Poppy Festival in Georgetown

No, we didn't take a trip back to D.C. There's a Georgetown here too. It is one of my new favorite places to visit. Such a cute, quaint and picturesque little town with antique shops galore. My friend Dana told me about a festival they have every year in honor of the beautiful red poppies that emerge in the spring. We debated over the butterfly festival in Wimberly (same day) but decided because Georgetown is much closer and the festival was validated by Dana, poppies won over butterflies.
It was a beautiful day and there were fun activities everywhere for the kids. Jack especially enjoyed the train and even rode alone with his big sis which was a first. We enjoyed dollar cupcakes at the local bakery and loved looking at all the local artist's booths. I can't get over how creative some people are. Of course there were about ten booths dedicated to tutus and hair bows (I got sucked in..of course) but we also really enjoyed the local paintings, wood toys, and food.


To avoid sunburns on naked shoulders we headed into a few shops that made me smile. One was a modern wooden toy shop that kept the kids entertained FOREVER. It was hard getting them to leave. From Lincoln logs to marble blocks it was looking like we would be there all afternoon.
You can count on live music anywhere you go near Austin and we had a lot of fun dancing in the street with the kiddos.
Jack eventually passed out which meant we could finally go into some more shops with out the worry of a tornado on the loose.

I fell in love with this bookstore. All the stones, winding staircase and books made me smile. It's always nice to go into an independent bookstore and be reassured it will be there forever for it's unusual charm (did we all hear Borders went out of business? Always a happy day when us booksellers or a has been hear these words.)

After ice cream and more fun finds we realized we still hadn't seen one single poppy. Wasn't this flower why they were partying in G-Town? We asked around and learned that most of the poppies were in front of the older homes off of Church street.
We found them and decided they're worth a celebration of their own. What a beautiful flower!

A new addition

After 6 years of being a "grown up" we finally bought a lawnmower. I had serious issues with this purchase. Everywhere we have lived in the past I watched the HOA cut our lawns. I always thought they cut it too often and wasted too much petrol. Don't even get me started on leaf blowers that move leaves from one end of the yard to another to find the next day another pile has fallen from the trees. Besides, I like the look of crunchy fall leaves on the grass and sidewalks.
When we moved to Texas this was the first home whose lawn care fell under our responsibility. I wanted to buy a push lawn mower to reduce carbon emissions and all that jazz. Chase was on board until we both realized that our lawn is HUGE and the grass is the cheap, thick kind (I'm sure it has a name) that not only is hard to cut but the kind of grass you would never want to lounge on for an afternoon nap. Our lawn was neglected for far too long even though the kids enjoyed the ever growing forest enormously.
Because I am half Craig, the thought of polluting the air to mow my lawn just made me angry. Besides I have always encouraged others to buy push lawn mowers. I couldn't be a hypocrite. So instead, I washed my hands of the whole experience. I told Chase because he would be mowing the lawn I would be the ignorant party and let him take the reigns. He bought a used motorized lawn mower for $80 and reassured me that even though we're polluting the air, we saved a TON of money. Such a republican.

Just don't tell my Dad. He's the kind of guy that kept our house at 68 degrees in the winter (no exceptions), 80 in the summer (that was cool for us), and allotted us 5 minute showers. Oh, and when we got toilet papered, a large sack of twigs, leaves and toilet paper made it's way to the kid's bathroom where we had to use every last sheet. This was a secret we kept from EVERYONE until the toilet papering days of high school were over. Kids can be so cruel. We couldn't give them that kind of leverage.

Cookies!

What is it with kids and cookies? Jack just about has a heart attack having to wait for them to come out of the oven and cool before he can sink his teeth into one. They usually perch right there in front of the oven because apparently watching cookies bake makes them cook faster.
And while we're on the subject, I am constantly noticing a quiet hush through the house when Jack's asleep. This is when I know that Sadie must be up to something. She's most likely nibbling cookies in the pantry. She closes the door behind her and eats as many treats she can before she gets caught. The little bandit.

