!) with excitement, and others he tells me, "no school mama." When I ask him what he did at school, he will sit there and think for a long time, then say, "nap school." I ask him, what else did you do at school, he thinks again, and says, "snack school." Yep, two most important things, a nap and a snack!

The school has a website, which makes it so easy to stay informed. But my favorite part is that the teachers post pictures of the kids!

Once when I asked Davis about school he told me, "choo choo book." I love knowing that he was really talking about a book at school! Here's the proof!

Now I know why they told me not to send him dressed in his nice clothes. Surprisingly, he still comes home fairly clean!

Rockport can get a little Salty

2011-09-14T09:34:00.004-05:00

Last weekend was my cousin Renee's bachelorette bash in Rockport, Texas! She has some really amazing friends and I loved getting to know them all a little bit more...as we bonded over fishing, swimming, boating, and dancing.

The first night we stayed at the condo, just enjoying catching up while eating some fabulous Panjo's Pizza. Renee had a list of to-do's...and we got right on it...take a picture fishing, take a picture with a Rockport bird, take a picture planking, take a picture on a boat, take a picture on a bar...

Fishing on the pier! Where are our fishing poles?

Our second day was spent at the pool...and we like to dress the part...

Awesomeness!

We had dinner at the Boiling Pot!

Our boat ride! Captain Renee!

Then we headed to Alice Fayes. Nothing better than a live band that hands you the mic!

A little singing about the wedding...Novemba, Novemba, Novemba!

Can't wait for the wedding!

Love on Top

2011-09-03T13:19:00.000-05:00

By far my favorite performance at the VMAs:

Get More: 2011 VMA, Music, Beyoncé

No School Mama

2011-09-01T10:56:00.001-05:00

Tuesdays and Thursdays are school days for Davis, he goes from 8:30am - 2:30pm. They attend chapel, have snack, do arts and crafts, have playground time, listen to music, learn spanish (hola!), have lunch, take a nap, read a book, and then they are dismissed! I seriously wish I could be a fly on the wall, especially for chapel. How they get my child to sit still for 25 minutes is beyond me!

We are into the second week of school and the drop-off is starting to get a little better. The first day he didn't realize I was going to leave him, so there wasn't too much crying. He was excited to run into his classroom and start playing with the toys. The second day was HORRIBLE. On our car ride to school he kept saying, "No school mama!" He remembered that I left him and immediately started crying and clinging to my arm when we walked into the room. It didn't help that all the other kids were crying too! I left him as quickly as possible because I knew the longer I stayed, the longer he would cry. Did I mention I had tears too?

This week we started off a little better. I took him early to school so he could play in the courtyard with the basketballs and tricycles. He held tight to my finger as we walked into the classroom and his chin did a little quiver when I told him good-bye. When I turned around to look back through the classroom window, I could see he was already having fun and playing with the other kids. Sigh of relief.

And because no post is complete without a picture...

You Can Hook'em and You Can Gig'em!

2011-08-31T15:02:00.004-05:00

My cousin Renee is getting married in just a couple months so we kicked off the celebration with a couples wedding shower at my parent's lake house! The theme was 'House Divided, Soon to be United!' Renee went to UT and Robert went to A&M. The hosts are all Longhorns, so they had to ask Robert's family to help them with the Aggie decorations.

The garage was split down the middle, half Aggie and the other half Longhorn:

Upstairs they had Aggie and Longhorn cupcakes and collages of the couple in their respective 'gear.'

The happy couple

Davis was at the party too, he had a blast!

Ann Marie and the Father of the Bride

Right before Renee and Robert opened gifts, we surprised them with a FLASH MOB. The crazy thing is, we never practiced this as a group! The hostesses emailed everyone with a video and instructions. Here's how it turned out (p.s. somehow the lights got turned off and it's a bit dark in the video, but you get the idea). Make sure you check out Davis, he's in the front left!

Last Days of Summer

2011-08-25T10:20:00.005-05:00

Last weekend we went with some friends to Possum Kingdom. It's a bit of a roadtrip, especially with a wild 2 year old, but we survived! We stayed at a beautiful condo overlooking the lake. Everything we needed was right there and we rode a golf cart anywhere we needed to go...the pool...the grill...the lake!

Davis and Laney taking a ride!

Davis and Laney singing and dancing to 'Ring Around the Rosie'

When it was time to fall down, Davis would lay completely flat on his belly on the floor

First day at the pool

Snack Time

Working on their laptops

More pool time

Yummy apples

On the boat...do we have enough sunscreen on?

Forrest & Davis and Mark & Laney

First time tubing behind a boat

I think Davis enjoyed it, but preferred being in the water

Davis loves to jump and go under the water

Jumping to Leslie

1st Day of School

2011-08-23T09:55:00.004-05:00

Today is Davis' first day of school at St. Davids. I'm so excited for him to meet the other kiddos in his class and get to know his teacher, Ms Empy.

Mom, I'm trying to eat here...

Breakfast of Champions

Show me your new lunch box

Time for the porch photo...impossible to get him to sit still or look at the camera. All he wanted to do was go play with the "meows" (cats) across the street.

Joe McDermott

2011-08-20T10:27:00.000-05:00

Davis and I went to Austin last week to see Joe McDermott play! He has adorable kids songs and if you're looking for a new CD, I highly recommend this guy! Davis was still a little too young to really sit and sing along to all the songs, but he had a blast running around with other kids, playing on the firetruck, and bouncing on the bouncy castle.

Attempts to Stay Cool

2011-08-18T10:18:00.000-05:00

As we all know, living in Texas this time of year, we start to melt. With school starting and all the new fall clothes in the stores, we start to dream of cooler weather. Sadly, we face reality, and realize that cooler weather probably won't get here till October. Late October. With a 2 year old, obsessed with being outside to ride his tricycle, blow bubbles, and explore bugs...I find myself outside more often than I want to be.

Our attempts to stay cool...

Outdoor showers!

The Aquarium at the San Antonio Zoo!

Making our own breeze riding the train!

Helping daddy water the yard!

Karaoke Night with Papa Tom

2011-08-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Karaoke from Christina Thompson on Vimeo.

Karaoke + Dance from Christina Thompson on Vimeo.

Swim Lessons, Part 2

2011-08-15T09:40:00.002-05:00

By the end of the week, Davis was enjoying his swim lessons a little bit more. And here are some pictures to prove it:

Sitting on the ledge practicing arm strokes...I think he's spotted me

Moving along the edge of the pool

Jumpin' In

2011-08-09T12:09:00.003-05:00

Davis loves to go over to Nana and Pop's house for a little swimming.

Swimming from Christina Thompson on Vimeo.

