Helping Hands

Now that we have a bit of a drive to school in the mornings, the girls have picked out a few landmarks along the way that they try to be the first one to see.  One is the sign for a maid service called Helping Hands.  It has a big hand on it and all of the maids' cars have a hand on top of their car. 
Emerson asked: Why do they have a hand on their car?
Me:  The name of the business is Helping Hands.
Emerson:  What do they do?
Me:  They give people a "helping hand" by helping to clean their house.
Without missing a beat...
Emerson:  Well Mom, we have helping hands on our own arms.
Me: You're right baby, that's how it works at our house!

Trying to Be Patient

Braelyn decided she might as well get comfortable while trying to patiently wait for dinner!

Birthday Weekend

I had an awesome birthday this year!  Shawn and the girls took me to Cheesecake Factory on Saturday and when we got home I got to open my present early-a new hair dryer!!  I have been complaining for months that it takes me so long to dry my hair with my hair dryer.  Shawn did some research and found one that is supposed to dry in 50% less time-it is AWESOME!!! I love it!  On Sunday, after church and the Texans game, we wanted to get out and enjoy the absolutely beautiful weather so we took the girls to a park with a ball and frisbee and had a blast!  Thank you guys for a perfect weekend!  I love you so much!!!!

Looking cute waiting to eat at Cheesecake Factory!

Looking a little sassy waiting to eat at Cheesecake Factory!

Sunday after church enjoying the BEAUTIFUL weather!

The girls were having so much fun playing with Daddy.

Mommy and sweet Braelyn

Braelyn loved the ball that Daddy got for the park-it lights up when it bounces.

Daddy taught Em how to throw a frisbee and she did great.

Look really close...they are each hiding behind a column from Daddy.

Hey Dad, wanna play catch?!

Coat of Many Colors

We are going through the book The Story at church at all age levels.  This week was about Joseph and his coat of many colors.  Braelyn got to make her own coat in Sunday school and was so proud of it.  When Emerson tried it on and it tore a little bit I thought the day might have been ruined!

Ice Cream Fixes Anything!

The girls had to get their flu shots so I promised them ice cream when we got done.  I was a little shocked that Braelyn braved it a little better than Emerson-you never know from one time to the next what to expect with these two!

Ice Cream and Lilo and Stitch at Tutti Frutti.

Smile

These two girls can always make me smile.  After a trip to the grocery store, I looked back in the back seat at a stop light and this is what I saw!

Holding Down the Fort!

We would not have been able to finally make it on our trip if it hadn't been for Gransan and Patsy.  They came down to stay at the house with the girls for us.  From the looks of all the pictures, everybody had a great time!!  Thank you guys so much!!!  I was so glad they stayed an extra night when we got home so that we could go to lunch!

On the way home from school Gransan told Em that they needed to wash her car to get the love bugs off.  Emerson said:  "I have a very better idea...how 'bout we go to the car wash Gransan?!"

I guess Gransan finally convinced them because it looks like she got some great help with those love bugs!

Braelyn helping Gransan get ready.

Patsy's favorite place in Houston:  HEB!!

Emerson hard at work on the Ariel castle Gransan brought for her.

The girls have been begging to play their Elefun game.  Of course Gransan says "yes"!

Snuggling with Gransan for a lazy morning.

 

Time for bubbles!

Braelyn being Braelyn at the park.

Patsy and her little buddy

Looks like Braelyn's seat is about to give way on her!

The girls getting their new art box out to make me and Daddy welcome home cards.

The girls couldn't wait to get in my bag to see what we brought back for them!

Lunch at Pie in the Sky.  They gave the girls chef's hats to color while we waited!

Braelyn LOVED the chocolate pie!

Getting some hugs before Gransan had to go home!  We want Mommy and Daddy to take another trip really soon!

Clearwater=Clear Heads

Shawn and I have been trying to get away on a trip for just the two of us for well over a year.  Well, we FINALLY did it!  We boarded a plane for Clearwater, Florida on September 10.  We were so incredibly lazy while we were there which is exactly how we planned it!  We slept in so late every day that we had to decide if we were going to get breakfast or just lunch!  It was AWESOME to have absolutely no responsibilities and get so much needed rest.  It was a little hotter than we had hoped for so we only spent one day out on the beach.  The other days we waited til evening to just take a walk along the beach.  The first night we were there we drove in to see the Tampa Bay Devilrays play the Boston Red Sox.  We had big plans of going to play miniature golf and to go to the aquarium to see Winter, the dolphin from Dolphin Tale, but when it came down to it, we opted for lazy!

We had an amazing view from our room!

We had fun at the game-it doesn't really rank as one of our favorite ballparks though!

Out around the concourse of the stadium was decorated pretty cool.

I cracked up when the bar put drinks in sand pails!  It was pretty convenient given that it was a long walk from the resort to the beach!

We couldn't seem to get a good picture on the beach!

We had a perfect view from our balcony of beautiful sunsets every night.

This was one of the nights we went in to town for dinner.  We were watching the sunset on the beach and turned around to see this storm building behind us.

All About Me

On the wall at open house, the paper below Emerson's paper doll was called "All About Me"...

Where I live:  somewhere far from school
Who I love:  mommy and daddy
What scares me:  dark and sometimes light (??!!)
My favorite color:  rainbow, pink, purple
My favorite food:  mashed potatoes (would have NEVER guessed that!)
When I grow up I want to be:  I'm gonna try and be a mama

Open House

Last night was open house at the girls' new school.  It was more or less a tour of their classrooms!  They had artwork displayed that they had done for the event that was really cute. 

The girls wasted no time when we got to Emerson's class picking a "center" to play at.

Em had told me on the first day in her new class that her art project was a school bus.

More to come on what is written on the paper!

Such a cute picture!

The teacher in Braelyn's room is actually a certified art teacher so she is always doing projects with them.