Cocoa

I have loved horses since I was a toddler. My dream is, and always has been, to have a horse of my own, but until that happens, I have to jump on every opportunity to ride them and be around them. On Wednesday, I got my horsey fix with an awesome lady named Cheryl and an adorable and feisty little horse named Cocoa.

Renita (aka best mother-in-law on the planet) tracked down Cheryl when she was calling everyone in the Houston area looking for a trail ride for me as a Christmas present. Renita is on a committee with a man who mentioned that his monther-in-law, Cheryl owns horses. Cheryl doesn't normally do trail rides, but Renita thought it couldn't hurt to ask. When Renita got a hold of Cheryl, she asked if she could pay her to take me on a trail ride, and Cheryl, despite being crazy busy and having never done a trail ride for a stranger before, agreed to take me and she insisted on doing it for free! This lady is the coolest. Seriously. As much as I loved the trail ride, I might have enjoyed meeting her and talking to her just as much. 

We spent 4 hours together and I don't think we stopped talking the entire time! She gave me all kinds of great tips for ways and places to have great outdoorsy fun in this area (I am so excited to try them!) and all the while I was in lovely, perfect horseback riding bliss! It was a GREAT day!

This is cocoa. He's tiny, but don't try and tell him that! This little guy definitely thinks he's a big guy and that he's in charge! It was actually kind of a fun challenge dealing with his sassy attitude and trying to show him I was boss (I'm not sure he was convinced). He did not want to walk through any big puddles of water on the trail, but Cheryl thought I should make him to show him I was in charge. Well, the first time, I tried to force him, he reared up and went around! It was a bit of a shock, but I managed to stay in the saddle and gain control quickly. At least Cocoa kept things exciting! And most of the time, he was very sweet and well behaved.

I think my favorite part of the ride was when Cheryl let me pick up the pace on Cocoa for a little bit. I could tell by his fast paced walk and occasional burst of trotting that he had been dying to do that all morning. My stirrups were a little long and my shoes didn't have much traction so my feet kept slipping in and out of the stirrups, making for a bit of a bumpy ride at times, but it was still a blast!

That night, I had a wonderful time, as always, hanging out with my two favorite boys. Look how cute they are lying on the floor and throwing this little ball together ...

Jeff really is the best dad. Luke is so lucky to have a daddy who is so willing to drop what he is doing and play with his little boy!

Our Little Prince(ss)

This is what Luke was doing over at Ben and Caitlin's house while Jeff and I were painting at Color Me Mine ...

I think Jeff may start looking for alternative child care.

Color Me Mine: Love Edition

This past Friday, Jeff and I made another trip to Color Me Mine for date night, to used the gift card that Jeff's brother Steven got us for Christmas. We decided we would collaborate on one plate and make it about our relationship. We came up with the idea of listing some of our important "firsts" as a couple and the dates that they happened (first met, first date, first kiss ...). 

After we picked out our plate, we tried a few stencils for the lettering, but couldn't find any that were exactly what we wanted. I don't have the best hand-writing so I really didn't want to have to free-hand it myself, but that is ultimately what I had to do. It took quite a while and a lot of erasing, but I eventually got everything written out in pencil. Then, Jeff took over and traced it all in paint.

This is after I finished the pencil. Notice my practice writing and Jeff's doodles on the table.

We didn't have time to paint at the store, but the employees kindly let us take our paint home to finish up the plate since we only needed two colors. The lone chicken nugget left over from lunch really adds a nice touch to this picture don't you think?

We picked up the finished product last night. It turned out pretty good - better than I expected anyway! Since it is all free-hand and we are no artists, it is far from perfect, but that's what gives it character, right?

P.S. Notice that Jeff's first "I love you" came 15 days after mine. Way to leave me hanging, right?! I had been waiting for him to say it first for a few weeks and finally couldn't wait any longer. When I told him one night, I got a very positive response, but I didn't hear those three little words. As I recall, he built up like he was about to say it back and then got kind of flustered and replaced "I love you" with "I'm crazy about you" at the last second. But on the night he finally said it back, he said it about 10 times to make up for lost time. It was worth the wait. :)

"Bombs Away!"

After the kids got up from their naps today, I decided to get the laundry started. The kids were all hanging out in the entry way, so I started throwing the laundry down on them over the railing, yelling "bombs away" with every arm-ful. The kids thought it was hilarious! 

When I was sure I had collected and thrown down all of the laundry, I came downstairs to find this ...

A group nap in a pile of dirty laundry. Precious.

Superbowl Sunday

We are having a GREAT day with the fam! Luke is in hilarious, fun mood and he is pulling out all the stops to entertain everyone!

 I couldn't resist making football-themed food!

 Mmm.. quesadillas.

 Luke chowed. down. He had some of everything and he really liked that 7-layer dip!

 A whole cupcake all to himself = one happy boy!

Yogurt Goatee

Our Neighbors are Awesome

They think Luke is too.

Baby "Smiles"

We had a little visitor this morning. He was very popular with the kiddos ...

 Bethany called baby Miles, "Smiles" all morning. I didn't correct her.

Abby (a friend from church) had to go downtown for a few hours, so I volunteered to watch her Adorable 8-month-old, Miles. She offered baked goods or to exchange babysitting, but I seriously felt like I owed her for letting me hang out with such a cute, sweet little guy!

 Luke was so excited to see a baby in his house! As soon as I got Miles out of his car seat, Luke gave him a hug, squeezing him and patting his back ever so gently. He wouldn't let go of him for the longest time.

 Mile hugged Luke back (or maybe he was just hanging on for dear life). Either way, it was cute. Also, I look tan in this picture. Sweet!

 Luke put Miles' binkie back in his mouth when it fell out. It was sweet. He also took it out of his mouth a couple of times (and put it back in when asked) - not quite so sweet.

"Luke is petting Smiles!"

 Luke got Miles his blanket and snuggled up next to us to watch Yo Gabba Gabba.

 Cute.

 Luke thought the two babies should meet.

 Luke and Becca decided to join Miles on the floor. Luke shared 'Bob' with Miles.

It was so fun for me to take care of a cute baby again, but it was even more fun to see how much Luke loved being around and playing with Miles and how sweet and gentle he was with him! I can't wait 'til we have another baby. Luke is going to be a great big brother!

Children's Museum

Yesterday, we all went to the Children's Museum of Houston with Grandma. The kids loved it! We got there a little later than planned, cutting into lunch time and nap time. The kids didn't mind at all while they had so many fun things to do and toys to play with, but when we left, the kids all realized how hungry, tired (and grumpy) they were, but I think it was worth it. And the kids couldn't complain about stopping by McDonald's for Happy Meals on the way home.

Trying to play with the big kids.

There was this random cow with rubber utters right in front of us when we got off the elevator on the second floor, so the kids "milked" it...

Luke always goes straight for the cars first! He was feeling British that day.

Becca spent half the day on this slide.

This boy and Luke got a little rhythm going, taking turns pressing the horn. Luke grinned the whole time.

A giant car track! Luke's dream!

These little doors were so cute! There were two of them and they had chain locks, door knockers, doorbells that actually worked and lights to turn on and off. There is a mirror behind them when they are opened.

Love playing with my boy!

Adorable. Luke picked up two red balls and handed one to this baby. In this picture, he is trying to give the baby a second ball.

A giant Lite Brite! So Awesome!

Ambulance

There was an emergency. Luke and the other kids leaped into action.

Grocery shopping in Kidtropolis

Fun day! We will definitely be back!