Top 10 Reasons to Turn 30

2011-08-05T11:11:00.000-05:00

Turning 30 was an absolute blast!!!!!! I had no clue it could be so much fun!!!! Thanks to Forrest, my family and friends...it was an amazing weekend full of surprises and non-stop fun! We started the day off with a boat party on Lake Austin. Ann Marie and Kelly decided to decorate the boat with old, embarrassing photos of myself (thanks so much). They even put those lovely photos on the cake! We spent 4 hours out on the lake, swimming, jumping off the top of the boat (I'm sore), taking jello shots (holy cow, it had been a while), and enjoying the sun! From there, Forrest surprised me as we pulled up to the W Hotel (I was told we were staying with my sister). Everyone met us back at the hotel for a drink and then we headed to dinner, sushi at Maiko! Yum yum! From dinner we went to Kung Fu, a fun Austin bar with games! We spent most of our time playing Skee Ball! We ended the night back at the W Bar, danced a little to Michael Jackson, and finished off about 4 servings of french fries. I was spent (did I mention I wanted to go to bed after dinner?)! When my head hit the pillow (the most comfortable bed ever), I was out. Sleeping in isn't exactly something I can do anymore, so I was up at 6:15am. Luckily, we had no plans...other than a massage!!!! We managed to enjoy the spa and the pool before our 1pm checkout. Before heading back to San Antonio we were able to squeeze in lunch with friends at Maudies and a quick visit with Wills and Molly!

Kick Kick Kick

2011-08-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Davis LOVES the water. He calls every body of water (lake, ocean, river) a "pool" and immediately wants to get in! He will put his face under, blow bubbles, jump in, splash, and likes to say "kick kick kick!" My mother-in-law offered to get him swim lessons this summer and we immediately took her up on the offer. Lessons started this week...and we were off to a rocky start. While he loves the water, not so sure he loves being with a stranger. Hopefully he will warm up to the instructor and I will be posting a happier picture! He did come home and loved practicing his arm strokes, so there is hope!

Forrest, Pattie, and I had to hide while he was having his lesson, so this picture is taken from afar...

How to be a Boy

2011-08-03T08:41:00.000-05:00

The Stats Are In!

2011-08-02T09:52:00.001-05:00

When your birthday falls on a weekday, it's like getting two parties. You get the weekend party, but you also get the party for the day-of! July 27th was Davis' birthday and we started the day off right with breakfast at Starbucks. Unfortunately, I still had to work on his birthday, but the nanny took him to Build A Bear and he came home with the most precious bear that sings "happy birthday." Then I took Davis to Learning Express to pick out a Thomas toy. I'm not sure the obsession is with Thomas, but there is a definite choo choo obsession. Learning Express is such a fun toy store and they happen to have the ENTIRE Thomas train set out on display, so we ended up staying in the store for 45 minutes and left screaming because he wasn't ready to go. The day after his birthday, we went in for our 2 year check up at the doctor. Davis is 28 pounds 2 ounces (50%) and 33 and 3/4 inches tall (30%). He had to get one shot, but as soon as we checked out the turtles he was fine. And he also got the flu mist. No big changes at this point, except the switch from 2% milk to skim milk. Apparently there are so many other sources of fat that Davis doesn't need it in his milk anymore.

And here is one of those sources...the birthday donut!

Excuse the photo quality, iphone pics!

Reading Glasses

2011-08-01T20:18:00.000-05:00

Barley Love

2011-07-30T20:22:00.000-05:00

My mom came in town for Davis' birthday party and brought her dog, Barley. Barley is a complete alpha male and we like to call him "Boss." It's been an issue for quite some time now and we even contemplated finding him a new home when Davis was on his way. Looking back, I'm so glad we made the decision to keep him because he is the SWEETEST dog to Davis. Even Duke isn't this sweet. Davis will go in for a hug and Duke will walk away. Not Barley, he's a lover and likes a good cuddle! Note to other dogs: Barley isn't always this sweet :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Davis!

2011-07-25T13:38:00.007-05:00

Davis turns 2 this week! Where has my baby gone? He's so independent and I swear if he had his own mini fridge in his room, he'd be pouring his own milk!

How do you celebrate in the summer? You throw a pool party! And that's just what we did!

Ann Marie made the cake! It's a FISH (but I'm sure you already knew that)...

Party Favors!

A little gold fish and juice break.

Opening presents...stopped to play with the bubbles

Annie bought him a plasma car...whoosh...so fun!

In his robe from Nana, still playing with the bubbles!

Chef hat - check! Born to Grill apron - check!

Thanks Aunt Ann Marie!

We Love Rockport...

2011-07-13T15:02:00.002-05:00

...can't ya tell?

Davis swimming with Mommy

Davis fishing

Feeding Seagulls

Making a silly face (that's the band to keep ear plugs in place)

Ready for Bed

2011-07-06T11:40:00.000-05:00

While having dinner with Forrest's parents, Davis started to get a bit sleepy. Poor little guy had been playing in the pool all afternoon and once satisfied with a fully belly, decided it was time for bed.

So Sleepy from Christina Thompson on Vimeo.

Red White & Blue

2011-07-04T08:00:00.002-05:00

July 1

2011-07-01T07:45:00.003-05:00

It's officially July. Birthday month. This year I'm counting down the days till I turn 30. And because I don't want to dwell on it, I'll end the post here and share with you some fun zoo memories from last weekend!

Look Who's Here!

2011-06-30T12:03:00.000-05:00

About 10 months ago (yes, it's really not 9 months, more like 10), we found out that three of our friends were expecting precious little babies. All due just days away from each other in June. Finally, all three have arrived!!!

First to arrive was precious Clark, he was a month early:

Then came sweet Molly:

And just about a week ago, arrived adorable little Grayson:

Welcome to the world you precious three! Hope your parents are getting enough sleep :)

Words

2011-06-29T11:50:00.005-05:00

So....the other day I took Davis for a follow-up with his ENT (he had tubes put in last September). The tubes are still there and doing their job! I learned two things at this appointment:

1) Davis should still be wearing ear plugs. Oops. We kinda stopped this in the Spring. Davis kept pulling them out. As a solution to this problem, I searched online and found the handy dandy Ear Band - it!

2) Davis knows over 50 words! The Dr asked me how many words Davis knows. And do you know what my answer was? This is going to make me sound like a horrible mom! I don't count how many words my kid knows, and I'm definitely not one to brag, so I just said around 15. Wrong answer! The Dr looked super concerned and said he should know around 30-40 words. So what did I do, I immediately went home and made a list.

For memory sake, here is the list I've come up with...and keep adding to:

hi, bye, please, thank you, stuck, choo choo, mama, dada, annie, duke, nana, pop, airplane, milk, snack, sky, balloon, outside, right there, shoes, kick, ball, mick, roar, dog, turtle, book, truck, hot, cold, yay, wahoo, blue, out, up, banana, cookie, bird, meow, bike, go, bowl, more, i did it, no, yes, yeah, yep, blocks, two, squirrel, car, hat, rock, snake, back, i missed, eye, ear, hair, nose, poop, pee, bus, snow

Colorado Cool-down

2011-06-27T11:11:00.007-05:00

The day after Molly was born (good timing baby girl), we left for a family vacation to Crested Butte, Colorado. It was such a nice change of pace and of course, change of weather. It was a bit chillier than we excepted, with highs in the 60s! But that made the fireplace and hot tub all that more enjoyable. Packing was tricky for this trip. I came home and unpacked about 4 pairs of shorts I didn't touch. I obviously wasn't prepared. It was especially tricky with a growing toddler that doesn't fit in his winter clothes anymore.

