Everyday Eason

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2011-05-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

Nine years ago today, I married my best friend. It's funny to think of just how much has changed in those nine years, yet so many things remain the same. I look forward to many, many more years with this guy.

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

I was a bit more reflective last year when I wrote this.
And, here is what I wrote in 2009.

Looking back on my posts, I see that we went to a Texas Rangers game on our two previous anniversaries. We're breaking tradition this year and going all out: dinner and a movie while the kids spent the night at Nana & Jaja's on Friday night. I know; you should be jealous. ;-)

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T13:45:00.001-07:00

Hope everyone is having a great Easter, remembering the true reason we celebrate and enjoying the fun little parts too.

I know we are!

Lori

Chicken and Corn Chili

2011-03-21T12:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at church, I was sharing my new favorite Crock-Pot recipe with a few friends, and I thought I'd jot it down here for anyone else that may like it. It's a hot soup-y type meal, so that may sound strange to be sharing it now on the second day of spring, but I don't care. It's that good. And if you don't like to eat comfort foods in March, then just revisit this blog post late October!

I originally came across the recipe here, but I adapted it to what I had in my kitchen at 7:00 the next morning and haven't looked back since! So here's my version:

2 to 3 (or 4) frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 16 oz jar salsa (I use On The Border mild)
1 15 oz can of pinto beans (probably any other type of beans would work too)
1 15 oz can of Mexican style corn
1 14.5 oz (I think?) can of diced tomatoes
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Sprinkle sugar (to cut the acidity of the tomatoes)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Few generous shakes of dry ranch dressing mix*

Mix all together in Crock-Pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Give it a healthy stir before serving, shredding chicken with a fork if necessary.

Seriously, that's it! I've eaten it like a traditional soup/chili in a bowl with cheese and tortilla chips, and I've also used a slotted spoon to scoop onto a tortilla and eat like a soft taco. Both ways are delicious. Let me know if you try it!

*A note about the Ranch Dressing Mix: I buy it in this canister because I use it in several recipes and make dressing with it, and this is way more cost effective than buying the individual packets. I think the canister is $5 or $6 bucks, but it is equivalent to like 20 of those packets which usually cost at least $1.25/each!

Gilvert

2011-03-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

In January, I introduced you to the newest Eason family member. After living with us for about two weeks, Woody decided that he would rather live in the lap of luxury that is Country Ridge Bulldogs, so back to Rockwall he went. And we are once again a one-dog family (for now).

However, we are now a one-hamster family as well. Let me introduce you to GilVert (that's right... with a "V", not a "B").

He hides pretty much non-stop during daylight, so a full body shot is kind of hard to come by.
But he does have a head in there somewhere, I promise.

The backstory: out of the blue one day, Carter asked if he could have a hamster. Not wanting to give in to his every whim, Nick and I told him we'd "think about it". Parent code for: I-really-hope-you-forget-about-this-before-asking-again. He was relentless in his requests so Nick and I decided that we really didn't have a problem with a hamster, per say, but the expense and minor-responsibility was something we wanted Carter to understand, as much as his four-year-old brain could.

Carter had an upcoming appointment with an Ear, Nose & Throat doctor (huge tonsils, enlarged adenoids) that we thought was going to be miserable for him, so we made a deal: if he did well at the doctor, he could have his hamster. (As it turned out, he was a perfect peach at the appointment, and it was no big deal for him. Of course, if/when his tonsils come out, I'm sure I'll take back that "no big deal" statement.) Anyway, as soon as we got in the car after leaving the doctor's office, he asked if we could go get his hamster. Since Nana & Jaja had SO GRACIOUSLY offered to take Carter to get his hamster, I told him he had to wait until Saturday. By the time Saturday rolled around, Carter was beside himself with excitement, so Nana & Jaja came and got the kids and fulfilled their promise to get him his hamster.

[Side note to D & G: I know I've said thank you in person, but I hope y'all understand how truly thankful Nick and I are that you did this. Hamsters sound cheap, but by the time you factor in the food, the cage, the shavings, the toys, etc., etc., I know they're not. So again, thank you!]

Pretty sweet crib, little dude!

About his name: Carter, Nick and I discussed names for quite some time before Gilvert joined our family. At first, he said he wanted a hamster named Elephant (is this from Little Bill?). Then it was "Show-bee" or "Bow-bee" or whatever weird, fake name Carter could think of at the time. Finally about five minutes before Nana & Jaja arrived to take him to the pet store, out of nowhere, he came up with Gilvert. "GilBert?", I said, thinking I had heard him incorrectly. "No, mama, Gil-Vert." So there you have it.

Yummy hamster food...

It's been a month now, and Carter still loves him just as much as the first day he brought him home. He asks to pet him all the time, and I usually pawn that supervisory task on to Nick. He also loves to give him carrots and apples for his nibbling pleasure.

Carter is sure to tell every new visitor to our home about Gilvert; he just loves him so much. And honestly, so do I.

As much as one can "love" having a rat in their home, that is.

Tangled

2011-03-18T07:03:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Olivia went on our very first mother-daughter date. I mean, we've definitely been places before just the two of us, but this was our first intentional, non-errand, no-ulterior-motives outing. We went to the dollar theater to see Tangled!

Knowing that I wanted to get there a little early (since it was the first showing of a kids movie on a Saturday at the smaller-than-average dollar theaters), I had to do something to keep us occupied for a little bit before the movie started. I stopped by Chick-fil-a on the way and I may or may not have smuggled chicken nuggets and french fries into the theater for a quick "lunch"/base meal for all that greasy popcorn.

Which Olivia loved, by the way.

We snapped a quick self-portrait before the movie started, then it was all hands on deck to keep this little spitfire in her seat and entertained. She went through small periods of restlessness, but overall we had a great time and we've been talking about Rapunzel ever since.

I look forward to many more mother-daughter dates with this cutie in the future!

My Own Personal Office Decorators

2011-03-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

Carter and Olivia are spending this lovely Spring Break afternoon with their Aunt Mindi and cousins, Jackson and Grayson. They all just stopped by our store/my office for a little hello. Carter was in my office while I was in the store helping the nephews pick out a few new sporting goods. After they left, I returned to my office to find this scene:

Apparently, he raided my stash of permanent! markers to create a small masterpiece. I think it gives my desk a little character, no?

Oh and did I ever tell you about the time that I brought the kids up here on a Saturday to get some work done and I let Olivia play with my dry erase board? Let's just say that white walls are not conducive to the whole "erase" part of that concept.

Perhaps instead of a Christmas bonus, I should ask for a gallon of paint and industrial strength marker remover.

The Newest Eason Family Member

2011-01-28T19:55:00.001-08:00

Meet Woody!

Lori - via my iPhone

Family Portraits!

2011-01-04T07:44:00.000-08:00

Last month, in preparation for actually sending out a Christmas card this year, and also because it's been WAY.TOO.LONG, the Easons set out with my dear friend (and photographer in her spare time), Shara Johnson. We took them at Adriatica in McKinney, and I was super pleased with how they came out! Usually, I share the beef our lives here on the blog, but in this particular case, I'm sending you over to Facebook to check out the photos since I uploaded them all over there. Click HERE to view them. (It's a public album, so you should be able to see it even if you don't have a Facebook account.)

I think this one might be my favorite:

It's all about capturing their true personalities, right?

Christmas Extravaganza! Part 4

2010-12-31T08:06:00.000-08:00

After playing with our toys a bit at home on Christmas morning, I finished up some last minute cooking before heading over to Gigi & Papa's house (my mom & dad). We made a stop by the nursing home to visit Mammaw (my dad's mom) first.

Olivia wasn't too sure about the change of scenery, so she clung to Uncle Jeremy & Papa.

We were able to visit for quite a while and a nice family even stopped by to deliver cupcakes!

Once we got back to Gigi & Papa's house, we feasted on our usual Christmas day fare of finger foods and assorted appetizers, but the kids just couldn't wait to get down to business.

Let me rephrase that: the boys couldn't wait to open presents. My little princess, however, could.not.have.cared.less. By that point, I think she was just a little overstimulated/overwhelmed, so we let her watch some Dora the Explorer in the toy room while the rest of us opened presents. Every now and then, she would pop back into the living room, open a present, then retreat back to the toy room. It worked quite well for her temperament, and by the end of the day, all her presents were opened!

First set of REAL Legos - 416 pieces

Tools! Just like Daddy

Grayson (my nephew) said of his present from us: "It's just what I always wished for!"

The Lego King! My nephew, Jackson

Aunt Mindi got Olivia her very first set of pom pons. She loves them!

Princess house shoes! She's slept in them three times already.

We decided to let the kids open all the gifts first so they could play while the adults exchanged gifts. This way, we were able to slow down and truly admire the gifts. My parents got each family their own popcorn tin with hand selected caramel corn from the Mom & PopCorn Company in downtown McKinney.

Our bucket was much nicer than the Vandagriff's...

Mom got a Kitchen Aid Mixer!

New hat, same old goofy smile

Air Max 90s - he was SO surprised!

There's a kid or two under there...

Why is the paper always as much fun as the toys?

By the end of the day, we were all pretty worn out, but none more than my brother-in-law, Jeremy, I guess.

Thanks Gigi & Papa for rounding out our Christmas celebration!

Christmas Extravaganza! Part 3

2010-12-30T12:04:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful Christmas morning we had this year. Santa brought an abundance of gifts, and I'm fairly certain, the kids loved each and every single one of them.

Santa was here!

"Busters" (aka Starburst) from her stocking

Toy Story "Snuggie"

Batman Jammas, complete with cape!

So excited! Other than a robot (random, I know), this is the ONE thing he asked for.

Daddy got a watch!

I don't think Santa intended the bottle for Minnie, but have at it, Little Mama.

And even though I don't have a picture of it, Nick bought me two new charms for my charm bracelet: the little boy-little girl charm and a baseball glove. Perfect!

Christmas Extravaganza! Part 2

2010-12-29T11:39:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Christmas with Nana & Jaja on Thursday night, the 23rd. They had the presents ready and waiting when we arrived!

After a yummy ham dinner that Jaja made, we decided to break tradition and open presents that night (we usually open them first thing in the morning, but since it wasn't Christmas day either way, we decided, why not?)

A pose & a smile from the child who never does either.

With Nana, ready to begin!

Getting all purdy, Nana helping put on her new gloves...

And lip gloss...

And earrings & tiaras...

And a sash, don't forget the sash!

Carter is really excited about his new Leapster Explorer!

I received this super cool book about the 2010 American League Champions, My Texas Rangers!

And Nick got some tools. You can never have too many, right?

Daddy helped Olivia open this special present from Jaja.

Diamond earrings from Lebanon! Jaja picked them up on a recent trip overseas, and though Olivia may not realize it yet, these are pretty darn special.

Jaja got Nana a crate cover for her Great Dane, Callie, which the kids promptly turned into their newest hideout/playzone.

Many thanks to Nana & Jaja for such an awesome Christmas!

Christmas Extravaganza! Part 1

2010-12-28T11:38:00.000-08:00

We spaced out our Christmas celebrations a bit more this year which made it seem like Christmas was a whole week long. Score!

Starting Sunday night the week before Christmas, we had our Drake/Spurgin celebration with my uncle (mom's brother), aunt and teenage cousins who live in McKinney.

Drakes

Spurgins

There were some Easons & Vandagriffs there too!

After feasting on some yummy food, it was time to open presents. We only buy for the "kids" and apparently, I was too busy helping our little ones open gifts, because I got pictures of none of it, except for this one of my chocolate-faced daughter waiting patiently to start opening.

Carter received a lovely box full of crayons, [washable!] markers, coloring books and a couple of new DVDs. Olivia received a DVD and a "My First Princess" Cinderella doll. Carter and Olivia wanted to watch Dora immediately, so we set them up in my aunt & uncles bedroom to watch. About an hour later, this is what we found:

My precious son had removed every post and extension from K&Bs four poster bed. He's lucky we all though it was hilarious. Which it was.

The Digital Story of the Nativity

2010-12-22T12:33:00.000-08:00

Our church played this little ditty before the service started on Sunday, and I absolutely loved it. So very clever. Based on the number of my facebook friends that have reposted it and the number of views I just saw it had on YouTube, it's safe to say that it has gone viral. However, on the off chance that any of my dear blog readers (hello? anybody still out there?) haven't seen it, I'm reposting it here. If you're into social media at all, it will be well worth three minutes of your time. Promise.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

2010-12-07T18:50:00.001-08:00

How lovely are your branches!

I tried something new with the tree this year, and I love it! Simple, cute, and oh so me.

I even love it with the lights off (though the kids see to it that it doesn't stay that way for too long).

Hope everyone is enjoying the season thus far. Sorry I've been MIA lately, I haven't had the free time or even really been in the mood to update, but I'll try soon. Promise.

