A weekend away

Beau and I got to go away by ourselves this last weekend. My parents gave us a gift certificate to one of their favorite Bed and Breakfasts and spending money for the weekend! One of the best parts...they kept our kids! Ha!

We met Mom and Dad along the way and, after having lunch, went on our way to Jefferson, TX. A few hours later we pulled up to our B&B...

We settled in our room and started planning our itinerary. That night we had a wonderful dinner at an Italian restaurant, LaMancha. After dinner we went on a Ghost Tour walking around Jefferson. The town has a lot of ghost stories related to it and this tour walked all around the town (2 1/2 hours of walking). It was a fun tour, but I barely made it to the end. I was having contractions all night and spent a while lying in bed, trying to fall asleep and wondering which town close by has a hospital! Saturday we decided to take it a little easier.

We started off with a fabulous breakfast at our B&B (best food in town!) and headed out to walk through some of the MANY shops the town has. After sharing lunch we went on a boat tour down the Big Cypress Bayou learning more history about the town. On the way back to our room to rest we stopped for Beau to get a shake and me to get a slice of pie...yummo!!

After our afternoon snack I went back to the room to take a nap...vacation is exhausting!...and Beau walked around town some more. Then we headed out to dinner. Way out...we were just a mile or two from the Louisiana border as we sat out on the deck and enjoyed a wonderful dinner as the sun set over the bayou.

Sunday morning we had another great breakfast at the B&B and went to our last stop...another tour of a house in town with so much history...and of course, ghost stories!

A few hours later we were home with our babies!! Everyone else at our B&B had said they were away for the weekend to get away from their kids. We laughed that we bet we were the only ones that probably wished our kids were there with us! Ha! We had a wonderful time...it was a fantastic gift!!

If you're looking for a place to get away for the weekend we definitely recommend Jefferson!

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

I celebrated my 30th birthday 2 weeks ago. I had been "hinting" strongly to Beau for about 10 years that I really wanted to do something special (aka: a party) for my 30th birthday. He never gave me any kind of idea that he was going to do anything though unless you count all the vague lies!
About a month before my birthday we got our request to pick the date for our next Baylor theater night. The play happened to be showing the weekend of my birthday. I told Beau we could go Friday night or Saturday night (Saturday was my actual birthday). He told me he wasn't sure but he knew we couldn't do Friday night because he had something, but couldn't remember what it was. Lie #1. Well a few days later I got another email notice and a voicemail. I texted Beau and said he had to tell me which night. He told me Saturday night which really seemed weird. But I booked the tickets anyway.
Skip forward a few weeks. Friday morning the 2nd I said to at least tell me if I needed to cook dinner. He said he wasn't sure. Oh my...I started getting upset. Every time I asked him anything he told me another lie. I knew he was lying because he's no good at it and I knew there was some kind of party (a family member who shall remain nameless gave it away a little bit) but had no idea when or where it was.
I kept myself occupied, though, by straightening up the house (since I wasn't sure if I was going to have company or not). But by 5:30 I was getting really upset. The kids and I were hungry, Beau kept telling me not to cook dinner and he was still outside working in the yard!
I was sitting in my bedroom trying to occupy myself with facebook when I see Beau come in thru the laundry room door - straight ahead of where I was sitting. But I noticed he left the door open, which is a big no-no because the cat will get in. Right about the time I started to ask why he left the door open I see it slowly shut from the outside on its own. Hmmm....then I see a figure quickly come thru the door and "sneak" into the kitchen. I now knew something was up. I walked around into the kitchen and heard Beau say to the kids, in the living room, "What's going on here?!" So I walked into the living room and there is Aimee!



It was a little awkward because we saw each other right by the dining room table but couldn't get around it because Beau was on the other side with the camera. I was really shocked though!! Aimee has never been able to come see me by herself! I love her family, but I love girl time even more!!!

She told me to grab a few things and we were going to dinner...by. our. selves!! We left Beau and the kids and went to dinner. After dinner I told her I wanted to go get ice cream, but she told me we had to make a stop first. She insisted on driving my car and pulled out her google maps and started driving.