Davis did really well on our two flights to Crested Butte. I had planned activity after activity, but he flew through those in about 10 minutes. He was more interested in the window and armrest, up down, up down, up down! I can see why at 2 they have to get their own seat. Thank goodness Forrest was flying with us. Davis was all over the place! It doesn't bother me now (how my views have changed since having kids of my own and being more understanding), but when I was younger I hated when the person (usually a kid) behind me would kick my seat. To avoid Davis being the annoying seat kicker, I told him that the person in front of us was sleeping and he couldn't touch his seat. Every once in a while (in between opening and closing the window) Davis would point at the seat in front of us, put his finger to his lips, and say "shhhh." It was adorable and it worked!

We have arrived in Crested Butte!

Took a walk to find snow!

The first day there we decided to rent bikes. Davis was super excited. For some reason, he loves to wear a helmet. While we were getting fitted he was running around with his helmet saying, "bike" over and over. He wasn't too disappointed when we told him he would be riding in the bike trailer behind daddy's bike. I think all the excitement before the actual ride wore him out, he quickly fell asleep! We didn't make it too far before it started to rain...and then hail! Luckily Davis was completely bundled and covered, but we were soaked!

We stayed at a friend's home. It had beautiful views, a hot tub, and most importantly to Davis, a foosball table! I think we might have to get one now! Every second spent in that house was at this table.

Our second full day in Colorado was our hiking day. Since it was still pretty cold, many of the trails were blocked due to snow! Luckily, we still found some open trails and enjoyed a short hike. Davis wasn't a huge fan of his hiking backpack. He much preferred walking and throwing rocks.

Yes, Ann Marie and I are dressed like twins. Not on purpose of course, but like I said, packing was tricky and I really didn't have enough clothes for the cold weather. Neither did she!

Our last day in Colorado was Father's Day! We sent Forrest and my dad on a fly fishing trip with a guide! Then we spent the afternoon with Davis at the park. With the Texas heat, we haven't made it to many parks this summer, so Davis was ecstatic! The park was HUGE and amazing, we had so much fun with all the different slides and tunnels. But in the end, Davis was only interested in the basketball...

I absolutely love Colorado. It's just one of those places you go and instantly feel refreshed. The air is cool and crisp and every view is breathtaking! I'm not sure if I could survive the winters, so I guess it will just become a vacation spot (hopefully a recurring one).

Feeding Duke

2011-06-17T21:36:00.000-05:00

Molly's Birthday

2011-06-16T07:31:00.002-05:00

Remember when I was this excited? And remember when we celebrated this sweet precious little girl? Well, she has finally arrived!!!

Born 6/15 @ 4:33pm weighing in at 7lbs 4 oz, 19 3/4 inches long

Rockport Music Festival

2011-06-15T10:56:00.001-05:00

Last weekend, Forrest and I went to Rockport (sans baby) to meet Renee and Robert (my cousin and her fiance) for a fish-sun-music filled weekend! We enjoyed nights on the porch, mornings fishing, and Texas music at night. Apparently I didn't get my fix out west :)

We actually didn't end up seeing all the artists. It started around 1pm and we decided it was way too hot to be in the sun without a pool. So we didn't show up till about 6pm and caught the last two shows...Jerry Jeff and Guy Clark. Overall, it was a fun concert. We thought the beer and food were a bit on the expensive side, but I guess that is to be expected.

Robert, Renee, Me, Forrest

Jerry Jeff Walker

As you probably gathered, no pictures of us fishing because we didn't catch any fish!

Suggestions Needed

2011-06-14T08:37:00.002-05:00

If your kid loves playing games on the ipad, please let me know what your favorites are!

Appreciate your input! Thanks!

What's Davis up to?

2011-06-13T10:17:00.006-05:00

Davis will be turning 2 at the end of July! I feel like every minute he's learning something or saying something new.

In the mornings, I let him watch a little bit of Mickey Mouse, he calls him "Mick." Breakfast has always been blueberries, strawberries, and a waffle. It's his favorite meal of the day because it's always gone and he usually asks for more.

He is obsessed with choo choo trains. He will take his toy trains, lay on his belly, and push them through different tunnels throughout the house (i.e. under coffee tables, around the bed posts, under the couch). Davis is also a huge fan of playing outside. If he wants to go outside, he will go grab a pair of shoes (always brings me a matching pair), and out we go! He still loves his roller coaster...as you can tell...

Duke thinks he's being chased!

My favorite, the wave!

A memory I don't want to forget, is something Davis does at bedtime. I usually hold him for a while after we've read a couple books and I hum. Don't worry, I don't sing. And really, I choose easy songs to hum because I am not vocally talented. Anyways, if I don't start humming fast enough according to Davis, he will start to hum, as if to remind me to start. Melts my heart.

Fest Out West Part 5: So long to the west

2011-06-11T17:05:00.002-05:00

I didn't realize how long I was gone until I starting writing the 5th Fest Out West blog post. I'm sure you're all ready for me to get back to writing about Davis!

Our long journey home was pretty similar to the one taking us to Lajitas. Bus, train, and car. This time we were all a little bit sleepier. And this time we were more prepared for the cu cu's on the choo choo. Immediately when we sat down and the train started moving, a lovely (bit-outspoken) lady from our car stood up to announce that certain bodily functions needed to happen downstairs. I'm not going to quote her exactly. Off to a great start. Maybe next time we will book the sleeper cars. Our train ride home we spent sleeping, playing cards, enjoying the views outside the window, and scarfing down some delicious steak!

I'm not sure how to put this in words...but if you ever get the chance to go to Fest Out West(hopefully this becomes an annual trip) or MusicFest in Steamboat (if snow is more your style), GO! You can go to concert after concert, but you'll never see Texas music quite like this.

Now I'll leave you with a few pics from the beautiful Lajitas resort and a couple from our train stop in Alpine, where we trekked it a couple blocks in the scorching heat for a limeade and a chicken sandwich from Sonic.

Fest Out West Part 4: I'm your huckleberry

2011-06-10T14:02:00.001-05:00

I felt like any minute John Wayne was going to come riding up over the dusty hillside on his horse Banner. Or when I set down to play poker, there would be Doc Holliday flipping a coin in his right hand.

Our fourth day out west was tourney day. We had washers, poker, and shootouts going on! I didn't exactly get up from my pool lounger to take part in any of these activities, but I heard they were all a blast! My dad actually did the shoot 'em up tournament, he claims he won, but that night someone else walked away with the trophy :)

After another afternoon by the pool, my sister and I decided to take a break and do some shopping. Realistically, to hit the three stores in town we only needed about 20 minutes. We went to the general store, the golf pro store, and the hotel store. All three had most of the same merchandise. So after riding our golf cart to all three, we ended up in the golf pro shop where I found Forrest a nice golf shirt. I was tempted to get him a fishing shirt, but he has SO many of these already. When I say "SO" many, I mean about 20 (no lie, I just went to his closet and counted). I also brought Davis home a little Lajitas t-shirt. Since we wrapped up the shopping fairly quickly, we decided to keep exploring with our golf cart. We headed over to the RV park, checked out the Lajitas cemetery, and even drove a bit of the golf course. We heard a mountain lion was spotted on the 15th hole the night before, but all we saw were some roadrunners, lizards, cows, and jack rabbits.

