Aquarium anyone?

This Saturday morning we decided to take the girls to see The Dallas World Aquarium. It was AMAZING. We called Grandpa up and had him meet us out there. I pictured the aquarium to just be a big building full of tanks of different kinds of fish (which they did have) but it was much, much more. There was a 3 story Rainforest environment to walk through. You start on the 3rd floor and slowly walk down seeing a huge waterfall, birds of all kinds flying around(one was particularly fond of Jim's head), and little monkeys scurrying around the trees and rocks. Then as you came to the bottom, they had an Otter area of water and an area in the water (away from the otter) that had Crockadiles (we got to see them being fed). Then as you moved on you could see the typical wall tank of sea turtles and manatees and of course the shark tunnel (what would an aquarium be without those things right?). As we moved on through we got to see fish in different tanks labeled with different parts of the world (Japan,Indonesia,etc), then all of a sudden you go down a ways and there is a HUGE area glassed off holding a Jaguar...Kyndall LOVED it! As we headed out we got to see a baby penguin exhibit...so sweet! We had a great day, and even got to eat at the Spaghetti Warehouse...so yummy:) Enjoy the pics from our fun weekend adventure!

Rainforest environment with the waterfall behind us...Avery couldn't take her eyes off of it!!

Amazing Jaguar exhibit...only one Jaguar but he/she sure knew how to work a crowd. And the area where she lived was like a "royal" set up. She would stretch and gracefully leap from podium to other area and let everyone see her, then clean herself and yawn really big...it was quite a show...Kyndall loved her! But she was disappointed that baby jaguar wasn't there with her!

Grandpa was a trooper with the girls...They both loved looking at everything with him!

Avery couldn't get over the waterfall...it was pretty cool!

Sea Turtles and a HUGE manatee...the manatee flapped his fin and Jim told Kyndall he was waving and Kyndall started waving at him...too cute

Cool pic huh!

How sweet is this? They were talking about those sharks!

Avery was looking at the Crockadiles

Kyndall LOVING her new baby jaguar

Happy Birthday Grandpa...we love you!

Window Shade and Minnie Mouse

This is the window shade I made for my sis-in-law, Sue. I had so much fun doing this for their kitchen window. I am posting a pic because there were a couple of my friends out there who wanted to see the finished product. Thanks so much to my good friend Kate who taught me how to sew and helps me try new things....it makes sewing fun to have a friend to "rescue" you when you have a problem:) I also had to post this because Kyndall and Avery had a BLAST playing with their cousins, Aunt and Uncle tonight....Jim got a great pic of Kyndall dressing up as Minnie Mouse! Kyndall even got to bring the dress home to play in!! Lucky girl!!

Cute little Minnie Mouse

Easter and my Birthday

Here are a few pics of the fun weekend we had celebrating our Savior Jesus Christ on Easter...and my birthday....we were so glad to have my parents and Grammie and Popo visit to help us celebrate. Enjoy!

Kyndall coloring her Easter eggs

The neighborhood Easter egg hunt...the whole family went...so fun!

Kyndall and Daddy with the Easter Bunny

Avery, Gram and the Easter Bunny!

After the hunt...whew it was windy!

Easter Bunnies Kyndall and Daddy...he is such a great sport!

Easter Bunny Avery swinging

Cool Sandcastle huh! Kyndall and Bits(Dirk) had fun outside together

The family on Easter day...Jim, Avery, Kristi, Brenda, Kyndall, Dirk, Grammie, & Bill

My girls and me on Easter/My birthday

Video of Kyndall singing me Happy Birthday!

"Kyndall-isms"

Here are a few of the funny, quirky, things Kyndall has done this week:

1. conversation in the car after bible study: Kyndall, "oh no, i dropped my toy"
Me, "well what will you get into now?"
Kyndall, "TROUBLE...ha ha...I get into Trouble"

2. Conversation about lunch today: Kyndall, "I want a sandwich, Mommy"
Me, "what kind? Peanut butter"
Kyndall, "uh huh and ketchup and cheese and mustard"
Me, "how about peanut butter and honey"
Kyndall, "O-tay"
I make her a peanut butter and honey sandwich to this response: Kyndall, "no I want cheese!" followed by loud cry and scream"
Me, "I don't think you will like it, but okay"
I put cheese on her sandwich...as she cries, "where my ketchup...I want ketchup"
I put ketchup on her sandwich...which she eats every bite of.....YUCK!

