Getting Ready for a Garden

Spring School Picture

Friday Chris went to see my parents to finish up a State Farm Loan he is doing for them.  When he got home he brought back a little gardening set from Lolly and Grandad!  Caroline was so excited and wanted to immediately break it in.  

We will plant her first garden after Easter so for now she is getting practice plowing ground in the corners of the yard.  Daddy got his big yard tools out and helped break the ground up for her.

The recent dust storms have not been kind to the backyard.  Caroline took it upon herself to start cleaning the windows with water from her spray bottle. Chris finished the job on the door and cleaned the windows too.  Living in West Texas is awesome but you won't find " Come see how nasty your home can get living here!" in the brochures. 

Also on Friday:

My job has very little perks but occasionally one will happen.  On Friday the whole Monterey counseling team was invited to eat at the Texas Tech Club! I heard a great presentation on some of the new graduation gear and I ate a delicious piece of fish. 

But the Best thing that has happened on Friday was my new niece was born!!!

Lauren Kelley Hendricks

3/29/14

6lbs 2oz

Isn't she adorable!  I can't wait to pinch those cute little checks!

 This was my favorite pictures.  Leah and Lane both adore her. Nana and Papaw are there sending us lots of great pictures.  

A couple of pictures from Saturday:

Sitting on the sidelines: Caroline is now big enough to climb all by herself so I sat on the bench and watched her play- a bitter sweet moment for sure.

Amy's Birthday Weekend

 

In January, Gian approached Chris and I to discuss ways to surprise Amy for her 30th birthday. Amy loves the beach so Gian found this great place close to Monterey. He did it all- from making the beach house reservations, to the flights, to the rental car all the way down to finding a bakery that made gluten free cake. We met the Falcos at the airport on Wednesday night. Caroline and I waited at the bottom of the escalator and when Amy rounded the corner we yelled "SURPRISE!!!".  It was so amazing to be apart of this weekend!

Thursday was the hang out day.  We played on the beach in the morning and then the afternoon.  It was warm and prefect to run and play all day. This was the perfect beach for the following reasons:

no wind

warm sand

no crowds

lots of shells and sand dollars

We wore the kids out, put them to bed and stayed up late. Confession time- I ate 6 s'mores.

On Friday we went to the Monterey aquarium 

Shark!

 This aquarium was amazing.

In this picture Caroline is dancing in front of the tank.  She was very excited to be around all those fish.

For lunch we ate down at the wharf. I ate claim chowder in a sourdough bread bowl- WOW! nothing like it.

In the afternoon we went back to the beach and played until dinner.  After dinner we put Caroline down in her pack-n-play and watched her in the monitor as she appeared to fall asleep.  All of a sudden she was at the door banging and wanting to get out.  YEAH- she can now get out of her pack-n-play. Chris and I took turns patting her back until she fell asleep.  In the morning she jumped out and greeted me with "Mommy wake up!"

Eating outside and then back to the beach.

In the afternoon we went and rode the Sierra. We rode up and down the beach front.

We ate sea food again for dinner:

A little apple juice for Sam

Caroline ate Calamari -octopus without even  knowing it and LOVED it.

It was such a fun trip!  Thank you so much Falcos for letting us be apart of this amazing weekend.  Happy birthday AMy!

Cousin Time

Tuesday Morning we left for Sacramento to visit the Hendricks.  We had a crazy time trying to get there but we made it just in time for afternoon play time.   Leah dressed up like Cinderella because she knew that is Caroline's favorite movie right now.  What a sweet and fun surprise for Caroline. 

Caroline, Chris and I were kind of hoping Lauren Kelley would make her appearance while were were there but she had other plans.  We did get to celebrate Stephanie's birthday with a Mardi Gras theme decorated by Leah and Luke.

Caroline got to wear her kitty cat mask on Wednesday morning when she woke up.

The kids got to spend a lot of time together at Fairytale Town. There are 25 playsets based on nursery rhymes and fairytales & the kids LOVED it! Caroline wanted to do everything Leah did.  She really looks up to her.

She ran around squealing at all the fun things to do. Here are some of the fun things they did:

Wizard of Oz

Cinderella 

peter rabbit- mr mcgregor garden

Wow -that was exhausting! We had such a great time.  Lauren is coming any day now and we can't wait to meet her!!

Lane- my handsome nephew

Science!

On our first official day of spring break Aunt Jacee went with Caroline and I to the Science Spectrum to see the new Penguin exhibit.  We were one of the first people there so we would not have to wait in line.   Caroline was excited to showed Aunt Jacee all of our favorite things at the Science Spectrum.  

The Sharks!  

I know, I know Lubbock sharks wouldn't make it on Shark Week but to Caroline they are amazing.  There are 3 of them swimming in that tank.  We also watched the reptile show from a far because Aunt J didn't want to go near the snakes.  She informed Caroline that they were "yucky!"

Gravity Racer!

When Caroline finds pennies we save them just for the gravity racer in the Lobby. The best is when the pennies collide in the center and Caroline lets out a scream of excitement.

Bubbles!!

 Aunt Jacee made the best bubbles- Caroline even produced one or two and then made a mess.

Finally saw the Penguins

Don't judge me but this fish always makes me laugh- it appears to have buck teeth. 

After the SS Jacee met us at Chick-fi-la. We had such a fun morning with her.

After a long nap Nana, Papaw and Kelley came over to play.  Mimi made Caroline a tablecloth for her little table and chairs. Caroline and Harper enjoyed a snack together.

Caroline thought I needed a car washed and Daddy got a new toy! All and All it was a great Saturday!

Side Note: Saturday evening our shirts came in from Baby Miles. When Miles is born he will need open heart surgery.  

We have been praying like crazy for the Mile, Brooke, Cade & Madden