The music from the 4th night was jam-packed. We went from concert to concert and got to hear so many different people perform. This is why I have a hard time deciding if day 3 or 4 was my favorite. It started at the Thirsty Goat Saloon and Beer Garden (anyone heard of the beer drinking goat?) with a local favorite, Trevor Hinkle. Then we took our camping chairs and made our way down the hill to the Lajitas Amphitheater to hear Pinche Gringos, The Trishas, Wade Bowen, and Randy Rogers.

But first, and most importantly, the trophies were handed out to tourney winners!

The Trishas with Keith Gattis!

Every event John and Robin host, the last night is always the best.

All the artists get up on stage together for one last final song.

Did you think this was the last Fest Out West post? Well, I have one more coming :) Because it was a cu cu choo choo ride home too!

Fest Out West Part 3: Big Hats, ATVs, and Locals

2011-06-09T15:04:00.001-05:00

Day three of our adventure out west might have been my favorite day. It's a close tie with day four (post to come tomorrow). This day was jam packed with poolside partying, an ATV adventure, views of Mexico, a trip into a ghost town, and of course....more Texas music!

Initially, we had not signed up to do any other activities besides the stargazing hayride. But, when my mom heard from some friends that the ATV rides were a must, she jumped up from her poolside lounger and ran to sign us all up. What? My mom on an ATV! The thought never crossed my mind. Let me add, that me on an ATV is also a thought that never crossed my mind. If you don't know me that well, I'm not too adventurous when it comes to heights and speed, and especially not when those two things are combined.

We were lucky to grab an 8am slot (I'm sure most people assumed they would be hungover, but not us, we were partying with our parents) so it was still nice and cool out. It probably would have been a good idea to wear pants and long sleeves, but we didn't exactly plan on this activity, so running clothes would have to suffice. And they did, we were just covered in dust when it was all over. You could have written a message on my leg (i.e. "wash me"). For most of you reading this, you've probably done the ATV thing, so I won't go into too much detail. You get the idea from the pictures...

Ann Marie on left & I'm on the right

That's my mom, in the back, waving!

View of the Rio and a town in Mexico.

After our bright and early morning adventure, we cleaned up and headed to the pool again. This time, it wasn't as crowded so early. I think most people were sleeping in (i.e. recovering from the night before). We enjoyed another afternoon lounging, reading, sleeping, eating, drinking, and listening to music by the pool.

A sun hat is a MUST in this climate...who's hat is the biggest? I think my dad wins!

Viva Terlingua! Terlingua is the neighboring town (population is around 200) to Lajitas and is where we went for dinner and music that night. Terlingua used to be a mining town in the 1880s, but due to the remoteness and hostile Indians, the mines shut down and people left town, and that is why it is literally a ghost town (not just the set of an old western film).

We stepped off the bus to find ourselves in front of the Starlight Theatre, a trading post, and a bunch of locals (some had all their teeth). It's a truly unique spot in all of Texas. We were greeted by friendly people, delicious food, and shiner beer.

The jail was just around the corner from the bathrooms! So convenient.

Front row seats for the show!

The hosts...John & Robin

Bring on the music! Texas music is something you just have to experience for yourself (and I'm sure most of you have). So you already know that it's like listening to a story. Some of the best storytellers performed for us that night. My favorite shows are acoustic and simple. I also love when the artists play off one another and jam together. It was an intimate setting and one of my favorite nights!

Corb Lund, Cody Braun, and Hayes Carll

Keith Gattis, Willy Braun, Butch Hancock, and John Evans

Fest Out West Part 2: Sunsets and Comanche Indians

2011-06-08T08:42:00.006-05:00

Day 2 was super relaxing...seeing as we decided to spend the majority of the day by the pool. And I do mean the entire day, we arrived around 10am and didn't leave till around 5pm. That was apparently everyones idea too because it soon became a big pool party! John provided the beer, margaritas, and music while we made ourselves some new friends!

Once we woke up from our pool coma (don't worry, large sun hats and sunscreen were applied), we got ready for an evening of music and stargazing. My mom signed us up for a hayride outside of town to do some stargazing...little did we know, the clouds were rolling in.

But before the hayride, we were able to catch a show, one of my favorites! This is Liz Foster from The Trishas with Matt Skinner. To give you a little sample I've attached two YouTube videos, one I uploaded myself. Did I mention she can play like 10 different instruments, some two at a time!

Hayride time!

About 10 of us headed to the stables after a little dinner and some music. They did have horses, but instead of being pulled by them, this was our ride...good thing because there wasn't much of a path and we needed a good off-roading vehicle!

Along the hayride, we stopped to take a look at an old cave, made by the Comanche Indians who used to live in this area.

Here come the clouds!

Beautiful sunset at the top of the mountain.

We enjoyed the sunset, along with our wine and cheese!

After the cloud-gazing (I mean stargazing) hayride, we headed back to the resort for the Reckless Kelly concert (sadly we missed Cody Canada and the Departed).

Uncle John

Willy Braun from Reckless Kelly

Fest Out West Part 1: Choo Choo

2011-06-07T10:54:00.006-05:00

For the past five days I've been enjoying dry air, cool breezes at night, breathtaking sunrises, and millions of stars that fill the west Texas sky. I had never been west before (I was told by the locals that Lubbock ain't west) and so the journey to Lajitas, Texas was much anticipated. Most of that anticipation occurred over the loooong train ride.

We boarded the train bright and early Thursday at 4:40am. Once settled, in our cozy chairs, we all quickly fell asleep for a couple hours to awake to breakfast announcements in the dining car. My parents, grandparents, my sister, and a couple friends of my parents were with us. Here's Annie and Papa about to enjoy a lovely breakfast on the train...

As we got further and further away from San Antonio, the trees started shrinking in size, down to shrubs. And the green grass soon turned to dirt. A couple times along the way we passed different lakes and rivers, but the best sight of all was the Pecos River Bridge. We were so high up on a tiny railroad bridge, with a breathtaking view!

The train ride was about 7 hours. While relaxing and enjoyable, we met a couple interesting people...some traveling all the way from New Orleans to LA. We call it the cu cu choo choo! Our train pulled into Alpine, Texas a little after noon. That is where John (my uncle) met us with a massive bus, handed us a cool beer, and put on Three Amigos for the hour and a half bus ride to Lajitas. Now that's what I call a warm welcome!

"No, we will not die like dogs! We will fight like lions! Because we are... The Three Amigos!"

We arrived in beautiful Lajitas shortly after a couple Shiner's and some laughs with the Three Amigos. The resort is right out of an old western movie, but with updated plumbing, thank goodness.

Here's a view from our porch at the Bandlands Hotel

And a couple photos from the hotel

That night we enjoyed music from Matt Skinner while eating BBQ and then headed to see Micky and the Motorcars with Doug Moreland trio band. The show was outside, under the stars! Couldn't have asked for a better way to start our adventure out west!

Where's Tina?

2011-06-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

As you're reading this, I'm in Lajitas, Texas. Lajitas is a resort town located just off Big Bend National Park between Big Bend Ranch State Park and the Rio Grande River.

