Let's Rodeo!

If you didn't know it's RODEO SEASON!!!  This weekend we decided to hit up the Houston Rodeo with a couple of my college friends.  But before all the fun started we, of course, made sure we had the appropriate gear:

(I mean, come on, how adorable are these things???)

Saturday morning Robbie flew in from Dallas to come see Carisa, me, and all our peoples.  It was so incredibly fun and I am so incredibly happy Robbie flew all the way in just to spend a few hours with us.  This also meant Mama got a few minutes in the car alone with my coffee (and music that did not involve singing vegetables).  This made me happy (and I decided to capture the moment, you welcome)!

 

We got there a little before everyone else so naturally we 1- ate food, 2- took pictures of ourselves, and 3- shopped!  I didn't really know this, but there is actually some really good shopping at the rodeo.  Maybe its the East Texas in me, but I can't get enough bling and it was everywhere-  bling belts, bling shirts, bling purses- it was blingtacular!

(aw, I've missed this girl!!!)

So, all my people showed up around 10 and Emery immediately wanted to start in on the rides so we bought our tickets (that come in card form now- how fancy!) and she pretty much had free reign over us.  Beckett was content to sit in the stroller so Emery rode the rides.

Carisa and her family showed up a little while later (Emery's reign was unfortunately short lived) and our first activity was the pony rides!  This is so funny to me because a year ago Emery was terrified of the animals.  She would talk and talk about horses and camels and want to see them all, but when it came time to ride them she was NOT having it!  But, she couldn't WAIT to get on a pony this year so her, Keaton, and Beckett all rode the ponies and I about died from all the preciousness. 

After the pony rides we headed to the petting zoo.  Emery wasn't having much of it, but everyone else was.  They had deer, kangaroos, a donkey, goats, baby goats, sheep, lamas, all sorts of fun animals!

Next stop: Fun on the Farm!  We took Emery and Keaton on this a couple years ago and it was fun to do it with them again.  They were SO tiny back then, it's hard to believe.  They have set up an interactive farm for the kids to walk through and plant vegetable, milk cows, ride tractors, and collect different items.  At the end of the farm they sell their basket of goods for money and get a treat.  It really is neat to see all the different animals and goods that come from the farm!

We took a little lunch break and then decided to hit up more rides and games and of course take more pictures of ourselves! 

 They survived the "roller coaster" and celebrated with an embrace (prom 2028 anyone?). :)  It makes me so happy to see our babies getting along together and having fun together.  They spent alot of the day holding hands and I'm pretty sure there's nothing sweeter than that.  Childhood friends- even better that he's the baby of this girl!

 We had SO much fun together, but best of all I got to spend time with these girls.  It was a crazy few hours, but totally worth it.  We didn't get to have alot of down time, but there's definitely a girls weekend in our future.  I love you ladies, thank you SO SO much for a spectacular weekend!

First Trip to the Dentist

One day last week Emery (and Beckett really) visited the dentist for the first time.  Their appointment was at 2:00 in the afternoon and, quite frankly, I didn't know people were out and functioning at this time of day.  We had to drive through the Galleria area and there were actually people out- driving, eating, shopping- who knew?  Around here the hours of 1-4 are dead time.  Emery and Beckett nap and Mama naps gets stuff done around the house- we are always home!  So, a trip out at this time of day was interesting.

Matt's Aunt (Aunt Lou) is a dentist here in Houston and she said she could take a look at them for me.  She has a really fun pediatric office around the Rice Village area.  The walls are covered in paintings of Mickey Mouse and all his buddies and there is even a (wait for it...) TRAIN that runs in and out through the whole office.  As you can imagine, Beckett was pretty much beside himself when he saw this- like, jaw hitting the floor excited!  It made sitting through sister's exam much easier.

Emery did really well, and of course Aunt Lou is as sweet as she can be.  She has always welcomed us into her home and she did the same at her office.  She counted Emery's teeth, brushed them, and gave her a new toothbrush!  Emery tried to talk her into a lollipop, but Aunt Lou tried to politely explain to her that dentist's aren't super excited about handing out lollipops for good behavior.

