James and Lauren Austin

Potty training weekend

2012-02-13T11:42:00.000-08:00

Well, this past weekend was the big 3 day potty training boot camp. It was a LONG weekend. Long. James was out of town on a ski trip, the temperature never got above freezing and I was inside following around a 2 year old with carpet cleaner. Long weekend. However, I am happy to report that it was for the most part, a huge success!!
Parker did not have one accident today and we were out of the house all morning long. I dropped him off in the gym nursery, went to two workout classes (because I needed to blow off extra steam and all the brownies I ate, brownies kept me sane this weekend) and picked him up in the SAME clothes and undies!! I could not have been more proud of him! He went potty for his teacher and it totally helped that the other two girls in the nursery with him are also potty training. He was so proud to show his little girl friends his Thomas the Train undies! It was hysterical!
Anyway, we still have our hurdles to jump over. He still won't tell me when he needs to go, I have to ask him. He still has not gone #2, another thing that will take time. All in all I am SO proud of Parker and so glad he is officially out of diapers! Woohoo!

Here are some very random pics of our weekend, taken on my iPhone.

Showing off his undies bright and early Saturday morning!

Sunday morning before I even put him in his undies for the day (we do Pull Ups at night), we made waffles together. It was a nice distraction for what was ahead!

Amazing, healthy waffle recipe! Has whole wheat flour, oats, cinnamon and very little sugar and oil! It calls for buttermilk, I was fresh out, so I used plain yogurt. It worked beautifully! You can find the recipe here. I spread almond butter and drizzled honey over mine, what a treat!

Hanging out in the toy box.

Playing ball in his boots.

One happy boy to be outside today!

Special visitors!

2012-02-06T11:48:00.000-08:00

We had special visitors in our house this weekend! My parents flew up to Amarillo on Friday afternoon and spent the weekend with us! We had so much fun, in fact, I was too busy having fun to take any pictures which I am just sick about! I don't know how I went a whole weekend without taking one picture, I'm so ashamed. So instead of pictures, I am going to recap the whole weekend for my own scrapbooking purposes! :)

Our weekend was filled with...

- a trip to our favorite Mexican food restaurant, Leal's

- homemade dessert (key lime cheesecake crumble I found on Pinterest)

- Pioneer Woman blueberry muffins for breakfast

- LOTS of playing with Parker

- a trip to Hobby Lobby, James's office and other errands

- lunch at Chick-fil-A (Parker's favorite lunch spot)

- mother/daughter manicures and shopping

- we had James's parents over Sat night to eat with us

- a trip to the Urgent Care center for a surprise ear infection

- more playing with Parker

- by the way, it was so cold. I don't know what it is about the weekend mom and dad always come, it either snows or is frigid.

Thanks mom and dad for coming, we had a wonderful time with you even if we were indoors for most of it!! I leave you with some random pics of Parker I have recently taken with my phone!

Our days have been so pretty and somewhat warm! Parker has picked up yet another sport...tennis! This kid loves him some tennis!

He's a man after my own heart, the boy loves chocolate yogurt!!

A visit to Dr. Fletcher...he's been fighting upper respiratory stuff and now an ear infection. He looks like he feels fine in this pic because he was hopping around the room and spinning the stool...go figure.

Let me explain this picture...my good friend Tiffany has a love of cooking just like me. I was discussing my menu for Saturday night with her and she suggested serving dinner on my fine china. I looked at her and had to admit that my china has been in storage at my in-laws house since we got married (10 years ago this summer). We've just never had room for it. Well, our kitchen now is plenty big, it's just been out of sight, out of mind. She demanded that I go and retrieve my precious china and serve dinner off of it. So that 's just what I did! It was like Christmas opening all of this beautiful china! I love that it's in my house and I can use it whenever I want!! ;) In fact, to make up for 10 years, we may just eat off of it every night for the next several months! Ha! It made a beautiful presentation Saturday night for my family dinner!

The Menu:
Pioneer Woman's lasagna
Salad with sunflower seed dressing
French bread
Barefoot Contessa's baked chocolate pudding
(this is my ALL time favorite chocoholic dessert, it will make your face sweat it's so good!)

Next up...potty training! Yes, it's time. This weekend we have nothing going on, it's cold outside and I've decided we are going to give the 3 day method a shot! I could use some prayers and advice is welcome! My prayer is that I can post a picture of a sweet little boy in his big boy underwear on my next post! Wish us luck! Elmo underwear, here we come!!!

A culinary experience!

2012-01-27T15:05:00.000-08:00

This probably doesn't come as news to you, but I love to cook! The more challenging the recipe, the better! I just had to share this experience with you, number one because it was a success and number two, I think everyone should try it! I'm talking about making gnocchi from scratch. If you don't even know what gnocchi is, they are little pillows of heaven that are made out of potatoes, eggs and flour. A treat for you mouth!! I was inspired from a recipe off of Pinterest...if you don't know what that is, well, that's a whole other post! :) Anyway, here is how it went down...

I found the gnocchi recipe here and used the step by step photos of how to do it. I promise it is SO easy!! You basically make a dough out of potatoes, flour and eggs, knead it together, roll into ropes and then slice them into little "pillows" as I call them. They only cook for about 2 minutes in boiling water and then they float to the top!

And here are the little beauties! Once they were finished cooking, I sautéed them with some spinach and pesto...YUM! A perfect side dish to grilled salmon, grilled chicken or even pork! Go ahead, try them...you'll feel like a chef in no time!

Have I mentioned how much I love this cutie pie?? Just had to include this face on my post today!

Discovery Center fun!

2012-01-25T13:08:00.000-08:00

This morning we met some friends and their boys at the Discovery Center to play! Parker hasn't been since the disastrous dinosaur visit where he cried and wanted nothing to do with the dinos. Enough time has gone by and I think he has no memory because when we arrived, he was super excited to play! Parker was in luck, they had a sports exhibit going on where there were balls EVERYWHERE! After two hours, I had to peel the child away and make him go home to eat lunch! Needless to say, we had a great time!

When we first walked in they had a "birds of prey" exhibit. Parker thought this owl was pretty awesome!

Building with the big blocks!

Fun with shapes

The mirror tunnel! How many Parkers can you count? :)

Parker's buddy, Clay, wasn't too sure about entering a tunnel where he could see himself all over the place! :)

This huge magnetic board lets kids move the connective pieces around to create an "obstacle course" for the balls to roll down. He loved it!

Sand dune display

This was the best! Inside this tunnel, there was a radar gun that clocked how fast you could pitch. Parker stood here forever practicing his pitching!

And of course he found the basket ball hoop! Whether he is at home, at the gym, in the bathtub, he tells me..."mommy, Parker shoot hoops"! The child has a NEED to shoot hoops on a daily basis!

The was cool, a huge funnel to roll balls down. Parker kept saying "go round and round".

A bit of randomness

2012-01-16T11:48:00.000-08:00

So far, January has been a slow, get back in the routine of things, kind of month. If you know me well, you know I do NOT like cold weather so I'm just hibernating until it turns warm again. I crave warm weather and the outdoors, I need it!! :)
Believe it or not, Amarillo has had some warm days recently but the wind blows like nobody's business so we can't get outdoors to enjoy it. (think sky turning brown bad, I'm not just talking about a little breeze). Oh well, no complaints, summer is coming right?! We are finding plenty to do inside! ;)

Hiding in the tunnel at church!

My big helper!

Waco started smelling bad so it was time to give her a bath. I despise giving her a bath indoors because it's just gross, but she sure enjoyed the warm water and the towel dry! :)

( I think I spent the next 15 minutes after this bleaching the bathtub, ha!)

Handsome little stud

Thanks Aunt Lindsey for such a cute outfit!!

Playing with one of his favorite toys from Christmas...he seems to have a "handy man" gene in him somewhere!

Parker's favorite thing of all is helping daddy in the yard. He got some yard tools for Christmas so now he can keep up!

My two cute yard men, love them!!
James is such a good landscaper and does a wonderful job with our yard, I'm thankful he's passing that onto Parker! I always appreciate the way the front of our house looks, especially in the Spring/Summer.

My little chef!

2012-01-07T15:48:00.000-08:00

I used to think that one day I'd need to have a girl to share my love of cooking with in the kitchen. Not the case! Parker LOVES helping me cook and I adore it!! Whenever I'm in there he drops what he's doing, scoots his chair to the counter and says "mommy help". Priceless.

Here's the little chef making brownies Friday afternoon!