How did I get here? By horse of course! Ok, not really, we took a train! Sadly, I left Davis and Forrest behind. If you're curious what I'm up to (bloody mary mornings, washers, poolside, music) then check out FEST OUT WEST!

I'll fill you in when I get home! Wish you were here!

The During and After Bits

2011-06-02T19:53:00.002-05:00

I grabbed a few pictures from my sister's facebook album to share the during and after bits of the triathlon.

My mom and sister finished the swim at the same time, here they are running to the transition area to get ready for the bike.

Me on the bike! Just finished 12 miles.

All done!

Renee, Uncle Mike, and Robert

Remembering...

2011-05-31T14:55:00.006-05:00

There are so many different titles I thought about for this post.

On Monday our family and friends competed in the Capital Texas Triathlon (Title Option #1). For some of us, it was our first time and for others it was not. This particular triathlon is to honor our veterans and soldiers. The first wave is actually a group of (Title Option #2) "wounded warriors." To see them compete in an athletic event is so inspiring. In fact, my entire 3 mile run was behind one of these wounded warriors. He was a 28 year old man with a prosthetic leg. As he ran through the crowds people would cheer loud for him, thank him, and I even saw one women cry proud tears.

For those who haven't done a triathlon, I'll fill you in on a few of the details. The day before the race we head to pick up our numbers, packets, goodies, and rack our bikes. There are booths with tri gear, free cliff bar samples, t-shirt sales, raffles from sponsors, energy drinks, and much more. There's a lot of excitement from the people and of course, I'm scoping out my competition!! When you race in a marathon, there's usually just one number, right? But when you race in a triathlon, with three events, there are a bazillion numbers! We had two numbers for our bike, one for our helmet, one for our running belt, one for our transition bag, one for our tri top, one for our wrist, and two for our bodies. Not to mention the other optional stickers: one for who we are racing to honor (I wrote Mark Felice), another for a prize drawing (not sure what happened to that), and one with an emergency contact number. I appreciate all the identification to make sure someone doesn't steal my gear, but I think half of it is so that we can identify ourselves and order expensive photos.

When I talk about gear, here's a list of just a few of the items you need to do a triathlon:

Goggles, Swim Cap, Bike Shoes, Helmet, Bike, Tri Suit, Running Shoes, Hat, Sunglasses, Water Bottles, CamelBak, Gu, Recovery Drink, Race Belt, Sunscreen, Bike Pump, Socks, and a couple other little things!!!

Here we (dad, sister, me, mom) are at check-in, posing with a REAL triathlete (not sure who he is). We are wearing our "Tri-ing for a Cause" Mark Felice (Title Option #3) shirts. If you haven't been filled in yet, check out my sister's blog. We reached our goal this year of $5,000!!!! I have some really awesome stories to share with you about where this money is going...that will come later.

The night before the race we met up with family at Mandola's for a little carb-loading the Italian way. Delizioso! When we got home from dinner, we spent about an hour reading directions and trying to put our numbers in the proper place. Some were stickers and others were tattoos! We had already dropped off our bikes that day, so we loaded the remaining gear into the car and went to bed.

Here comes title option #4. Insult Tri. I am not 30 yet, but evidently I am in the 30-34 age group because I will be 30 by the end of the year. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind turning 30, but to have it written on the back of my leg was a little bit of a reality check. I wasn't quite prepared for that. I was so sad not to be in the same age group as my sister and cousin this year. They started in a wave 4 minutes before me.

The morning of the race we all got up, got ready, and stuck to our routine. Ann Marie likes a bagel with peanut butter, my parents eat boiled eggs with a banana, and I eat a Luna Bar. My dad has a cup of coffee and my mom drinks tea. I stick strictly to just water.

My mom getting her gear out of the car...

From the transition area, looking towards the Austin skyline...

Before the race, Kelly and Molly ready to cheer us on!

Swimming Town Lake

I'll have to wait to post pictures from during and after the race. Forrest used my sister's camera to capture the moments of pain and joy crossing the finish line. But I will leave you with a couple of cute Davis photos. He was getting ready for a wagon ride!

Option #5 is the title I decided to use, Remembering...because I feel like it portrays my thoughts from Monday. While I swam, biked, and ran, I remembered veterans who served in years past and soldiers fighting today. I also remembered Mark, who we raise money in honor of every year. He lived such a short life before his strong battle with cancer and has left such a huge legacy behind, helping other children deal with the every day struggles of that same battle.

Go Astros!

2011-05-28T09:19:00.001-05:00

Aunt Kel and Uncle Collin treated Davis to an Astros game and of course he couldn't leave without a new hat and a new ball! While Davis loves a good ball, he wasn't really into the actual baseball game. He was more obsessed with the choo-choo train that moves when the home team hits a home run (which sadly didn't happen too often).

New Hat from Christina Thompson on Vimeo.

Fishing Gear

2011-05-27T09:22:00.001-05:00

Davis helping daddy pick out some new fishing gear

Gearing Up

2011-05-26T08:00:00.001-05:00

Here we are, just a couple days away from the Cap-Tex-Triathlon, and I'm WAY behind on my training. I was on track until the week of the Skeese Greets. I'm not exactly sure what happened, it might have been an injury from the actual race or maybe my weight lifting class, but I injured my neck causing two weeks of tension headaches. Scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst possible pain, that is where I was. I woke up with a headache and went to bed with it. Nothing worked and I tried them all from Advil to Excedrin. So for two weeks I was on pain meds, in and out of the doctor's office, and laying on a heating pad. To say I'm way behind in my training is an understatement. Yesterday was my first swim since the Skeese and today I'm headed to spin class for the first time in 3 weeks! As an update to my health, my neck is 90% healed and the headaches have stopped (thank goodness!!!!). I debated doing the race on Memorial Day, but in the end, decided to just go for it, take it easy, and realize this might not be my best race time.

This year, we have a big crew doing the race. Both my parents and my sister will be racing! My cousin, her fiance, and a couple of their friends are doing it too. Kelly (pregnant) will be on the sidelines cheering on her husband and her brother.

If you're interested in coming to the race, the after-party, or want to sign up for your own triathlon, visit my sister's blog. She has all the info on how to train and what you'll need. If I can do it, anyone can!!!

I also wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to all our supporters out there and those who have donated to the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund. We are only $800 away from reaching our goal of $5,000!

On the Lookout

2011-05-25T09:15:00.001-05:00

Rockport Weekend

2011-05-23T11:08:00.007-05:00

We spent the weekend in Rockport and had a great time! Forrest was able to get some fishing in, but we spent most of our time at the beach or in the pool with Davis. Looking back at all the time we've spent in Rockport, it's funny to see how our activities have changed over the years. We used to wake up around 5am, head out across the bay, and fish into the afternoon. We used to come back from a long morning of fishing, scarf down some lunch and make a gin and tonic to take to the pool. We used to take long naps (well that hasn't changed), head to the ski basin for happy hour, and then enjoy dinner as the sun went down. Now only one of us can go fishing (guess which one) while the other stays to play with Davis. So while daddy was fishing, Davis and I headed to the shops. The hot hot summer temps haven't quite hit yet, and we enjoyed a nice overcast morning for shopping. When daddy got home that afternoon, we decided to take Davis to the beach. He loved playing in the sand and trying to build sand castles. He also loved helping the kids next to us fill a huge hole with water. Davis was so good at using his bucket to scoop up water.

