Dressing Up

Last night while Al and I were hanging pictures Avery was playing in her dress-up clothes. When we looked down at James this is what we saw. I think James is excited for his cousin Hannah to come and relieve him of his duties :)

More of our Happy Little Guy

Family Room and Kitchen

There is still a lot of work to be done, but there has been some requests for house pictures. So as you view these, bare in mind that there are still some changes/additions that need to be made. The walls are still a little bare too :)

The one picture is of our family room, looking down from above. Then there is a little study/dining area off to the side of that. The kitchen sink/bar looks out to the family room. These pics don't show the kitchen very well, but focus on the kitchen table and chairs. My mom and I painted these while she was here. It is a very old set and the finish was coming off, so we decided to give it a little update. They look MUCH better. Off of the kitchen is the laundry room and a 1/2 bath. I am planning on painting the kitchen and laundry room kind of a golden color...I think it will look really good. I found some fabric I love to eventually make a new table runner and am slowly working on replacing the light fixtures, as funds allow. Yes, that lovely gold chandelier type deal in the study is coming down! And then I'm planning on getting some bar stools for the bar, a plant for on top of the TV cabinet...and the list goes on and on :)

It's starting to feel more like home as we hang more things on the wall and get everything in its place. It is a cute house with a lot of character and I am excited to paint and add some more personal touches.

Pictures of other rooms to come soon.

Trying To Stay Cool

This splash park is literally right around the corner from our house. We have already visited it a few times. Avery just LOVES it. She would stay there for hours if you let her. Some people pack picnics and make a day of it. There are lots of different sprays/fountains that go off and on for the kids to run around in and there is plenty of shade for the parents. It is still super hot, even under the shade, but there usually seems to be a breeze in Houston that feels pretty nice. The big playground is right next to the splash park.

Yesterday we went for quite a while. Avery wanted to take her Webkinz Nemo with her. She was so excited to take him 'swimming.' Sure enough little Nemo got right down there in the water and was spashing around with the best of them. After the end of our day at the park I gave Avery a bath and tossed Nemo into the washer and dryer. He fluffed out just fine.

Avery absolutely loves the water and has worn a bathing suit almost every day since we've been here. I signed her up for swimming lessons, which start on Monday. I am hoping they will be a success.

In Our Backyard

There isn't much in our backyard...except some grass and some fire ants that need to be taken care of. We are so excited to have a fenced in backyard for the kids to play in. Eventually we will get into the landscaping...but probably not 'til next year, or as funds allow.

The best thing about our backyard is this sink that Grandma Nette bought for our backyard. She though Avery would love playing with it, and boy does she ever! Grandam Nette also invested in these two plastic lawn chairs to Avery (and James when he gets older) can sit out there and splash and play.

Grandma Nette and Grandpa Dave

Grandma Nette and Grandpa Dave helped us move to Houston. They were there for the loading up of the truck, the drive, and the unloading. They were SO much help, I don't think we could ever thank them enough. Al and I have both been blessed with GREAT parents.

Avery had a blast while they were here and was so sad to see them go. Avery was pretty upset when Grandma Nette left to go home and it made me so sad. She said, "No Grandma Nette, you can't leave me! You need to stay in Houston!" It is hard living so far away :(

I love this picture of my kids with my parents.

Our Chubbers

Sorry this is a ton of posts/pics in a row, but I am so far behind on blogging. It has been too busy with all of the unpacking and cleaning...not to mention that we didn't have internet until a couple of days ago.

Anyway, look at how chubby James is getting!! He's a little butterball :)

For Uncle Jubes...

Smiley Boy

James has really started to smile so much! I took these pictures today. He is just the cutest little thing. He wants to be held around the clock, which I find endearing and adorable, but it makes unpacking a little difficult. The other day my mom and I had Al put the swing together, hoping that it would buy us some time to work. It turns out he loves it.

You Gotta Love Texas...

My mom and I took the kids to a local restaurant here that is just down the street from our neightborhood called Jake's Grill. The food was great (think huge Texas burgers, fries, etc.) but the decor was even better. We had to take a couple of pictures to commemerate it.

As you can see my mom is standing in front of a giant Texas made out of old license plates. The table was painted like the Texas flag and the chairs were just fantastic.

Texans really love Texas. I've never lived in a state before that takes so much pride in their statehood. The Texas flag flies everywhere. I went to the Hobby Lobby with my mom the other day and she bought a deck of cards for her friend that had the state of Texas on it with the words "God's Country" written underneath it. We just laughed and laughed at that. Then I found a bumper sticker that said, "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as quick as I could." That made me chuckle too. I was totally going to buy it for Al's car.

Southern hospitality is alive and well here in the lonestar state. People here are super friendly-- lots of waving, opening doors, calling you mam or little lady, etc. and customer service is great.

Moving Day

Al had the guys from the ward come at 7:00 am the day we moved. The kids were still asleep when all of the moving started, so we put them together on the mattress in our room. I thought they looked so cute together on the bed I had to get a picture.