The boots were his idea and he refused to put his pants back on after nap. Don't mess with a good chef or anyone who is 2 years old!

2011 in review

2012-01-01T11:32:00.000-08:00

Like I say EVERY year when I do my look back, it went by way too fast!! It's hard to believe it's time to enter another year, but we are so blessed by what God did in 2011 and look forward to His provision and blessings in 2012! Happy New Year everyone!!

January

We started off last year with lots of cold weather and finding ways to stay entertained during the long winter days! James worked on building a tall desk and had the most precious helper by his side!

February

We traveled up to Taos, NM and went skiing, got a visit from my parents and saw lots of snow!

March

With the temperature warming up a bit, Parker and I found ourselves outside a lot going on picnics! P and I also made our annual Spring break trip to Dallas!

April

Oklahoma City and Dallas were our two destinations this month. James's great-grandfather, Dr. O.M. Franklin was inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame. Then we went down to Dallas for Easter!

May

Our Parker James turned two on the 29th and we had two parties to celebrate! One for his friends and one out at the ranch for the family! Neesie and Grandad made the trip out to join in on the fun!!

June

The summer is our busiest time, but full of fun! We drove up to Missouri for our annual Big Cedar trip and had tons of fun on the lake! Then Ryan and his family along with mom and dad came out to the ranch for some serious fun!!

July

One of the highlights of the summer was getting together with my precious college roommates from Baylor! We met up in Dallas for a girls weekend and had a blast! At the end of the month, we all were at the ranch celebrating Sloan and Liesl's wedding!

August

I turned 31 and my sweet girlfriends helped me celebrate with a fun pool party! We also ended the summer with one last shindig at the ranch with the whole fam!

September

After such a brutally hot summer, we gladly welcomed the Fall months! We had our friends, Shane, Brie and Blair Brooks out to the ranch for Labor Day weekend, then we traveled up to Colorado for a weekend the Broadmoor! The cooler weather was fantastic!!

Our little man also started Mother's Day Out for the first time!

October

We had never been to the Arboretum during the fall, so on a weekend visit to Dallas, we went and had so much fun in "pumpkin land". Mom and dad also came up to the ranch for their annual Fall trip out there.

November

Parker went to his first rodeo and then we enjoyed Thanksgiving out at the ranch!

December

We started off serving dinner for the annual "widow's dinner" that the Austin's do for the widows of the church. It's one of my favorite December parties! Then we celebrated Christmas in Dallas with my family!

Happy New year and blessings in 2012!!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T11:47:00.000-08:00

To say we had a wonderful Christmas is an understatement! Our time in Dallas was a blast and I'm really sad it's already over! We were spoiled to date nights, shopping, Six Flags, play dates with friends, some serious Wii playing, and quality time with the fam! I am so blessed to have a family that is fun to be around and who so graciously welcomes us home and makes our time there special!
It was so much fun watching Parker really get into it this year. The tree, the lights, presents, baby Jesus...the whole nine yards! I think one of the highlights of our time there was watching him at Holiday in the Park at Six Flags! He and Leah were so big and rode every ride in Looney Tune Land! It was adorable! I didn't take near as many pics as I wanted...

So excited about all of the presents!

This is so cute...while James and I were out shopping one day, mom and Parker made a gingerbread house!

Just making sure it tastes ok!

Arriving at Holiday in the Park...it was frigid!!

James took Parker on his very first ride! They rode the big trucks!

The whole gang!

This was right before we split up. You see, we have the roller coaster riders and the weenies. I am in the weenie group and proud of it!

Me and my boy...he was obsessed with all the lights!

Leah and Parker rode the tea cups all by themselves!

Lindsey and I took Parker and Leah on the carousel!

It's a tradition, even when I was a little girl and came out here, we always ended the night on the carousel!

Waking up Christmas morning to walk down the hall and see what Santa brought!

A new tool bench! Parker was in heaven!

Still trying to wake up.

He also got a drill and hammer set. I'm thinking he might become a handy man!

Leah and her new Barbie doll...the cutest!!

Merry Christmas!

In full swing!

2011-12-14T12:13:00.000-08:00

Wow! It's amazing how fast the month of December flies by isn't it? We have been super busy with Christmas shopping, parties and even a trip to Dallas thrown in there for the Michael W. Smith Christmas concert! We also hosted a craft play date at our house where we made darling handprint Christmas ornaments! The funny thing about this group is that they are ALL toddler boys! There is one baby girl (Sophie) who graces our presence, but she's so quiet, you'd never know she's there! In the midst of all the busyness, we've been sure to remind ourselves and Parker what this season truly is about!

Monday morning at the Galleria mall! Neesie got Parker his very own chicken nugget happy meal. I was taking this pic to show James. I kept asking Parker..."show daddy what you are eating". Meaning, hold up a nugget for the camera. He showed me alright! ;)

Love that big tree in the ice rink!

It's a tradition that mom, Lindsey and I meet up with Jane, Ann, Olivia and Liesl for the Michael W. Smith Christmas concert! It's always such a fun night!

We flew home Tuesday morning and quickly got to work on preparing for our craft play date that was at our house!

Parker helped me make green rice krispie treat Christmas trees!

One of our little creations!

Parker's friend, Jack, gave him some yummy hot chocolate mix for Christmas. Since it was a cold and rainy day, I made him his very first cup of goodness! He LOVED it!

For our craft, I mixed up some flour and salt dough, cut out circles and had the kids press their hands into the dough. I baked them in the oven, let them cool and then the kids or moms got to paint them! I loved the way they turned out! I found the idea on Pinterest of course and you can see the recipe here.

Parker's gold ornament!

Layne with Clay and Lindsay with Seth.

Jack Hickman

Clay with a mouth full of M&Ms! A good time was had by all!

Baby it's COLD outside!

2011-12-05T18:50:00.000-08:00

"Burr rabbit" as I like to say! It is so COLD outside...like wind chill of 8 degrees cold. That translates into...a fire in the fire place, warm fuzzy blankets, movies, chili in the crock pot, games and arts and crafts! I'm so thankful it snowed, if it's going to be that cold, we might as well have snow on the ground! Thank you Lord for the moisture, no matter what form it comes in! :) Here is a glimpse of what Parker and I did on our snowy day...

A peak out the side patio window...didn't even want to open the door!

(Don't ask me how that plant is still standing upright, I'm pretty sure it should be shriveled up and dead by now).

Snuggle time with Waco!

We busted out some ~~cotton balls~~, I mean snow, and made a snow man!

I was brave and even let Parker handle the glue...he did great! He loves doing arts and crafts!

We talked a lot about baby Jesus and what his "bed" (manger) looked like.

Parker stopped drawing long enough to let me snap this picture! The manger is two popsicle sticks we colored brown and the straw is raffia that I just cut up and let him glue down. It's been so much fun watching Parker start to "see" Christmas for the first time this year. The lights, the tree, decorations, and hearing him talk about baby Jesus is the sweetest thing!

And here is our crazy dog hiding under the dining room table while resting her chin on the chair. She likes to be near us but at a distance at the same time. I think she's afraid Parker is going to jump on her back and start riding her or something! ;)

Stay tuned, I think our high tomorrow is a balmy 25 degrees...we'll be doing more of the same!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-29T20:13:00.000-08:00

I love Thanksgiving! I am so very thankful for the blessings the Lord has given to us. I love getting together with family and giving thanks, eating a lot, playing games and just relaxing! Since we rotate holidays, we spent Thanksgiving with the Austin family and had a great time! (Don't you worry, Parker and I got to go to Dallas for the beginning of Thanksgiving week)!! We had so much fun but I didn't take one picture! We'll be back for Christmas!

Thanksgiving day

Ruben, Olivia, Juliet and baby Benjamin

Friday morning at the ranch

We made several attempts to get a Christmas card pic but Parker wasn't interested in smiling. It amazes me that a whole year has gone by and we did not get ONE good pic of our little family of three. Either Parker's not looking or smiling, or it's a bad pic of me or James. Ahhh!

This child would swing all day if you let him!

Walking over a cattle guard.

Geefather and Parker

Our project Friday morning was to go around and fill the deer feeders one last time!

Let me explain...No, Parker is not muslim (even though Jim nicknamed him Achmed)! ;) Being the awesome mother that I am, I forgot my child's jacket at home. Luckily I packed a fleece but he didn't have a hood. Ann took her scarf and wrapped it around his head! I know, I know, I guess I won't be getting the "mother of the year" award!

Parker was less than thrilled with his scarf!