We ended up at my sweet friend, Erica's...and Lori Anne was there too!! 3 of my closest girlfriends all in one room!! I was just missing Mandy, but I had talked to her for a long time that day and knew she was feeling pretty pukey - she's in her first trimester. I filled the girls in on all the lies of the day and while I was talking away in walked Mandy!!! Yay!! What a wonderful surprise! We talked, laughed, played games, laughed, and laughed a bunch more till 1 am!! It was the BEST birthday present! Aimee, Mandy and I headed back to my house and went to bed. But I was so happy it took me a LONG time to calm down and go to sleep.

The next morning Lori Anne brought us some amazing cinnamon rolls and kolaches for breakfast.

Later, we left Beau and the kids again and headed out for some more girl time. We went to a couple kid-unfriendly boutiques and had some great pizza. Mandy had to leave later that afternoon, but Aimee said she could stay a while longer. She reminded me I needed to take another belly shot so we headed outside. She took the belly shot from my last post, then asked if we could take a self portrait.



Of course I couldn't be too serious...

It never gets old...

Then I promised her I would take a good pic...






Oh well...

I love Aimee trying to be a smart-elek. The worst she can do is stick out her tongue...ha!

About the time I thought Aimee needed to leave she started going off and making secret phone calls. Beau had been gone for a few hours on an errand that should have only taken about 30 mins. I figured something else was up so I just went with it. A few minutes later people started showing up! Beau came in with a ton of my favorite Greek food and we had a wonderful dinner with some of my most favorite people. None of by siblings or in-laws could make it, but I got a lot of phone calls and had a great time, though I missed them!

It was great...Beau (and Aimee) did a great job planning!

I found out later, Beau said when I started asking so many questions he came up with the strategy to just tell me a different lie every time. Not a good idea to continually lie to a pregnant woman...especially when you're no good at it! Ha! What a great birthday!

Well Hello Third Trimester

So Baby B and I have entered into our third trimester. And boy are we Livin' Large!!

I can't believe how huge I am! I am 28 weeks, but I feel like 35. I'm getting so uncomfortable! I love being able to feel the baby move, but it's getting so big that when it rolls around and kicks its getting to be painful! I'm not ready to meet my little bundle yet, but I'm getting close!

And so it begins...

We have officially started a new stage in our family's life....organized sports. We signed Elijah up for T-ball this spring. He has been SO excited...and Beau has been even more excited! Our first practice was last Tuesday. It was a little stressful for Elijah. Quite a few of the other kids had played last year and knew what to do. He was a tad lost and felt like he was being told a hundred different things. When he got in the car at the end of practice he kept asking "Do you think I did good?". Beau worked with him on Wednesday and by Thursday's practice he was already much better and way less stressed. I had to work on Thursday, but we all went on Tuesday...

First they practiced hitting off the tee. Getting a few last minute pointers from one of the coaches...


The coach should have probably told Elijah to wait until he was out of the way...

He looks so little under that giant helmet...

My little Red-Headed Cheerleader (as Elijah calls her)...

Then they practiced catching...

Waiting his turn...

Keep your eye on the ball...

Then it was time to practice hitting from a pitch...

I don't know how he could see anything under that helmet!...

At one point they decided to practice playing a game. 5 on 5. I think the first practice was a little early for this. Especially for the ones who have never played before. This is where the stress came in for Elijah and he wasn't having much fun. His "team" was in the field first. He did great, but when he caught the ball everyone was yelling "throw the ball", but no one had ever told him where to throw the ball. Then his team went to bat. He hit the ball and the coach is yelling "run!" but no one had ever told him where to run. Beau ran to first and yelled for Elijah to run there. Then the next kid hit the ball and the coach yells for Elijah to run. Then the coach immediately yells "catch the ball! catch the ball!". Well the ball had been hit right to Elijah and it was the same coach who had just yelled at him to run so Elijah starts going for the ball. He was so confused. I think the first practice would have gone much better if they would have just gone over the basic rules first and save the practice games for later. However, like I said, Beau worked with him on Wednesday and by Thursday Elijah did so much better and had a lot more fun.

Team huddle...

On Friday when the boys were practicing again Beau called me outside to get a picture of Sadie. She wanted to play baseball with the boys, but made sure to stay true to herself...

This girl makes me laugh every. single. day.

I am richly blessed.