Sadie's testimony

The other day while we were sitting in Sacrament meeting Chase suggested she bear her testimony and tell everyone about her little miracle when he blessed her and she was healed. She asked me if she could eat as many licorice whips she wanted if she went up there and I said, "why not." I really wanted to see if she would be brave enough to go up there. She was. Anything for candy, but I genuinely think she wanted to tell everyone about her miraculous recovery from itchy, watery eyes. Chase went up there with her and it went a little like this:

"Hi everyone, my name is Sadie. I have really bad allergies. they make my eyes puffy....(pause) and they itch. My Dad gave me a blessing that I would be healed. He said if I believed in Jesus, I would be healed. I believed and guess what....(pause) I was healed. My eyes don't itch anymore because I had faith in Jesus. I believe in Jesus and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ...Amen."

It was the sweetest little testimony I've ever heard. As her mother I was of course all choked up and watery, and so amazingly proud of my sweet, faithful little Sadie. Every person that saw her told her what a good job she did and thanked her for her testimony. After all the praise, she's decided she wants to bear her testimony every month. I always think it's cute when kids get up there but I wonder if they understand what they are really doing. You don't get up just to have fun in front of the microphone. We've all experienced the "kids tesitmony meeting" where only about three adults get a word in edge wise.

I explained to Sades that because she bore her testimony, she made others happy and helped them to believe in Jesus. She also was able to show Heavenly Father her gratitude for the blessing he bestowed. Hopefully the licorice was just an afterthought.

The church is true!! I loved Sadie's testimony because it reaffirmed to me that the priesthood is real and that we still see miracles in these latter days. So, sorry to get all preachy on you, but I had to record that. Such a sweet experience for everyone in the room that day.

NEWSWIRE: ABBY ETHERINGTON CANNON TURNS THIRTY-ONE, STILL LOOKS HOT by Chase Cannon

April 19, 2011
AP Story (Pictures pending)

Abigail Jane Etherington Cannon, famous mother of two and stupendous wife to the super hot Chase Kimball Cannon, turned 31 today. As the news spread through the nation, many eyewitnesses and noteworhty individuals weighed in on the happy birthday event, and shared stories of occasions on which they happened upon the amazing woman, known simply as 'Toots'.

Sadie Elizabeth Cannon (Austin, TX)
My mommy is the nicest mommy all the way from here to the moon. I love when she makes me pancakes and ice cream cones. I think I will squeeze her to death when I see her.

Jack Etherington Cannon (Austin, TX)
Maama. Mama! Wah-wah. Uh-wah-wah. Sidie, uh-wah-wah. Boh. Boh. Maama!!

Jane Etherington (SLC, UT)
A story I always love to hear about Abby is how excited she was when our parents announced they were pregnant with me... especially because I think everyone else was a little thrown off by the surprise! From the day I was born, Abby has always been a very attentive and loving sister. She taught me to make pastries, she let me join in on her video workouts, she took me to hang out with her friends, and together we made, the ugliest faces we could muster! When Abby and Chase were married and moved away, I made it a habit of visiting them wherever they were for my spring breaks. Let's just say that Abby definitely takes the prize for best hostess! Among many other fun activities, Abby took my friends and I shopping and to the beach in San Diego and took me on a five star tour of DC when she was 7 months pregnant. Abby has always been and continues to be one of my best friends and I feel so blessed to have her as my affectionate, hilarious, supportive, crazy, and beautiful sister. Happy birthday Abby, I love you!


Craig Robert Etherington (SLC, UT)

The following excerpts are recorded in my journal:

Nov 15, 1986 when Abby was 5 years old: "Life is so carazy lately, Diane is gone almost every evening and many times during the day with her book parties. This afternoon she is at the bookstore and will go directly to a book party this evening. In the mean time I am trying to run my business , which is doing better than ever. Both of us are trying to run the house with four kids, laundry, food, cleaning, homework, bed, baths, etc. We still have only one car, the dented "beetle" ----CRAZY. Last night after Diane had left for a book party, Nick and I wrestled at the top of the stairs. After the wrestle I stayed to rest ( I was exhaausted). Abby came up and snuggled against my chest and demanded that I put my arm around her to keep her warm. I obeyed. Soon, we were both fast asleep at the top of the stairs together."