Tripp and his dog Hank!

Filler up!

The guys

My poor, sweet baby!

A cowboy weekend!

2011-11-12T13:56:00.000-08:00

Stay with me here, this is a big post, but I think you'll enjoy!
First of all, Jim and Ann took all of us to the rodeo Friday night! It was the Working Ranch Rodeo and this was actually the championship, so we were seeing the best of the best. Guess who was competing?? The Drummond Ranch!! Yes, Pioneer Woman and her family have been in Amarillo all weekend for this rodeo and we had so much fun watching her team compete!

To top it all off, I got to MEET she and Ladd at a book signing Saturday morning! It was such a special treat to get to talk to them both! If you know me at all, you know how obsessed I am with her recipes, blog, cookbook, Food Network show and so on! I was the FIRST one in line too! My friend Tiffany and I got there two hours early and it paid off! It's a day I won't forget! :) They are such a sweet family, so down to earth and easy to talk to! I was so star struck that I can't remember a thing I said! Ha!

My little man decked out in his boots and jeans ready to go to his very first rodeo!

Wearing Adelynn's cowboy hat!

My two sweet boys!

The introduction of the 23 ranches from different states that were competing.

Ladd Drummond holding the Oklahoma flag!

And here we go! The first bucking bronco out of the shoot!

Parker was in love, he couldn't take his eyes off!

The calf roping event. I kept telling myself, this doesn't hurt the animal, this does't hurt the animal.

(at least that's what WE think)

Blake and Adelynn

The Budweiser Clydesdales were there!

Nana and Geefather with Katherine and Parker

OK, this was hysterical! This Border Collie is named Whiplash and he rounds up sheep with a monkey on his back! This monkey held on for dear life! We could NOT quit laughing at this!

And there he is ladies...Marlboro Man!

If by now you have no idea who I am talking about, please do yourself a favor a visit Pioneer Woman's blog, you can read it here.

In the dirt, holding onto a a cow while his team members milk it! Yes, it's a competition to see how fast you can rope the cow and get milk into a bottle!

Here we are! Tiffany and I opened up the book signing line Saturday morning with our coffee in hand!

We made some sweet new friends while in line... me, Juanita, Tiffany, Selena and Tricia!

They made the two hours of waiting just fly by, I'm thankful for my new friends!

I've never been first in line for anything but it sure was a good feeling since the line wrapped around the store!!

Here she comes!
My heart was beating so fast at this point, I was wondering what in the world I was going to say! I think I started off with "welcome to Amarillo!" Not bad right?

My big moment of talking with her. Seriously, can't remember a thing I said! I was so nervous, so ridiculous! She's a person just like you and me, but I couldn't get the butterflies out of my stomach!

Just shoot'n the breeze!

Posing with Marlboro Man!

After I was finished getting my books signed, I waited off to the side for Tiffany and got to talk to MM for about 5 minutes. We talked ranches, rodeo and kids! Such a nice man (even hotter in person)!! ;)

Come back soon you two! :)

Their cute kids were there too, but they were wondering the bookstore!

Lately

2011-11-09T20:15:00.000-08:00

This post is nothing but randomness, but it's what we've been up to lately! There is never a dull moment living with a 2 year old! Ha! :)

This is the G rated version...Parker has been waking up with NO diaper on after nap time. I will spare you all the details, but potty training is in our future, our very near future!

Our fall afternoons have been gorgeous! We met some friends at the park to feed the ducks one day.

This would be "mean Mother Goose". This goose ruled the pond and wasn't afraid to let you know it! I purposely threw bread away from her because she was such a bossy little thing! :)

Sweet, precious boy!

Parker and Charlotte sitting on a funky bench!

Going down a big slide!

Let me explain...this is Parker's monkey hat from Halloween that he did NOT want to wear the night of. However, a couple of days later he wanted to wear it out the door to the gym...go figure!

Time for a visit to Junior!

"Brushing" Waco's teeth.

This dog is the most patient dog I've ever seen. She let's him do anything to her! I think she secretly likes it! :)

I shot into the sun but I couldn't resist this darling pic! These two are inseparable in the backyard!

Parker loves going to "Honic" aka: Sonic, after MDO on Tuesdays!

First school pic from MDO!

In front of Cavenders after getting some new boots!

Jim and Ann are taking us all to the rodeo Friday night and Parker had no boots to wear! These are little John Deer camo boots...he LOVES them!!

He looks so grown up wearing his boots. I wish I could freeze him at this age! :(

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T19:57:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty uneventful Halloween this year because Parker has no clue what it was! He just thinks it's a day that I lose my mind and make him wear a silly costume. He did however enjoy the candy part of it. All he wanted were suckers...he has no idea what candy bars are and I'd like to ride that as long as possible! :)
We trick-or-treated up at James's law firm and then went home to carve a pumpkin together. It ended up being just me and James doing all the work. Parker was asking to go to bed at 7:00, so we put him down, made dinner and had a nice quiet evening to ourselves. I know the days are coming when our Halloween will be full of activity, so for now, this is nice!
I have the best memories of my dad helping us carve our pumpkin while mom was in the kitchen roasting the pumpkin seeds... I did the same and they were delish!

My little monkey!

(he's obsessed with Curious George)

The tail was my favorite part!

Happy boy with his sucker!

Going office to office for candy!

The secretaries are the best, they just love these little ones and can't wait to hand out their candy!

Parker and his princess, Maddie.

Going in for a kiss! These two are smitten!

Stuffing his face with a sugar cookie while staring at the computer screen...the screensaver really caught his eye.

Playing on the computer.

Time to go, he had had enough of the hat!

My sweet husband carving the pumpkin.

Parker sat at the bar stool for all of a minute and then climbed down to play. Maybe next year he'll get into it more!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!

2011-10-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? We woke up to SNOW, yes, I said snow!! It started snowing in the middle of the night and it's still going as I type this! Amarillo got between 31/2 to 5 inches by this afternoon!
This is the first snow Parker has experienced since he's been talking. He keeps looking out the window and saying "no" for snow, and "cold outside". We've had a fun, cozy day inside! All these pics were taken with my iPhone not my real camera, not the best quality!

Tree in the front yard still full of leaves and heavy with snow!

We drove down to our neighborhood park/walking trails to see how pretty it was!

Parker's playground. He kept saying "swing, mommy, swing". Not today son! :)

Knocking the snow off his slide.

Wow!

Watching it from inside.

I'm hoping our Crepe Myrtle tree doesn't break from the weight! My nice green fern on the table is history after today. :(

The flowers covered under the snow were our gorgeous Lantana out in front. They were so pretty all summer, I'm sure they are nice and wilted after today. James was cute last night...he knew it was going to freeze so he went outside and just stared at the front yard. He was so proud of all his hard work all summer...as he should be! It looked great!

Just because it felt like the right thing to do on a snowy afternoon, Parker and I made some pumpkin muffins! Our house smells awesome! I took my favorite pumpkin bread recipe and poured into a muffin tin and baked on 375 for 25 minutes!

My little helper standing in my colander!

Fall at the ranch

2011-10-24T11:48:00.000-07:00

Since moving to Amarillo three years ago, I have come to love the season Fall. We actually have one up here in the Panhandle and it's just beautiful! Mom and Dad came up to the ranch this weekend to play and enjoy the cooler temps and pretty colors with us! The weather was absolutely picture perfect...fleece in the mornings and short sleeves by the afternoon. Enjoy ALL the pics! :)

I love this sign, it's a neat entrance onto the ranch!

My boy playing golf in the woods.

Petting the horses.

Love this.

Looking for pumpkins in the patch!

(with golf club in hand)

The Fall flowers are so pretty out there!

Sadly, the very last harvest from the garden.

Even more sad...the pool is closed for the winter. It takes such a LONG time for it to warm back up around here.

Friday evening, we went fishing in the creek.

James caught a huge bass! I had no idea there were fish that big in that creek!

So, I decided to give it a whirl...no luck.

That's why I hate fishing, I never even get a bite and I completely lose patience and interest.

My sweet first "child".

Just chillin' watching everyone fish.

Mule ride with Neesie and Grandad.

Dad, James and I went hunting Friday night, this stinky little guy was our only casualty.

Drawing in the dirt.

Parker loves four wheeler rides!

Dad and James filling the deer feeders. I felt the need to go around warning the deer of their impending season. :( Run Bambi, run!

This child would swing for hours and hours!

So stinkin' cute!!

Pretty trees beginning to turn.