Happy December, friends!

Lori - via my iPhone

30 for the 30th

2010-11-12T07:33:00.000-08:00

<-------------------- Today is this guy's 30th birthday! In honor of Nick, I thought I would list thirty reasons I love, appreciate and enjoy my husband.

(in no particular order)
1. He is, hands down, the most generous person I know. Be it an extra dollar at a store to donate to such-and-such cause to letting someone borrow a possession he really loves to anything in between.

2. Carter & Olivia; they're ours because of him.

3. He loves me no matter what and without cause.

4. We have completely different interests, and that is okay with him. Because of this...

5. He doesn't make me watch tv shows or movies I don't want to simply because he does.

6. I've always been comfortable around him, in any situation (which is saying a whole lot since we met when we were dorky, insecure teenagers).

7. His great sense of humor.

8. And his obnoxious, yet terribly infectious, laugh.

9. He's never too proud to admit his weaknesses.

10. And he is very proud of his strengths, and rightly so.

11. When interested in the subject matter, he can educate himself and become an expert on just about anything.

12. He's "outside-the-box" when I'm stuck inside.

13. The way he's starting to get a few silver hairs (which bothers him to no end); I secretly kind of like it.

14. He has no qualms whatsoever with the way I spend our money.

15. How excited he gets teaching Carter about comic book characters.

16. His budding skills as a hair stylist to our little girl.

17. He can argue with the best of them, but is never too proud to admit when he's wrong.

18. He genuinely loves his mother and would do anything for her.

19. He would do anything for my mom, too.

20. The way he mispronounces the word "wrestle" and has now taught our children to do the same thing.

21. And the fact that he wrestles with our children almost every day. And how much they love him for it.

22. He understands that, sometimes, Mama just needs some alone time, and he never denies me of it.

23. His knowledge of the Bible and his heart for God.

24. I never have to mop the kitchen floor because he always does.

25. He mows the lawn, too.

26. The way he can go through ten different shirts and four pair of pants frustratingly getting ready and always comes out on the other side looking so handsome.

27. He makes tough decisions for our family so that I don't have to.

28. He still doesn't know what he wants to be when he "grows up" yet he's currently doing something he loves and is really good at.

29. He could eat the same meal over and over again and doesn't complain when he has to.

30. I get to grow old with him.

Happy 30th Birthday, honey! Carter, Olivia & I are truly blessed to call you ours.

DLC Fall Pics

2010-11-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

A few times a year, a photography company comes to the kids school to take portraits in hopes that the parents will fall madly in love with the end result thereby forcing said parents to pay the outrageous prices for a few measly wallets and a couple of 4x6s. As you can probably tell from my sarcasm, the plan has only worked on us once. This year, they were not so lucky.

There might be one or two in this bunch I would consider purchasing, but with the money I save by not buying these, I'll march right up to Portrait Innovations and get ourselves a real deal.

That is, if my kids will cooperate. Stay tuned...

FOUR!

2010-11-02T08:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday To You...

Dec. 2009

Happy Birthday To You...

March 2010

Happy Birthday, Dear Carter...

June 2010

Happy Birthday To You!!!

Nov. 2nd, 2010

What a joy this past year has been! Sure, there have been some trying times having a strong-willed three year old, but honestly, I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. Carter is such a sweet-hearted boy with a serious knack for the silly. From his "booty" photo poses to his wacky made-up words & songs to his genuine love for his family, you can see his fun-loving attitude and caring spirit in everything he does. Four years ago, I would have never imagined that being his mom would be this much fun and that I would find it literally impossible to put into words just how much I love him.

Happy Birthday, my son!

P.S. Here is my post from last year.

IT'S TIME...

2010-10-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

I still can't believe that my beloved Texas Rangers are playing Game 1 of the World Series tonight! You really don't have to know me very well at all to know that I love baseball, and I especially LOVE the Texas Rangers. I always have. Even those seasons when it was more fun to be a Cowboys or Mavericks fan, the Rangers were still #1 in my book.

Nick and I had the privilege to attend several post season games courtesy of various manufacturers that we work with (Louisville Slugger, Rawlings, Mizuno). They weren't the best seats in the park, but hello? I.Was.There.

ALDS Game 3 - Nick, Joey (close friend/retail store mgr), Mike (owner of HRS!)

ALDS Game 3

ALDS Game 4 (quite a bit higher than the day before)

ALDS Game 4 - the obligatory self-portrait

ALCS Game 2 - our noses were starting to bleed...

ALCS Game 2 (you can see JerryWorld over Nick's right shoulder)

Oh, I Like Texas...

Let's Go Rangers, Let's Go! *clap, clap*

Fletcher's and The Texas Star

2010-10-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

Nick and I decided that our kids were deprived of the true joys in life that are fried food, sugar, and overpriced entertainment, so two weeks ago, we took the day off from work and headed to The State Fair of Texas!

All joking aside, I have such fond memories of going to the Fair as a kid. I remember the rides, the food, the cotton candy and, of course, Big Tex. Nick didn't grow up with the same memories, and I have been begging him to take our family for the past four years. One year, I was too pregnant, then Carter was too little, then I had a two-month-old & a two-year-old, then.... I don't know. Finally this year, he gave in and agreed to go.

We searched the Internet for coupons and deals and discovered that on a Wednesday, our entire family could get into the Fair for a measly $6 bucks plus nine canned goods. Score! (It's not like we saved any more money once we were actually through the gates in the Fair, but hey, every little bit helps.)

Our first stop (after finding a Fletcher's Corn Dog) was Big Tex, of course. Carter was very intrigued as to what he was saying, though, unless you're standing directly underneath him, you can't really understand him anyway.

Carter & Olivia witnessed some older children having their photo taken here, so of course, they had to try it out as well. I would have attempted to get a better picture with Carter actually in it, but it was right about this time that Olivia got stuck and required my assistance.

We let the kids ride the swings, which seemed like one of the safest "rides" there.

Being that it was the kids' first trip to the Fair (and beside the fact that Carter was BEGGING us), we decided to all ride the Texas Star.

It's only while we're in line that my husband of 8.5 years informs me that he's a teensy bit afraid of heights.

Oh well, the kids really enjoyed it, despite the fact that they would not comply with the "must remain seated at all times" rule.

Here is our view from the top:

We headed over to see the Bird Show, however, I'm sad to report that I have not one picture to prove it. My little Olivia was just.not.having.it. So we people watched outside the amphitheater until Daddy & Carter were done.

And then we journeyed to what has long been my favorite part of the Fair... The Car Show! I realized after I had voiced our plans aloud that Carter thought we were going to sit and watch cars perform, rather than enter an exhibit hall full of automobiles, but he quickly got over it when he realized we would let him get in and "drive".

Olivia quickly got the hang of it as well.

After a short performance at the Backyard Circus and a quick trip through a few exhibit halls, we arrived at the baby zoo, which probably turned out to be our favorite thing all day.

We saw a young giraffe...

a llama...

a cow and her calf...

this awesome ostrich...

some baby zebras...

and last, but not least, piglets!

After scrubbing down with PLENTY of hand sanitizer, the kids were back in the wagon and we were headed to the car. But not before one last stop....

Check out the size of that cotton candy!

Even Daddy enjoyed a bite... or twelve.

If I had known how content it would make them, I would have bought two cones way earlier in the day to keep them in the wagon longer.

Actually, I take that back. I'm not sure I could have dealt with the mess had we not been making a bee line straight to the car. Here are my two precious angels once we got to the car:

I'm telling you, there were webs of cotton candy EVERYWHERE. Luckily, all it took was about a dozen baby wipes and a moving, air conditioned vehicle, and they were both clean and sound asleep before we were even out of the parking lot.

Can't wait to go back next year, right Nick?

Still Here...

2010-10-20T06:48:00.000-07:00

Boy has it been crazy busy around our household lately (and by lately, I mean pretty much since mid-July). Anyway, I will make an attempt at getting caught up and keeping the blog current because it's kinda dead around here lately. And I don't like it.

So until I can get a real post up, here are a few pictures of Nick and me at our friends' Joey & Christina's wedding on September 24th.

I think we clean up nice.

Be back soon...

Tee Ball!

2010-09-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

You have to know how excited we were to find out that Carter was old enough to start tee ball this year! We've been waiting for this day probably ever since that ultrasound four years ago when we found out we were having a boy. Okay, maybe not that long, but definitely an exciting time for this baseball-loving family.

Naturally, there's no better team to play on than...

your Texas Rangers!

His best bud, Nathan, is on the team too!

Of course, we had to embarrass Carter at the first game with an exuberant amount of pictures, but hey, how many times does a little boy have his first.baseball.game.ever.?

Being the baseball prodigy that he is, Carter decided to show off his mad skills of balancing a baseball bat on his shoulder during his pre-game warm-up.

I know. Future MLB player.

Or a clown, perhaps. (front row, far left. The one hiding behind his cap.)

Even though the fielding skills were somewhat absent (and by absent, I mean, replaced by filling his glove with dirt during the first inning), his batting skills were... present.

All-in-all, it was as great of a first game as can be expected from a group of 3-4 year olds who don't quite grasp the full concept of baseball yet. Which is great since they don't keep score and everyone wins!

P.S. Carter has had two more games since the first and has already improved. I'm not sure how well Daddy is handling the news that Carter's best game yet was this past Friday night when we weren't there.

Let's Go Rangers, Let's Go!

2010-09-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

A couple of Wednesdays ago (okay, okay, a month ago), I was coming home late from work and Nick called to let me know that one of our friends had offered up two [free] Rangers tickets to the game that night. (By now, people know the Easons well enough to know that if there are tickets to a Rangers game to be had, we're not likely to pass them up.) When Nick called me, it was already about 6:00, and the first pitch was set for 7:05. At first I told him we better not go. After all, it was a "school" night, so it probably wouldn't be a good idea to take the kids to the game, and we couldn't get anyone to watch them on such short notice. Plus, we hadn't yet taken the kids to their first (real! MLB!) baseball game, and I guess I'd envisioned it as somewhat of a different experience than a Wednesday night spur-of-the-moment trip.

But... like any good parents would do, we decided to be spontaneous and throw caution to the wind and head on out to the Ballpark. Part of our reasoning was that if they were tired or not so well behaved, then all that would be lost would be the trip out there and the parking fee.

The other part of our reasoning was that it just so happened to be Dollar Dog Night.

The kids were actually quite well-behaved and stayed busy with a steady stream of cotton candy...

tickets for the Ozarka Dot Race (go green!)...

and way too many snapshots taken with mom's camera.

Our seats were pretty good, though definitely not the best we've ever had. But hello? Free.

By the ninth inning, every time we'd cheer, Carter would ask, "Is it over, mama?" To which I'd reply, "Only two more outs" or "only one more strike." And even though the concept of innings and outs and balls and strikes is lost on a three year old, when the Rangers finally won, they clapped and cheered just as loudly as the rest of us.

Our kids were definitely troopers and had a blast at their very first baseball game!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-08-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

But definitely not a Diet Coke-less Wednesday!

(Seriously, just returned to my office and found these. I'm nothing if not predictable. And loved by my co-workers, apparently.)

Lori - via my iPhone

HOT

2010-08-18T06:23:00.000-07:00

I just love the addition of the word "HOT" in the 7 day forecast below.

As if the triple-digit temperatures weren't enough indication that you just might want to stay inside.

Anyone else ready for fall?

T-W-O!

2010-08-13T11:23:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, our baby girl Olivia turned 2! We had her birthday party at the Natatorium in Allen, the same place where we had Carter's 2nd Birthday Party. (wow, I've been blogging almost two years!) We had an absolute blast with our family and friends, and Livvy brought home lots of lovely new toys and clothes.

Carter spent the night with his best bud, Nathan, so it was just Nick and I and the birthday girl on our way to the party.

Once Carter did arrive, he was so excited about the party that he decided to take a few pictures.

It was only when I uploaded the pictures to my computer I realized that not only did Carter leave me with a few artistic beauties, but he also left me with a giant fingerprint on the lens of my camera. Awesome. So, Olivia's birthday party pictures have a nice... glaze about them, shall we say? Ah well, such is life with an independent three year old, I suppose.

Anyway, back to the [hazy] party...

Here are a few of our guests:

Clockwise from the top: Rachel & Trey, The Roeschleys, The Buchanans,
Nana & Jaja/Courtney & Gracie, and "Aunt" Amber & Baby Cohen

Minnie & Daisy and the whole (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse gang) proved to be an excellent theme.

Though I didn't gather up enough courage (or time) to create a Mickey cake (like the Elmo one I did for Carter's birthday), I did decide to save some cash and make the cupcakes myself.

Olivia didn't seem to mind that they weren't professionally made.

