The Treehouse is Open

Sunday was just as beautiful as Saturday so the girls spent much of the afternoon outside.  After they had been outside for a little bit, Emerson came running back in asking for paper and pulled out her markers.  She decided that her "treehouse" needed a sign that lets everyone know if it is "open" or "closed".  When she was done with her sign she asked for a "stringer" so that she could hang it up.  I was then enlisted for nail and hammer duty to hang it!  It was so cute!  It was a pretty windy day so the girls then asked me to bring out the kites they had made a couple of weeks ago.

A Day at the Beach

Emerson has been begging to go to the beach ever since Shawn and I went to Florida, and we have never taken Braelyn to the beach.  This weekend was absolutely beautiful so we decided it was the perfect time.  I could have stayed there for hours just watching them run along the beach with the biggest smiles and lots of laughter.  After running on the beach for awhile we visited the new Pleasure Pier-it is awesome!!  It was great too because Em was big enough to ride quite a few things and unlike the rodeo, Braelyn got to ride some too!  We got Em an all day pass, Braelyn got in for free, and we got me a pass for the rides the girls had to be accompanied.  Why in the world would the parent who is not crazy about some of the rides get the pass and not the parent who LOVES roller coasters?!  We know better for next time!  ha ha  Get ready for a TON of pictures...I loved them all to much to pick!!  Believe it or not I actually left out a few!

 

Our sweet Braelyn, so excited to see the beach for the first time!

Ocean here I come!!  At least until the waves start coming toward me and then I'll turn and run the other way as fast as I can!

Daddy and his girls hunting for shells.

I love Shawn for so many reasons but a big one is for being such an amazing dad.

Hey, I found a shell!

 

Our beautiful Emerson...inside and out!

Check out those curls!  They got curlier the longer we were there!

For a girl who isn't crazy about stuff on her hands, she couldn't keep them out of the sand!

Nothing makes me happier than seeing them both this happy!

I love this pic of Braelyn just running, having the time of her life!

 

Wait for me Sissy!

Pleasure Pier, here we come!

We were so happy that we found rides for B too...

explain to me why she had to be accompanied on this one!!!  I really wasn't 100% I could get in, or out!!

 

 

Em was a little nervous getting on the Frog Hopper by herself.

But once it started...

she was all smiles, and maybe a few screams!

Braelyn and Mommy on the ferris wheel!

Em was there too!  I was less than thrilled when they stopped us at the very top and kept us there for awhile!

Me and Em coming off the log ride waving at Braelyn and Daddy.  Braelyn was crying so hard because me and Sissy got wet!

We finished the day with a little Mexican food...doesn't get much better!

Swim Lessons

After a scary experience with Emerson around a swimming pool last year, we immediately said that additional swim lessons were a priority this year.  We decided on the Y and starting out it is a class called "Swim, Float, Swim" that is basically to teach them what to do if they were to fall in a pool.  It was 30 minutes a day for 4 days.  On the first day, she was so cute.  She kept saying "Mom, I'm a little nervous!".  She didn't miss a beat when the instructor called her name to start class though and did everything that was asked of her.  One of the other Moms that was sitting by me leaned over and asked "Is she always that exuberant?!  She hasn't stopped smiling!".  We are so blessed that the answer to that question is "YES!" from the moment she wakes up in the morning til her sweet little blue eyes close at night!  I thought Braelyn would be upset about not getting to swim so she stayed with Daddy the first night.  She went with us on the second night with the plan that Daddy would meet us there to take her to dinner.  When he got there, she couldn't wait to tell him, "Sissy swim, sissy swim!!!" and Daddy quickly realized it would break her little heart to not get to watch...she watched every second from that night on!

Sweet girl waiting for her first class to start.

The one picture I got of her listening to her instructor before I was told that pics aren't allowed at the Y!

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Shawn got tickets to the Rodeo the night of The Band Perry concert.  We weren't able to find any customers to go with us so we thought it was a great chance to take the girls down.  I think their favorite time of the entire night might have been the bus ride from the parking lot!  We thought we were too late getting there for the concert but we went ahead and walked over to check it out.  They were running late since it was the night of the rodeo finals so we got there right as it was starting.  Emerson didn't like it at all saying it was too loud!  I am not sure if it was too loud or if it was that she had seen all the carnival rides on the way in and wanted to get to that faster!  We didn't even stay through a whole song!  We headed out got some tickets and got in line!  Every ride had a very long line!  Emerson got to do a couple of things.  We stood in line for what seemed like forever for Braelyn to ride the train ride only to find out that she was about an inch too short!  Poor baby!  They weren't too upset because it was back to the bus to head for the car!  They then thought it was so cool that we let them eat Taco Bell in the car!  So much for thinking they were going to love the rodeo...next time we'll just see if we can ride the bus and then eat in the car for our adventure!  They were both crashed out in the car by the time we made it home!

Em and Daddy were on the very front seat on the bus ride.

Braelyn and I were right behind them!

Our very short stint at our very first family concert outing had to be captured(notice Em's fingers in her ears; B actually wanted to stay!)!

Emerson and Daddy waiting for her first carnival ride.

She amazes me...she wasn't scared to take off in this big obstacle course all by herself! 

Out she came with a smile on her face!

House Update

It is unbelievable the amount of progress that has been made on the house.  I think we are getting to the point where we won't see such dramatic changes daily, but things are definitely moving along.  It is completely framed, the windows are in, the roof is on, and the plumbing is done!  On Wednesday night, we finalized all our selections at the design center.  On the one hand if felt good to have that part behind us but knowing that the only thing I can change my mind about now is paint color freaked me out a bit!



3/7/14:  Emerson(5), Braelyn(2) sitting on the front step!

From the looks of the girls, this entry is way bigger than what I thought it was going to be!

Braelyn waiting for Daddy to get off work to walk through the house.

Emerson asks every day I pick them up from school if we can "go to our new house".

3/10/14

3/11/14

3/12/14:  Standing in the entryway looking down the hall where the girls rooms are.

Standing in the family room looking towards the kitchen

Standing in the kitchen looking towards the family room; the doorway to the left is the hall to the master bedroom.

Picture windows in the family room; view from kitchen

Standing in kitchen, looking towards breakfast area

Master bath with walk-through shower behind it

3/14/14:  Roof going on and windows are in