Jan 9, 1983 "I wanted to remember a few cute things about Abby this Christmas. Christmas is pronounced "Cripamus" and Santa Clause is pronounced "Samma Clause."

Dec 7,1982 "Nick and Abby have had so much fun together tonight. They had a bath together and went through 2 tub fulls and soaked the upstairs hall and bathroom. they kept jumping in and out and running around chasing each other, amaking a lot of noise with their laughing. They had splashed so much that I was half afraid water might come through the ceiling. They are so adorable, and have such fun."

Jan 15,1983 "Diane is trying to potty train Abby. When she sits her on the potty with her legs together (the right thing to do, and was told to do) the pee squirts up through the top instead of down, because of her chubby thighs."

Diane Frischknecht Etherington (SLC, UT)
I have so many memories of Abby, but one of my favorites is when she just hopped on Nick's little BMX bike without training wheels and took off without any help from anyone! I think this is a perfect example of her confidence in herself which accounts for her ability to do whatever she sets her mind to do! She is amazingly talented in so many ways!!

Connie Duncan Cannon (SLT, UT)
Abby forever endeared herself to me, (and horrified her mother), when we first met her back in D.C. interning with Chase at the U.S. Treasury. We took her and Chase out to lunch while we were visiting there, before they found out they were "an item." (We actually found out before they did). At any rate, during lunch, Abby demonstrated the missing front tooth routine by putting chocolate on her tooth so it looked blacked out. It looked really choice. Then she blew us away by telling us that she and Chase had been invited to a reception to meet Larry Summers, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and the next President of Harvard, and had fully planned on shaking his hand and flashing him a toothless smile. At the last second, they lost courage and swallowed the chocolate and greeted him with dignity.

Forever etched in my memory also, is the glamorous picture of Abby on the back of Chase's windshield visor. It was a picture of her asleep with her mouth open, looking like a half-wit. Most girls would want a really hot picture of themselves on their boyfriends visor....especially if they were leaving him behind for 2 years to do a mission. But not Abby, she gives him a picture of herself that anyone else would've burned. Alone in the car and driving along unsuspectingly, I pulled the visor down to shade my eyes, and there she was. I laughed out loud....a belly laugh. Chase had warned me that she was funny. He was right.
Love,
CC


Lizzie Etherington Dalton (SLC, UT)
I have so many wonderful stories about the Snabigail. I will give you two. One that shows her nausty side and the other that shows what a wonderful sister she has always been to me.

Story number one:

When Abby and I were growing up, we spent almost all our time together. I can especially remember the summers. Abby had this cool over sized white t-shirt that went all the way down to her ankles. On the one side it said " I need them... I want them... I have to have them..." and then on the other side it said "earrings". I would say the front part of the t-shirt as fast as i could and then Abby would have to jump with her back to me in time for me to say "earrings" We would spend oodles of time saying the phrases and watching Abby jump back and forth as I screamed the words as fast as I could. We were really into our t-shirts, oh and speaking of t-shirts, like I said, Abby and I would spend pretty much all day together. At the end of a wonderful day of playing in the sun, climbing trees, running through the sprinklers and playing with dolls, we would go to our rooms to get ready for bed. Many times I would find surprises on the back of my t-shirt. At one point during the day, Abby, being the lazy bum that she is probably thought it would be much more convenient to wipe her nasty, gigantic buggers on my back. Here, as the little sister looking up to her big cool sister, thinking my sister is patting me on the back and loving me, she was wiping her nasty buggars (sometimes with blood streaked in them) on my cool t-shirts. Lame.

