san antonio

during our trip to san antonio we visited some of the historic spanish missions that were built in the 1700s. the history behind them is fascinating!

these two were more fascinated by some bits of clover they found on the ground :)

the highlight of the trip for the kids was seaworld of course. it was crazy crowded because of spring break but we still had a great time and managed to see most of the shows and ride all the rides. i didn't take very many photos that day, but here's a shot of some of the group at the entrance. it was so much fun to have emily and brian's family with us. the cousins had the best time together!

so sad that spring break is over! i'm counting down the days till summer vacation!

five

my sweet avery turned five years old last week. i can't believe she will be starting kindergarten in the fall! she is so excited for that. happy birthday avery!

my little cowboy...

..turned TWO years old last week!

our little photoshoot lasted all of maybe five minutes before he ran away. i had to bribe him with a lollipop just to keep the hat on his head. he wanted nothing to do with it!
we are so thankful for this sweet little boy in our family. we love him so very much! happy birthday evan!

weekend...

this past weekend we got to see my sweet nephew dario get baptized. i missed getting a photo of him wearing his nice new suit. he looked so handsome and grown up in it. after the baptism we all gathered at the park for lunch. it was a very nice day!

and this little lady spent the weekend with us while her momma was out of town. elayna takes such good care of lady. i wish i could have gotten a photo of evan playing with lady. those two are so cute together!

happy heart day!

pink

the girls are getting excited for valentine's day. here are a few fun things we've found:

-these valentines are so cute! we printed them off this afternoon for avery to give to her preschool friends.
-love this idea too from the same website
-i really want to make these for the girls!
-and this is a great idea and i love the design of the cd jacket. might do this for my sweetheart :)

banana bread

i love how you can take yucky old spotted bananas and make something so delicious out of them. i discovered a new recipe that has sour cream as an ingredient. it turned out very moist, even though i baked it a little too long.

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. mashed bananas
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. sifted flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sour cream

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, beating well after each one. Add mashed bananas and vanilla. Add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the sour cream. Pour into greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

leaf pile

...with the cousins at the end of december

random...

a few weeks ago we babysat my sister's dog while she was out of town. evan somehow thought that all of lady's play toys and treats belonged to him. his favorite was the bone. he carried it around ALL day. and yes, that's a beggin' strip treat he stole from the dog in his other hand. luckily lady didn't seem to mind too much :)

ellis family

this is my brother's sweet family. sure do wish they lived closer. we don't get to see them very often, so it was a real treat to have them down here for christmas. while they were visiting we went to the park on a warm winter day to take a few pics. saige was so smiley!

colby was more interested in exploring and finding sticks than taking photos :)

foggy december day at the beach

back in december we went to the beach with my brother and his family who were visiting from minnesota, and my parents. we had a picnic lunch near the sea wall and the kids waded in the water. i love the mild winter days in texas!

nephew colby loved the water!

zoo trip

during christmas break we took a trip to the zoo with some of the family that was in town. we loved checking out the new african forest exhibit. here's a few photos from the day...

this little monkey wanted to be on the other side of the fence.

niece saige was such a good little baby in her stroller

the newlyweds my brother andy and his wife kaylynn

love the lion water fountain statue. it's been around since i was a child.

one of the highlights was seeing this orangutan open her christmas stocking right in front of the glass window. she's eating a frozen popsicle with oatmeal on it.

outside the reptile house

evan LOVED petting and brushing the goats at the children's petting zoo!

the chimpanzee exhibit in the african forest was really neat. we got to see the chimps really close up. this guy does not look too thrilled to be there though.