Austin!

We went to Austin over Memorial weekend to spend time with one of our favorite families The Carlsons! Of course, our first stop was Chuy's! Our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant. There isn't a better way to get a fun weekend started.

The Wachsmann family came over for dinner that night. It was so much fun to get all of our kids together. We have seven between us now! When we first started getting together Reece was the only one. How times have changed!

Both girls had a great time playing with their dog Page!

The next day was rainy on and off. But we made the best of it. We made a quick stop at our old condo. It was so strange to walk into the courtyard that we went in so many times. It feels like so long ago and yesterday at the same time.

Then we were off to lunch at Central Market. The kids had fun playing on the playground while we waited for our food.

We spent a couple of hours downtown at the Austin Children's Museum. Here are a few pictures of us having fun with the kids.

Then we went to the South Congress area and went to a local boot store. I have always wanted to go there and get the girls pink cowgirl boots and this seemed like a great day to do it!

The Carlsons are so much fun and joined in on the adventure!

Here is Sophia in her new red boots. They fit her personality so well!

When all four kids walked out of the store with their new boots on everyone standing around had a fit! They even took pictures! It was funny to see them try walking in them at first. One lady said it reminded her of the first time someone walks in snow skis. It was such a great end to our day in Austin.

But the fun didn't stop there. I don't think the smile left Stella's face the entire trip. She had so much fun jumping on the trampline with Reece. It was just as much fun to watch her too!

We stayed outside for the rest of the day playing in the pool and enjoying being together.

Here are the girls relaxing after such a great day!

On Monday the guys made kabobs for us. They were great!

Heather came by that morning with her four precious kids! It was so much fun to see them. It is strange how time passes and so many things change but there were a few moments this weekend that it felt like nothing had changed at all. I guess that is what good friends are all about.

Our little foursome sporting their new boots! 

The cowgirls were all worn out on the way home! They slept most of the way back.

Thanks for an amazing weekend! We love you so much and can't wait to do it again soon!

Happy Birthday Uncle Anderson & Leo!!

Happy 27th Birthday Uncle Anderson! We love you so much!! Stephen, Ivy, Stella & Rayna

Happy Birthday Cousin Leo! We are so excited you are TWO-years-old! You are the best cousin and Nephew in the whole world! We love you, Stephen, Ivy, Stella, & Rayna

Texas Rangers Baseball Game

Thanks to our new friends Tiffany and Tyler and their three girls we got to have an amazing new experience in Dallas. We went to a Texas Rangers Baseball game. Now you might be surprised to hear me so excited about a baseball game but this wasn't just any baseball game experience...

Here are Stephen and the girls in front of the stadium.

Tiffany told me that they had a suite for the game. But I wasn't sure exactly what she meant. When we got there we couldn't believe how nice it was. We had our own room and bathroom! And on top of all of that the room was full of food and drinks!

And to top it all off we were right behind home plate! I don't think there could be a better way to experience a sports game of any kind than this. Stephen and I were joking that we were ruined after this experience. Now if we could just get this set up for LSU football! Oh, and I forgot to mention that we even had reserved parking right in front of the stadium. We really couldn't believe it. We were so thankful to Tiffany and Tyler for inviting us to such a special event. 

Rayna loved clapping every time the crowd would start to cheer. Whatever she was doing she would have to stop and clap.

Here are the girls all lined up watching the game. The family that invited us has three girls and another couple was there with a baby girl. So there were six little girls in all. I can't imagine a better way to watch a baseball game! See... dads don't need boys to enjoy this kind of thing :)

Seriously, doesn't this look like one of those backgrounds you stand in front of to take a picture!

             As you can see we all had a really great time! Thanks Martin Family!!

"Ballerina Girl... You are so Lovely"

Stella was in her very first dance recital on Sunday afternoon. It was a wonderful Mother's Day present to see my sweet girl all dressed up for her big day! Here she is at home before we left for the recital.
She was very excited about it all which made me so happy. I didn't know what to expect. The funny thing is she really didn't either. On the way there Stephen and I were talking about how she wasn't nervous at all because she really didn't know what she was on her way to do. We had talked about  the recital and that all of the moms and dads would be watching in the audience but I wasn't sure how she would react to the whole thing.

I love this picture. She looks so serious and so beautiful. She looks like a professional dancer already!

We had lots of hair spray applications. And she even got to wear a little make-up, which was very exciting for her!

Rayna did a great job throughout the whole event. She played in the cafeteria while we got ready. And during the recital she did great. It was about 2 hours long and included 30 different dances but she had a good time. She enjoyed watching all of the little girls and looking out for Stella. And of course we had lots of snacks and toys on hand too. 

Here is Rayna greeting Stella after the recital. She was so proud of her big sister! And Stella loved being greeted by such adoring fans.

When she was up there on that big stage looking more gorgeous than I could have ever imagined, I thought that is my daughter. The baby girl that made me a mother. I couldn't even cry. I couldn't even let myself think about what it all meant. I was so proud of her for getting up there and not being scared. I just had to focus on that and not think about anything else. Or I may have started crying and never stopped. How can this be that my tiny baby is old enough to get all dressed up and stand, without me, on a huge stage. It was one of those moments when the reality of how quickly it is all going hit me.  But instead of thinking of what will be I had to let that reality remind me of what is at this moment. She is growing and changing right before our eyes and I want to cherish every moment. 

Below is the video of Stella's recital we put on You Tube. We weren't sure of the size of the auditorium that Stella would be performing in. So I told here that she might be able to see us. But that was a mistake because I didn't realize how big it was and we were in the back. You can see that she is looking for us during most of the dance!

For the second song Stephen went up to the front. Toward the end of the song Stella spots Stephen. 

See if you can tell when she does :)