And I'll leave you with these...pumpkin chocolate - chip cake cookies.

One word...AWESOME!! Since mom and I are obsessed with dark chocolate, I used dark chocolate chips and they were fantastic!!! A must make situation! You can find the recipe here on a friend's blog.

Fall fun in Dallas!

2011-10-18T10:42:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday we loaded up and drove to Dallas at night...why haven't we been doing this all along?? It was fabulous! We grabbed dinner on the way out, Parker watched a couple of Curious George episodes and then he was out! The trip went by so much faster, we will be doing this again for sure!

Anyway, we had a great time with my family! One of the highlights of the weekend was going to the Dallas Arboretum to see all the pumpkins, it was amazing! Lindsey and I even snuck in a girls night out, we visited Papa in the hospital who is recovering from open heart surgery, and we did some fall clothes shopping! Thanks mom and dad for always making our visits so much fun!

Arriving at the Arboretum.

"Mom, seriously? Please tell me you're not going to follow me with that thing!"

There were beautiful pumpkins everywhere!

Getting these two to smile AND look at the camera at the same time was hard work!

This is the best pic I got of him where he is actually looking! :)

They had these amazing "pumpkin houses"!

Neesie and Grandad with their grandkiddos!

It was a Cinderella theme, each house had a big storybook next to it.

Any pumpkins in there?

Parker loved running up and down this huge castle and then poking his head out the windows!

Aunt Sissy with her nephews!

Showing Grandad the water fall.

Bath time fun...they made the water green with these Elmo color tablets!

Uncle Ryan and Parker having fun!

While we were looking at pumpkins...James and Luke were at Texas Motor Speedway! Luke's dream for his 30th birthday was to drive a Nascar race car and that's just what he did! Look at him go!

Pick a pumpkin!

2011-10-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday morning, we took Parker to the little pumpkin patch that is set up every year in front of a local nursery. Last year he didn't really care about what we were doing, but this year was a whole different story! He kept picking the pumpkins up and carrying them around. He'd say "mommy, punkin, punkin"! Too cute!

We had just arrived and he already had one in hand! He's quick!

He stayed by my side the whole time. (I'm picky when it comes to pumpkins...it's all about the shape and the stem)!!

This one mommy!

We got his picture in this same spot last year but he would NOT look at the camera for me.

In trying to get him to smile, I asked him to show me his teeth...I guess I got what I asked for!

Sweet little boy last year

Blog slacker

2011-10-05T16:28:00.000-07:00

Wow, time flies! I can't believe I've gone this long without posting something, shame on me! We've been busy playing outside in the lovely Fall weather! This post has lots of randomness to it, but here are some things we've been up to... (some of these were taken with my phone, bad quality!)

We ran Race for the Cure again this year, it's become a family tradition!

Parker loves eating his breakfast while we run!

He LOVES mowing the yard with daddy!

This monkey is carried everywhere because of an obsession with Curious George! :)

This kid can't eat enough pb&j sandwiches. It's ironic that I've never put one in my mouth because I'm so allergic. I feel like I'm dealing with a toxic substance every time I make him one! :)

Parker has started to find little places to hide, it's hilarious!

I found him here one day just chilling out.

Back on the golf course with daddy this time!

James had a precious little shadow!

Playing with the boys

Watching Geefather tee off

So focused!

Jim, Steve, Sloan, James and Parker

Little cutie on the way to MDO on Tuesday!

First golf game!

2011-09-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

I think if you ask Parker what his favorite part of our weekend was, he'd say Saturday evening! Since James was out of town, Ann asked Parker and I to ride along in the golf cart as Jim and Steve played. We had so much FUN watching Parker play his first "round" of golf!
Just as a last thought, I threw in Parker's little plastic golf club...boy am I glad I did! I think we have a natural on our hands!
We arrived as they were teeing off on hole #6. This two year old kid played 12 holes of golf and never ONCE lost focus. He's the cutest little golfer I've ever seen in my life!! ;)

A little shy at first!

Warming up

Getting the hang of it,

Jim and Steve had him riding with them in their cart. As soon as the cart stopped, P was out and ready to hit!

In the middle of the fairway. Nice form little man! :)

The three golfers!

Putting

Steve showing Parker the ball washer.

Water break

Tackling a sand trap.

Nice!

Watching Steve tee off!

Parker's turn to tee off!

Off they go after their balls. I love the green club head sticking out of the cart here!

Here's to many more games of golf Parker! Nice job!!

The Broadmoor

2011-09-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we had a wonderful opportunity to travel up to Colorado Springs and stay at the Broadmoor hotel with James's family. After such a scorcher of a summer, the cooler temps and mountain air were just what we needed! We had a great time enjoying the beautiful outdoors and the scenery surrounding this unique hotel.

Love this place!

Going to dinner our first night there.

Parker wasn't feeling well here, he just wanted to go to bed. He did great through dinner though!

Bright eyed and bushy tailed the next morning!

These two have some serious fun together!

Scooters and dump trucks taking over the grounds!

Blake and Parker took a break from running to watch a lawn mower on the golf course.

Parker explored the landscape.

Watching the geese and swans.

Then we found the playground!

My favorite pic!

After the guys finished golfing, they babysat while the girls went to the spa!! Words can't describe my 70 minute massage and pedicure!

After the spa we met up with our loves for dinner!

Me with Katherine

The next morning as we were playing, Parker found a fountain to get nice and wet in.

We met the boys on the golf course to watch them tee off!

The golfers

Good form James! :)

Parker LOVES to watch golf. He was getting some pointers here from daddy.

Watching Uncle Luke tee off.

Parker threw a small fit when daddy drove off in the golf cart without him.

And here's another fit. He's into those these days.

Once Parker composed himself, he and Blake took the course by storm with their dump trucks! We were kindly asked to get off the greens after this! :)

Pool time in the afternoon!

This little fellow here is named Ruger. He is part lab and part German Short-hair pointer. He is an employee of the Broadmoor and his only job description is to chase the geese off the sidewalks so they don't poop on them. What a job! Ruger was so much fun to watch!

All the kids eating mac and cheese with the babysitter before the adults went out for dinner Sat night!

All wound up for the sitter!

I love this...Katherine brushing her teeth on the counter!

Ahh, dinner without kids! What a treat!!

Jim and Ann

Luke and Meredith

Sunday morning before we left, we hit the playground so the kids could burn off some energy before the 6 hour car ride home.

The adults burned off energy too! :)

First day of MDO!

2011-09-06T18:14:00.000-07:00

A tale of day one of MDO...
The day finally arrived!! Parker started Mother's day out today and we could not have been more excited! Parker was pumped this morning as we got dressed and made a big deal out of his new back pack, lunch box and nap mat. Things were good on the way there...then I dropped him off. Oh the tears that ensued. It was quite the scene, one I'd rather not relive. His teacher had to peel him off of me, screaming and kicking. This was followed by crying myself all the way to the gym. I felt horrible. I mean, this is not something we HAVE to do. I felt guilty through my workout but I got OVER IT once I got home and had the whole silent house to myself!!!! I even went out to the mall to shop for Parker's Fall clothes and strolled at my own pace, awesome! I picked a very happy Parker up at 2:30 and then took him for ice cream to celebrate the day!

A very excited boy!

Nap mat and lunch box ready to go!

He was running up and down the driveway, so I had to corner him at the fence to get a picture!

On the way...he was getting nervous here. It's like he knew we weren't going to play at the gym.

What unfolded after was not picture worthy...just picture a screaming toddler and a crying mommy.

This is blurry, but this is after I picked him up! He was so excited and ran out into the hall to pose with his favorite zebra. It's a little wooden zebra that sits in the hallway for decoration and P LOVES it!

Heidi and I took Parker and Jack for ice cream. Two tired boys waiting for dessert. Neither one of them napped.

YUM!!

And just like that...

2011-09-05T12:22:00.000-07:00

summer is gone. :( Labor day weekend is always fun, but if you know me well, you know I hate to see summer go! We've had such a brutally hot and dry summer this year that in all honesty, I'm really glad Fall is here! And boy is it here! All it took was one big cold front over the weekend and we got to bust out the jackets and jeans!! 40's in the morning and 70's in the afternoon feels COLD when you're used to triple digits, but it's divine and we'll take it!!!

As always, we celebrated Labor day weekend at the ranch with family and friends! Here is a glimpse of the fun we had...

Up and at 'em early Saturday morning ready to roll!

Any guesses on what this creature is?

