A Blog Worth Reading

I do plan to get an Easter post up some time soon, but before I do that I thought you should know about a blog that is well worth your time.

Our good friend Dani recently started a blog called Weights and Measures .  It's all about her journey to/of/in weight loss, exercise, and healthy eating.

Dani has made dramatic and inspiring major changes to all of the above mentioned areas of her life.  If you need a little bit of proof to entice you to click on her link, I offer this picture of Dani from October 2010 (she's the one on the left)...

and a picture of Dani from this past Sunday.

See what I mean?  Dramatic and inspiring.

Dani, I am very proud of you and I am equally excited to see where you are headed!

Hill Country Visit

At the beginning of the month, Mommy took a day off of work so that our little family could spend the weekend with our extended family in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. We had such a great time while we were there!

I got to help give my new baby cousin, C-Wa , a bath.

Mommy thinks she is quite possibly the most easy going infant on the planet.

We celebrated my cousin McB's 2nd birthday.

Didn't his mommy do a great job on this construction cake?

I spent lots of time playing in McB's sandbox. I even tried to convince Mommy to let me take my dress off so that I could experience it's wonderful grittiness all over.

She said no.

McB and I dyed eggs with Gramma and Grampa.

And I spent lots of time getting as close to C-Wa as the adults would allow.

I just love that baby!

I also threw a fit or two...

but Gramma knew that letting me sit next to C-Wa would calm me right down!

We sure do love our Hill Country family. It's too bad we don't live closer to them.

And, for nostalgia's sake, here's a picture of my first Hill Country visit almost exactly two years ago.

A Texas Tradition

If you have lived in Texas for any part of your life (or even if you've just driven through the state in the spring), you know that taking pictures in the bluebonnets is a yearly Texas rite of passage.

Well, for some strange reason, my parents haven't managed to get me in the bluebonnets until this year. 

I guess I'm officially a Texan now.

Even though I started out as a really grumpy one.

Mommy finally got the message that I was "vaywee, vaywee hungee" and put some Cherrios in my belly.

Which magically produced toothy grins...

(In case you're wondering, that's my cousin Julie with me.) 

 ...silly dancing...

...and peek-a-boo poses.

After our long photo shoot, Mommy, Auntie, Mimi, Aunt Zsa, Courtney, Julie, and I headed to Downtown Denton for a yummy lunch at Beth Marie's.   Isnt' this one of the funnest places you've ever seen?

Mommy and I shared some "Texas Doctor" (Dr. Pepper and praline) ice cream for dessert.

Well, we kind of shared it...

Do you love wild things?

Because if you do, you might like to know that Target has some fun "Where the Wild Things Are" items in their Dollar Spot right now.

Mommy and I thought these would be especially fun for a boy birthday party.

Or a teacher's prize box.

Or just because.

(I tried and tried, but I just couldn't rotate this picture.  No matter what I did, that sucker just wanted to stay on it's side.  Wild thing!)

Dino-roar Party!

A few weeks ago, my family made the long trek (all 3 minutes of it) to the Ortiz home to help my good buds, Ian and Preston, celebrate their birthdays.

"Aunt" Tara did a great job of dino-fying their house. 

Mommy tried and tried to get a good shot of this fun dino banner, but this was the best she could get.  It really doesn't do it justice, though.

These creatures were part of the goody bag treats! 

(Now that I think of it, though, I haven't seen the one I brought home in quite a while. Hmm, I have a sneaky suspcision that Mommy snuck that thing off to school.)

Tia Diana, the boys' aunt, made these adorable dino cakes for them.  I love it that they each had their own cake! 

There was also a great assortment of cupcakes.

 Gotta love the iPhone in "Uncle" Oscar's hand!

When present opening time came around, Preston and Ian were the most polite openers you have ever seen.  They did a great job of looking for and thanking the giver of each and every gift.

Ian really stole the show, though, when he modeled his new aviators for 5 serious minutes.

 Ian may have loved those glasses, but everyone else loved the bounce house that the boys got for their birthday.  This thing fits perfectly inside of the front room of their house.

Now that's a kid gift that keeps on giving!