And she really got into opening presents...

especially when so many girly, pink, princess-y things started emerging from the gift bags.

Finally, it was time to swim! The kids couldn't have been more excited.

At this point, I turned the camera over to my mother-in-law (thanks Gwlynda!), and I spent the rest of the party chasing kids and making sure everyone had a good time.

And except for that one time when we lost a child, I'd say a great time was had by all.*

Happy 2nd Birthday to the darling of our family,

our little princess, Olivia Gayle!

*So about that lost child thing: um, yeah, that was OUR lost child. Carter, to be exact. We had been in the water maybe 10 minutes, and last I had checked, he was bee-boppin around the playset. Nick and I were doing our best man-on-man defense, but somewhere in all the people, we had lost him. We weren't panicked, at first. Then it was pretty much ALL the adults looking for him and I started to get worried. The pool was rather crowded, so it was kind of hard to spot one little person, but finally, after about 5 hurried minutes of looking, he was spotted at the top of the giant twisty slide, which he was WAY under the height requirement to ride. But somehow, he had walked his happy little butt up several flights of stairs and ended up stuck at the top. Nick retrieved him and my heart began to beat at a normal pace again. The end.

Happy Birthday to me!

2010-08-04T15:03:00.000-07:00

Check out this awesome delivery I received at work today from my in-laws:

Aren't they beautiful?

Such a perfect thing to make my day.

And tonight, Nick arranged for childcare (thanks Mom!) so that we could go to dinner and a movie and go pick out my present.

Not to mention the outpouring of birthday wishes via text, email and facebook.

I am one lucky girl. Here's hoping that 29 treats me well!

Lori - via my iPhone

Disney Vacation - Day 7

2010-08-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

By day seven, we had been to all the parks, and we had worn Nana & Jaja flat out. We had plans to go back to Hollywood Studios in the evening because their spectacular night show is only on Mondays & Thursdays. But in the morning, the Easons were ready to go at it again... so? You guessed it: Magic Kingdom!

There's not much I can tell you about Magic Kingdom at this point that I haven't covered already, but a picture's a picture and every one's unique, so here we go.

Of course we visited Mickey's Toontown Fair again.

And this time, we used money from Gigi & PawPaw to buy the kids their Mickey Mouse ears! We let them each pick out their own pair.

Carter liked these red ones that resemble Mickey's shorts:

Olivia had to have PINK!

This is what happens when you ask my son to stand still for a picture with his ears:

We got some fast passes so that Nick & I could ride Space Mountain again, so while we were waiting for our time, we rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin again. I just had to show y'all this picture of Carter (and Olivia). See how he's holding the "Wet Floor" sign?

The whole trip, no matter where we were, if Carter saw one of these, he just HAD to pick it up. Occasionally he would just kick it over, or he might pick it up and dance with it, but some fascination with this strange yellow sign led him to touch it. Every.single.time.

Though we were intending to, we happened upon the afternoon parade down Main Street USA, and the kids loved it.

We saw Mickey:

Pinocchio:

Snow White:

Aladdin:

And of course, Cinderella!

It was time for one of us to go ride Space Mountain, so I let Nick go first, and I bribed the kids with fruit bars while I was on my own.

I also got brave and decided to take them on a "ride" by myself, which really means that I hopped on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover, aka slow moving train in the shade.

I'm not exactly sure what Nick did with the kids while I took my turn on Space Mountain, but soon it was time to head out of Magic Kingdom so that we could get to Hollywood Studios in time for the night show. In an effort to take the children on as many forms of transportation as possible on vacation, we took a bus!

I don't think they could have cared one way or another, though I will say that it is really hard to keep children seated on a moving vehicle when they're not in carseats. Nick was really excited to be riding a bus as well.

We arrived at Hollywood Studios just in time to meet up with Nana & Jaja and show off our new mouse ears.

And then we trucked ahead with about ten thousand other people to the outdoor amphitheater to see Fantasmic!

I really do wish I had better pictures of this show, because it was really amazing. It was a firework & water show with some pretty impressive pyrotechnic/hydrotechnic effects. Before the show started, I really wondered if Carter was going to make it. Despite my best efforts to assure him that it was not a "scary" show, he still wasn't sure. And though there were some "dark" parts of the show, all-in-all, I think he liked it. And when all his favorite characters came out on a boat at the end of the show, I knew he was sold.

We headed back to the condo after the show to prepare for our last full day of vacation. I bet you'll never guess which theme park we went to...

Disney Vacation - Day 6

2010-08-01T23:30:00.000-07:00

This day was all about visiting Epcot, the last of the four theme parks that make up Walt Disney World. Nick had previously been to Epcot on a business trip a few years back (but none of the other parks on that trip), and he had told me that Epcot was real "educational", aka boring. Not wanting to miss out on a thing, I dismissed his opinion and off we went.

After stumbling upon Daisy Duck at the entrance,

we had our sights set on The Seas with Nemo & Friends. We had heard that this was a great attraction for young ones, so we wanted to be sure and see it.

Olivia did a little jig for us while waiting in line.

And though I didn't get any pictures of the actual ride, it was really neat, and the kids LOVED it. Like many of the rides at Disney, it's simply a people-mover (seashells in this case) that takes you through an aquarium that's been digitally enhanced with Nemo and his friends. Once you exit the ride, you're already in the massive aquarium with lots to see.

Then we participated in the Talk Time with Crush interactive show. And again, no pictures. But it was another fun adventure, and if you find yourself at Epcot with Nemo loving children, I highly recommend it!

We were able to get some fast passes for Soarin', but they weren't until 8:00-9:00 that evening, and being that it was only about noon, we pressed on. We rode the Journey Into Imagination with Figment, which proved to be a little too much for our young kiddos (more 4D action like air & smells being puffed into your face), and then we opted for a few more mild attractions in The Land Pavilion. We took a 15 minute boat ride in Living with the Land; the educational message of preserving the environment was lost on our 1 & 3 year old, but hey! at least the ride was moving and there were plants and animals to look at. I knew we had reached our Epcot ceiling when the kids fell asleep in The Circle of Life, a 20 minute environmental film.

So, in case you haven't noticed from all my foreshadowing, Epcot wasn't exactly the place for our family and two young children. But thanks to the wonder that is the Monorail, we opted to spend the rest of the day at Magic Kingdom and left Nana & Jaja at Epcot to enjoy the adult attractions.

At Magic Kingdom, we rode the teacups,

and the carousel,

and took a few more pictures of Cinderella's castle!

We also re-visited several of our favorite attractions like Dumbo's Flying Elephants, It's a Small World, and ate dinner Pecos Bill's Cafe. We knew we wanted to be back at Epcot for the IllumiNations night show, plus we still had our fast passes for Soarin'. Back on the Monorail we went, and once we arrived at Epcot, I just had to take a picture of our travel wagon and our kids doped up on popcorn.

And snap a shot of the sun setting on the Spaceship Earth sphere.

Nana & Jaja and the kids held our spot by the fence for the laser show while Nick and I rode Soarin', which was like the Omni/IMax Theater, Disney-style. Which basically means that it was the same concept as those theaters that make you feel as you're really flying over these places, only better. Definitely worth wait!

During the show, I was playing with the "fireworks" feature on my camera, which basically means all my pictures look like this:

Rest assured, however, that the show was awesome and entertaining for all of us. Nothing like what we would see at Hollywood Studios, but I'll leave that for Day 7.

Disney Vacation - Day 5

2010-08-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love this picture of our family at the entrance to Hollywood Studios? You win some, you loose some, right?

The first thing we did at Hollywood Studios was go see Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage. Olivia was a little rowdy, but I think that was just a product of being too far from the stage to be entranced. But Carter and the adults really enjoyed it.

Once the show was over, Gwlynda took the kids over to the Animation Courtyard where we knew there would be some familiar faces.

And Dave, Nick & I rode this:

the Hollywood Tower Hotel. Probably the most iconic ride at Hollywood Studios, justifiably so, and I'm really glad we got to ride it.

After meeting back up with the gang, we took our chances on Muppet*Vision 3-D, and it actually paid off. No one had to leave the theater early, and if there were tears, I didn't see them.

"Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" Movie Set Adventure was next on the list. The attraction is just how it sounds; we stepped into an over-sized play area where the blades of grass were 15 feet tall, and a 35mm roll of film was a giant slide.

If it hadn't been so crowded, and if my kids hadn't been the among the smallest in there, they might have played a little longer, but it is definitely a recommended attraction in my book.

And speaking of recommended attractions, we hit the jackpot on the next one: Playhouse Disney - Live on Stage. It's no secret that the Eason children watch their fair share of "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse", so when we found out there was a show centered around Mickey & the Gang, Handy Manny & Little Einsteins, we knew we had to see it.

Our.kids.LOVED.it. Seriously, if there had been another performance time later in the day while we were still there, we would have seen it again. Twice maybe. They loved it that much.

Then, Nick and I left the kids in very capable hands and sneaked off to ride the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. We had an awesome posed picture taken in front of the ride, which I'll share later when the professional photos come in, but for now, I'll leave you with this snapshot I took with my phone when we got off the ride.

We returned to the best part of Animation Courtyard: the character greetings, in an air conditioned building, no less. Even though Olivia was still a little unsure, Carter was right at home by this point. He had the walk-up-to-character, give-character-a-hug, pose-for-picture-with-character routine down pat.

{Lotso, from Toy Story III}

{Stitch}

{Chip & Dale}

{Captain Hook & Mr. Schmee}

{Pinocchio & Geppetto}

{Goofy}

{Aladdin & Jasmine}

And just as we were leaving, we ran into Snow White in a different area of the building, so of course we had to stop and see her. Check out Olivia's progression in the pictures below.

Watching from a safe distance...

getting closer...

no smile, but a pose nonetheless...

and finally,

a hug. There's really something special about Snow White.

And with that, we considered the day a success and left on a high note.

Epcot is next, my friends - Day 6 soon to come

Disney Vacation - Day 4

2010-07-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

Carter & Olivia were ready to start the day at Animal Kingdom.

The first thing we saw upon entering the park was The Tree of Life.

It's visible from virtually any spot inside the park so you really can't miss it. After all, It is 145 feet tall and 50 feet wide. And in case you can't tell from the picture, there are animals carved into the bark of the tree. It really is quite a sight to see.

Our plan of attack for the day at Animal Kingdom was to start at the Kilimanjaro Safaris attraction (along with most everyone else who arrived at the park when it opened like we did). We had previously heard that the wait could get long, and we definitely wanted to go on it, so it was an easy choice on how to begin our day. And it did not disappoint. Fun fact: the safari takes place on a 100-acre savanna making it the largest attraction at any Disney Theme Park. You're welcome.

[The following animal pictures were taken from a rugged, bumpy vehicle traveling through the savanna, so I apologize in advance for their lack of superb quality.]

We saw some rhinoceroses...

A baby giraffe...

Some hippopotamuses... hippoptami... hippos.

An elephant herd...

And some of the whites flamingos I've ever seen.

Next up after the safari was a stroll (hike) through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. I didn't take a whole lot of pictures because... well, there wasn't a lot to photograph, but as soon as I saw these two guys, I had to whip out the camera. Gorillas always seem to amuse me with their plump disposition and apparent awkwardness.

Especially when they decide to plop down directly in front of the viewing window.

We needed a bit of a rest after the trail, so we hopped aboard the Wildlife Express Train to Rafiki's Planet Watch. This part of the park was a little more educational than our two under four could really comprehend, but we did get to meet Rafiki.

But we did get to brush some domesticated goats in the "Affection Section", aka the petting zoo.

And of course we had to caputure this guy:

{Woooo Pig! Sooie!}

Oh and Nana & Jaja had a great time at the Conservation Station where they saw surgery being performed on an animal, I think.

After a quick lunch in Dinoland, Carter was recharged and ready for the TriceraTop Spin--which is exactly the same ride as Dumbo's Flying Elephants & Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride at Magic Kingdom, but apparently, when Disney has a good thing, they replicate it... x3. Nonetheless, Carter & Olivia enjoyed it just as much as they others and begged to ride it again as soon as it was over.

And because Nick's parents love us so much, they entertained the kids for a little bit while Nick & I snuck away to ride Primevil Whirl, where we snapped a picture of us waiting in line.

Once the gang was all together again, we made a group decision to go see It's Tough to be a Bug! I thought based on our success with the Mickey 3D show at Magic Kingdom that the kids would enjoy it. Boy.Was.I.Wrong. First of all, the show was in the base of The Tree of Life, so we had a long walk down there trying to convince Carter that it was going to be funny and not scary. Secondly, though he's never seen the movie, A Bug's Life, I assumed that being an animated Disney film, the characters would be all warm and fuzzy. Well, I'm sure you can see where this is going, and that's absolutely what happened. Carter started screaming, crying about two minutes in, so we left the theater. It was only seconds later that Nana came out the doors with a crying Olivia, so obviously, the show was a little big for our kids. Will we ever learn?

