Cadie Dance Recital

I am SUPER late on this post, but this past April Cadie had her first dance recital with Dancing Angels. It was at McFarlin Auditorium on SMU campus and she did a jazz dance and a ballet dance. It was so beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes. Not necessarily because of her dancing (she isn't a dance prodigy), but out of thankfulness to get to be the Mother of such as smart, sensitive, funny, loving little girl.

Everyone came and we sat on the front row! DD and Big John, Mimi, Nina and Papa, CJ and Ryan, Grant and I and the little boys. After the recital, we came back to the house for a light dinner of fruit, chips, chic-fil-a chicken strips and homemade cupcakes made with love by Nina.

We didn't bring Cadie flowers to the recital because I didn't think she would appreciate them. I was SOOO wrong. Luckily Grant came to the rescue and had flowers waiting for her at the house when we arrived so she was pleased. We love you little dancing princess!

Lake Burnett at the Bond Lakehouse

What a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! Trixie and Mark Bond have the most amazing and magical lakehouse and they invited all the Austin Magic Auctioneers and their families for the weekend. We were joined for the weekend by David and Angela Hira and Scott and Kathy Wells. They all doted on our kids and we had a blast eating, jet skiing, eating, boating, eating, hot tubing, eating, playing in the lake, having happy hour, driving the Delorian and eating some more. In a former life, Trixie was a professional caterer and she was beyond amazing. Every meal was yummier than the last. Saturday breakfast was egg frittata with fresh fruit, lunch was grilled veggie and goat cheese sandwiches, dinner was smoked tenderloin, roasted potatoes and grilled asparagus. Sunday breakfast was homemade french toast, applewood smoked bacon and fruit salad. Plus there were always fresh baked goods and cheese and crackers out for snacks. There was also happy hours with delicious cocktails. Even more amazing was that she seems to throw it all together without breaking a sweat and she still had time to sit and chat, take us on a boat ride and play with the kids. I was impressed.

Trixie is the chair of the Austin Magic Auction and she used to be a professional magician. Her house is filled to the brim with magic and magic memorabilia. The kids were in love with the whole house and they even got to sleep in their own moroccan themed bunk room. They played all day in the lake and thought they were hot stuff riding on the "water motorcycles" with Grant.

The only bummer of the weekend was that Trixie got a ticket from the water police because we didn't have Colton in a life jacket during out boat ride. Grant literally had the life jacket on his lap, and the other two were in their life jackets, but the officer was on a power trip and wouldn't let us off with a warning. I think Grant is going to help her protest the ticket.

The drive to Burnett was about 4 hours and the kids were great both ways. We took the Prius and they seem to be more content sitting by each other and the older two helped entertain Colton. When we got back home Sunday night we were all totally wiped out and we slept until 9:30am on Monday morning. I couldn't believe it - that is the latest I think Colton has slept in his life.

In other news, yesterday was the last day I nursed Colton. I haven't nursed yet today, and I don't think I am going to. Sad, but it feels like it is time. Nice to have such a fun weekend so I don't feel too sad about the transition. The last day I will ever nurse for the rest of my life :( - sigh... anyway... I hope we get invited back to the lakehouse next year! Thanks Mark and Trixie!

Love Letter to Colton

I love everything about my sweet baby Colton! I love that he wants to be with the rest of us and if we walk into another room he fusses and crawls as fast as possible to catch up. I love that he likes to crawl in the grass but doesn't like the way it feels on his knees so he bear-crawls with his little bottom up in the air. I love his round, bald head and his puggy legs. I love that when he nurses we are like magnets and he lunges for me and latches like he is starving. I love how calm and happy he is and when he thinks something is funny he laughs so hard. I love how much he enjoys baths and how he sloshes around like crazy and thinks it is so funny. I love how he squirms when I change his diaper, but as soon as I hand him a small toy he is memorized and stops squirming. I love how tactile he is and how he likes to touch and feel things. I love his thousands of expressions, his open mouth kisses and his coos.

Last night I was laying with Cadie and she said, "Remember when Colton was in your tummy and you were so tired that you fell asleep in my bed almost every night?" I respond, "Yes, I was very tired when I was pregnant with Colton." Cadie replies, "He was worth it." He is SO worth it. He is beautiful and I am the most blessed mama.

Jack Ranger: Last Day of School

Friday was Ranger's last day at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Parent's Day out. He has loved his teacher's, Miss Kay and Miss Linda, and has especially loved Fridays when he gets to be in class with his best bud, Will Waldo. He is a bit of a teacher's pet and it seems like everyone knows Ranger.

What time is it?

What happens when a perpetual-tired working Mom goes to sleep by herself in a fluffy bed at the Westin in Madrid without setting an alarm? She wakes-up, looks at her watch, cannot believe it says 1pm, has to double-check the clock and her computer before finally accepting that she slept for 14 hours! Then, she grabs a coffee and heads to the Prado Museum for a lovely afternoon feeling more rested than she has felt in over a year. I had almost forgotten what not-tired feels like - it is nice.

Happy Mother's Day

I had a memorable Mother's Day. I have a conference in Madrid this week and I flew a day early to see the city and so while Grant took care of our crew, I flew first class to Madrid, sipped sangria and mojitos near the Puerta del Sol, visited the Royal Palace and Templo de Debod and had the most lovely day on the hop-on hop-off bus with Tanya Allen. The weather could not have been better! It was an amazing spring day with the smell of flowers in the air.  After a day of site-seeing, Grant had chocolates and a sweet card waiting for me in my room as a Mother's Day surprise. Then, in my lovely room at the Westin Palace Madrid, I took a long bath, read my book a little and drift off into a deep, jet-lagged sleep in a bed all to myself. Pretty amazing.

Pic from my sweet husband with the message "Happy Mothers Day from the full bed!" 

Waiter, another please?!

He is Risen Indeed! Happy Easter with the Riley's

Friday evening we called the Riley's (James, Emmy, Jacob, Ella Bray, Eli and Wren) to see if they wanted to meet us for dinner. They couldn't come to dinner, so they decided to come over after dinner to let the kids play awhile. The kids were all having such a good time and didn't want to go home! So we agreed they should come over the next day! They met us on Saturday at the Truck Yard for lunch, then came up us to the open house for the Yellow House that we have a contract on (that is a whole nother blog), then we had a slumber party at our house. Poor little Wren-bird had a hard time falling asleep and James and Emmy had to drive her around the block until she finally knonked out, but other than that everything went pretty smoothly - as smoothly as it goes for 4 adults and 7 kids anyway.

The Easter bunny came and we all had a fun time opening Easter baskets and then had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. The morning also included a magic show from Grant and then off to church. Spending time with these special friends made a special weekend celebrating the resurrection of our Savior even more special.