Just the two of us

Ryan and I spent nearly 24 hours away from the other two members of our family. TJ and Arden spent the night with Ryan's parents while Ryan and I had they day and evening to ourselves. It was my first time away from Arden, but I was okay with it. I did think of her a lot, but new she wasn't missing me and loving all the attention over at her grandparents.

After dropping off the kids, Ryan took me mountain biking at Terry Hershey Park where he rides his bike on these trails every day during his lunch break. It was not my thing.....at all! I was horrible at it and kept falling off my bike and adding more and more scratches to my legs and dirt from head to toe. Even though I didn't make it even half way, it was truly a beautiful place alongside a creek completely shaded with large trees.

That evening, we went out to celebrate our friend Justin's 30 birthday party. A group of us went to an Italian restaurant then on to Whiskey River to do some country dancin' and lots of drinking. Ryan and I had a lot of fun celebrating with our great friends!!



Arden is 5 months!

Our sweet baby girl is no longer a newborn. She is now an avid explorer. Arden is looking around every room and place we go and taking in the world! She is so cute at this age.

Here are her stats:

• 13lbs. 12oz.
• 26" long
• Typically sleeps from 8:00pm-6:30/7:30am
• takes 2-3 one hour naps a day
• Takes a paci only before falling asleep

Arden's Firsts:

• Started on rice cereal
• Hear her first belly laugh
• She found her feet
• Pulls her head up while laying on her stomach
• Bears weight on her legs

 Arden's Favorite Things:

• Sophie the giraffe
• To lay on her back and kick her legs
• Watching Baby Einstein
• To be held in the standing position
• Swinging on the hammock
• To listen to me sing lullabies
• To hear her voice when cooing
• Looking at things when shopping
• Still loves her baths!

Road trop to "The Big Easy"

Arden and I took a trip to New Orleans to visit family. She did so good on the 6 hour car ride. We stopped about half way at Cracker Barrel to stretch and for a bit to eat.

Here is some of the fun stuff that we did...

Wednesday:
Arden and I arrived at my mom's house around 4:00 and played all afternoon. My mom and Chris cooked steak and sauteed shrimp.

Thursday:
We all went shopping at the mall with Aunt Debbie, Christine, Dillon, Kaitlyn, Kirsten, and Cathy. We had so much fun! For dinner we had Chris's homemade gumbo that was amazing! He spent 7 hours on the roux. After dinner we went to this drive though daiquiri bar that has the most delicious Chocolate Kiss Daiquiri that I have been hearing so much about. Man, they were sooooooo good!

Kirsten playing dress up in Clair's

Mimi and Arden playing while we shopped

Friday:

On Friday, Arden, my mom, and I did some more shopping at a few local children's boutiques. On our way back to the house we stopped at Sunny's for snowballs. I tried Nectar with condensed milk. This is a very traditional New Orleans flavor that I had never tried, so I thought I would stray from my usual (wedding cake) to give it a try and I am glad I did. It was delicious. That night my mom and Chris hosted a house full of family for dinner and visiting. I love seeing all of my family and wish I could see them more often!

My snowball! Yum

Arden dressed up in an outfit that my cousin Kim gave her

In my mom's beautiful backyard

Mema with her great-grandchildren

Satruday:

It was a great trip!!Arden and I headed back to Houston after lunch. Once again, she did great in the car.

4th of July

We had a laid back 4th of July. No fireworks this year due to the drought so it was low key and quiet. We headed down to League City to spend the weekend with family and hung out in the pool and had plenty of great food as usual. Here are some pictures from this weekend.

Arden with her Great-Grandpaw

Delish!!

Arden watching "The Cat in the Hat"

Father's Day

We had a great Father's Day weekend filled with great food and lots of fun in the sun!

Friday night, the three of us went to Outback Steakhouse for some steak and lobster. Arden had a lot of fun flirting with all of the waiters.

Saturday, we drove south for a weekend getaway. First, we went to visit Meem and Babe for lunch then went to Ryan's parents house and swam all afternoon. Arden enjoyed swimming and she even took a nap on a raft that was on the side of the pool. That night, Ryan and I went to the Gumbo Bar to eat. Talk about delicious!! We spent the night and Arden did great sleeping over at her grandparents house for the first time.

The next morning David picked up breakfast then we celebrated Father's Day. Arden gave Ryan a voucher to pick out any grill of his choice.

Then, we headed down to Galveston Beach where Ann's family rented the most beautiful beach house. It was so nice to put my toes in the sand. The weather was nice and Ryan and I took a long walk on the beach collecting sea shells. Then, we headed back to the house to check on Arden and eat some lunch. We headed back out and hit the waves. Arden came out to the beach for about 15 minutes or so. It was a great time!

It was a really fun weekend and I hope Ryan had a great first Father's Day!

Lisa and Kyle's Wedding Part 2: The Big Day!

On the morning of the wedding, all of the girls in the wedding party met in Lisa's hotel room to have our hair and makeup done. It was so much fun and Lisa couldn't have looked more beautiful. After we were done primping, sipping champagne, eating lunch, and having girl talk, we headed to the church.

The ceremony was as Saint Elizabeth's. I loved watching Lisa and Kyle make their vows! This picture was taken minutes before Lisa walked down the isle... 

After the ceremony, we took some pictures at the church then headed in the limo over to Texas Tech campus to take more pictures.

The reception was at the Texas Tech Alumni Center. We had a wonderful dinner and did a lot of dancing!



Thank you Lisa and Kyle for a wonderful weekend!

Lisa and Kyle's Wedding Part 1: Getting to Lubbock & Rehearsal Dinner

On June 11th, 2011 Lisa and Kyle were married in Lubbock, TX.

It was a beautiful wedding and definitely a beautiful couple! It was an honor to stand next to my sister as her Matron of Honor. We had a great time and made so many wonderful life-long memories.

Rehearsal

Rehearsal Dinner

McPherson Cellars Winery