A "Real" Date!

Jared and I left the house and went on a REAL date this last Friday night!!! It has been forever since our last date (I honestly can't remember when the last one was). Usually we'll rent a movie, make dessert, or (since Jared is no longer a student but has a real job!) we'll order take-out after the kids go to bed. But this time we called a babysitter, went to the movies and then out to dessert. I even dressed up a bit (consequently, Jared did too) since I don't know when this will happen again. It was great!

--Real movie theater to see newly released movie, Indiana Jones (not the dollar theater this time): $22

--Small popcorn, 1 bottle of water (I smuggled in my own water-wish I would have thought to shove another one in my purse for Jared), reese's pieces: $13.25

--Appetizer, dessert, and waiter's tip at Macaroni Grill (luckily had a gift card given to us at Christmas, thanks Robyn and Christian!--pretty sad that it took us 5 months to use it): $18.75

--Babysitter for 4 1/2 hours: $25


--the grand total:$79


Although very nice to get out of the house, I think this is a good reminder of why we don't go on "real" dates anymore!

Viv and Mike's Visit to Texas

As soon as Becky (I mean, Vivian) and Mike got off the airplane from Utah, we drove straight to downtown Dallas to pick up Jared from work and then on to "the farm" (a 3 hour ride from Dallas, just past Crockett, TX and basically in the middle of nowhere). The farm is a piece of land where Jared's Grandfather, "Pawpaw", was raised. Currently, Grandmother and Pawpaw don't live there, but they make weekend trips to check on the cows and the property. We love our visits there and this time we heard that wild blackberries were blooming all over the land. I LOVE this picture of Viv...After picking for hours, it looks like she's on a commercial selling blackberries from some little country farm.
At one point we had to jump across the creek and climb up the hill to get to the next meadow. The blackberry bushes were just covering the ground! We picked bowls and bowls--mostly so Grandmother could store them and make blackberry pies all year long!

Here, first thing in the morning, Mike and George are waiting patiently to pick blackberries--grandmother (at the door) is insisting to me that we take sweaters.... And you can see that we are very ambitious blackberry pickers--Mike has quite the stack of bowls!Near the end of the day, we decided to go fishing in one of the farm's ponds. Katie really loves to do anything that she sees her big brother or daddy doing. It's so cute to see her with a pink strawberry shortcake fishing pole!

George and Katie waiting for a bite at the end of their lines....

Pawpaw, who still has energy to make the fishing trips with the great-grandchildren.

Daddy, giving a little lesson on fishing. We'll see if the two-year-old listens!

Oh, I have to mention one more fabulous detail about the farm--besides the cows, the horses, the wide open spaces to play and work in--the best food you will ever eat is made by Grandmother! We arrived late on Friday and had the choice of chicken and dumplings or chicken and sausage gumbo. The next morning our day began with homemade biscuits, jelly and preserves, sausage and eggs. Dinner (what we call "lunch") is just a few hours later and consists of roast, carrots, salad, purple hull peas, mashed potatoes and rolls. And supper (or "dinner") is a continuation of the previous meal, usually after we get back from fishing or doing some work around the farm. Oh, and I don't want to forget to mention that dessert is served after both dinner and supper! Yep, you definitely could have rolled us out to the car!

A Visit to the Dallas Arboretum

During one day of Vivian and Mike's visit, we planned a trip to the Dallas Arboretum. We packed a picnic and spent a few hours walking around its pathways and viewing the gorgeous flowers and trees. Here, Katie is sitting on the grassy hill as we finished up our picnic. The kids and Mike had a fun time running up and down the hill and when that got old, they "tried" to catch birds....and Katie, who is a magnet to any random baby she sees, found a little one-year old to follow around.
I thought this little hut, completely made of flowers and grass, was so gorgeous!

The Dallas Arboretum has a fun area with an old western town. It's fun for the kids to play around in the "kid-size" replica houses--there's a school house, a church and lots of little houses, each complete with beds and props to play with. Here Viv and George are in the fort.

Katie in a rocking chair, just her size.Looking out from the window, Mike and the kids are inside the church.

Typical pouting pose of George--He was tired of walking and it was getting too hot!

There's always a fun display for the month. This time cows and horses made of grass and a flower-covered wagon! The kids loved it!

Mom and the kiddos.

Bath Time

Silly hairdos are always a fun part of bath time. George and Katie expect daddy to come up with some new hairdos for them when he's helping out!

A Big Gap!

George lost his first tooth! It's a bit funny how it happened....His tooth had been wiggly for a couple months, but when I sent George to bed for the hundred millionth time this night he went into his room growling. He got on his bed, put his blankie in his mouth and tore his mouth back and forth in anger like a wild animal. The tooth popped out on his bed and a very excited boy came running back into the living room--he was literally shaking with excitement! After we got his mouth cleaned up there was no problem with him staying in bed. The tooth fairy was on her way!