Story number two:

When I started high school at East High, I was nervous and excited. I remember my first day. I was walking on the main floor holding back nervous tears. I did not know where my classes were (even though I had been there two times before to walk through my schedule) and just as I was about to loose my cool, I hear it... "Liiiizzzzzzzzzzziiiiieeeeeee" Here comes Abby in her cheer leading uniform arms open wide running toward me, screaming my name. Wow, the looks she got from the students in the hallway, they looked at her like she was insane. When she finally reached me she gave me a huge hug and walked me to me class. I remember having mixed feelings of feeling cool, but also a little embarrassed for the production that had just occurred on my behalf, but as I look back on it, it stirs my emotions with gratitude for the older sister who has always been there for me. Even though Abby and I fought like dogs, whenever I needed her, she was there. She always remembers my birthday and has always given the most thoughtful gifts. Abby has really formed so many parts of who I am. I feel so grateful for the blessing of having a sister and best friend like her in my life.

I love you Abby, even if you are dramatic, crazy and torturous at times.

Happy 31, you ol' geezer

James Edwin Cannon(SLC, UT)
The first time we met Abby was in DC the summer the two of you were interning at the Treasury Department. We all had a great time at lunch, with lots of laughter and many good stories. The best one was the chocolate on your teeth just prior to greeting the Secretary of the Treasury. Knowing both of you better now, I'm only surprised you wiped the stuff off your teeth prior to the face to face meeting! After Abby left, I asked Chase what the relationship was, to which he replied, "Just good friends, 'cause she's dating one of my best buds, Steve Akerlow.) I later said to CC, "Mark my word, there's more than just friendship between those two!" It took a few years for both of you to get on the same page, but we are surely delighted with the end result.

Seeing the joy and vitality she showed as she danced and visited the evening away on your wedding night, and then, as the two of you escaped on the Vespa for your run to Little America. I think I followed you there in your car so I could return the scooter, but as I arrived, there was Abby having a blast riding the scooter around the Little America parking lot. I knew then that the two of you were well matched and that you could look forward to many happy (and often crazy) times together.

Cate Cannon Todd (Lansdowne, VA)
At our house, we have certain foods that are known as "Abby Foods." My kids are always asking me to make "Abby's chicken" (cranberry chicken and rice), and of course, "Abby's cake" (the famed and favorite cinnamon chocolate cake.) Chase and Abby stayed with us several times as they were between residences in DC, and we loved having them with us - and having Abby's yummy cooking! They made the best house guests, because they were super fun to have around, they cleaned up after themselves, and they carried their weight in the kitchen. Abby would make dinner and Chase would do the dishes

In addition to cranberry chicken and cinnamon chocolate cake, we also think of Abby every time we come across flaxseed and Brewers' yeast - and of course, homemade green avocado/spinach baby food. (How did they get Sadie to eat it for so long?!) Abby is the ultimate healthy eater and healthy cook!

We love you, Abby. Have a wonderful birthday - and let us know if you come across any good recipes!

Nicholas Carl Etherington Williamsburg, VA
I remember one morning when all of us were sitting around the tableeating breakfast before school and all of a sudden Abby appeared out ofnowhere in her bath robe. As always she made a random entrance andlifted up her bath robe and mooned us all. I think she was trying to befunny, but we were all pretty surprised. I think I was the only one whowas able to speak and unfortunately I wasn't very nice. I think I saidsometime like "that was the most disgusting thing i have ever seen. Ofcourse Abby ran of crying not having received the reaction she had hopedfor. This is a classic Abby story.

Kim Sanders Ujifusa (Portland, OR)
Where to begin with someone that means so much to me? I can hardly think of a single memory of childhood that didn't share a portion of you in it! You are so deeply intertwined with the things I considered happy, fun, sacred, and meaningful. And, maybe that is one of the things I love most about our friendship-it is so lasting and so encompassing in my life...it is SO nice to know you "belong" to someone. You and I have always "belonged" to each other in a way. I feel like you know the details of who I am, and I know all the details of you. It is a cherished thing to have a friend like that!