Although, Mama did have some treats waiting for them in the car.  (sorry, but Aunt Lou feeds us pie at Thanksgiving- we brushed later, really!)  Thanks so much for a good first trip to the dentist, Aunt Lou (and Mama is GLAD this is over!) HA!

A Saturday Adventure

Katy is full of sidewalks, trails, lakes, and playgrounds and it's fabulous!  Last Saturday we decided to take advantage of all of the above and go on a little adventure.  Emery rode her bike, Beckett rode in his car, and Peppa walked.  We ended up being out quite a while and both the kids hung in really well. 

 We showed Matt how we walk to school and to dance- because that was a big mystery to him, ya know.  Really, though, I was super proud of her for stopping at all the driveways, pointing out her dance studio, showing Daddy how we function around here on foot!

 I saw a little skunk early one morning and Emery has asked me several times to show her where it was so I did.  We did not see him this time, but I guess you never know.  And, yes, Emery currently has a skunk obsession (don't even ask I'm not sure of the origin of it but I'm pretty sure it has to do with Matt).

At one point we came to a new playground so we stopped to play.  This one was great for little kids- Beckett had a great time and I didn't ever feel like he was going to fall or get hurt.

Beckett held tightly to his train the whole time and thought it was SO COOL that it could ride the rails of the playground.  He is crazy about his trains lately.  Every morning the first thing he says to me is either "milk!" or "train".  He is a funny little man. 

We all came home and had hot chocolate and tried to warm up- it was cold and windy (bleh, like it's winter or something!).  It was a fun way to spend a Saturday morning- hopefully we can do this more.  Like, in the spring.  When it's warm...

Keep them Happy!

That's the name of the game really.  Keep 'em happy- and even better if you can stay ahead of that game!  I've looked to Pinterest for some ideas to keep my babies occupied at home- for rainy days, or dinner time, or that 15 minutes you have before you leave because you are actually early for something (oh, wait, not that last one- that isn't a concern because we are NEVER early!).  Here's a few ways we've been staying busy around here:

Marshmallows (or "me-mows" as Beckett calls them).  Emery and I were picking out some groceries the other day and I looked at Becket and he had decided to help himself to a bag of marshmallows.  He had opened the bad and was shoving them in his mouth like a crazy person.  Awesome (but hey, he was happy!)

Activity boxes.  Emery gets SO excited at the idea of this.  I found some reusable ice cubes at Target the other day and they quickly became jewels.  They both stack and sort and count the "jewels" over and over.  I ended up getting several of these plastic boxes and put a couple different activities in them- lace cards, Barbies (and all their shoes!), and some sorting activities.  They LOVE to go pick an activity box!

Food (again).  This was the day Emery wanted to make cake, so we made cake!  It was quick and easy so she could do alot of it herself.  By the time naps were over it was cooled and ready to be iced (and taste tested, duh!).

Bikes.  This was at Goodwill one day.  They had several cute little tricycles and a large amount of open floor space, so, we rode bikes!  I'm sure everyone in the store hated us, but you know what- they were happy! :)

I'm always looking for new ways to keep everyone happy around here.  Got any ideas for me???

Giddy Up!

So, it's rodeo season in and around Houston.  It's so fun to live in Houston during this time of year- concerts, cookoffs, fried food, trail rides coming into town- what's not to love?!   Last Friday night I decided it might be fun to go see what the Katy Rodeo is all about.  We rounded up our neighbor buddies and decided to give it a try.

And we had SO. MUCH. FUN!!!  Emery was convinced we were going to the rodeo to go buy a horse (I REALLY don't know where she got that idea from, honestly!).  Lucky for us, Daddy was at work so we did not purchase a horse (haha, love ya Hubby!), but Emery got to sit on sweet Louie for a minute.  She's pretty much in love, and this is the same girl who was terrified of them at the Nature Adventure last year, crazy!

Beckett wore his vest and SERIOUSLY wanted to pet anything- cows, goats, puppies you name it.

 

We all got corn dogs and french fries and funnel cakes and were in fried heaven!  They didn't have a huge assortment of crazy fried foods, but I was just happy to have a corn dog.  We spent the whole evening playing games, riding rides, and even sat and watched some actual rodeo events.

