Thankful Thursday...

* Barry made it home safely from Austin, in between thunder storms.

* I got to talk to my sister several times today.

* Barry changing the fish tank water (as I write this).

* Emma played with grandpa and grandma while I ran a few errands.

* The friends I've made in Texas.

* My friends back home in California. I miss you.

Country Roads...

Barry and I had a date on Saturday. We had heard about a neighborhood about 15 miles north of where we are in Spring. So, we thought we'd go for a little adventure and see what was out that way. This is what we saw. Look at those houses. They are beautiful. You buy your lot and then build your own custom house. Some people have an acre, others have more. It was very peaceful out there.

Those are some good front lawns for playing a game of croquet.

Happenings...

Over the last month we've been a little busy:

* Emma had the stomach flu for the first time. Mild case, thankfully.
* Barry's been traveling.
* I had three jewelry shows.
* We had an alarm system installed.
* Been playing tennis. So much fun!
* Emma went to the dentist for a teeth cleaning. Good report.
* Had Spring Break for almost 2 weeks. Glad to be back in school.
* Got two goldfish. Died. Got two more fish. Thriving.
* Went to the Rodeo and Livestock show.
* Prepared for a garage sale with a girlfriend.
* Had a date with Barry. Drove to the country.
* Organized closets. Rearranged furniture. Took advantage of the Elfa sale at Container Store.

So I think that sums up what's been going on in our neck of the woods. I'm going to post pictures of the fish, rodeo, and new living arrangements later tonight. Got to run, have some friends coming over to play.

The Rodeo and Livestock Show...

In March the Rodeo and Livestock Show comes to Texas. Since we did not make it last year, we planned to go this year with the Sweitzers. On Thursday we loaded the car up and headed to downtown to see the Livestock show and carnival.

It was so much fun and the weather was perfect. I was amazed at all the cows and pigs, and sheep and rabbits...just rows and rows and rows. We spent quite a bit of time outside riding the carnival rides, watching the pig races, riding the Ferris wheel and seeing a dog show.

The other thing you can't get enough of is fried, Twinkies, fried Oreos, fried whatever you can think of. But I was fine with my Cherry Limeade. Yummy.

Hannah and Emma waiting in line for the Ferris wheel. Emma LOVED it. She even put her hands up in the air.

The girls "riding" on the John Deer tractor. One of many!

We watched the pig races and afterward you could hold the baby pig. Well, Emma really wanted to do this, so she got her chance. She's really into pigs right now. I'm so proud of her.

Barry bought each of the girls their very own pig nose. Great.

High atop the Ferris wheel. That's Machelle and myself looking up.

The following pictures are inside where they show the livestock. I found this really fascinating. Maybe because I'm a city girl and never saw anything like this before.

Emma looking on.

Goldie and Homer...

Emma's been asking for a pet. She says she wants a dog, but I'm not sure she's ready for one, nor are her parents. So, we decided on some fish, goldfish to be exact. So, on Sunday, March 15th, after church, we head over to Petco to get ourselves some fish.

Emma wanted two, Goldie and Homer. We're not really sure if we had two girls or boys or just what, but Emma liked those names. So, we got all our supplies, came home and set her up.




Unfortunately, one died within 8 hours and we knew the other was not going to make it as well. Barry found the second one the next morning. So now we had to break it to our little girl that her pet fish did not make it through the night. She cried. We felt so bad for her.

Have no fear though, being the kind, gentle, loving mommy that I am, I took her back to the pet store the following day. This time we talked with Eric. Love Eric. Gave us so much good information. But we decided to skip the goldfish and settled on two Sunburst Platys. They are smaller and much more lively. So far Goldie II and Pumpkin (they are both girls) are doing very well and lots of fun to watch. Barry and I are even enjoying them.

Space Girl...

One day Emma decided to be a Space girl and fly to outer space. So, daddy and her got together and made the space ship, hence the box the box she's sitting in, and her helmet. What you don't see in these pictures is that she used the headset to her guitar as her headset that an astronaut would use. Very clever I would say. She had a lot of fun with this for...one day. On to something else.

Stay tuned for more pictures and updates. I need to pick Emma up from school now. See you back here in a bit.

Catching Up...

I hear you people. It's been a month. I'm so bad about taking pictures off my camera and that is one of my excuses for not posting. But, I'm going to try and make some changes so I can get back to being more consistent. So, with no further ado....

In February Emma and I flew to CA for Kellen's first birthday....

One day we helped Aunt Julie weed and plant some tulip bulbs. Believe it or not, I was really helping with the weeding, but I'm taking the picture. Emma had a great time and did a fabulous job.

Emma and Kellen on her one year birthday. Emma just loves this little girl!