James, Steve, Ruben and I went varment hunting late Friday night and this was a casualty. This little guy killed a tree in the yard, so he had to go. :(

The fur is deceiving and I had NO idea this animal had "beaver teeth" like that!
Waco was very interested!

A porcupine!! Under all that fur are razor sharp quills!

This picture doesn't quite show how sharp those are or how many there are! Just ask Waco how sharp they are; a few summers ago she went running with me and came out of the woods with a snout full of them! It took a pair of pliers to pull them out!

Me and my boy! He was proudly sporting his BU shirt to celebrate our big victory over TCU Friday night! Sic Em!!

Saturday afternoon, our good friends Shane, Brie and Blair Brooks came out to spend the rest of the long weekend with us!

The guys!

Sweet Blair

Uncle Steve helping Parker make a basket!

I don't have pics of this...but around 7:00 Saturday night when the rest of the family was packing up to leave and Shane and James went out in the field to dove hunt, a big thunderstorm rolled in and it RAINED!! It rained and rained and Brie and I sat out on the back screened in porch with the kids and just watched it. One of the best moments of the whole summer! Needless to say, around 8:30 that night we had two drenched husbands show up at the house...with no birds.

I love bath time pics! ONE day, Parker and Blair will have so much fun looking back at this photo! They had a ball together!

Sunday morning we woke up to fabulous cool temps, damp air and cloudy skies!

We loaded up and headed out on a mule/four wheeler ride.

The Brooks family!

The guys loaded up some deer feeders with corn.

Cranking it back up.

Parker and Blair went exploring in the woods together while the deer feeders were being filled.

So cute!

Watching the deer feeder.
Like a true gentlemen, Parker let Blair wear his jacket because she was cold! ;)

Me with Brie

Us!

Happy fall ya'll!!

Birthday weekend

2011-08-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

My birthday celebration continued on into the weekend! Actually...anyone in the Austin family with an August birthday was celebrated at the ranch. Juliet, Tripp and I all have August birthdays and yes, that meant three separate birthday cakes! :) Mine was chocolate on chocolate of course, is there any other kind of cake? As always, we had a great time together!

In a nutshell, this is what we did...

First thing Saturday morning, Parker took off with his dump truck!

Then Blake and Parker rode in the John Deer together.

Ruben's parents came all the way from Miami for the birthday girl!

We had a first...a breakfast picnic at the lake complete with flinson and bacon!

The kids had fun playing on the dock!

Sloan and Liesl fished.

James giving the boys a four wheeler ride!

Of course Parker played baseball.

Steve helped P perfect his swing.

More John Deer riding.

Faith drove James and P in the razor (the newest motorized

toy out there).

The birthday girl, Juliet!

We had her party at the pool house!

We even had a pinata!

Liesl was spinning Ruben here.

You can only imagine how funny this was!

Luke took a swing or two.

So did Faith!

Faith and P

We just hung out in the cool grass for a while and chatted it up!

We ended the weekend with a game of frisbee golf on Sunday morning.

Parker definitely got in on the action!

Parker with Tripp and Luke.

He followed us around and hit every flag with his frisbee, he was a very serious player! :)

The whole gang!

Somehow I didn't get a pic of my beautiful chocolate birthday cake made by Ann, but I can assure you it was delicious! It's my all time favorite and you can get the recipe here.

Thirty one

2011-08-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, it happened. On August 17th, which was Wednesday, I turned 31. I have mixed feelings about this age. I mean, turning thirty was fun and exciting but now, I feel like anything over thirty is "getting up there"! Ha! I know I know, I'm still young, but being over thirty is just different somehow.

BUT...despite me not liking the number I was turning, my sweet friends made me feel so special! We had a fun little swim party complete with sweets and all! Thank you girls for such a fun afternoon! I'm blessed to have you as friends!

Amanda, me, Julie and Jennifer

The kids had more fun in the hot tub than anything! No, it was not hot!

Um, wet wipe please!

Chloe taking her first bite!

The fun balloons were a surprise...my mother-in-law, Ann, had these set up when we got there!

Sweet sisters Olivia and Charlotte

Amanda outdid herself with the wonderful fruit and homemade cheesecake which I didn't take a picture of.

Cheese!

Olivia jumping in!

Cooper was all about his little surf board!

A just for fun pic...
Can you tell Parker was tired riding home from the park? He played basketball so hard and ran with his dump truck, he barely had enough energy to eat lunch!

A new sport

2011-08-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

Since James was out of town all weekend, Parker and I hooked up with several friends and played to keep us busy! I was terrible about taking pictures, but I did pull my camera out Saturday afternoon when we were out at the Palo Duro Club with some friends. Parker and True found a new sport they love...

Tennis with swim gear!

Now, if this isn't a look, I don't know what is!?

These two had more fun going from the swimming pool to the tennis courts and then to the playground! True never took his goggles off! :)

I think we will be adding a junior tennis racket to our array of sporting equipment!

Striker, the dog, chased the balls on the other side of the fence. T and P thought is was fun to tease him by throwing it at the fence and watching Striker try and catch it...such a boy thing to do!

Action shot

And now a moment to brag on my husband. Despite this heat, he has managed to keep the front of our house looking awesome! James has such a green thumb and a love for landscaping!

Lantana, potato vine, Indian feather grass

Purple feather grass

The side patio

I planted a grape tomato plant and they are finally turning red!!

Sweet relief!!

2011-08-03T17:06:00.000-07:00

I know I know, it's very unlike me to post two days in a row like this, but I couldn't resist! It RAINED today and for those of us suffering from this terrible drought, it was a BIG DEAL!!!
In fact, we had been swimming at the pool and they closed it because of lightening. When we got home, the bottom dropped out and it poured!! Since we were already in our swimsuits...we got out of the car and danced and played in the rain!! No worries, there are no pics of that! ;)

For those of us who have forgotten, this is what rain clouds look like!

Watching it rain from inside the garage.

Now we're playing in it!

And drawing in it!

Praise the Lord!!

A ranch wedding

2011-08-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Liesl, James's youngest cousin, married Sloan Everett. They both went to Baylor but met at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas. It was SO much fun meeting Sloan's family and all of their Baylor friends!
It was a gorgeous wedding out at the ranch and it went off without a hitch! It was Liesl's dream to get married out there and it was just picture perfect...the pics don't do it justice!

The wedding day started off with a rehearsal. I LOVE that the ceremony took place down by the ponds with cows in the background!

Then it was time for the bridal luncheon by the pool! All the girls were in their swimsuits and got to lay out or swim after lunch! They guys had a hot dog cookout by the lake followed by some serious basket ball, tennis and frisbee golf games!

It was the best, most relaxed bridal luncheon!

The pretty plate...chicken salad, apricot jello salad, strawberries and cheddar "cookies".

Two of the four flower girls, Adelynn and Katherine, hanging out on the hammock during the lunch.

While Meredith and I helped host the luncheon, my mom, dad and sister, kept Parker and Blake very busy! :)

Jane and Ann arriving at the lunch!

They rented golf carts and that is how the guests rode over to the wedding once they parked their cars.

Enjoying a sugar cookie by the pool!

Picture time! Liesl with her bridesmaids.

Sloan has FIVE sisters, so that was the majority of the bridal party! ;)

The flower girls

House party

Most of these girls were friends of Liesl's from Baylor.

My husband in a bow tie for the first and possibly last time! ;)

20 handsome groomsmen, yes, 20...Sloan didn't want to cut anyone out, so he combined his ushers and groomsmen and had them all stand in the wedding. It looked great since it wasn't in a church, there is a lot of space to fill in the outdoors!

The boys

James, Ruben, Sloan, Luke and Tripp

My lovely sister!

Parker and Grandad had lots of fun during the wedding...dad watched him run up and down a hill with Blake during the ceremony!

Here comes the bride!

Mr. and Mrs. Sloan Everett

I loved the back of her dress!

Mom and Lindsey

Family picture time!!

Parker loves to say "cheese" for the camera now!

The Jim Austin family

The entire Austin/Franklin family

The Austin cousins and their sons!

James and Lindsey

These two have too much fun together!

What does a two year do when all of these pictures are being taken? Why climb trees of course!

The reception tent before everyone poured in!

Loved the flowers on all the tables.

Each place setting had a name card with a jar of homemade wild plum jelly from the ranch made by yours truly! :)

The tent looked awesome all lit up at night!

Me and my wonderful parents!

My two boys having a blast!

Can you tell how much fun he had?

He ran and ran and ran during the reception out in the grass with all the other kids. Who needs food when you have all that wide open space to run?