I love every detail of you, Abbs! I have always thought you were SO beautiful inside and out. You are absolutely stunning-always dressed immaculately and well put together, but that is not what makes you the most beautiful. You have the MOST beautiful spirit. Your smile lights up your whole face and it makes every one who is around you happy. You are so kind, empathetic, and deeply loyal to family and friends, and you are a great friend to have because you are a good listener, but aren't afraid to give advice when needed. I love how much fun you are to be around. It is no small task to sit in front of a blank wall and see the humor in it, but you and I can do it! You are BUNDLES of fun to be around! You are literally the life of any party. I cannot stop laughing when you are around. But, on the flip side-I love that you are serious when it's necessary and you know how to see when something is tender, sacred, and needs stillness-and you treat it accordingly. You have SUCH a beautiful spirit, like I said. I love that you have such a strong testimony and love the gospel. You have always been inclined to righteousness and I adore that about you. You really are not afraid to be who you are in that way, and I think it will change others lives for the better. I know that you had a huge spiritual influence on me growing up, and I think your children and husband are abundantly blessed to have such a sweet influence in their home. ( just please stop teaching them by the bound legs method ).

You have ALWAYS been there for me, Abbs. You step in when others step out, and you make life easier when things are challenging. You were there when I fell on my bike as a child, you were there to share in Dairy Queen delights, you were there to tackle elementary school and high school by my side, you mended hearts broken by dumb boys, you permed your bangs along side me. You told me when I was being dumb, you and I cried over struggles in each others' arms. You were a voice of reason, a contributor to tormenting SLC as teenagers, you were the most fun and the best of girls to have around. You were there through the fear of having a child so young, you were the person to arrange gifts and parties for that, you were the gal who arranged a care package for an ill little girl in the hospital, and YOU, sweet friend were the one who sat by my side at the hospital-tears running down your face, as Grace got chemo. You have always been THERE, no distance, time, or space has or ever will displace that. I am so blessed to have you in my life. Thank you for sharing your heart and friendship so readily with me.

I can't wait to grow old as friends, watching our children grow up together and exchanging stories, help needs, and advice about parenting. I hope someday we will live closer so our little ones can share in our bond. I hope most of all that you have the very best birthday! It is well deserved. You are an amazing person all around and anyone who comes in your path is blessed by a touch of Abbs in their life! I love you love you love you and just wish I could be there to celebrate with you...ahhh well, some day Golden Girls style!
XOXOXO
Kim

Jill Stewart Tabatabei (McLean, VA)
Abbs and I used to drive around in high school belting our favorite tunes in the car. Some of our favorite tunes included songs from Anastasia, Cowboy take me away, and Dancing Queen. It was always so fun being in the front seat with her movin' and groovin' to the music. Every once in a while we would turn off the CD player or radio and do our own rendition of "I'm Wishing" from Snow White. I still think that Abby can sing that song WAY better than pale and frail little Snow White ever could. The best part is the way she does the "a ha ha ha haaaaaa" section. I am laughing right now just thinking of it; she should record it and put it on you tube. Good times, good times.

I also remember sumo wrestling together one night at Mo's house. I still have no idea why to this day, but for some reason Abby and I decided to wear pajamas and stuff them with pillows to make us look like Sumos. We each blacked out a tooth to complete the ensemble. We had so much fun running from across the room, colliding stomach to stomach, and falling to the ground. We laughed so hard and it was one of those nights that just randomly turned so fun. Abby was always up for something spontaneous which is the reason I love to hang out with her.

Another recent memory I have illustrates how Abbs has got some serious guts. I definitely didn't think it was funny at the time, but looking back on it I always smile when I think of how brave Abby is. We were at Tyson's mall with the kids letting them play in the play area. They have a big sign in front of the play area of a little girl holding her hand to a certain height; the sign clearly indicates that kids over that height are not allowed to play in the area. Unfortunately, there are still lame parents who allow their kids to play there even though they are way over the height restriction. On the day we were there, there was an 11 or 12 year old boy running and jumping all over the place. He knocked some kids over and we were both annoyed. But unlike me, Abby had courage and told the kid he was too big to be playing there.

The kid's Dad happened to be listening and proceeded to yell at Abbs. He told her to mind her own *%@! business (this guy was seriously the biggest jerk!) and to go find someone to enforce the height rule if she cared so much. She continued talking to him despite his horrid behavior and explained why she didn't want a big kid pushing little kids over. I stood like a shaking leaf in the corner while Abby stood up to this jerk and I will never forget her being brave enough to call him out on breaking the rules. Abbs, you rock. I admire your ability to stand up for what's right when others (like me) are too afraid. I have a lot to learn from you and admire you so much.