After the bug show catastrophe, we knew we needed something nice and light and airy to change the mood. So we went and watched the Flights of Wonder live bird show. I'll admit that I wasn't too excited about it, and we had to do our fair share of convincing just to get Carter to enter the theater, but once it started, that all changed.

There were maccaws, eagles, and hawks along with many other birds I didn't even recognize. Not to mention that at one point, Nick honestly thought that the hawk flying overhead was actually going to pick up our son out of his seat. The trainers did a great job of being equal parts educational and entertaining.

The exit to the theather put us out precisely along the path of the Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade set to take place about 30 minutes later, so (once again) my gracious mother-in-law wrangled the kids while Dave, Nick & myself rode Expedition Everest.

We weren't quite sure what to expect, but that left us plesantly surprised with this roller coaster. In fact, at one point, you're travelling around corner and the track suddenly stops. Of course it's all part of the experience, the track behind you moves and you're on your merry way again, but for someone not knowing to even expect that, there's an ever-so-brief moment of Oh $#^+! But all's well that end's well, and I'm really happy that we got to ride a few big-people-only rides.

We made it back to our parade-watching post just in time...

The costumes were really elaborate.

There were these really neat ornately decorated "floats" that were pulled by a person in costume made to look like various exotic birds.

And of course, all our favorite characters...

Chip & Dale

Donald Duck

The one-and-only Minnie Mouse

The last order of business for the day was the Festival of the Lion King, which is a live action show complete with singers/dancers, themed floats, acrobats & crowd interaction. I didn't know what to expect but it was amazing and very entertaining, and not even just for a show in a theme park.

Of course, Olivia could have cared less about the show. (I think our seats were too far away from the action to keep her interest.) But hey, at least she caught an early evening nap!

The Lion King show was in Camp Minnie-Mickey, which worked out really well because the camp is an area where the characters have specific places where they stand while patrons line up to have their picture taken with them. Of course we had to wait in every line; Carter was in heaven. (And Olivia was still asleep.)

Olivia woke up just in time to meet Donald. She hesitantly gave him a hug, and the tears really started coming when we snapped the picture.

This day had been especially hot and tiresome, so we knew our time there was over, but we didn't call it a night. Since the parade & fireworks at Magic Kingdom had been rained out on Saturday when we were there, and since we had park hopper tickets, we just hopped in the car and took ourselves right on over to Magic Kingdom. We got there early enough to get a good spot to watch the parade, but we really didn't have to wait too long for it to start. Call it the magic of Disney because despite the fact that it was way past our childrens' bedtime and despite the fact that we had been traipsing all over Disney that day, they were really good and had their happy faces on the entire time.

And of course they had to have some overpriced, under-quality light toy. And being at the happiest place on Earth, I was more than happy to oblige.

Finally, the parade started, and the kids loved it.

And last, but certainly not least, after the parade was over, we moved closer to the castle to see the fireworks. I took this next picture just to remember the sheer amount of people that had the exact same plan as us.

At one point, I honestly thought my crowd-hatin' hubby was going to loose it. Thank goodness he didn't, and we found our way right up front for the best view.

We situated ourselves right in front of these two friendly faces.

And Carter situated himself right about here...

Yep, the trek to the castle was apparently too much for this wiped-out boy. Not even the boom or sparkle of the fireworks woke him up.

Tinkerbell even "flew" out from the top of the castle!

And with that, the show was over and we finally called it a night.

Day 5 up next - Disney's Holleywood Studios

Disney Vacation - Day 3

2010-07-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, we planned to have a relaxed day to recover from the marathon day at Magic Kingdom and also to enjoy some fun outside of the parks. My mother-in-law and I went to Walmart in the morning (what vacation would be complete without a trip to Wally World?) to buy ponchos just in case we were caught in another tsunami. While we were there, I was able to find some bargain priced souvenirs for the kids that were about 1/3 of normal Disney prices. Sweet!

When we got back to the condo, we packed up our swimming gear and headed to one of the seven pools located on site at the condo property.

Of course, when you're swimming with two little ones, there's not much time for picture taking, so I don't have any pictures that depect just how much fun we had. At the particular pool we went to, there was a giant splash pad area for the little ones, but of course, our kids wanted to jump in the deep end and swim where they couldn't touch. It was still a great time... until it started raining.

We camped out under one of the poolside pavilions and snacked on some Frosties that Jaja picked up for us.

By this time, the rain had really picked up so we went back to our room for some afternoon downtime.

Sunday night, since it was Father's Day, we let the men pick our dinner restaurant. And if you know my husband at all, I'm sure you can imagine where we ended up. We went to Lone Star Steakhouse, and it was really yummy. Of course the stereotypical Texas memoribilia was a little over the top for this native Texan, but I'm sure all the Floridians and tourists think it's appropriate. (Side note: I think it's kinda funny that there's not one of these restaurants actually in Texas.)

After dinner, we went to Downtown Disney. [If you've never been, you should definitely check out the link.] Downtown Disney is just down the road from the parks, situated right on Lake Buena Vista. It's an area full of unique shops, restaurants and it just happens to be where the Cirque de Soilel show is located. It's also home to the largest Disney store in the world. However, I would definitely NOT recommend taking a double stroller with two small children into this store. I also wouldn't recommend taking a husband who happens to get a little anxious in crowds and stores with no clear exits. Oh and no matter what, you should never succomb to the pressure to buy one of these suckers:

Take a guess at how I know these things.

We spent the rest of the evening leisurely strolling (no pun intended) throughout the area with about nine hundred thousand other people. We took in the sights at the Lego Store...

jammed out to a man playing his didgeridoo...

and gazed up at the Characters in Flight hot air balloon.

It's not your average hot air balloon as it is tethered to the dock below. And I really couldn't tell you what the view was like from up above because these prices?...

{click to enlarge}

not conducive to a family of four on a vacation budget for 20 minutes of fun. Plus it's not like I could have convinced Carter to go up there anyway, but maybe next time. When he's about 18 or so.

While walking around, Nick was introduced to his new favorite store, Ridemakerz. Described as a "supercharged interactive experience lets kids of all ages dream up, build and customize their very own radio controlled car or truck", it's really a Build-A-Bear for grown men. Except there's no bears, only radio controlled cars. It actually was a really neat concept, and the next time we're lucky enough to go to Disney, I'm sure we'll set aside an extra two hundred bucks to make one.

After we had all the ~~crowds~~ fun we could handle, we decided to wind it down. But on the way back to our car, we stumbled up some sort of street party.

And this guy:

And we did the complete opposite of winding it down. In fact, we showed up just in time for the Cupid Shuffle...

Lucky for our children, they were born to a couple of young and hip parents that were probably dancers in a former life.

That or they have two folks who have been to one-too-many open bar weddings in their day.

Whatever the case, our children had a blast on the streets of Downtown Disney, and it's definitely a place we'll visit again.

Next up? - Day 4, Animal Kingdom. Rawr!

Disney Vacation - Day 2

2010-07-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

[a little disclaimer; this post has a TON of pictures (and words, for that matter). It was our first day there, so I was probably a teensy bit shutter happy. I promise that none of the other vacation posts will be this long. Enjoy!]

The kids were SUPER excited to finally be going to Disney World, or as Olivia says it: "Dis-uh-nee Woh-rud". They couldn't wait to meet Mickey and see Cinderella's castle. We got up early to be there when it opened, and after navigating through the largest parking lot I've ever seen, a quick trip on the monorail, we had finally arrived at Magic Kingdom. If I had my head on straight, I would have taken a picture of the grand entrance, but I was too concerned with getting every single bag checked, making sure everyone had tickets, and navigating the beast (our double stroller) through the gates & turnstiles, so I'll give you this one I found on the interwebs:

Along with about a million other people, we entered the park and headed down Main Street USA. I turned a corner and finally caught my first glimpse of Cinderella's Castle.

Check out the crowd of folks in front of us

We also stopped for a few "professional" photos with the castle in the background (I'll have to post those later; haven't purchased the digital images yet), then we were able to snap this gem of Nana & JaJa and the kids.

We rode Cinderella's Golden Carousel first,

then on to Mad Tea Party (the teacups),

which is where we met our first friend, Alice in Wonderland.

Then we entered Mickey's Toontown Fair, which was probably the best part of the park for children of Carter & Olivia's age.

It was here that we finally met Mickey and Minnie.

Waiting our turn in line, though you can tell from Carter's face that he is looking at Mickey.

Carter was beside himself with excitement...

I think someone said something funny.

and Olivia wasn't too sure why two of her favorite cartoon characters were suddenly larger than life (her uncertainty of the characters would prove be an underlying theme of the trip). She did allow us to take her picture with them though, as long as she was safe on Daddy's hip.

They both thoroughly enjoyed touring Mickey & Minnie's houses.

Taking a peek inside Mickey's bedroom...

After lunch, we stopped for a quick ride on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Carter loved it...

And Olivia wasn't too sure...

Earlier in the day, Carter had set his sights on the Tomorrowland Speedway racecars (I used the term race very loosely here).

Since Olivia wasn't big enough to ride, Carter got some one-on-one time with Mom & Dad while NaNa & JaJa waited in line for Dumbo the Flying Elephant, which quickly became another fan favorite.

Next up was Stitch's Great Escape. We honestly had no idea what we were really waiting for, but we knew Carter was tall enough, the wait was 5 minutes, and it was air conditioned so we thought, "why not?". Famous last words, right? Well, we went through a series of rooms waiting to get to the actual "ride". Lilo and Stitch are talking it up, there's some funny stuff, and we continue to wait. We finally get to the main part of the attraction and enter a room with individual seats. This is Carter sitting in his seat:

Everybody's looking happy. What you can't see is the harness type pad that lowered on his shoulder right after this picture was taken. Strange, but I thought maybe the room was going to spin or something fun like that. Boy was I wrong. Basically, the room gets dark, a larger-than-life Stitch appears and starts into his act. Before I knew it, the interactive show was spewing mist on us as Stitch sneezed, unpleasant smells and sounds were coming out of the "harness" and my son was breaking down. I reached over and held his hand hoping to calm him and hoping that the show was almost over, but about 1.5 seconds before total and complete freak-out, I lifted our harnesses and exited the room. He was relieved to see the light of day, but I tell ya, I think we scarred him for life. From them on, for the rest of the trip, his fears got the better of him, and he doubted every ride/attraction we tried to go on. "Is this a scary one, Mama?" "Are those nice people?" Poor thing.

It probably didn't help that we forced him to go on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad later in the day, which, for the record, he hated. So, lesson learned.

Nana entertained Carter & Olivia for a little bit so that Dave, Nick & I could ride Space Mountain. We had obtained a fast pass earlier in the day (best system evah!), so we were in and out of there pretty quick. I've been on many roller coasters in my day but something about the famous Space Mountain at Disney made it really fun. I'm glad we were able to ride it, and someday when the kids are big enough, they will too.

Anyway, we proceed on to many other attractions such as the Peter Pan's Flight, the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Swiss Family Treehouse, The Enchanted Tiki Room (almost had to bail out of this one early too), and of course, the Magic Carpets of Aladdin.

Basically the same exact thing as Dumbo, but this time, Daddy joined us!

We stumbled across Pirate Goofy in Adventureland, and once again, Olivia was not having it...

while Carter beamed with excitement.

We also watched the Country Bear Jamboree, which the kids really liked. Something about robotic bears playing the guitar gets them, I guess.

After "THE BEAR SHOW" as it was affectionately called by the little ones, we decided that a leisurely trip on the Liberty Square Riverboat.

It was only after we had boarded the Riverboat and sat there for twenty minutes in the beaming afternoon sun waiting for it to leave the dock that we realized we probably should have skipped this one. Oh well, at least another opportunity for a photo opp.

Loving the identical poses of me & the kids

Nana & JaJa

After we [finally] got off the Riverboat, Nana was gracious enough to entertain two young kiddos by herself yet again, so that we could ride on Splash Mountain. I mentioned earlier that we took Carter on the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad--we practically had to drag him, thinking he would have a fun time once he finally got on it--but there was no way he was getting on Splash Mountain, even though he met the height requirement. But we three had fun anyway, and by this point in the day, it was actually kind of a relief to get wet and cool down some [major foreshadowing ahead, folks].