This rodeo trip was fantastic!  It was smaller than the Houston Rodeo which meant there were less crowds and (good for us!) less things to do and random places for 3 year olds to wander off to.  We stayed for almost 3 hours and my sweet babies came home and did this:

Snuggled, ate bananas, and watched Dora.  I mean really, how sweet are they?

Let them eat cake!

Wednesday was pretty cloudy, rainy, and cold around here so Emery and I decided to do what any person with good sense would do- make a birthday cake!  No one in our house has a birthday today, I mean I guess it could be late birthday cake for Camryn Joy.  Let's be honest though- I don't need a reason to make cake.  I'm pretty much always game.

We carefully selected our cake and frosting from the store this morning and baked them while Beckett was napping.  I had SO much fun baking with her.  We've been fighting alot lately so it was really nice to have some fun one on one time with her.  She loves to help in the kitchen so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.  She mixed up all the ingredients (this is a very old super secret recipe so pay close attention):

1-Cake Mix

 2- Water

 3- Applesauce (subbed for oil and taste tested... approved!)

 4- Eggs (that Mama may have done for her)

Then stir, stir, stir!!!

5- Put the cake pans in the oven and go read about your favorite people- a dragon, a truck, and a duck.

6- Remove from oven and take a nap while they cool (can I get an amen???).

7- Carefully select which color you'd like the frosting to be.  Emery was so funny about this.  She kept looking at the box of cake mix and choosing from there.  I tried to explain that we had food coloring and could pretty much make any color, but she choose purple because the purple cupcake on the box looked pretty.

8- Frost, blow out the candles (we went all out for no one!) and enjoy!

 (Really, she liked it.  She just really enjoys a good funny face instead of a smile when I start taking pictures of her.  Maybe it's a passive aggressive method to get me to stop, I don't know!)

 It ended up being a really fun thing to do together on a rainy day- good idea Ree Ree!

What's for Dinner Wednesday

So, I have a secret talent- I'm a phenomenal cook, just ask my kids.  I make the best "real" Kraft macaroni and cheese you've ever had.  I use precise measurements like "some" and "some more" to perfect very memorable meals for my family.  Here's a couple recipes we are eating this week (your welcome!).

Chicken and Gnocchi (fancy, right?!?)

I saw this recipe in Real Simple a long time ago (like, when I had time to read magazines and save recipes) and I've cooked it probably weekly ever since- especially in the winter.  It's warm and brothy and easy deliciousness.  Here's the link to the recipe on their website.  It's what we're having tonight:

 Real Simple Chicken and Gnocchi

and another one for the road...

Baked Tacos

I saw the recipe for baked tacos on the Mix and Match Mama blog Monday morning and it was pretty much love at first sight.  We love us some tacos around here and I'd never thought to build them and then bake them.  I changed it up a little but they still turned out delicious!  Here's what I did:

Gather supplies: ground beef, black beans, refried beans, and rotel. Enjoy! (Ha, just kidding, there's more).

Brown your ground beef and add a recipe for taco seasoning (this is where those precise measurements come in).  Some of these items- chili powder, onion powder, oregano, and cumin.  Some more of these- paprika, and garlic powder.  I've just started seasoning it how I like it, not too much kick and alot of garlic and that seems to work so far.  I also add a little less than a cup of water and simmer until the water is absorbed.

 Open the black beans and rinse.  Then add the beans and rotel to the ground beef.

 Now that the meats done it's time to go get little people out of bed.  Walk away from the stove for a couple hours to dry some tears and hang out at the park (poor little people.  Beckett's started crying just because Emery is- it's fun.)

 After everyone's played for a couple hours come back to cooking.  I put a layer of refried beans along the bottom of the taco shells, then stuffed them silly with the meat.  Finally I topped them off with some colby jack cheese and baked them on 425 for about 10 minutes and opened the oven to see this:

Ah, yes, just take that in for a moment.  

They were delicious and we will be adding this to our Sunday night mexican food night rotation.  Happy Eating!