Cheese!

2011-07-27T11:37:00.000-07:00

A little glimpse of what Parker likes to do every morning before it gets too hot...ride his little red wagon (mommy pulling of course) down to the park. There is barely enough room for him because we have to take a golf club, baseball bat, golf ball, baseball, kick ball and football! ;)

Dallas and roomie reunion

2011-07-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, Parker and I flew to Dallas for our annual week of playing and shopping with the family! We had a ball and as Parker gets older, it's so much fun to see him get really excited to see his grandparents and cousins! The week always goes too fast, but it ended with a bang...a weekend with my college roomates. (more on that later). As you can see from the pics, we had a wonderful time!

Bath time with Aunt Sissy!

We love going to Grapevine Mills mall to shop the outlets and on the way, we pass the Rainforest Cafe where this alligator lives (fake). Parker HATES him!

This darling little train rides around the mall and I had big hopes that I could get P to ride in it with me.

Not so much!

All better in Neesie's arms!

Swimming at Aunt Sissy's neighborhood pool

He loves jumping in off the side.

Mema and Papa kept him a couple of times while Lindsey and I went off and had fun. He kept them very busy I know, but it was fun to see all my old toys pulled out for him to play with!

Unfortunately, my Dede is back in the hospital trying to recover from multiple back surgeries. Parker brought kisses and high energy into his room! ;)

A highlight for Parker was all the time he got to play with Leah.

Typical boy...I asked them to smile and Parker opens his mouth to show me his food. Ha!

Playing at the Galleria.

Ryan and I took them swimming one day!

Eating breakfast with Leah while I kept them one morning. Parker is trying to look around me, I was blocking the t.v. which had his favorite show...Curious George!

Another highlight of the week was getting to eat lunch with Jen and Carroll and their precious kids! Both had new baby boys for me to meet! I miss these girls so much!

Cheesin' for the camera! Sweet boy, he did so well at lunch that day. You never know what to expect with a toddler while dinning out!

Part 2

Roomate weekend

Parker stayed with my parents while I was gone, he even got to go see his very first movie, Winnie the Pooh! Too cute!

It's hard to believe it's been 11 years ago that God blessed me with three precious girls to be my roomates at Baylor our junior and senior years. These girls are treasures and I am so thankful for the two years I got to live with them!
A lot of time has gone by since those days and we thought it was time for a reunion. We've seen each other here and there at weddings, showers and so on, but never for a "girls weekend".
We stayed at the Hilton in Southlake and shopped, ate, got pedicures, ate some more and did some serious laughing and giggling! It was fun to rewind the clock and talk about our Tridelt days, boys, etc, it was like we just picked up where we left off! :)
Thank you girls for setting aside your hubbies and families to spend time together!

Ashley, Katie, me and Rebekah

Getting pedicures Saturday morning!

Ash is expecting baby #3 Labor day weekend...what will it be?? Can't wait to find out!

Rebekah is also expecting a baby in January!

Beautiful toes afterwards! :)

Taking a shopping break to eat lunch!

Eating is taken seriously with two preggo girls in the group! ;) Love it!

Dallas heat is brutal in the afternoons...had to be in the pool!

Dinner at Mi Cocina Saturday night

About to say our goodbyes Sunday morning! :(

We've decided this needs to become an annual trip!!

More family fun!

2011-06-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

Right after Big Cedar, we headed out to the ranch to play with my family for the week! We had a ball together! It was very, very hot most of the trip, but we didn't let that stop us from having fun! Something huge happened while they were there...it RAINED!!!! We actually got a thunderstorm Monday night that brought us .45 inches!! Before that, our total rainfall for the entire year so far was .68 inches, needless to say, we are hurting for rain!!
Anyway, we were blessed to be able to spend so much time together. My favorite part was watching Leah and Parker play so hard together! James was there but bless his heart, had to stay inside and work on a huge project he got assigned right before we left. Thanks family for making the trek up here to see us, it was FUN!!

These two sweet little cousins had SO much fun!!

Lindsey, Ryan and Carrie!

We had two days of 105+ temps and there was no other place to be but in the water!!

Parker loved playing with Grandad!

He also loved floating with Neesie.

Cute little family

Sweet baby Ty spent most of his time sleeping and trying to stay cool. Next summer he'll be up and running trying to keep up with Parker and Leah!

Me and "P man"

Just relaxin'

We pulled out the slide so the kids could slide into the pool...Parker just wanted to jump off the top step. Since he's turned two, he has started jumping off of and climbing on everything!

Neesie and the kids riding the mule. Leah always wanted to ride by and see the horses!

"Ready"? Parker would take off if he could! :)

Four wheeler rides were a big hit as well!

Leah sporting her shades!

This is a bad pic, but one morning we saw the cowboys at the stables putting their horses back. They had been out rounding up cattle. So fun to watch!

Now if this isn't a mischievous look, I don't know what is!?

After nap everyday, P wanted a popsicle! I get those "Gogurts" by Yoplait and stick them in the freezer. They are much "healthier" popsicles!

Off they go! They spent more time just chasing each other!

We can't wait to do it again next year!! What a fun week!

Big Cedar 2011

2011-06-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

Our annual summer trip to Big Cedar has become one of my all time favorite places to go in the summer for several reasons...we got engaged there back in 2001, we get to stop and see our precious friends Katie and Jason in Fayettville, I love to water ski and I love being in God's beautiful creation! It's hard to believe this trip has already come and gone, we look forward to it all year!
There are a TON of pics to share, get ready!

Our first night we stopped and stayed with Katie and Jason!

Love this girl so much!!

We go all the way back to our Tridelt pledge retreat in 1999 when we pulled our sleeping bags next to each other and became instant, lifelong friends!

Parker and Zach had fun together...Z had big plans for Parker, but P was exhausted from the car trip and wasn't so into them. They were still so cute to watch though!

The other cute boys we hung out with!

These two had a ball in the bathtub together!!

The next day we arrived at Big Cedar and were SO happy to finally be there!

Once we arrive, we always eat lunch at this beautiful little cottage called "Truman's Cottage". They have the best sandwiches there!

Jane and Steve's crew eating together.

Parker and Katherine love to play together. She's the only one that actually understands his "language". It's so cute, they will sit and have a conversation together but Parker babbles and she understands!

On the boat at last!!

Parker loves the boat and wears his life jacket like a big boy.

My how he's changed since his very first trip to BC in 2009!

James, Parker and Faith in the water.

Tripp and Luke on the jet ski about to pull me on the slalom. Yes, Luke just had knee surgery but couldn't resist the urge to join in the activity! :)

Liesl and I about to slalom.

This was Parker's first time to be pulled behind the boat and he did great! We had a little family ride on the tube!

Little man waiting oh so patiently for his food at the marina grill.

Parker's right hand girl! Faith is always beside Parker entertaining and helping him! She's the best!

Our entire family took up three picnic tables, this was ours...the kiddie table! :)

At this marina, you can see and feed these huge carp fish. Parker got a kick out of looking at them.

Gross. I don't like to think these are below me when I'm in the water skiing!

Parker and Katherine after a day on the boat.

Nana and Parker

Me and my little man!

This pic is for his rehearsal dinner slideshow! :)

He had a major blow out diaper on the boat and ruined his swimsuit, so he got to walk back to the cabin

looking like this! (stick in hand of course) Love it!

When we weren't on the boat, we were at the pool having fun!

Ruben and Juliet

Cute Blake

Katherine, aka "Aqua woman". This girl is a fish and loves the water!

Jane, Olivia and Steve relaxing by the pool.

We ate all of our meals outdoors on our deck, Parker loved to watch the birds, squirrels and bugs while he ate!

Family pic 2011

2010

2009

Family Fun Night

2011-06-11T16:03:00.000-07:00

Happy summer everyone! I hope you all are having as much fun as we are! Our days are spent at the swimming pool with friends and Parker is loving it...so am I!! :)

Yesterday evening we went to "family fun night" at the country club with our friends Sloan and Jennifer Rush. We had a great time enjoying fellowship, eating hamburgers and watching the kids go back and forth from the playground to the swimming pool!

Dominating a chocolate chip cookie!

The boys discussing something very important!

Emmie saying "cheese"!!

Me with my hubby!

Jennifer and Sloan

Parker had so much fun with this bucket...

he learned to dump water on his head!

Playing volleyball (by himself, he didn't want to share).

Maybe if I sit on it, no one can get it!

Poor True waiting on the ball!