With the gang all back together again and the sky looking rather ominous, we decided to go in the Haunted Mansion. After all, it was indoors and had a short wait, and everyone was tall enough! I'm sure you're catching a recurring theme here... Carter was totally against it. But we made him go anyway, telling him it wouldn't be that bad. In all reality, it really wasn't that bad. For those that haven't been on it, you move throughout the haunted mansion on a track seeing all sorts of imagined "ghosts" and other scary things, but I suppose to a three year old who's been traumatized twice already that day, it might not have been hard to tell that everything was fake. Oh, and he rode the entire ride like this:

When we came out of the mansion, it had really started raining. We retrieved the stroller, and booked it to the nearest indoor ride, which just so happened to be:

My father-in-law said it was a classic Magic Kindgom ride and that we had to do it. At this point, I was just trying to take cover, but little did I know how much I would soon love it. The ride itself isn't intricate in the least. You travel throughout various "worlds" in a slow moving boat, taking in the people and culture of those worlds depicted by costumed dolls & animals. Perhaps it was the reprieve from "scary" rides, the song "it's a small world" played over and over again, or maybe it was just magic. But the kids absolutely LOVED this ride.

Mesmerized

We even jumped right back in line to ride it again after we got off because they loved it so darn much.

It was pretty late at this point, but we were waiting around to see the evening parade and fireworks show. Usually there's one at 9 pm and one at 11pm. The 9:00 had already been cancelled due to rain but we held out hope that we'd be able to see the 11:00, so we stuck around and enjoyed a few more attractions.

We had to convince Carter to go into Mickey's PhilharMagic 3D show, reassuring him that it would be "nice".

Do you see the rain on our clothes?

Wet, but still smiling!

It was a cute little show that I actually really enjoyed because it featured some of my childhood Disney favorites like The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin and Lion King. Of course Carter & Olivia weren't too fond of the extra effects of mist and wind puffed in their faces along with the 3D images, but at least no one cried.

When we came out of the 3D show, we heard that the 11:00 parade & fireworks show had been cancelled, but we went back to Tomorrowland to catch a couple more rides before heading out. We rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, which was fun & entertaining, and then we went to Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress, which was... not as entertaining. I'll let you experience that one for yourself someday, if you're so inclined.

So, after about 13 hours in the park, we called it a day. The rain was starting to come down a little bit more, so we made a bee-line towards the monorail. By the time we got off at the Transportation Center (read: parking lot), it was pouring, borderline monsoon, and we started to get really drenched. (so much for that afternoon cool down earlier in the day) We still had to walk down the monorail platform, breakdown the stroller to get on the tram, ride the tram to the lot, and then walk to our car. I swear, the wind started blowing, and the rain was coming sideways, and the tram ride was miserable. At one point, Carter was zipped up in Gwlynda's jacket just try and stay somewhat dry & warm. We finally made it to our row, but by that point, I didn't have a dry ounce left on my body, so I gave up. I trudged through puddles in the parking lot pushing the double stroller the whole way and by the time we got to the car, I think I weighed 10 lbs more from being soaked. The good news is, there wasn't a darn thing we could do about it, so the situation was actually quite funny, and we were all laughing pretty hard by the time we were safe inside the car. Carter & Olivia, though?

Knocked out cold before we even put the car in drive. Bless their little hearts.

Next up - Day 3

Disney Vacation - Day 1

2010-07-29T13:18:00.000-07:00

The night before we left, we headed out to Rockwall to stay with my in-laws since we had to be up and at em by 6 am to catch our flight. Our plan worked beautifully and we arrived at the airport with way too much luggage and plenty of time to spare. Which is a good thing because, apparently, a young, attractive, red-headed mother of two screams "terrorist". Or at least that's what I tell myself when I try to reason why I was pulled aside and patted down by the most unfriendly TSA employee.

"Which one is our plane, Mom?"

While waiting for our plane to come in, Carter & Olivia were exposed to the joys of overpriced chocolate milk in the terminal and sideways glances from other travelers secretly (or not-so-secretly) hoping that your family is not on their flight. Turns out those fears were unfounded because our children behaved beautifully on each flight.

Checking out the safety manual like any good traveler should...

Chillin'. "What's the big deal here?"

The excitement of taking off combined with being clueless of what was to come kept our children entertained for all of about 5 minutes. Then we resorted to our bag of tricks which included Starburst, various snacks and activities and soft fuzzy blankets for a little extra security, and....

... iPads. Turns out when you throw some headphones on a child and plaster Barney in front of them, they hardly remember that they're thousands of miles above ground.

Thanks to Mr. Wright Amendment, our flight had to touch down in New Orleans, but the stop allowed the young uns to get unstrapped and stretch their legs a bit.

And pose for the camera, of course. Both the kids knocked out a bit on the last leg of the flight, so all-in-all, it was a pretty peaceful trip and turns out I was worried for nothing.

It was raining when we touched down in Orlando (which I learned later is a very normal event for Florida), so that made the baggage claim wait a little longer, left us with soaking wet clothes, and made our trip to the rental car a little more interesting.

Side note about the rental car: my father-in-law specifically requested a seven passenger vehicle. With four adults and two children in carseats, you need all the room you can get, right? Seven passenger vehicle used to mean, large, family bohemith vehicle with room for a small army. But these days, it apparently means that the back seat can touch the rear window and the driver & passenger can ride with their knees touching the dashboard. Which leaves no room for? Luggage. I so wish I would have taken a picture of all the suitcases sitting outside the car and Nick & Dave rearranging it all at least 10 times trying to figure out a way to get to the condo without leaving someone at the airport. But at the time, I was just trying to keep my kids calm and gently remind the two that we still had to fit me and a double stroller in the already packed vehicle. It all worked out in the end, of course, but it is a fun memory that I never want to forget.

Once we finally arrived at the condo and sorted out the cancelled reservation situation, we were left with a lovely two bedroom, two bath place to call home for the next week. It had plenty of room for all of us and even had an in-suite washer/dryer combo which came in handy, for sure.

We relaxed a little bit throughout the afternoon and then went to dinner at the Wolfgang Puck Cafe in Downtown Disney.

(picture from the Disney website)

The food was delicious, and this was the view from our table:

After dinner, we headed back to the condo to rest up for the following day.

Of course the kids were all out of sorts with their schedule being thrown completely out the window, but after a while we were able to get them settled down and asleep.

Next up? Day 2 - Magic Kingdom!

Returning to Normal

2010-07-27T11:16:00.000-07:00

So we've officially been back from Disney World for a month. I'm sure everyone has given up on me actually posting pictures from our trip, even though I've still had a couple of friends ask about them. I think I finally got real with myself on why it was taking me so long to post them and came up with this conclusion:

I didn't want to admit that it was really over.

I know, cheesy as that may sound, but truly, the vacation was the best I've ever had (as an adult or a child). It was the first of ours as a family and I want to remember it forever. When you're there, your world comes to a halt, and you're so engrossed on the magic Walt created. You forget about everything else, or at least I did. But then I realized, all good things must come to an end, so I, too, must get real and move on. All that to say that the post(s) are coming. I promise. Like today, hopefully. If not today, then definitely tomorrow.

And speaking of moving on, boy has our life been moving quickly since we returned from vacation. Time seems to be moving at warp speed these days, and I can hardly keep up (hence the super-long bloggie absence lately). I've been crazy busy with work, having been to an all-day coaches show in Arlington, a two-day Rawlings corporate event at Cowboys Stadium (complete with private tour!)* and even to a four day coaches show in San Antonio (no kids allowed!). And that was all in a 7 day period!

But we are back in the swing now, with school & work & church & our normal activities, and I'm pretty sure life is returning to normal. And I think I like it.

*post coming "soon" (such a relative term over here at Everyday Eason, I've learned.)

Dress Like a Nerd

2010-07-09T13:37:00.000-07:00

During the summer months, the kids' school has different themes each week, and on Fridays, the theme is culminated by having the kids dress up as something pertaining to that week.

This week's theme was "Science", so today was "Dress Like a Nerd". I didn't put much thought into it. In fact, we often don't participate in the theme if a:) I forget or b:) I forget. But today, I remembered, and when I told Carter, he said, "Mama, what's a nerd?"

Try explaining that to your kid.

"Someone who's smart... " Wait, I don't want to say that. "Someone who gets good grades in school." Nope, try again. Finally I just told him that I would show him what a nerd was. Then I proceeded to pick out his clothes.

I found the smallest polo shirt in his drawer and the ugliest pair of denim shorts he owned (seriously, these are like a back-up to a back-up pair) and told him he had to wear a belt. I buttoned his shirt up all the way to the top and when I pulled his pants up [high], he yelped, "Mah-muh... that's TOO high!"

A small price to pay to be the best dressed, I suppose.

I wasn't fully dressed yet, so I finished my morning routine while Nick picked out his shoes. A couple of minutes later, Carter proudly came running into the bathroom and proclaimed that I look at his shoes. I nearly fell over I was laughing so hard. Good call on the socks, Dad.

I can already hear him explaining this one to his future therapist.

P.S. You probably noticed that I said nothing about Olivia dressing like a nerd.
1. I don't think she owns anything that I could have turned into "nerdy" clothes.
2. Her normal teacher is on vacation and the potty train has been choo-chooing right on past her this week, so I knew she wouldn't be in whatever clothes I dressed her in for very long at all.

Bible Songs

2010-07-08T17:31:00.000-07:00

Every night, Carter picks out some books for us (me or Nick) to read together before bed. Tonight, he brought me this book:

Now I'm not even really sure where this book came from but the songs inside are complete with instructions for hand motions and musical notes.
Oh and I looked; it was published in 1986.

So anyway, we sat on the couch and Mama sung as many songs as she could remember or figure out using the piano app on my phone. Considering that I barely knew a third of the songs, I'd say that I need to bust out my old keyboard and learn the rest. But I did enjoy remembering some of the songs from my childhood in church and Carter had a blast listening to me try and figure them out.

Lori - via my iPhone

We're Baaack...

2010-06-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

I have so much to say about our trip and SOOOO many photos to share, but unfortunately, I returned to an office needing attention and an inbox full of emails, so I'm not quite sure how soon I will get to blog about it all.

As I've said before, this blog is the closest I'll ever get to a scrapbook, so I like to take my time and record our memories with care. That being said, I do want to document the trip before I forget any of it, so it definitely won't be long. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this photo taken on our last day at Disney World, right in the middle of Main Street USA with Cinderella's Castle in the background.

This place truly was magical.

Leave-ing... On a Jet Plane!

2010-06-17T06:28:00.000-07:00

That's right, my friends. After a last minute change of plans, we have decided to FLY to Florida with the kids.

While I am extremely happy about this new development (I believe my exact words to Nick were: "I'd rather have 3 hours of screaming on a plane than 20+ hours of screaming in the car."), it has added a whole new level of complexity to the trip. Packing? For a family of four with two small children? For 8 days? C-R-A-Z-Y. It probably doesn't help that I am a natural-born over-packer.

It also probably doesn't help that I seem to have an unrealistic impression of what 50 lbs actually feels like.

Alas, our bags are packed, we're headed to stay with the in-laws tonight, and then, bright and early tomorrow morning, we depart for the Happiest Place on Earth!

I think I just might burst with excitement before we even get there.

Swim Lessons!

2010-06-16T12:22:00.000-07:00

Carter started (and will finish) swim lessons this week. He is taking them from Ms. Sandy at the MHS Natatorium, and just being in that place brings back so many memories from my childhood.

The first day, ready for the pool!

He has no fear of the water, as long as he can stand. And if he can't touch, then he's pretty content with a confident adult leading him.

The thing he has the most trouble with is floating on his back. I think he feels like his head will go under at any given moment, despite Ms. Sandy's best efforts to assure him otherwise.

In case you can't hear Ms. Sandy in the video below, she's telling Carter NOT to kick his legs.

Apparently, we also need a lesson in following directions.

Luckily, he's getting to enjoy all this fun with his pal, Gracie.

Love all their faces in this one...

and this one.

They even get to practice cool things like alligator crawl...

... and the flying alligator right over Ms. Sandy's leg.

He's showing us some of his tricks at home too. Last night he reenacted this moment for us in the bath tub: putting his head under water and blowing bubbles.
[And for the record, Olivia did too, though she may have inhaled a bit more water than her big brother.]

All in all, he's getting super comfortable in the water (which is all I can ask for, at this point), and he's having a great time.

Last night, at the dinner table, he looks up at me and says:

"Momma? Know what my favorite part of today was?"

"What is that, sweetie?"

"Swim-mun lessons."

2010-06-14T08:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, our household looked like this:

Here we are today.

That's right; our beloved black lab, Cisco, left this world yesterday and went up to that great big doghouse in the sky. I hope that doesn't sound trite, but if I don't make light of this, I just might break down and cry. Some of you may remember about a year and a half ago when Cisco joined our family. Though, if you recall, we've loved him since he was born, even though he lived with Nick's parents.