Our boat ride to the beach...

Rockport beach, while not the beautiful shores of Hawaii, is a great beach because there are basically no waves and it's super shallow.

Wanting mommy to get off her towel and join him in the water.

On the boat ride home, head to toe in sand.

The next day we decided to avoid the sand and head to the pool.

Pub on Wheels

2011-05-21T10:49:00.001-05:00

For my sister's 25th birthday, we peddled around downtown Austin on the PubCrawler! The PubCrawler holds about 15 people, is powered by us, has a steering wheel, a break, and plenty of room for coolers of beer! As we moved our little legs up and down 6th street, cars were pulling over to take our picture, it was a sight!

Happy Birthday Ann Marie!

All Aboard!

2011-05-19T09:07:00.000-05:00

Dewberries, Moms, and Triathlons

2011-05-09T12:08:00.006-05:00

Relaxing Mother's Day? Not so much. But it was my own fault. Remind me again why I do these triathlons?

The weekend started off early Saturday morning with Junior League Leadership training for me. Starbucks helped me get through those three hours. As soon as I got home, it was lunch time for Davis and time to pack up the car to head out to the Thompson's family farm in Seguin for the annual Dewberry Festival. This year we celebrated 34 years! Sadly, without rain, the Dewberries are few and far between. BTW a dewberry is similar to a blackberry. But we still enjoyed seeing family & friends, playing horseshoes, and competing in a scavenger hunt. Davis is in absolute hog heaven out at the farm. What's not to love? There's dirt, rocks, sticks, dogs, fish, and cows. Davis and Forrest spent the night at the farm, but I headed to Austin with my tri-gear and spent the night with my sister.

Sunday morning, Happy Mother's Day, we were up at 5:30am getting ready for our first triathlon of the season, The Skeese Greets. It's a pretty short sprint tri (apparently this year they actually added distance in each leg of the race), but always a great warm up for the season. I think I finished it in an hour and twenty minutes, but my time chip is messed up because while they categorized me in the 29 and under group by giving me a black swim cap, apparently I was supposed to be in the 30 and up group. When getting "marked" (they use a sharpie to write your number on your arms and legs and your age on your calf), I politely asked the man to write 29 on my calf because I can't handle being 30 just yet. He kindly obliged. Looking back, I forgot how crazy my weekend was last year for this race. Davis was sick and I was up most the night. I wonder how I would do if I just rested the days before the race? Nevertheless, we had so much fun! Sharing Mother's Day with all these other amazing moms meant a lot. It also happened to be my mom's birthday! Her best birthday gift? She placed 3rd in her age group! Did I mention she rode 100 miles on her bike the day before for the Shiner Ride?

After the torture, I mean, fun race, we all headed out to eat. I couldn't eat anything, I was falling asleep at the table. So we headed home and Davis treated mommy to a THREE HOUR NAP!!!! We woke up around 5pm, freshened up (I didn't have the energy to shower before my nap, gross, I know), and went to Urban Taco for a beer and some delicious ceviche!

And now...the countdown to the end goal...the Cap Tex Triathlon on Memorial Day!

Renee's fiance, Robert, was there to cheer us on and took these pics with his iphone! Here we are, getting ready to start swimming!

At the finish line!

Room Make-Over Part 1

2011-05-06T11:00:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago I posted about our front entry room. It serves as an entry, my office, a playroom, and a sitting room. So here is phase 1 of the make-over.

My mom found the wingback chair on the left at an estate sale for $25. I found the one on the right on Craigslist for $40. They were both out-dated and one was COVERED in cat hair. Ick. I had them recovered and voila...

I removed the play-mat (sorry Davis) and moved a rug from our room into here for the time-being. I'm hesitant to buy a new rug for this room if we won't be staying here long. I pulled out some old bunching tables that have been in our garage for a couple years to use as the coffee table. And as you can see, the toys remain in this room (don't be fooled, there are toys in just about every room of our house).

Part 2 of the make-over will hopefully include some art on the walls, new pillows on the couch, and a lamp shade. I would LOVE to hear from you all because I am not very creative and need all the help I can get.

Happily Ever After

2011-05-04T13:07:00.004-05:00

In honor of the biggest wedding of the month (I can't say year because my cousin is getting married this year), my parents hosted a Royal Wedding Watching Party (who didn't?). Thank goodness they are sensible and decided to DVR the wedding instead of inviting guests over at 4am. My mom rummaged through storage boxes to find all things London! Around the house she placed tour books, my sister's girl scout badges (that she received in London), our wellies, and little tourist trinkets like the English telephone booth. People brought all sorts of English food, but my favorite were the salt and vinegar crisps!

Claire thinks someone should have worn a cowboy hat to the wedding! Check out my mom's white gloves tucked into her belt and yes, that ring on her finger is blue (not exactly the same as Kate's!).

I look like I have creme brulee on my head :) Like our mugs? Yep, that's Kate and Wills!

No wedding party is complete without a wedding cake!

Be Silly

2011-04-27T10:31:00.003-05:00

And this is the face he gave me...

Happy 21 months today!

Say Cheese

2011-04-26T09:47:00.001-05:00

Waffles & Eggs

2011-04-25T09:23:00.007-05:00

And the tradition continues...remember Crazy Eggs? We went to Buda last week to visit my aunt and uncle and cousins Camille and Catherine to decorate Easter Eggs! This year was a little different. Instead of jumping right into decorating eggs, Camille and Catherine were more interested in playing with Davis (who really wasn't into the eggs this year). I'm convinced Davis (and Duke for that matter) are ready to move to Buda. They have so much land and free roaming space, not to mention the rabbits, chickens, turtles, and horses. Heaven for a rabbit chasing dog (don't worry, the rabbit won the race) and an animal loving kid. Once we did finally start decorating, there was a definite royal theme to many of the eggs!

Easter morning Davis was an egg-hunting pro! He was excited to see a basket full of goodies when he woke up and loved looking for eggs outside. The Easter Bunny put little puffs in his eggs and with each one it was like he was shooting oysters, open egg - head back - puffs in mouth!

My parents and Ann Marie drove in from Austin that morning. We all went to mass together (half the time spent outside with Davis) and then headed downtown for brunch at the Menger Hotel. There was a TON of food. I think I had three plates of shrimp! Ann Marie enjoyed a massive leg of lamb! And Davis, as you can see, enjoyed the most delicious waffle he's ever had.

By the way, I did edit/crop these pictures and for some reason when I uploaded them, the edits were not saved. So you can see red eyes and the awful bruise on Davis' forehead (he ran into a door). Oh boy, we always have bruises :)

Happy Easter to YOU

2011-04-24T19:32:00.001-05:00

Softly call the Muster

2011-04-22T12:04:00.004-05:00

Last night, Forrest and I attended the yearly Aggie Muster here in San Antonio at Aggie Park. Aggies all over the world were also paying their respects for loved ones who have passed away over the past year. We went in honor of a family friend that passed away in February. I felt honored to answer 'here' for him as his name was called and light a candle.