Big birthday weekend!

2011-05-31T19:10:00.000-07:00

It's official, Parker is TWO!! We celebrated his birthday all weekend long at the ranch with our families! We are so blessed to have families that jump at the chance to be together and have fun with each other. Mom and dad drove up for the occasion and as usual, we had a ball, especially since we were celebrating Parker!

Sweet Parker,

Mommy and daddy cannot believe you are already two years old! One week before your second birthday, you looked at me and said "mama" for the very first time! We were in Sam's doing some shopping and I think I melted right there in the aisle! :) Now you say it all the time and it's music to my ears. I love that you can be in another room and you call for me, love it!!

You are so very independent and your vocabulary is all of the sudden taking off! We can understand your words a little better, it's not a foreign language for the most part.

Some of your words are:

Dada, Mama, eesie (Neesie), gdad (grandad), Nana, cheese, chin (chicken), gaga (pasta), ball, Geeus (Jesus), wa (water), tick (stick).

You have a passion for playing ball...basketball, t-ball and golf. It is so much fun to watch you develop these skills more and more. You still just lay down in bed and go to sleep at night, you still take a 21/2 hour nap in the afternoon and you are a good eater. Your favorite foods are: chicken nuggets, pasta, grapes, turkey and cheese sandwiches, edamame and broccoli. You adore being outside at all times...just like your mommy! We love you so much and look forward to seeing what God has in store for you as you keep growing up!

Now for some pics from the weekend...

Our big two year old!

"Driving" mommy in the mule.

We started the day off with a big birthday breakfast!

Uncle Luke and a tired birthday boy. He took a 21/2 hour nap starting at 10:30 that morning. He had so much fun the night before with everyone!

Open wide!! He escaped the kiddie table to let Nana feed him!

Back to the kiddie table.

Parker loves the driver's seat!

James grilling the chicken we were having for lunch.

Katherine and Adelynn hitching a ride with Geefather!

Blake became quite the tractor driver! (so did Meredith!)

It was so HOT on Sunday afternoon...the girls found the shade and just relaxed!

We did hit the pool quite a bit but I don't have any pics from that, so sad!

Katherine just loves Waco.

I talked Blake into smiling for the camera!

Parker enjoyed watching me assemble his dump truck cake.

Handsome little boys just dying to get their hands in that cake!

A mouth full of lunch! :)

Singing and blowing out the candle!

Cake time!

Parker loved his Lego set Aunt Sissy sent him!

My grandad (Dede) got Parker his very first glove, Ruben showed Parker how to put it on.

And here Ruben is mowing on Monday morning. Goggles, check. Pink shorts, check. Rubber boots, check. Lobster shirt, check. This is one serious mower! ;) We love Ruben!!

And since all the guys were mowing, Parker busted out his new mower from Mema and Papa and helped out!

Riding with Geefather on the BIG mower. (this is how most mowers dress by the way...work shirt, khaki work pants and a hat)! :)

Saying bye to Neesie.

One last picture before they drove off. Thanks for driving up mom and dad, we had so much fun!!!

A Tonka Truck party!

2011-05-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'm blogging about Parker's 2nd birthday party, it doesn't seem like it's been a year! Time goes by too fast!
He doesn't turn two until the 29th, but since we'll be at the ranch over Memorial Day weekend, we had his little friend party today. Don't worry, I'll do another party for the family out there! :)
You can tell from the pics that it was a total success! Fun was had by all!! We are blessed to have such wonderful friends! Happy early birthday sweet Parker, we love you so much! Get ready for picture overload!

My big two year old!

The food table

You can't tell from the pic, but the pb&j sandwiches are in the shape of dump trucks thanks to a cookie cutter I ordered online!

The mommies had "creamy chicken salad" sandwiches from Cooking light...SO delicious!

The "dump cake"!

This was SO delicious and EASY!!!

I got the recipe here.

We did another picnic -style party in the backyard, it always works out perfectly and thank you Lord for nice weather!!

Maddie and Molly on the slide.

The bounce house was a hit as well!

Heidi and Jess are the two in the middle and will have new babies in July!

The kids had fun eating together at the tables!

Parker's two little buddies, True and Jack! By the way, True wears his hard hat all the time, love it!!

Here we are singing "happy birthday"!

Meanwhile Jack was mowing the sidewalk! :)

Cute boy!

Once the cake was served, the chocolate faces began!!

Here are True and Parker digging in.

Charlotte didn't get too messy!

Chloe did!! :)

I just love these sweet little chocolate mouths!

Opening presents. Parker's friends were more excited over his presents than he was!

Miss Molly

And when your toddler starts doing this, you know the party is about over and it's NAP TIME!!

I think they all took a really good nap this afternoon! :)

The best day!

2011-05-07T18:10:00.000-07:00

What a perfect Saturday! Temps in the 90's, NO WIND, and it was finally time to plant our flower beds!! We started the day early and stayed outside until evening...the best kind of day!!
I LOVE planting flowers and James shares the same love of landscaping. We had so much fun as a family being outside all day long working in the yard! Thank you Lord for such wonderful weather!!

Starting the day off fixing broken sprinkler heads! I love my handy man!

Parker was right there to help!

Results of my handy work! :) Planting flowers is one of my favorite things to do!

Having fun!

Parker loves his tricycle, but he rides it standing up! He basically straddles it and walks it down the sidewalk! :)

A boy and his truck

2011-04-30T12:29:00.000-07:00

Parker and his dump truck are inseparable! He takes it everywhere he goes outside! I even have to put it on top of our jogger to take to the park with us...it's a funny sight I know! :) Just for a laugh today, try to picture a bright yellow and black Ironman jogger with a toddler inside, a dump truck on top and a dog leading the way!

It even makes a nice place to sit for a second!

Every good dump truck is filled with grass and sticks!

Easter!!

2011-04-25T19:10:00.000-07:00

I love Easter so much! I love the week leading up to it and remembering all the events that led up to Sunday morning and the fact that we get to say..."He is risen, He is risen indeed"!! What a blessing! We went to Dallas on Thursday to spend Easter with my family. We had so much fun soaking up family time and the warm, humid air! James and I even scored two date nights because mom and dad were so sweet to keep Parker for us! I love that time with just my hubby!! Here are some pics from our weekend...

My baby on Easter Sunday

(after church and already in the dirt)

An attempt to get these two to smile for a pic!

Neesie and Grandad and their grandkids!

The "kid table". Leah was waiting so patiently for her food as Parker inhaled his plate in front of her!

Playing outside

Parker's signature look...a stick in hand.

Ryan and Carrie and their precious family

Our little family

Uncle Ryan and Parker

Aunt Sissy teaching Parker how to do handstands.

Parker in my little rocking chair from childhood.

The beautiful birthday girl! We had a cookout Saturday night for Lindsey's 26th b-day!

Lindsey and her boyfriend Trey...isn't he cute?? We love him!

Parker and Leah got to open their Easter baskets from the grandparents Saturday night!

I didn't get a pic, but they both got these Croc sandals that look like alligators that have eyes and everything, hilarious!

Soaking up some time with baby Ty!

Parker is obsessed with baseball and golf. He has excellent hand/eye coordination and can hit the ball so far, whether it's on a tee or on the ground! Future athlete! :)

Collecting more sticks!

Friday we spent the day at our favorite shopping spot, Southlake Town Square. Grandad kept Parker busy at the fountain!

Throwing coins in the fountain!

My love!

A lovely day!

2011-04-07T11:23:00.000-07:00

The weather has been so warm lately and we are soaking it up! In fact, Parker and I had another picnic yesterday! He loves them as much as I do!

He LOVES it when airplanes fly over!

Just relaxin'

He decided to move his plate from the blanket to the grass. I guess it's more manly to eat on the grass!

Cutie pie!

Milk does a body good! :)

Weekend fun!

2011-04-04T11:24:00.000-07:00

We had such beautiful weather this weekend so of course, we were outside!! We played at the park, worked in the yard and even had a cookout! Since Saturday was so gorgeous (minus the wind), we had our sweet friends, Shane, Brie and Blair over for hamburgers. There's nothing like the smell of burgers grilling to put in you in the mood for summer! :) While the adults had a great time, Blair and Parker had some major fun as well!

These two had a hard time waiting on the food. They'd play and then stop at the fridge and want to open it!

Being silly in the floor!

They ran around with their push toys all over the house. Parker was sweating by the time dinner was ready! They're growing up so fast! :(

Birthday fun!