I wish you a very happy 31st birthday and love ya.

Jessica Morrow Gardner (SLC, UT)
I feel like everytime I am with Abby there is another story to add to my memory! It is always a good time! One that she might've forgotten is when we were in college and she was driving a car full of hyper girls in her car. It was very late and we were driving down foothill Blvd. When she started to laugh and say "Oh, a cop is behind me with his lights on!". When the cop came to the window he told Abby that he had been trying to pull her over for a while and she wasn't paying attention and that she was swerving in and out of lanes. He then asked us if we had been drinking. We all started to laugh (which I am sure didn't convince this cop we were sober). Poor Abby was asked to get out of the car and walk the line. She was trying to keep a straight face during the testing but she could hear us all laughing at her in the car. The last thing I remember is the cop telling Abby that shockingly she passed the test but I distinctly remember the final statement of "I can't imagine what you would be like drunk if this is you sober!". That is the story of Abby! I have always looked up to Abby as a friend not just because she is fun but because she has so many other qualities that go with her silly personality! She is smart, and cares about others. She has a great fashion sense that I am always jealous of. She is a great Mom! One of the Mom's I look up to more than anyone else! She can knit a freaking hat for crying out loud! She set goals of going on a mission and graduationg college and she did them both! The girl has it all! I am lucky to call her my friend! Happy Birthday!

Frontier Days

I promise this will be the last post involving livestock but when I say it's everywhere, I mean it. Every festival around here has animals which I love because Austin doesn't have a suitable zoo. My kids need to get their animals fix somewhere. Every year they have a Frontier Festival at the park to celebrate Texas..I guess. It seems the people here find any excuse to celebrate the Lone Star State. We don't mind. Free and fun activities for the kids are right up our alley. As long as it's pleasant outside we'll be there. We're trying to get in as much outside time as possible because we've heard about the horrific summers and the need to stay indoors for two months straight.
Of course there were pony rides so that was a given. I was pretty impressed that the petting zoo included a lama, a huge tortoise and a camel! I've never seen one of those up close before. I might have enjoyed all the scruffy, dirty animals more than my kids.
Of course Sadie was thrilled to ride a pony again but Jack only stayed on for a minute after saying "all done...all done" several times. I guess he's not as into them as we thought.
After the train ride (which Jack thoroughly enjoyed) and some dancing with the live country music Sadie asked for a treat. These kids of ours are sure cute but they really seem to get in the way when I just want to line dance and swing with my hubby. Jack wouldn't even let me put him down. The band was so fun and I feel guilty saying I just wanted the kids to disappear for 5 minutes...that's all. Just one dance with my Chase. I bought her a shaved ice and it took some persuading to get her to like it. After a while she liked the ice so much she started screaming when Chase put a spoon full in his mouth. This was our cue to get going. When something this small sets her off we know it's time for bed. Sadie never really got over the fact that she had to share with her Dad so we threw the slush in the trash because we're really trying to work on being "grateful." If she can't be grateful and polite when we give her something nice, it goes in the trash.

Once we had them strapped in their car seats we closed the doors, shut out the screams, and could finally hear the awesome band playing in the distance. This was our chance for five minutes of freedom (where's Grandma when you really need her). With the children safe and screaming in the car Chase and I danced in the parking lot! It was short and extremely sweet. Sadie kept opening her door to tell us we could "dance when we got home." We continued to ignore her and kept on dancing. It was dreamy and kind of fun to make Sadie mad...is that bad that I'm already teasing my children?
Sadie was so upset that we threw her slush away, the defiant little thing went into the pantry while we were getting Jack ready for bed and ate a "starwars" (starburst) just to prove she was in charge." Sadie rubbed her defiant little act in our faces a week later. She wouldn't dream of telling us she was disobedient the same day. She's smart like that. Oh Sadie, please be a nice teenager...please!