The Beach! Padre Island...Day 3

It was a VERY windy day at the beach...but it was still pretty crowded. Kyndall and Avery enjoyed the sand the most (it was the biggest sandbox Kyndall had ever played in!!) and didn't like the ocean water too much. It was really hot out...but the water was still pretty cold so they didn't take the time to get used to the water and play in it. But we got a lot of shells and she made a great sand mound...and we ate at Joe's Crab Shack off the Marina...what a beautiful view! We really enjoyed the trip and hope to go back when the weather is a little better and the girls are a little older! We hope you all enjoyed our vacation pics!!

Can you see her face? NOT a fan of the ocean:) Don't worry she was just standing there long enough to take a pic....she did love sitting and playing in the DRY sand!! She even ate a little of it yuck!!

Daddy and Kyndall Getting in the waves!

Wearing her new Boutique Bath wrap I made her after testing out the water!

Sea World....Family Vacation...Day 2

Day 2 was fun/fiasco at Sea World....Kyndall's fav was Shamu...the real one...not the dressed up one. Avery's favorite was the toddler bounce area, which was just a huge soft area with big soft blocks to play with...she could have stayed for hours (really!). We specifically planned this trip to go when Diego was going to be there...major disappointment. We went into the show and he came out and danced to Rockin' Robin then they just took him off stage and had an episode play on a big movie screen. Kyndall kept saying, "When I get to see Day-do(Diego)" She was completely bummed...but all in all it was a fun day! Enjoy the pics....

Oh yeah...we got the cheesy tourist pic right when we walked into Sea World...gotta love Shamu!

Dolphin feeding area...they would come right up to you and splash a little...they were so pretty...and loved showing off!

This is Kyndall and Jim posing in front of one of the Clydesdales (sp?) at Sea World...they were so gentle and beautiful!

This was Me, Kyndall and Avery at the Shamu show waiting for the action to start!

Jim trying to keep Avery happy during the Shamu show...don't worry there wasn't anyone behind us!

Jim having fun with the girls in the toddler area...

Kyndal building a tower ...it didn't last very long!

Avery's own little piece of Heaven at Sea World...she just smiled and bounced around for the longest time

Kyndall at the Diego show

Whew that place wore little Avery out!

Our first family Vacation...Day 1

I thought I would share some pics of the first day of our First ever family vacation since Avery has joined our family...stay tuned for updates each day!!

Kyndall has her "pack-pack"on, her sunglasses on, and she is dressed and ready to hit the road!

It is so great being out of the car!!

Peek-a-Boo Avery!! Avery found this window and peeked out at Jim and Kyndall...so sweet!

Peeking out the window...I love this pic of Kyndall

Enough of the pics...Kyndall is off!

Kyndall getting her wiggles and jiggles out after a LONG car ride

Avery was getting her wiggles and jiggles out too!

All smiles after a yummy meal at the Gristmill in Gruene (green) Texas...on to San Antonio and Corpus Christi

Boutique Bath Wrap

I LOVE to get fun ideas on cute things to sew on different blogs and websites. I have been faithfully following Jenny Garland's Blog for quite awhile now! I have made her napmat (mine are the pink and brown damask, and black with multicolored polkadots featured in this post), a smock for Avery from a link to a free tutorial she posted on her website, and finally my new creation is her Boutique Bath Wrap. Her tutorials are VERY easy to follow and I have really been pleased with the outcome of all of my creations!! She also has a tutorial video on refinishing furniture and many other home decorating ideas and crafts. Go visit her website and check out her tutorials on the left side bar!! Here is my cute little model wearing her new bath wrap! And just an FYI for those of you who might be interested in doing this project: 1. I used double sided spa minky instead of buying a towel (only because I already had that at home) 2. I applique'd a "k" on it and that was kind hard to do on the minky ...other than that I pretty much followed her directions exactly! Won't this be great for the swimming pool? Next on my list is a matching one for Avery!! Stay tuned for her pic...