Once you leave the land of traditions, howdies, and humpin' it -- it gives you goose bumps to be back in a room filled with aggies. I was, admittedly, a 2%er, but that doesn't mean I don't love a howdy or two. I love the traditions A&M holds true.

The tradition of Muster began on June 26, 1883. Students gathered to live over again their college days, victories and defeats won and lost on the drill field and in the classroom. Over time, this tradition changed, celebrating different things that had happened over the year. "If there is an A&M man (woman) in one hundred miles of you, you are expected to get together, eat a little, and live over the days you spent at the A&M College of Texas."

Roll Call for the Absent

In many lands and climes this April Day

Proud sons of Texas A&M unite.

Our loyalty to country, school, we pray,

And seal our pact with bond of common might.

We live again those happy days of yore

On campus, field, in classroom, dorm, at drill.

Fond memory brings a sigh -- but nothing more;

Now we are men and life's a greater thrill,

Before we part and go upon our way,

We pause to honor those we knew so well;

The old familiar faces we miss so much today

Left cherished recollections that time cannot dispel.

Softly call the Muster,

Let comrade answer, "Here!"

Their spirits hover 'round us

As if to bring us cheer!

Mark them present in our hearts.

We'll meet some other day

There is no death, but life eterne

For old friends such as they!

All Done!

2011-04-21T14:51:00.003-05:00

Davis has always used the sign for 'all done' when he is done eating. Lately I've been seeing him put this sign to other uses. For example, when I'm drying my hair. He will get my attention and tell me I'm all done so I can come play with him instead. And this morning, I was singing (I'll spare you, but it was something along the lines of hippity hoppity Easter's on its way!) and he gave me this funny look and decided he was ALL DONE with my singing. I know I don't have the best voice, but I thought I was providing him a little entertainment.

And because I don't have a picture of Davis doing the 'all done' sign, I will leave you with this adorable pic, right before heading to Mass. He loves to point out the "cars" on his jumper!

From Houston to Austin

2011-04-20T14:28:00.006-05:00

My parents and my aunt completed the MS150 bike ride from Houston to Austin this past weekend (and FYI it's more than 150 miles). So proud of my dad, as this was his first year to do it! He rode with a group called the Wheels of Love and my mom and aunt rode with the Tough Cookies group. Here's a quick picture re-cap of Sunday afternoon:

Waiting at the finish line for our two favorite teams to cross!

My dad!

Ann Marie with our cousins, Camille and Catherine

Tough Cookies making their way across the finish line!

If you can manage to see around Claire's flailing arm (cute watch), here comes mom and Robin!

Together, my parents raised over $4,000! Way to go!

The green and pink supporters!

Guess who else did the ride? Jarrett, my good friend Courtney's husband. So we were able to catch up with them after the race!!

Baby Gray on his Way!

2011-04-18T11:44:00.007-05:00

This past weekend Forrest and I made our way to Dallas (stopping in Austin along the way to drop off Davis with my aunt and uncle) for a baby shower for sweet baby Jaggers. Grayson Bradley Jaggers is due this June and we cannot wait to meet him. So in the meantime, we showered him and his parents with lots of baby essentials! Cara and Jarod (Grayson's parents) were quite the athletes back in the day with a little soccer and a little football, so we decided to throw a sports themed shower.

1) Sign for the door

2) Signing table decorated like a football field. We had pictures of Cara and Jarod geared up for their sports and we had cracker jacks as favors.
3) Sport-themed-onesies
4) Scoreboard

1) Cute sport themed diaper cake

2) At the bar, we had a concession sign and cups made especially for Baby Jaggers

3) Daddy Diaper Duty pass-down belt

4) We served hot dogs with all the fixin's, fruit salad, and baseball oreo balls for dessert

Davis Makin' Us Laugh!

2011-04-14T17:11:00.002-05:00

Here's what's funny about this video...right before I caught it on tape...Davis answered all the questions correctly. Lately, he's been holding up one finger when we ask him how old he is...but in this video he surprised us with a new answer!

Davis and the Crawfish

2011-04-13T17:19:00.001-05:00

A Letter From My Mom

2011-04-08T14:17:00.002-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

Here I am, a week before the MS150 bike ride, feeling slightly nervous, wondering if I will have the wind at my back and if rain might be an issue or will I be able to sleep the night before the ride. I checked my bike odometer and see that I have over 2000 miles logged in. I have trained every weekend since December. Because I am a slower rider than many of my Tough Cookie team,(It is the age thing, I am sure!!) it takes me 4-6 hours or more each day to ride the miles required to be trained. Next Saturday, I will be riding 100 miles which I expect to be on the bike 8 to 9 hours and then another 6 hours on Sunday. When I started this crazy adventure, it was about me and could I do this at my age and level of fitness, but soon after I started training, I connected with Kathie, my very special friend. I also met others with MS. Now I realize I ride, because I can. I often think of Kathie as I get up for these long rides and sometimes complain about the amount of training and the persistent wind in my face. MS patients are wondering will they be able to function when they wake up in the morning or will they be able to get out of bed. Kathie's future and the future of others with MS puts this ride in perspective for me. For this reason, I will ride the MS150. I will be carrying a bandana on my bike signed by Kathie. While I ride along side my team of Tough Cookies, Tom, my husband, and 13,000 other riders, I will see people with MS on the roadside holding signs and cheering us on. I will talk to other cyclist riding for their loved ones with MS. I know that when I am riding from Houston to Austin that I get more than I give on these two long days. Kathie has been and will be praying for me and all the Tough Cookies. I ride in honor of Kathie because I can.

I wanted to send a gentle reminder to those of you who wish to donate but may have forgotten. I know many of you donated in the MS Walk so please do not feel obligated to donate again.

Sincerely,

Ann Francese

Laughter

2011-04-08T10:16:00.000-05:00

Room Make-Over

2011-04-07T09:40:00.000-05:00

When you walk through our front door, you enter one huge room. Let me do a little bit of explaining when I say "huge." I basically mean, the largest room in our house, which isn't saying a lot since we live in a tiny 2 bedroom 1 bath. This first room has been a puzzle for me since we first moved in. We've re-arranged it in so many ways! This room has many possibilities, but needs to fulfill our needs. It needs to be a second living space, a dinning room, a study, and a playroom. Wow, that's a lot of pressure on one room.

Here's a glimpse of the room...

1. When you walk in the door, this is the first wall you see. The candle sticks, lamp, and side table are all antiques. I still need to find a good shade for the lamp.

2. I found this small love seat at Ballard Designs. I love antiques and if I can't find an actual one, this store usually has the new look alike! The wingback chair on the left was $25 from an Estate Sale.

3. We need tons of playroom space for this kiddo! He can play the piano with one foot in the toy bucket!

4. Our dinning room table is at the far side of the room. This was obviously decorated for Davis' first birthday, but it usually has a centerpiece on it and my computer at one end. This is where I work all day.

After 2 and a half years of living here, I think I've finally figured out what to do with this room! Here are some fabrics I found...so stay tuned and see what you think...

Goal: $5,000

2011-04-06T10:00:00.001-05:00

On May 30, 2011, I will be competing in the Cap Tex Triathlon to raise money for the Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund.