Movies in the Park

Sadie's friend Addy had such a cool birthday party. We all met at the park for pizza and cake and then headed over to the field where others were gathering to watch Despicable Me ("Expicable Me"...Despicable is WAY to hard to say for a four year old) on the screen set up for the summer months. Sadie and Addy were so into their party favors and candy I wonder if they really even watched the movie. The best part of the night was the 76 degree wind blowing to keep the bugs away. Sadie told me it was the "funnest party on the planet" on the way home. Thanks for the fun fiesta Forts!!

Blogger vs. Facebook

Lately I've felt like Facebook has taken over my blog. I rarely take pictures anymore unless it's with my IPhone and they usually turn out like this...blurry and flashy. And because I took it on my phone, it's usually uploaded to Facebook first. I don't know why this makes me sad. I feel like I'm neglecting a person, not just my blog. I heard from someone that Facebook is the biggest threat to Bloggers these days and I can totally see why. It is such a ridiculous waste of time and I'm totally hooked! (The real addiction is actually my IPhone...if I got rid of that we'd have no issue here:-) I guess I just like to know what my friends are doing AT ALL TIMES! I recognize my addiction and have resolved to spend more time blogging. This is my family journal for Pete's sake! Facebook can't turn my profile into a book one day. Blogger can, so I'm banking on my first love and hopefully the treasure of having our lives written down and recorded will make all the FB deprivation worth it. Now about this picture. We went to the rodeo that night so Sadie had to take a nap. This is rare and only occurs when we'll be out late. Chase LOVES taking naps with Sadie. Who wouldn't want to snuggle with that little peanut? The only downside is Sadie's tendency to turn into little oven when she sleeps and you wake up way warmer than you want to be while sleeping. The snuggle makes it all worth the discomfort. The little leopard in the picture totally cracks me up because it used to be Chase's when he was a little guy. Connie gave it to him when Sadie was born and Sadie always brings it into Chase in the morning. She can't understand how he cold possibly forget to take him to bed with him that night. We're so glad she's watching out for us. When Chase was in Dallas for a business trip I found the leopard on his side of the bed every morning, filling Dad's void.

Punky Brewster and the Punk

I LOVE the outfits Sadie puts together. Have you ever seen so many different prints and colors in a single ensemble? LOVE IT!! Jack didn't take a nap this day. He was GRUMPY. It was one of those "fell a sleep in the car for 5 minutes" kind of days, and he made us ALL pay!

Ponies!!

Texas is full of them!! Everywhere we turn there are free pony rides. To Sadie, Texas=ponies. Jack has become a fan too. I can't get over how big he looks on that horse. I don't even want to mention how old Sadie looks (I just did:-) Change of subject, I love that we were suckered into the Austin Rodeo for their $4 pony rides when just about every festival around here gives them out for free. You live, you learn.

What I wake up to every morning...

Meet my little alarm clock. Jack sleeps in late so if it weren't for this little face, I would be rising around 8 or 9 as well. On the weekends she ALWAYS goes to Chase's side of the bed. He'll feel a little slap on his shoulder and see her eyes directly in front of his. She loudly whispers (just in case we didn't hear her little footsteps on the way in) "Daddy...Daddy!! I have Go Fish all set up Daddy. Come play with me." How can he say no to that! She's a gem. It's torture at 7 a.m. but I know we'll miss those big eyes when she's a teenager and sleeps in until noon.

"You live in a Zoo"

Every time I find something like this crawling near my garage door, I text it to my family. With in a week I had texted them a lizard on Saturday, a frog on Sunday and on Thursday we saw a really beautiful turtle moving surprisingly fast down the street. Emilee was dropping her kids off to play and discovered the turtle on the way to the door. It was the entertainment for the afternoon.
After this third and final text my mom wrote back "you live in a zoo!" I also got jealous emails from Aunt Jane who owned (killed) a few turtles of her own back when she was a kid. Hopefully these pics will entice them all to come visit more often:-)
I was convinced that this turtle was too cool to just be walking around in "the wild." While taking some pics of our new pet we had in a cardboard box all afternoon, I started an investigation. This turtle had to belong to someone. After talking to a few neighbors we found his home. I guess he lives in the backyard of a guy three doors down the street. When I knocked on his door he was thrilled to find we had found his "African Leopard Tortoise" that had been missing for three days. They thought the backyard was tortoise proofed but he got out anyway. Herbert (that's what we named him) will one day be as big as a hubcap. After seeing him poop three times in our cardboard box, I was more than happy to give him back to his rightful owner. It was fun having a pet for the day.