Since we're leaving on vacation this week, we took both our labs to Nick's parents house on Saturday, and the plan was for them to stay there until we get back since someone else will be coming daily to take care of their other dogs. My in-laws let the dogs out in the morning, and all was fine. They put them back in the kennel while they went to church. When they returned home and went to let the dogs out, they found Cisco laying in his run. Gwlynda said it appeared as though he just curled up, laid down and went to sleep. I will forever remember this dog, the calm, docile Labrador that I really loved.

Cisco Stock Split
July 31, 2000 - June 13, 2010

P.S. We haven't told the kids yet. Since we dropped the dogs off on Saturday, they haven't really asked about them. With them being so young, I'm not sure how we'll explain it, but I know even Olivia will wonder where he is when we get back. I suppose we'll cross that bridge when we get there. No need to bring it up right before we leave for the happiest place on Earth.

Just look at that ticker!

2010-06-04T19:49:00.001-07:00

2! Weeks! Until! Disney!

I'm so freakin pumped that I can hardly stand it. But I know the days will pass quickly. In the next two weeks, I'm helping hostess a baby shower, Carter will start (and finish) swim lessons, oh and did I mention that Olivia is potty training? Yeah so plenty to keep me busy but still.so.excited!

And because a post isn't quite complete without a picture, I'll leave you with my little sleeping beauty this evening.

Nick is at the Rangers game with the guys, and I was watching it on tv. Carter insisted that he wasn't tired when bedtime rolled around, so he had the idea to lay on the couch with a blanket. So I "let him". Ha! He was asleep within minutes. I love it when kids think they won.

Lori - via my iPhone

Take me out to the ballgame...

2010-05-28T15:05:00.000-07:00

If you know me at all, then you know that my favorite pastime is attending a Texas Rangers baseball game.

This was the view from our seats on our anniversary.

If Nick and I have the means and ability, we'll go practically any chance we get.

Married 8 years!

And it's even better when we don't have to pay for the tickets!

We sure do love us some Ian Kinsler!

So thanks to one of our customers that is a former Texas Ranger, and thanks also to our dear friend whose law firm has season tickets available for use, we were able to go to two separate games last week for our anniversary.

I took this picture on Friday night from our actual seats,

just to show you how close to the field we were.

We even had a couple of extra seats on Friday night, so my sister & brother-in-law joined us.

And of course, these trips to the ballpark would not be possible without the help of our children's grandparents, because as much fun as we have at the games, our children? Not quite yet.

Easons - 0, Dallas Zoo - 1

2010-05-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

Nathan was missing his best buddy Carter, so our families decided to venture out to the Dallas Zoo this past Saturday. All of us loaded up in our Explorer (yay for fold-up third row seating and saving an extra $7 bucks on parking!), and we headed towards the giant giraffe statue on I-35E.

The morning was cloudy, overcast and residing at a nice 80 degrees. Perfect zoo weather, in my opinion. However, the drive over brought much sunshine, zero clouds and a 15 degree spike in the temperature. Don't get me wrong here; I've lived in Texas all my life. I know hot. But in mid-May? with an overcast morning? Let's just say it's not what I was expecting. If I'm going to traipse around in nine thousand degree weather while pushing a 30 lb. toddler in a stroller, I like to be prepared. And prepared for the heat, I was not. (Side note: can anyone tell me when I aged fifty years? I mean, seriously? An entire paragraph about the weather? Sheesh!)

So anyway, we whipped out the strollers, slathered on the sunscreen and off we went. Seeing the people passing us in the parking lot already leaving the zoo at noon, drenched in sweat, looking exhausted beyond all get-out should have been my first clue that this wasn't going to be a walk in park. Oh, and this? Trying to get a decent picture of the three kids?

Should have been my second clue.

The first thing we saw were the flamingos. Carter vividly remembered this familiar animal from our visit to the aquarium last fall.

Then Nathan showed us his intelligence by pointing out this blue-and-yellow macaw.

"You want me to smile, Mom? Not a chance."

Then we stumbled across the Bird & Reptile building. [Oh sweet, blessed air conditioning.] And can you guess what we saw there? You got it: birds. and reptiles. But pictures of those aren't near as interesting as the "Ghosts of the Bayou" exhibit. Here we met Boudreaux, a 9-foot albino alligator and his swamp friends.

Nathan and Carter were also able to fulfill one of their requests for the day: to pet a snake.

That's Carter's hand on the bottom. Purell, anyone?

Then we went into a butterfly garden. And I took a picture of a butterfly. The end.

Moving right along, we were able to see anteaters, monkeys, more birds, a tiger and a turtle. Is this not the most boring picture ever?

(even now, looking back, I can't tell which end is the front and which is the back. Still looks like a giant rock to me.)

The boys stopped to watch some more fortunate children riding a camel, but no way was that worth an extra $5 bucks to me. Instead, I asked the boys to pose for a picture by the fence and this is what I got:

I know. Precious three-year-olds.

On our way to the gorilla exhibit, after we stopped for some refreshments in the Zoofari food court, we tried again to get a picture of the three. Notice Olivia's giant souvenir Icee cup. Yup, definitely MY daughter.

The gorilla exhibit was basically a bunch of trail walking with a slight chance to see a gorilla. Which I did not. Nick and Carter may have seen one, but I was waiting with Olivia in the shade. Did I mention how hot it was?

And this, my friends, is the closest we got to any elephants. I know! No elephants? At the zoo? Well, actually, the elephants were there along with the giraffes & the lions, but they had already been moved from their previous habitat to their new home, the Giants of the Savanna. Which doesn't open until Memorial Day Weekend. The weekend after we were there. But hey, for the small price of a zoo membership ($99+), we could have seen them while we were there. No thanks. (I have to admit here, that Leslie, Ryan and I were plotting how we could sneak past security and slip into the new exhibit unnoticed, but then we came to our senses.) And I told Carter they were sick. It was the best I could come up with.

You all know that kids never want to leave anywhere fun, so we bribed them with a ride on the endangered species carousel, took this really awesome picture, and went home.

Oh and the best part about all this? I had two vouchers that would have given Nick & I free admission. Annnnnd I left them in the car. So, I guess we'll be headed back to the zoo before the end of 2010. And you better believe I'll be seeing some elephants.

I heart my boss

2010-05-20T12:52:00.001-07:00

I stepped out of my office for a few minutes and when I returned, this was waiting for me on my desk:

A Route 44 Diet Coke makes a good day even better.

Lori - via my iPhone

P.S. Do you pronounce it rout or root? I always seem to get corrected by the car hop if I say Root, but that's just what comes natural to this Texas girl.

My Hubby

2010-05-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

I came across this meme/survey/cheesy Q & A on another blog and thought I'd throw it over here on mine. Most of you know my husband, so you might appreciate some of these answers.

I'm not going to "tag" anyone, but please feel free to copy & paste it to your own blog; I'd love to hear about y'alls husbands/significant others as well!

1. He's sitting in front of the TV: what is on the screen? If I'm in the room? House, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory or Biggest Looser. If it's just him? Sadly, probably WWE, Family Guy or Pawn Stars.

2. You're out to eat. What kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ranch. Always ranch. And he doesn't put it on his salad until he removes tomatoes, cucumbers or any other veggies that made their way onto his bed of lettuce. But hey, at least he always saves one crouton for me!

3. What is one food he doesn't like? Only one? How about this, I'll name the foods he does like: meat and potatoes. That's about it.

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? Bud Light, in a bottle. Though he'd really like to order a Pomegranite Margarita but won't actually do it because, well, "that's a girly drink."

5. Where did he go to high school? With me!, at dear old McKinney High School (back when there was only one in town).

6. What size shoe does he wear? Eleven.

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Slowpitch softball bats. & comic books.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Ham and cheese, with only mayo and bread. He'll also do turkey too, but again, no veggies.

9. What would the Husband eat every day if he could? I'll refer you back to #3. If it's meat, preferably beef, he'll eat it.

10. What is his favorite cereal? Grape Nuts with Corn Flakes on top. Or, Cocoa Dyno Bites.

11. What would he never wear? A sweater vest.

12. What is his favorite sports team? Depends on the sport; Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, obviously. Or, any sport the Arkansas Razorbacks may be playing at the time.

13. Who did he vote for? Ooops!, I knew there was something he forgot to do last November.

14. Who is his best friend? ME! Or Michael Bruner.

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do? Wake him up. Ever.

16. How many states has he lived in? Four: Arkansas, Texas, Colorado, California.

17. What is his heritage? Razorback all the way, baby. Oh wait? Probably not what you meant. Indian-ish.

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind? Chocolate cake with chocolate icing. No frills.

19. Did he play sports in high school? Early on, he did. Then he developed (pun intended) into an excellent photographer for the school newspaper & yearbook. Basically and extra curricular activity that doesn't involve much actual work.

20. What could he spend hours doing? Sleeping.

So excited!!!

2010-05-18T14:21:00.000-07:00

Thirty days from today, the family and I will load up in the in-laws Excursion and set out for the greatness that is Orlando, Florida. More specifically...

I am beyond excited, ecstatic really. I find it hard to put into words. Not only have I never been, but unless you count maternity leave as a vacation (which, for the record, I do not), then this will be my first real vacation in four years. And most certainly, our first vacation as a family.

Now I know some of you are probably thinking that that 20+ hours in the car with a one year old and a three year old followed by a week away from home walking miles around crowded amusement park(s) sounds like anything but a vacation. I hear you. Believe me, I do. But when the opportunity presented itself, we couldn't say no.

When my step-father-in-law's dad passed away in September (we miss you Grandpa Irek!), his wife graciously offered the last stay in their timeshare in Florida to Dave & Gwlynda (my in-laws) so that they could take us kids & grandkids to Florida. So with travel & lodging covered, and being that we had enough time to prepare (i.e. save money from our tax return), we couldn't pass it up.

Here's the resort where we're staying:

Now, I am in full-on vacation planning mode: new shorts & tank tops to buy, for Disney, you know... and "we have to have this such-and such for Florida, of course" and an all-around giddiness at the thought of it all. I've even been researching iPhone apps for use inside the parks to determine closest restroom locations, wait times in line, and where to find the best food. (How cool is that?)

I realize that this place will be unlike any other. Or at least I think I do. I'm trying to prepare myself for what it will be like, but until I'm actually there, I guess there's no way to truly know. I am so glad that we will have the in-laws and my sister-in-law & her family there with us, who have all been there [several times] before.

So, to my dear friends that have been to Disney in the past or to those who have taken a 20 hour road trip with two little ones, got any advice for this newbie? I'm all ears. And so excited!

May 17th, 2002

2010-05-17T07:46:00.000-07:00

I can still remember the day very clearly. My closest friends had spent the night in the tiny, 750 square feet apartment I would soon call home. We woke up to a call from my dad telling us to get up, throw on some clothes and meet him at I.H.O.P. Not even the steady downpour could keep us college-age girls away from free breakfast at 9 am.

We met my dad for pancakes, and I distinctly remember how sweet the gesture was for this man who, for the better part of my life, could be found in his pasture feeding the cows, delivering calves, repairing electric fences and pretty much any other task that had to be performed to get the job done. And now, we were eating breakfast, my dad and six girls, chatting about the days' events and how excited I was. A moment for pause on what would be, what is, the biggest day of my life.

The rest of the day was spent, rather calmly, I might add, showering, packing, primping, and simply enjoying these moments with my friends, before I became a married woman.

Once we arrived at the church, things seemed to move pretty quickly, but still, my memories from that time are good ones. No real stress, just hanging out in the church parlor waiting for 7:00 to finally roll around. Pictures were taken, visitors stopped in to say hello. When it was finally time for the wedding party to take their places, it was just me and my dad, waiting. Even now, I remember being excited, yet the whole feeling was surreal. I had planned for this day for months, and now the time was finally here.

Walking down the aisle with my dad, I remember everyone looking at me. I was happy at the faces I saw, and I was filled with gratitude that these people were sharing in this moment with us. Finally, I could see Nick (I think his eyes were blotchy, already), and he had the biggest smile on his face.

The ceremony went off without a hitch. The unity candle was lit,* we both made it through our vows, I didn't cry when Nick performed a song he had written for me, and no one tripped or passed out on stage. A true success in my book. And at the end of that day, eight years ago now, I couldn't have been any happier to finally be Mrs. Nicholas Eason.

And I still am.

*If you've ever used a dripless candle, then you know that it's a candle with a metal casing on the outside, so the wax stays inside and doesn't drip on your hands. Well, apparently, when pulling the tapered candle out of its candelabra, it is entirely possible that if it is stuck, and if you pull too hard, then you can be left holding a metal casing while the wax candle, still burning, drops out of bottom and onto the floor. Feel free to ask Nick how we know this.

P.S. Stay tuned; I'll try to do a recap of the reception in the next couple of days. But as I've said before, we have no digital photos from our wedding, so I'll have to channel my inner-Flinstone find time to show you the pictures the old fashioned way: by scanning them.