2011-03-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

On Saturday afternoon, Parker's friend, True, had his second birthday party. It is always so entertaining to watch little kids interact with one another, they are so funny! True had a "Toy Story" themed party and the cake was Buzz Lightyear, it was so cute! It made me excited to plan Parker's 2nd party in May! Here are a few pics from the fun afternoon...

Mmm...Cheetos!

Parker and True sharing Cheetos.

Parker is biting True's head...really? Instead of pushing or shoving him out of the way, he bites. Somebody help me!!!!

Playing nicely together. These boys loved the playhouse...they even took their Cheetos into the playhouse to eat. Who needs birthday cake when you have Cheetos?

This is the bounce house most of the kids enjoyed!

True's older sister, Emmy and her friend, were all decked out in princess dresses! The girls had on dresses and the boys had orange Cheeto fingers! :)

Anyone who knows the males in the Austin family will have a true appreciation for this picture. While all the other kids are off playing in the bounce house, Parker is over in the yard "mowing" by himself! He's obsessed with mowing, we have GOT to get this child a play mower so he can mow with daddy! :)

In fact, this is what he does anytime James mows outside...he is glued to the window to watch every move he makes with the mower!

I am keeping these pictures for when he's older and HATES mowing because HE is the one responsible for mowing our yard! :)

Dinosaurs!

2011-03-24T11:33:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday, Parker and I met our friends at the Discovery Center to see the dinosaur exhibit. Parker doesn't even own a play dinosaur and we've never even read dino books, so I was a little unsure of how he'd react. Well...let's just say that there were lots of tears and a death grip on mommy! I hope I didn't scar him for life over this! We are going to have to get some dino books and toys and try again next year! We still had fun with our friends! :)

These dinosaurs moved, roared and opened their mouths. They also followed you with their eyes! I must admit, I was a little scared too! It was freaky how their eyes watched you! :)

This is the one that sent Parker over the edge. He was loud and tall and brought on tears and fear!

Doing better. At this point we went back into the little kid play area. String cheese and a tambourine are good for the soul! :)

Parker and his friends Maddie and Brielle.

Inside the triangular mirror tunnel!

Sweet boy.

This is totally off subject...

We were in Target the other day (my favorite place to kill time and money) and I found this shirt! It's perfect for Parker because if you don't know, he bites. My child has been labeled a biter. He bites other kids in the nursery...we've drawn blood, we've left bruises and we've had an incident report filed on us! Parker bites so therefore this is his new shirt to wear! ;)

Spring time!

2011-03-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

Ahh, Spring time, love it!! I love going to Dallas and experiencing this season because Amarillo is always about 4 weeks behind. Parker and I flew down there and spent all of last week having so much fun with my family! We had a ball shopping, going to the Arboretum, playing outside in the warm temps, visiting great-grandparents, and Lindsey and I even snuck in a "sister day"! I also got to see a precious college roomie, Ashley! Nothing like coffee and a lifelong friend! :)

Thanks mom and dad for a wonderful week! Here are some pics of what we were up to...

We started the week off with shopping trip #1 and he was all smiles...not for long! :) The boy likes to get out and run around the mall now!

My Papa got put in the hospital with heart problems and we went to visit. Parker definitely brought some cheer to his room!

Parker and Papa

He climbed up into his bed all by himself!

We shopped at South Lake Town Square one morning and Parker loved the fountain! It was all we could do to keep him from going swimming!

Neesie taught him how to throw coins in, he loved this!

Love this boy!

Parker loved this longhorn, he even mooed like a cow for it!

Aunt Sissy taught Parker how to shoot hoops on the driveway!

Love my sister!

It was a cool morning at the Arboretum but it quickly became a beautiful, warm day!

Parker and Leah rode in a wagon, it was so cute!

The flowers are always amazing, tulips are my all time favorite and there are thousands!!

Arboretum 2010

Arboretum 2011

He's grown so much!

Sweet cousins

They have SO much fun together!

So pretty!

I got him to slow down long enough for one pic with mommy! :)

Dad with his new grandson, Ty!

We stopped and let the kids run around this big grassy area, Parker wore us out. He ran the entire time and never slowed down!

Leah's not too sure about Parker's approach to eating that cracker!

Leah and Parker with Neesie and Grandad

The girls plus Ty!

We could not keep this child away from the water! He had to run up to every fountain we passed!

He was telling me all about the waterfall!

They loved watching the Coi fish.

More water, Parker would have gone swimming if we let him!

We ended our day at the Arboretum with a picnic! Here are two very patient toddlers waiting on their food!

Ryan, Carrie and Leah

Ty slept through the whole lunch!

Parker, mom, dad and Lindsey

A favorite!

2011-03-03T12:31:00.000-08:00

What a day! It is March 3rd and the high is almost 80 degrees today! I can't tell you how incredibly happy that makes me! In honor of warm weather, Parker and I did one of my favorite things in the world...have a picnic outside!

Just ask my husband, he had to endure more picnics than he could count on the campus of Baylor University while we were dating! There is just something about eating outside during the beautiful Spring weather!

Parker LOVED his picnic today! We had a special time in the backyard just eating and laughing. Thank you Lord for the warm weather and please help it to stay around! ;)

So fun!

The boy can eat blueberries until he's "blue in the face"!

"Cheese"!!

Not sure why he likes to put food in his hair...trait of a toddler maybe??

I was looking down at my camera and when I looked up, he was seriously posing for me! What a little heartbreaker!!

And once lunch was over he wanted to "water" the non-existent flowers in the beds.

What a love he is!!

Buddies

2011-02-28T19:45:00.000-08:00

Today Parker's buddy Jack came over to play for the afternoon! What in the world do two toddler boys do together? Well...

They draw, I mean scribble with sidewalk chalk...or eat it in Jack's case. No worries, he never ingested any, I was fast! :)

The two artists at work!

One, who shall remain nameless, kept throwing it to see how many pieces it would break into!

They stuffed their faces with Cheerios!

Since Jack didn't have a booster seat, I stood right next to him the whole time making sure he didn't budge...he kept eyeing me like I was there to steal his Cheerios, never mess with a toddler and his Cheerios! :)

Parker showed off his climbing on coffee table skills. His pants are gone because he decided to use his blue jeans as a canvas with his chalk.

And when all options have been explored, you empty the toy basket!! These two had lots of fun today!

Ski Trip

2011-02-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we went with Austin fam to Taos, NM to ski and we had a blast! ONE of the perks to living in Amarillo is that we can hop in the car and five hours later we're skiing down the slopes! 13 adults + 6 kids in 2 condos= some serious closeness with family! :) Jim and Ann's whole family went as well as Jane and Steve's!

Parker loved playing with all his cousins and my MIL Ann was so sweet to stay back at the condo with Parker and the other small ones so James and I could ski together with the group! I had visions of Parker being all bundled up in his cute ski clothes sledding down the hill with his cousins...let's just say he wanted NOTHING to do with all that ski gear. I am praying this changes because Taos takes them at 3 years old in ski school and I can't wait to sign him up! (Actually I can wait, I'm not ready for my baby to be 3 yet!!)

Our group leaving the condo and about to take off! The snow was perfect and the temp was "warm"!

Pretty

L to R:

Sloan, Tripp, me, James, Steve, Jim and Ruben

We're so fortunate in that we are all great skiers and can ski together, we don't have to split up which is so nice!

Cute couple Sloan and Liesl

me with Ruben and James

We always stop for some "to die for" Ghiradelli hot chocolate on the mountain about mid-afternoon! It's the best!

Not a bad self portrait, Liesl! :)

I LOVE skiing with my hubby!

Steve, Liesl and Tripp enjoying hot chocolate.

The cutest little skiers on the mountain, Faith and Adelynn! They are eight and nine and have become quite good!

Oh boy, dinner at a restaurant Saturday night! When you factor in that many kids into a dinner out, you're sure to have a very "lively" time!! ;)

Meredith, Liesl and I had fun on the "kid" end of the table!

Cousins

Tripp, Luke and James

Did I mention Luke decided to go flying off a ski jump Saturday morning, didn't exactly stick the landing and tore his ACL?? He was finished at 11 Saturday morning and spent the rest of the trip on crutches. We are praying for a good MRI report tomorrow.

Bad pic but I couldn't resist.

Here are ALL the kiddos Saturday night after dinner, after bath time and more than ready for bed! Notice Blake covering his eyes, he didn't even want to see a camera!

L to R: Parker, Blake, Faith holding Juliet, Katherine, and Adelynn