WHY WE TRI
We are raising money in memory of Mark Felice who died of cancer at the age of 17. He was a close friend to many and truly a friend to anyone he met. The Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund was created in his name, by his family, focusing on the needs of children and their families in the research and treatment of childhood cancers.

In the U.S., there are approximately 12,400 children, from birth to 19 years, who are diagnosed with cancer each year. About 1 in 330 children will develop cancer before their 20th birthday. Cancer is the most common cause of death by disease for children and adolescents in America. There is a decline in the childhood cancer mortality rate by 2-3.2% per year. The Mark Felice Childhood Cancer Fund is dedicated to aid in the continuation of this trend downward and aid those fighting childhood cancer.

Like the past years, we will continue our efforts to fundraise for such a wonderful cause. Thank you to all of those who helped us to raise money last year and reach our goal of $5,000. Our goal this year again is to raise $5,000!

Interested in getting involved...here's a couple ways to do just that:

Fundraising:
On my sister's Tri-ing for a Cause blog she has listed ways to get involved (fundraising letters, tshirt forms, etc). You will be able to download the information and customize it with your details. I used to be weary of sending out letters to ask for money until I read this article that said, "Be proud of raising money for a cause. Think that 'I'm proud to raise it' and that 'you'll be proud to donate'." You know its a great cause and everyone would love to donate so loose your inhibition to ask for money!

T-shirts: If you want to buy one please do! On race day all of the spectators who come to cheer us on usually have a shirt and makes it easier to spot them as well as spread the word. Let me know if you have any questions.

Training:
If you want some guidance on training you can visit here. It is a beginners training guide that you can follow and mold to match your lifestyle and level. Down at the bottom are some workouts you can download to listen on your iPod.

We have already raised $300 which is a great start. With your help, soon we will be well on our way to reaching $5,000!!

Thank you!!

My Golly Miss Molly

2011-04-05T11:05:00.006-05:00

This past weekend we were in Austin for a baby shower. Kelly and Collin are expecting a baby girl this June, Molly! We had so much fun preparing all the little details for this day...of course we went with a PINK theme. It was a morning shower, so we offered pink mimosas (tea for the preggos), quiche, crepes, and macaroons for dessert. We had napkins with Molly's initials and towels in the bathroom that said, 'Thank Heaven for Little Girls.'

Here's a little sampling of the decor...

The hostesses are all friends from St. Michael's, our high school

Davis and Forrest went to Cabelas during the shower, but made an appearance at the end for some football and a wagon ride with Collin. They also bought Molly a pink camo sippy cup. Just what every country girl needs!

Zoomania

2011-03-31T08:00:00.001-05:00

Annie and Papa Tom bought a San Antonio Zoo membership!! Every time they are in town, they take Davis to the zoo and he has SO MUCH FUN!

Excited to ride the choo-choo train!

Checking out the monkeys!

Music Mail

2011-03-29T16:01:00.001-05:00

Thanks Aunt Ann Marie for this fun card! Davis loves getting mail, especially when it has a beat.

20 Months

2011-03-27T08:00:00.005-05:00

Dear Davis,

You are 20 months old today and closing in on your 2nd birthday! You are growing up so fast and although you are a toddler, I still call you my baby. I can already tell you have such a sweet spirit. You give lots of hugs (even to people you just met) and you are so kind to other kids at the park. You are also very agreeable and do what you're told (most of the time) when we explain something to you. For example, you LOVE to feed Duke. If you had it your way, Duke would get fed at least 10 times a day, preferably handing him piece by piece (possibly sneaking in a piece for yourself when I'm not looking). I just have to simply explain to you that it's not time to feed Duke and you happily put the lid back on the dog food.

Duke and you are best buds (most of the time). He loves that you throw the ball to him, bring him sticks to chew on, and make sure his water bowl is full (oh what a mess)! He's not the biggest fan of cuddling with you, I think your hugs are attempts to pick him up, so he usually walks away. You always want him to join you, especially when you're on the big bed. You pat the bed with your hand and say, "Dukie?"

You're number one favorite thing to do is go outside! You have a wagon, swing, toy car, basketball hoop, table, and a roller coaster in the backyard. We did some painting at your table this past week and the paper looked just as pretty as you did! You had blue lips! When you ride the roller coast, I say "one," you say "two," I say "three," and you say "go!" You also love going to the park near our house. At the park, you have no fear at all! You go down the biggest slide without a hint of fear while I have a slight heart attack due to my own fear of heights. The park has a basketball hoop where the big boys play and that is where you actually prefer spending your time. Daddy taught you to bend your knees before you shoot and you picked that up very quickly! You are completely fearless, you will do anything! You love rides, going fast, jumping off steps, swimming, etc. I have to keep my eye on you all the time!

You have been such an easy baby (what does this mean for baby #2??). Every transition we've had to make was done with ease. You took a bottle, switched easily to cold milk, ate anything I put in front of you, you love brushing your teeth, didn't mind when I made the paci a nap thing only, etc. Let's hope you keep up this trend when it's time to potty train! On the flip side, you have had a ton of ear infections, but we don't need to go down that road.

Our bedtime routine is my favorite thing right now (I say right now because I feel like every couple of months it's a new routine). You kiss daddy and Dukie goodnight and we head to your room to read a couple books. The number really depends on how quickly you flip through them. You have a million books on the shelf, but always bring me the same ones: Woof Woof, My Little Word Book, Trucks, Goodnight Moon, Very Hungry Caterpillar (this one we usually read 3-4 times), and Monsters in the Bathroom. After reading, we turn off the lights and you just let me hold you. At almost 30 pounds it's getting tough, but I soak up every minute. Then you let me know when you're ready to get in your crib with Mickey Mouse, a paci, and your giraffe lovey. I pat your back and blow you a kiss. Sometimes if I don't get out the door quick enough, you drop your lovey on purpose because you know I'll turn around and pick it up for you. Sneaky!

You love to repeat people. Annie took you to the Children's Museum the other day and she said you shouted "all aboard" after hearing another little girl say it. The other 'shout' phrases you like are: Go! Touchdown! Bath Time! and Goal! When I say, it's bedtime, you tell me, "a boo," which means "a book." When you hear airplanes you point in the sky and say, "airpane," then you put your arms out and make a swooshing noise. The other day I started singing the ABC's and you started singing them in Spanish. You are only at B, but being bilingual is so impressive!

Your dad and I cannot remember (and don't want to) what life was like without you. You complete us and remind us what's really important in life.

Muah! Love Mom

Easter Practice

2011-03-24T13:10:00.001-05:00

Davis has a new Easter basket this year! The other day we decided to practice putting things in our basket. He grabbed a pair of my running shorts (I'm guessing he was comparing it to the laundry basket). Here he is...practicing...different ways to hold the basket, obviously!

Now, about the basket. I've been eyeing a couple different ones. Growing up, my mom (I mean, the Easter Bunny) would just re-decorate ours every year with a new bow or new lining. I love the choices at Pottery Barn! But after picking Davis' basket, the lining, and the monogram, the total was somewhere over $40! Instead, the more practical option was to purchase this one at Michael's for 40% off and take it to get monogramed for $6.