The Weekend of Moms

2010-05-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

I've been a mom for three and a half years. In those years, I have tried on countless occasions to capture snapshots of my children in [somewhat] concrete format whether that be via professional photos, video clips or even this blog (as I do not scrapbook). But I have to say that some of my most treasured possessions are the crafts that the kids bring home from school with their pictures and hand prints on them. Even though I know that the teachers do most of the work, somehow they manage to capture my children's expressions and personalities in such a manner that is priceless. Even if that picture is framed with yarn and craft sticks.

This Mother's Day was no exception.

Carter "showing" me his present; Olivia in shorts that do not belong to her.

Carter: "Look, Mommy, what Ms. Juliette made for you!"

Olivia made me a recipe book:

Apparently, 2 hugs, 2 kisses, 2 cups of TLC, 1 cup of understanding, and 1 dash of patience* blended all together yields this little beauty.

*understatement much?

------------------------------
Saturday morning, Nick had to work, so after dropping Olivia off at Gigi's house for a bit, I took Carter to baseball practice where he swung a bat three times his height...

practiced his expert sliding skills (terrible photo, I know; he's the blurry blob in the middle.)...

and posed for one last picture when practice was over.

Afterwards, we went to cousin Jackson's baseball game, then my sister & family and I took Mom out to lunch to celebrate Mother's Day. We dined at Crow's Cafe in downtown Anna, and for the two of you that live in the area that read my blog (Whitney & Sarah), you NEED to go if you haven't already been. It's delicious.

It was such a beautiful day, so we decided to sit on the patio where the kids ran wild all within the confines of the gated patio seating. It was glorious. And because I am an awesome mother, Olivia drank sweet tea...

and played with knives...

And Carter was really happy to pose for a photo with dear old Mom...

Mindi and I were super excited to give Mom her gift, and that probably had nothing to do with the fact that we were actually on the ball this year and ordered her gift weeks! ahead of time.

Jackson & Grayson were anxious to see it as well.

She loves it!

[click on photo to zoom in]

Jeremy (who is apparently really excited about this picture) & Mindi

------------------------------

Sunday morning before church, Nick informed me that the kids had left something for me on the table.

My children know me so well...

A couple of new Rangers t-shirts, some snickerdoodle cookies...

I told Carter these were grown up food.

Sharing and generosity have never been my strong suits.

And The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

Love.Her.

After church we headed out to see Nana & JaJa in Rockwall, but apparently, this mom was off-duty at that point because I didn't take a single picture. boo! So I snagged one of her off facebook. yea!

Carter picked out a lovely plant and bright yellow pot for Nana, and he even signed the card himself (Gwlynda: take a picture of it, would ya?). We celebrated the afternoon in one of my most favorite ways, relaxing after lunch on the grill, Texas Rangers on the tv, and the kids running amuck, though not actually breaking anything (this time) at Nana & JaJa's house. The perfect end to a great weekend.

The View From Our Table

2010-05-04T06:12:00.000-07:00

One of our sweet friends, Lorin LaPrade, tied the knot last month. She married Mr. Logan Lowry, and the wedding was a blast! They got married at the Dallas Arboretum in front of a large crowd of family, friends and a little bit of rain. They did such an excellent job of planning, and the reception was definitely one of the nicest ones I've ever been to. (Lorin: that event lighting certainly paid off.) Congrats to my sweet friend who I know is already enjoying married life.

While at the wedding, I had my camera out, but as I look back on the pictures I took, they were all pretty much of the same 9 people, and of course, I took pictures of the cakes (why do I always do that?). In fact, I'm pretty sure the only picture I got of the groom was him dancing with his bride. Anyway, the title of this post, as you can tell, is the view of the wedding from our table, #4... or was it #7? Doesn't matter really; it might as well been called "MHS Class of 1999 & Guest" table because that's what it was.

So, to not bore those of you who don't know these people or don't care to scroll through 40 pictures of me and my same fake smile, I threw the pictures into a little slideshow. Watch it if you're interested, or I'll catch you next post if you're not. (Oh, and the background song has nothing to do with the Lowrys; I just used it because it's currently my #1 favorite song.) Enjoy!

Baseball Begins, aka Nick's First Post

2010-05-03T10:34:00.000-07:00

The Mister of this Everyday Eason blog has decided to grace the interwebs with his very first post. Enjoy!

**************************************************

On Saturday we started a chapter of our lives that won’t end for the next 17 or so years, Carter started Baseball. Now this wasn’t full on we are getting uniforms and hats and joining a T-ball team, this was a little different and a little scarier. Carter went to a local Baseball Training Facility, Frozen Ropes, to take lessons. This is a place that for the low, low price of thousands of dollars a year, your child can take instructions from some of the best in the business. Here is the scary part…..our 3 year old could be taking lessons till he is 18. 15 years of lessons! (Luckily Carter-man’s Daddy knows the owners.)

The first day was fantastic. Carter, a long time Daycare and Stretch-and-grow attendee, listened to Coach TJ very well and was following instructions to a T. First they had to stretch it out.

Then “Catch” a bean bag after yelling out what color it was.

Some bunny hopping and throwing...

And finally running the bases.

Carter seemed to have a really good time and was hyped up about baseball afterward. (Brings a tear to my eye.) We went down to the baseball fields afterwards to watch some kids play and have a hotdog. So day one is gone just 5,399 more days of baseball training to go.

-Nick

Clarity

2010-04-27T07:44:00.001-07:00

"They" say the morning brings clarity.

You know what else the morning brings?

Bruises and black eyes.

But hey! At least I'm still smiling, right?

Lori - via my iPhone

A lesson in softball fundamentals

2010-04-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

You should always try to use your ball glove to catch a softball thrown at you.

The face simply isn't as effective.

Lori - via my iPhone

Easter!

2010-04-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter Sunday full of church, family, food, fun and eggs. Lots of eggs. The "Easter bunny" brought the kids a few treats in basket form, and although I tried to prepare Carter the night before that the Easter bunny would be visiting our house that night, when he saw the baskets the following morning and turned to me and said, "Mommy... did you bought these for me?", I didn't have the heart to tell him no. So I guess the gig's up at our house. Oh well, Mommy and Daddy can create Easter baskets just as awesome as any bunny.

As always, we were running late to church, so there was no time for pictures beforehand. Afterwards, I was able to shoot these few of the kids looking at the fishies at church. Side note: It was really bright in the children's building lobby therefore my auto flash didn't register and the pictures are of 35mm-film-circa-1987 quality. You're welcome.

When telling your one year old to smile, apparently, you also need to tell her to look at you.

Fish make me feel so reflective.

As good as it's going to get...

Olivia absolutely loves her "Mickey", even though it's actually Minnie.

Cousins

His shirt is proof that you should take pictures before eating "sharbert."

Like daughter, like mother, like daughter.

Unfortunately, my camera battery died right as we were headed outside to hunt the eggs, so I resigned to using my phone for capturing those moments. I did give Nick my Flip video camera, but how much footage can you watch of the back of children's heads running around a yard looking for small colored eggs? If you've seen it once, you've seen it all.

Ready, set, go!

Show me your loot, Carter!

I feel the need to explain. No, Olivia does not have a penchant for yellow eggs. When hunting with two older cousins and a big brother, the girl's gotta have a fighting chance. So we told the boys that the yellow eggs were for Olivia ONLY. Then we proceeded to "hide" the yellow eggs. And by hide, I mean, we placed them one by one on the concrete right outside the patio door. A trail of eggs, if you will.

As if all the egg hunting (and hiding and hunting and hiding)--seriously, we did this like five times--wasn't enough in the fun department, we ended the day with cupcake decorating. Thanks Gig!

VALUE, $2.99

2010-04-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

Last night, I was on my own with the kids as Nick had a softball game. We were headed to my nephew, Jackson's, school play, so I had about 15 minutes to pick up the kids and feed them dinner before heading north to Anna. So I did what any healthy, responsible, caring mom would do.

I took the kids to Wendy's.

Anyway, while we were eating at our table, I noticed Carter was looking over my shoulder. Then, all of a sudden, he says, "V-A-L-U-E" (spelling the word, one letter at a time). I turn around to see this on the window behind me:

Now, I do understand that the V, A, & U are not technically backwards, but still. He totally surprised me by reciting each and every letter in the order of how the word is spelled, rather than how it appeared [left to right] on the window.

Then, he proceeds to tell me "two ninety-nine." I mean, he knows his numbers, he has for quite some time, but this was the first I had actually heard him say ninety-nine as one number (99) rather than nine & nine as two numbers that were simply close together.

I get it. I realize that this is not earth-shattering intelligence by any stretch of the imagination. But this boy constantly surprises me with his observations, and being that I blog to document our day to day lives, well... this is it.

Short & Sweet

2010-03-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

Two small updates for you today. I'll be back soon with better blog fodder (and pictures!) But for now:

1. The consignment sale was a success! I sold 146 items for a total of $321.75. Even though I already spent a little of my earnings on more (previously owned) clothes for the kids, I can't wait for the check to come in so I can finish out their summer wardrobe. Hard work definitely paid off.

2. We played our first softball game last night. Guess who got to play catcher? Yup, that'd be me. I came home with [only] one new bruise and woke up this morning barely able to sit down (and stand up and sit down again) from all that squatting. But hey, sore muscles mean I actually got a bit of a workout, which I'm proud of. And I didn't strike out once.

Put me in Coach!

2010-03-18T15:00:00.000-07:00

Nick and I have joined our company sponsored co-ed softball team. Though Nick has been playing on men's softball teams for several seasons now, I have not actually played on an organized team since, oh... about 20 years ago. Now I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Rubies and Suns in those early years (and might even be able to dig up some certifiably awesome team photos some day soon) but I really have no idea what I was thinking when I said this out-of-shape adult body of mine would actually pick up a glove and a bat and play. At least I didn't promise not to make a complete fool out of myself.

We had our first practice last night, and I only have one small shin bruise to show for it. Considering it's about the same amount of injury I incur on a daily basis from running into shelves & end tables, I consider that a raving success. Sure, I have some sore muscles in my back and arms today, but I'm certain those will go away real soon. (Must.Get.Lighter.Bat)

So, nothing real important to report, yet, but if you happen to think of me on Monday nights for the next couple of months:

1. Cross your fingers that I'm not hurt.
2. Don't laugh.

And so...

2010-03-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

The chaos...

... begins...

again.

Wish me luck!

What's that?

2010-03-13T19:11:00.000-08:00

Carter and I went to Target this afternoon (as we do almost every Saturday). And of course, we ended up in the toy section (as we do every trip). I usually let him walk the toy aisles looking at everything he wants and so far I've been lucky enough to leave most days with a simple pick from the dollar section in the front of the store.

Anyway, his new favorite thing in the toys where he spends the most time is the small, real-life animal replicas. Not sure if you've seen them or not but other than thier miniature size, they are actually quite real looking and very good representations. So we're looking at all the animals (each and every single one) naming them and talking about the animal. We come across this animal:

So I ask Carter if he knows what if is.

He says "yeah. It's a yak."

Now you know I'm all about keeping it real on this here blog so I will admit that I had to look up yak on wikipedia because, though I've heard of them, I didn't know if he was even remotely close. Turns out, he was.

Seriously though, where in the world does he come up with this stuff?

You better believe that tomorrow at Sunday lunch, I will have Pawpaw explain the difference between a cow, a bull and a yak.

Right after I google meerkat.

Thirty Four Years!

2010-03-12T06:56:00.000-08:00

Today is my parents' 34th wedding anniversary. I remember when I was little, my mom had a way for me to remember the date. She said, just think of the trinity (3) and the disciples (12). To this day, I still think of that when their anniversary rolls around.

I am truly blessed to have these two wonderful people as my parents and am thankful daily for the example they have set on what a marriage commitment looks like. Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Catch-up & Pigtails

2010-03-11T11:02:00.000-08:00

(Even though Abby is claiming to be the "loser of bloggerville", I think I could give her a good run for her money these days with my blogging frequency, or lack thereof.)

It seems as though so much has been going on lately, yet nothing at all. Or at least nothing interesting enough to blog about. But in true Lori fashion, I will try. (And I even threw in a whole new blog look for those of you still not brave enough to try out Google Reader despite my best efforts to convince you otherwise.)

And rather than one huge post about the awesomeness that is Eason life these days, I'll spare you the details and try to post several much smaller posts over the next few days. Try being the operative word here.