Old Geezer!!

Chase turned 35 this year. I find it hard to believe that I'll be married to a 40 year old in 5 years. He's still hot and that's all I care about. Why is it that men get better looking with age and women droop, sag and wrinkle. No fair!!
We had a great day with our dad. We surprised him with balloons at work and took him to lunch. Once we got back we got to work on his two favorite foods for dinner. He's gets them once a year (unless I'm feeling really generous) because I really don't care for either one of them. Shepherd's pie for dinner and Angel Food Cake with chocolate whipped cream for dessert.

We've become pretty boring with gifts lately. Chase picked out his own BBQ and I got him some stuff for grilling. Hopefully this will encourage him to grill more so I can cook less:-) I love my Chase. I hope he felt loved especially after we watched ESPN all night as an extra birthday perk. Happy birthday to my bestest bestest friend!!

Austin Rodeo

I had this vision of going to the local carnival in Austin. I pictured myself wearing boots in a floral breezy dress (inspired by Hope Floats of course) with my cowboy on my right and the little'uns running around at my feet. I pictured the family riding rides together, eating funnel cakes, carnival lights sparkling in our eyes, and Chase winning me a giant hot pink panda bear. We heard about the rodeo and waited until after spring break to go (I learned from my San Antonio Zoo experience) and were pleasantly surprised by the small crowds of people that Monday afternoon. We soon discovered why there weren't very many people. The Austin Rodeo/Carnival is expensive!! We expected an admission fee but parking alone was $10 and then the rides were absolutely ridiculous. You pay for the rides with tokens. Each token is a dollar but each ride is four tokens. We're talking the little train that goes around in a circle....$4 dollars for a 2 minute ride. Carousel...$3 tokens. If I was a zillionaire I would still be angry with the system. These were just the kid rides. The adult rides were 8-10 tokens per ride. We ended up buying an all day pass for one person so Sadie could ride all the rides and occasionally bought a ride or too for Jack. He was too short to ride most of them. By the time we got hungry I refused to give the people in charge any more of our money. We ate granola bars from my diaper bag and gave the kids stuff from our mini cooler. We ate when we got home. It was painful because even though Sadie and Jack were having fun we couldn't stop thinking about the fact that we probably could have purchased Sea World passes for the dough we spent that night. I would have been happy to pay a dollar for each ride but seriously three tokens to go down a long slide? Four dollars to ride a pony?! At the end of the day we decided it was semi worth it because the kids had so much fun, but our feet hurt (cowboy boots...I wanted to be Sandra Bullock for the evening)and our stomachs growled. The highlights were seeing a Texas long horn, riding the pony (for Sadie), playing in baby land (for free) while Sadie and Dad rode some rides, riding the roller coaster over and over again with Sades, seeing Jack's face on the carousel, pig races, laughing that Jack was more interested in the buckets of water near the animals than the actual animals, and not when Jack got his finger caught in a turkey's beak. To top it all off, we got pulled over for running a yellow/red light on the way home. The cop asked us how the rodeo was and I said "well after this ticket...expensive!!!" He took pity on us after the kids woke up from flashing lights and the suddenly motionless vehicle (it was 10:45) and were screaming their bloody guts out. It was the first time I've welcomed such behavior because I wanted the cop to feel bad for #1 pulling me over for such a dumb reason and #2 for waking up the tired and sleepy kids. He gave me a warning and then practically followed us home afterwards. I maneuvered the car like I was taking my driving test back in 1996. As Sadie always says "red means stop, green means go, and yellow means hurry up."