Redecorating

Some of you haven't been able to be in our home for awhile so I thought I'd give you a sprinkling of what we've been up to. Slowly we've transitioned four rooms of our house. #1 Our living room- I got a mirror for Christmas which started me on a kick of wanting to redo wall decorations. Included are some shots of this. Also, I took down some shelves that housed pics of Vivi and hung the frames and of course we got updated shots of both kids now framed and up. We also brought a computer out into the living room and bought a secretary for it. I've REALLY enjoyed having this out here as it makes it so much easier to get to e-mail and other items for me. It also freed us up to change over our study. #2 Our study became Isaac's room. I really wanted to put both kids together but we've had MAJOR sleep issues in our house and the more I thought about it the more it became clear that he needed his own space. So...after amlost 8 years with the futon (as husband and wife who knows how long Nick had it!) I convinced him to move it out. By the way, we still have it in our garage and want to put it up on craig's list but if you know of anyone who wants it let us know! We scaled back the desk so it still remains in there but much smaller and moved our crib and leather chair back into this space. I found some fun airplane/camo bedding on clearance at Target and the rest is history. Nick's only request- no painting. It worked out perfectly having his light colored crib and blues with the chocolate walls. #3 Vivi's room started transitioning once we got Isaac's room set. She got a new big girl bed for her birthday-Tinkerbelle. We've been on a fairy frenzy since then. As menitoned before, I got her some fairy wings for Easter and found some fairy stickers for her wall on clearance at Hobby Lobby. We've slowly been moving her room from bugs to fairies and thought some of the old stuff still works nicely. Recently we took down her bug wallpaper border which was a real big deal as it was one of the last things left from her "baby" room. I painted letters for both kids rooms and just had fun making her room into a big girl space. #4 Finally, we've been working on the dining space. Since we moved in, I have been not happy with our dining room which has seemed so crowded. We actually just bought the previous owners table and chairs and she left it in the house. It worked fine but it was a little big and she had recovered the chairs in white fabric not exactly a good fit for kiddos! Nick and I were introduced to the dump where we found the table I've been hunting for or almost 5 years for VERY cheap and Nick agreed we could get it. All we needed were some chairs to match which I found at Unclaimed Freight off the loop. Now the only thing left in there is to see if we can get our microwave mounted above the stovetop. That will be for another time. These have been the major projects now onto the outside! Hopefully I'll have more pics on the backporch which will be our next big undertaking.

Concerts in the Garden

This past weekend we ventured out to try some fun outdoors. We headed to Concerts in the Garden at the Botanic Gardens to enjoy some nice music and a laser show. Fortunately, we convinced some friends to join us as well. My old friend from school Jaime and her hubby and little baby boy Fenton and also a friend of theirs joined in. It was so nice just spreading a blanket, enjoying a cool beverage, and watching the kids play. Vivi danced to much of the music and really enjoyed pointing her own tinkerbelle laser (from the dollar bins at Target). Isaac attempted his first puffs but really enjoyed the lid more than anything. We all sweat a lot from the humidity but did our best to keep cool. Here is a small slideshow of shots.

Vivi's last day of school

Check out these shots friends. Included are one from her 1st day of school and one from today her last day of school. Look at the changes in my little girl! WOW! She is a whole different person! I can't believe it. The picture says a lot but if you heard her talk and saw her behavior you'd really see the difference this year has made. She has such a little personality. I remember dropping her off that first day and she held the baby the whole way there and then cried when I left her. By today, she was enjoying the pizza party eating 2 whole slices by herself. Vivi also enjoyed showing off her baby brother Isaac. Finally, she loved getting a monkey stamp on her belly and showing EVERYONE as well as getting her very own monkey stick ( a pencil with monkey eraser which was always used as a priveledge in class. They each got their own today and we have used it to point at all the words in our magazines, days of the week, and list all the months of the year.) She really enjoyed school and made some new friends. The last shot includes her class. What a sweet time and I can't wait to see all the changes of next year. It's really going too fast!!

Beastro

Since Nick treated me so well for Mother's Day, I felt I had to do something real special for him for Father's day. We will be out of town this year on Father's so I seized the opportunity a little early to celebrate. For the past couple of years, I received mail on this event at the zoo called Beastro. I always thought it sounded real fun but it was just not in the cards. I surprised Nick this year with tickets to the event. Basically, they open the zoo for adults only in the evening. Certain sections are shut down but you can still see some of the exhibits. They bring in about 20 companies to cater the night with heavy appetizers and they have adult beverages. At the end of the night, they have a live concert. This year the band was Better than Ezra. Let me just say, it was ABOSULTELY worth it! We had a ball tasting all kinds of yummy foods, tasting some nice drinks, and walking around the zoo sans kids. The best part was truly the band because it was casual and fun. We knew some of the songs but just being outside on a comfortable night, listening to fun music, and enjoying each others company was great. I think Nick was pleasantly surprised.

Monkeying Around

My sister invited us over to this really cool indoor monkey play area. It was loads of fun and definently will have to be a repeat in the hot summer months to come. I only wish it were a bit closer so we could go more often but you can't have EVERYTHING! Vivi really enjoyed climbing up the ladders and ramps. Isaac enjoyed the tractor. Chloe enjoyed the cars. There was fun for everyone and it didn't stop there. The kids are starting to have more fun interacting with one another. Also included are some shots of the kids monkeying around our house as we got ready for a date.

Cowgirl Museum

Hey friends, I have a good time I need to tell you about! The last Fridays of the month in the summertime the Cowgirl Museum in Fort Worth is FREE in the afternoon (3-7 p.m.). They had their first Free Friday at the end of May and my parents and I took the kids. We had a GREAT time! Not only is it the Cowgirl museum but they've brought over a bunch of exhibits from the Science museum that's still closed for construction until the fall. These are all set up downstairs and there were TONS of kids playing there. Vivi took awhile to warm up to that area, but once we went upstairs she had a ball. It was A LOT more kid-friendly than I thought. There's even a section you can jump on a bronco and take a ride and they post your ride on the internet. Vivi jumped up there and threw her arm up in the air. She was a true-rider! Here are some shots of her playing in the exhibits downstairs and upstairs. We have a cowgirl in the making.