********************
Now I suspect that my daughter is like other 19 month old girls out there (gah! 19 months?!) in that she HATES having her hair brushed, combed or even messed with. She is a fan of the bow if you consider that it's just So.Much.Fun.to take it in and out of her own hair and not actually leave it there for any extended period of time. This past Sunday before church, I was feeling particularly ~~brave~~ creative, so I decided to grace the world with the awesomeness that is Olivia's first pigtails. This was no easy feat, I tell you. There was screaming, crying, and gnashing of teeth. And Olivia was pretty upset too. But in the end, we made it out alive and the plethora of comments we received at church and throughout the day were well worth it, in my opinion. (Seriously? What mom doesn't like to be told just how cute! and old! and precious! their child looks?)

Exhibit A:

I realize the picture is rather grainy, but hey, you take what you can get on a Sunday morning at 8:20 when you're trying to make it out of the house to arrive at church--10 minutes away--by 8:30.

Exhibit B:

By this point she had totally caught on to the fact that I thought she was cute. I call this pose: SASSY!

Exhibit C:

Even with this ridiculously un-cute face she's making while saying "CHEESE" in her biggest voice, still... the piggies? Love them.

Spoons, Cupcakes & Cupid

2010-02-25T14:13:00.000-08:00

Our small group had plans to celebrate Valentine's Day together with our kiddos (one night early) at Spoons' Family Valentine's Dinner. If you live in the area, hopefully you know what and where Spoons is. If not, well... bless your heart (and check out the website!).

Ebby Lee decided to get sick all over her poor mama at the last minute, so we missed the Slaughters dearly, but we still had a great time with the Endsleys and enjoyed some super yummy food. Instead of a regular dinner menu, this special event was a buffet of meatloaf (one of the best I've ever had), chicken tetrazzini, chicken fried steak, chicken fingers, macaroni & cheese, fried okra, mashed potatos, green beans and Spoons signature salads. Not to mention there was cupcake decorating and live music!

Caroline, such an easy-going, now one year old little girl.

All the materials necessary to create the perfect Valentine's cupcake:

Hard at work...

YUMM-O!

Olivia decided to eat her [undecorated (I know, mean Mommy)] cupcake with a knife. Good one, Liv!

Carter took this picture. He thoroughly enjoyed dancing and tapping his feet to the tunes.

The best picture of four under three I could get.

Hope everyone else had a Happy Valentine's Day as well! (Thanks again for my flowers, honey! Sorry I forgot to take a picture for the blog.)

Snow. Snow? Snow!

2010-02-17T07:25:00.000-08:00

Have I ever mentioned that I'm not much of a snow person? Well, I'm not. I mean, as a kid living in Texas, you come to love the occasional ice sheets that give you an unexpected day off from school, but the kind of snow in which you can play for hours, make snow ice cream and build snowmen the size of actual humans? Un.Heard.Of. Until last week, that is. And even now as a mom to small children, I still don't love the ~~ice~~ snow, if I'm being completely honest. I'm glad it showed up, gave us a little time to play and take some photos, but honestly? I'm happy it's gone and even happier that we're expecting 60 degree temps by the end of the week.

I was only able to snap a couple of pics of the kiddos because they did all their fun snow activities with Daddy while I was at work and since I keep the camera in my purse, well...

Someone remind me of this next photo in July when the kids are begging me to play outside on their swingset mmkay?

Slush. Definitely made for a fun commute Friday morning.

Because it's pretty, that's why.

It took this tree 10 months to recover from the last big snow we had. I'm guessing this time will be longer.

Doesn't your head lean just a little bit to the right just looking at this one?

Thanks for the snow, God. Really. It was fun to feel like we had an actual Winter here in Texas this year. Now bring on the heat!

The one where craigslist and I become BFFs

2010-02-02T09:44:00.000-08:00

Seriously, craigslist just HAS to be the greatest thing ever invented (created?). My new BFF, as I shall now refer to it.

I posted an ad for Olivia's old crib on craigslist this morning at 10 am. By 10:06, I had one person saying she wanted it and was coming to buy it tonight. Within the next hour, I had 6 (six!) other people emailing me saying that they wanted it. Perhaps I under-priced. Ah well, I'm not greedy. I'll just be happy to get rid of it in exchange for some quick cash.

And though I haven't sold the toy box yet, I do have one person measuring their closet to see if it will fit, in which case she will buy it. If not, I will consign it next month. It will sell.

But back to my best friend... I mean, really, who wouldn't love a system where you get to post items you wish to get rid of only to have someone COME PICK IT UP FROM YOUR HOUSE and give you moolah. There are some things I'd pay someone else just to haul away after I'm done with it, but thanks to my new BFF, I don't have to. Instead, they come get it from me and pay me to do so!

And don't even get me started on browsing CL for items I'D like to buy. It's like a giant online garage sale... except the seller can't shoot you a look for raising your eyebrow at the crap they think people will actually pay money for and you don't have to get up early on Saturday to shop!

Dear Mr. Craig,

I don't know you personally, but I *heart* your list. Please keep it up.

Love,
Your BFF

Anyone need a toy box?

2010-01-28T07:41:00.000-08:00

I put this listing for Carter's old toy box on craigslist last night, then it occurred to me this morning that one of my local friends may be interested in it. If you are, just let me know!

P.S. I did the entire listing from my phone, pictures and all, using the free "craigsphone" app I downloaded months ago which I now HIGHLY recommend.

Big Kids, Big Beds

2010-01-26T15:05:00.000-08:00

When Carter was 20 months old, one month before he became a big brother, we transitioned him from a crib to a "big boy bed" aka a toddler bed. Since we were moving him early, we weren't ready to switch him to a twin or full bed right out of the crib, so we bought a toddler bed from TRU. He climbed right into in the first night we tried, and we didn't have any problems with getting in, falling out, or staying asleep (until about 6 months later, but that was more of a stubborn-2-year-old-asserting-his-independence issue more than anything to do with the actual bed).

Fast forward 18 months. We knew that Olivia would soon be transitioning out of a crib and into a "big girl bed" and Carter was naturally outgrowing the toddler bed that once looked so large for his tiny body. So, being that the bedrooms in our house are only slightly larger than most broom closets yet we still wanted room for friends to sleepover in the years to come, we decided that we would get Carter bunk beds and Olivia would get yet another hand-me-down (poor deprived second child) and use the toddler bed.

Once JaJa found out we were looking to buy bunk beds, he began looking as well. Only instead of finding some beds for us on the cheap, he found a kit/plans to make them himself. He graciously offered to make bunk beds for his youngest grandson, and we, very graciously, accepted. We expected some nice, wooden, well-made bunks, which we did get, but what we didn't expect was all the precious thought, meticulous craftsmanship, and genuine LOVE that went into making these for Carter. Everything from the modified plans, making the beds lower and better suited for the small bedroom, to the larger width ladder, enabling mommy/daddy time on the top bunk, to all the extra work involved, allowing the beds to exist as two separate twin beds down the line. And he made the whole process seem as though he was simply ironing a shirt or fixing a sandwich. Nana joined in on the fun too, and ran out and bought the mattresses, sheets sets and accessories so that the beds would be ready for use upon immediate completion. Which they are. Complete. Here, I'll let you see for yourself.

(Side note: Carter's whole room will be redecorated with a new paint color, new bedding, and better toy storage, which I, of course, will blog about. But I couldn't wait until then to show off the beds, so even though the beds are awesome, the rest of his room? Not so much... yet.)

This is the bed in Dave & Gwlynda's garage, the day before he brought them over. Also Carter's first time to see them.

Though you can't really tell in this picture, he was stoked!

No more toddler bed. :-(

Custom installation...

They fit so perfectly.

So excited!

Also, as we were clearing out Carter's room to make space for the bunks, Nick & Michael (Thanks!) moved the toddler bed to Olivia's room. Although I could have sworn I got a picture of it, all I can find are three pictures Carter took, which are basically blurred images of Olivia's head. I will get a picture of my big girl in her new bed though. Promise!

My babies are growin' up. Sigh.

Marcy!

2010-01-19T06:56:00.000-08:00

One of my dear friends, Marcy, joined the blogging world yesterday. Marcy and I met in junior high when we both graced the world with our awesome drill team presence. We remained friends throughout high school, college, and beyond. This photo was taken at our 10 year high school reunion this summer. Even though she lives in NYC with her husband now, I love getting to spend time with her when she comes home and when I get to go up and visit her in The Big Apple (hopefully more than just that one time). And I'm crossing my fingers that she and Geoff will end up back in the south some day [soon]. So if you know her, or even if you don't, pop on over there and welcome her to the wonderful world that is blogging. Love you Marce!

Conversations with a Three Year Old

2010-01-11T06:38:00.000-08:00

Carter: "Mom, did we see turtles when we went to the cuerigan?"*

Me: "Yes, we did. Did you like them?"

Carter: "Yes, but they weren't my favorite. My favorite was the gamingos."**

Me: "Oh yes, I liked those too."

Carter: "Mom, what was your favorite fish?"

Me: "Um... Nemo, I liked the Nemo fish."

Carter: "No Mom, your favorite was the jellyfish."

Me: "Oh okay, yes, those were my favorite."

Carter: "And sissy's favorite was the peanut butter fish."

Me: (Laughing hysterically trying not to run the car off the road)

* cuerigan = aquarium
**gamingos = flamingos

Welcome to Mindi's Mind

2009-12-30T14:46:00.000-08:00

That's right folks, my sister has started a blog. If you happen to know her, pop on over there and say hello. Or if you don't know her but want to see two sisters who I feel look absolutely nothing alike yet talk and act the same, then by all means, take a peek as well. Isn't that what the blog-"stalking" is all about? Happy reading!

Kris-uh-mus!*

2009-12-28T11:07:00.000-08:00

What a fabulous *Christmas we had! We were able to spend lots of time with family, the gifts and thankfulness were aplenty, and the food was delicious.

We started the festivities on Christmas Eve as we headed to church in the icy-snow mix that gave us Texans our first white Christmas since 1926. Nana, Jaja, and Gigi joined us (Pawpaw wasn't feeling so hot) and the service was great. And a bit of a challenge. The crackers, juice, lovey and passing between the adults were no match for the feisty 16 month old that is my daughter. All I can say is thank God for the camera roll on my phone. It saved us there at the end when I thought she could last no longer. I think hearing a toddler say "bay-bee" over and over again is preferred over the shrieking and fussing of her expressing her distaste at the containment.

After the service, we headed over to Saltgrass for an early dinner, and being the fantastic blogger/documenter that I am, I managed to get two photos. And only of the men. Sigh.

(and yes, that's my son playing with an Equal packet and the wooden stand that advertises the specials, minus the sheet with the specials. Hey, whatever works, my friends, whatever works.)

After dinner, Nana & Jaja headed back home but not before they dropped off some loot, err... gifts at our house along with the kids Christmas pajamas that Nana buys every year. We bathed the kiddos and dressed them in their new jammies so that Carter and I could get busy making Santa's cookies. And by making, I mean, breaking the dough into it's pre-cut squares and popping them into the oven for 10-12 minutes. Because I'm true homemaker like that.

After the first break, Carter declared that the dough was icky and proceeded to help me by resting his hand on my arm while I did all the work. Olivia "helped" too.

All done! While the cookies were baking in the oven, we attempted to get a cute picture of the kids in their new duds. Attempted is the keyword here.

Not quite the Kodak moment I was hoping for.

Carter thought dancing was more fun than posing, which, I suppose, it is.

Almost there...

They're both looking forward and smiling, right?

Perfect.

Apparently, according to Daddy, you have to leave Santa a note with his milk and cookies. It started out with me writing while Carter dictated, then he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Not sure what he wrote, but I'd like to think that it came straight from the heart. Word on the street is that Santa will leave presents no matter what your letter says or how good your cookies are.

Once we were certain that Carter had been snoring long enough to be declared asleep, Santa brought in the gifts. Nana & Jaja's presents and Santa's unwrapped gifts (thanks for backing me on this, friends) combined with the presents that were already under the tree took up half our living room (which isn't saying much in our small house, but still).

Olivia was the first one into the living room on Christmas morning, and I'm pretty sure she was still half asleep in this photo. Carter woke up at 6:10, but since the grandparents weren't scheduled to arrive until 6:30, we held him off with a Barney episode in our bedroom until it was time. Last year I'll be able to do that, I'm sure.

Who would have thought that a simple Jack-in-the-Box would be such a treasured toy? There's a story there but I'll spare you since this is already the longest post ever in the history of posts.

Definitely her favorite present, by far. There's another story here too, but again, I'll spare you.

Carter's new wheels.

It was at this point in the morning that I reliquinshed control of the camera to my dear, sweet husband, which basically means that the picture taking came to a halt. Which is fine.. my mother-in-law took a ton, which I've posted to my facebook profile, if you're really that interested. But trust me, it's just a whole bunch of paper flying, show-us-what-you-got poses and uber-UN-flattering images of myself. Which will come in handy when I'm reminding myself why I asked for and received a Wii Fit this year.

Hope everyone else's Christmas was merry & bright!