Shades of Glory

James has been asking me for sunglasses for a while now. Strange request, I know. I think he sees me wearing mine all the time and figures if I shade my eyes from the sun, why shouldn't he. Well, he's right.

He now sports around a pair of Spiderman sunglasses. I was amazed at how he instantly knew how to put them on and that they should stay on. About a year ago, we tried with some Hulk glasses - they lasted about 20 minutes. This time around, they aren't a toy so much as they are his crime-fighting Spiderman mask. He'll tell me while he has them on that he is Spiderman and he has his mask on so he can hide from the bad guys. :-) Whatever works. The only rule I have to follow: I have to call him Spiderman the whole time he has them on. OH - and I'm to answer only to Spidermommy.



Naturally, I can't get James something without getting Isabel the same. I feared her glasses would follow in the Hulk's footsteps, but again to my amazement, she is extremely careful with them and seems to know just what to do with them. It took her about 5 minutes of observing her brother to grasp the idea, but she got it. And let me tell you, she is so silly when she has them on! She crinkles up her nose and giggles. There is no doubt she knows she is adorable!

Zilker Zephyr

This week's playdate was down at Zilker Park. James absolutely loves to ride the Zephyr! Izzy had been once before, but she was only about 3 mo's old at the time. So the whole experience was new for her.

We started things off at the playscape. James enjoys crawling around on the old school firetruck they have. Isabel spent most of her time picking up rocks and trying to chase down birds.





After a quick snack, we loaded up on the train. Both kids had a great time! We saw a lot of turtles, squirrels and birds. Isabel was captivated most of the ride. She sat on my lap and just kept pointing at things. James sat beside me and was full of questions. Naturally, as soon as the ride was over I heard "When do we get to ride it again?"






On the way home, we stopped for some ice cream. Isabel decided she is now a big girl and started using a spoon! She had NO problem getting the food to her mouth!

Return of the Elephant

It's that time of year again!

Superman & Batman Do Lunch

This was the scene at our house yesterday:
You didn't know that superheros love to play pirates?
"That was a big war, mommy!"
Pirate playing superheros also love to play cars and have races
Gotta fuel that energy!
Lois Lane thought they were both hilarious!

Put Together

Somedays just flow for me. Today is one of those days. I feel completely put together and caught up with stuff, and it's only 10 in the morning.

The kids are fed, dressed, and playing happily upstairs. They are sharing, and generally getting along just fine.


The kitchen is spotless, not a dirty dish in sight. Even the breakfast mess is cleaned, and put away.

The laundry is under control.*

I'm dressed AND showered!


I suppose I have Pancho to thank for all of this. Sometimes getting up at the crack of dawn to let him out isn't such a bad thing afterall.



*This feeling is generally fleeting..

It's the Little Things

Ever notice how the littlest things can fascinate and entertain a child? JL and I did this past Saturday.

JL is somewhat of a BBQ lover. Ok, so maybe somewhat is a tad of an understatement. He LIVES for the stuff. And thus, strives to eat the BEST. And where's that, you ask. Turns out to be an hour drive from here at a little place called Snows BBQ. Who says it's the best? Texas Monthly. JL came across the article a while back and decided to test their review.

The Rules: Snows opens on Saturdays at 8am and closes when they are out of food. Generally that happens sometime around Noon. My kids (bless their hearts) are great sleepers - generally getting up somewhere around 9am. But not this morning - we rustled them up early and headed out the door!

The plan was to snatch up some food before it was gone, stick it in a cooler, and come back home to chow down.



What Actually Happened: And here's where we learn that the simplest of activities can magically transform into a fantastic, family outting that everyone loves! What we found in that little town was amazing! The food, yes, was spectacular! I'm not a huge BBQ fan - but man it was good! I think the drive out, the surrounds, the suspense, and the hospitality all played into my review - but I'm telling ya it was good!



But that wasn't even the best part. The best part was the town itself. After we ate our food (we decided to stay and eat at one of their picnic tables) we wandered around "out back" to look at the smokers and see the rest of the place. And what good is a BBQ place without a pet calf? Leave it to Izzy to find the animal resident. We were told her name is "Tinkerbell." Neither child was shy about petting and letting Tinkerbell lick their fingers!



And what good is a BBQ place without a constant supply of beef? Right around the corner was the Cow Auction. Lucky for us, there was about to be a showdown. We walked 1/2 a block to check things out.



The Auction house had a catwalk you could walk out on so you could look down on the cows and pick your prize. James thought that was the coolest thing ever! He would stand up above the cows and give them his best "moooooo!" Isabel was on super-overload-stimulation at this point. She'd give her best "ahhhhhhhhh" (her moo) and then look around intently as she listened to the response.




Afterwards, we headed back to Snows to buy another link of sausage, lick on a couple of suckers, and load up.





It was a great day!!

First Water Park of the Year

It's been SO hot around here already. Last Thursday me and the kids met up with Jennifer and the gang for some much needed cooling off at a local water park.

James has loved this place sine he was a wee-tot. I wasn't really sure how Isabel would like it (she tends to not like water in her face.) BUT she's a really good sport and tries to be like her brother in all things. SO after about 5 minutes of observing him running around - she was all for it!

Random Shots

I have just a few here and there photo's I wanted to post. The kids are just so darn cute all the time - it seems like I can't stop taking pictures!

Isabel loves to stand on her head
The 3 Amigo's
'Hmmmmmm, what should we play with?'
"You kids are exhausting!"
Isabel chewing on a rubber snake. I just really like her skirt!
Cactus Rose in bloom. (Something none of us had ever seen)
We saw these at one of our favorite local rustic shops.
James and Rose taking a break and sharing a chair.
Isabel sporting around a sticker on her cheek. She didn't like it at first - but as soon as me and James told her it was "cute" she changed her mind. She showed it off for the rest of the afternoon - including when we went swimming at the pool hours later!