Arkansas Part 1

Howdy ya'll!!!  That's me saying Hi Arkansas style.  We're spending the week with Brooks' mom and her family one last time before we leave.  So far, our days have been jam packed and our trip isn't even over yet.  

Brooks had to work late Monday night at work so we didn't leave Houston until much later than expected, which put us getting into Arkansas at 2am.  We were able to sleep in and then spent the entire day outside in Brooks' mom's pool.  It was so nice just relaxing and swimming.  We all got some sun, which our poor bodies haven't seen in months.  Gavin has found all the gadgets that are around their house such as the lawn mower, swing sets, brooms (he's a little obsessed with them), and his red wagon he got from Grammy and Papa J at Christmas.  He just loves riding around in it.   He has helped Papa J drive around on the lawn mower, mowing grass and has a very hard time getting off of it when they're done.   On another day, we went to a lake nearby and hung out in the water, had a picnic lunch, and even did some jet skiing.   Gavin loved getting to ride the jet ski just as much as he enjoyed sitting on it, alone, while it was parked in the water.  He even liked when they went fast on it.  He thought he was driving it.  So cute!  I'm so glad I bought him a life jacket the other day while we were out and about.  It has come in handy so much.   Brooks took the jet ski out for a couple of spins alone so he could have a "little boy" moment.  He would come back to us, wearing his hat backwards and saying, "that was awesome!"  

Missie and John have a pond in the back of their land that is stocked with fish.  I went and met some camp friends of mine for dinner one night while the rest of the family went fishing.  Gavin caught his first fish!  How exciting is that.  We don't have any pics from that go around, but I'm sure we'll go fishing again before we leave, hopefully, there will be a picture giving proof of their fish catching skills! 

On our last night at Brooks mom and husbands house, we had a going away party thrown for us with all our Arkansas family!  We did a cook out and had a pool party.  The kids swam and had a blast.  I didn't take any pics of outside, because it was raining off and on.  I did get pictures of the festivities inside, but they are on my other camera.  I'll post those later.  The party was a blast!  We just love being surrounded by people we love!   

We're off now the ranch to visit Brooks' grandparents and cousins and their kids.  I'll post all those details when we get home!  

Happy Birthday David

Happy Birthday David! I can't believe it's already been a year since we first met you!  

Our friends' baby

Welcome Addison Ray Carpenter!  Our friends, Susie and Darrell, had a baby girl last week and she is precious.  Addison has a super cool older brother, Cade, who just so happens to be Gavin's best buddy!  I was really excited I was in town for her birth (she was due on Thursday- when we were going to Colorado), I actually made it to the hospital 20 minutes before she arrived-- just in time.   Congratulations Susie and Darrell!  We're so excited for ya'll!

The happy family of four!

What a blessing to experience this with her! 

Look at all that hair! 

Susie has mentioned before how much she loves my cookies, and since she sent us a cookie bouquet when we had Gavin, I figured the only thing to do was give her some cookies as well!  I made a lot of cookies for all her and her visitors to enjoy! 

Colorado

Part of us moving overseas soon, is having to say good bye to all of our friends and family.  We took a trip to Colorado this past week to spend some time with Brooks' dad and his family.  We really enjoyed being out there and had lots of fun-- eating out, playing at the park, watching movies, and visiting.  The weather was HOT out there, something I'm not use to in Colorado, but it sure makes things much easier with a toddler.  

Gavin did GREAT on the plane ride up there, unfortunately, he did not have his own seat, but thankfully, he made friends with the young man sitting next to us and by the end of the trip, they were pounding fist back and forth.  

While we were in Colorado, we took advantage of getting to see Brooks' grandparents.  It was such a joy to spend some time with them before we leave.  We thought Thanksgiving was the last time we were going to see them so this was a special treat!  A lot has happened since the last time we've seen them so this visit was different, but good.  Brooks grandmother had a stroke a few months ago and has made some tremendous progress.  She goofed off with Gavin and tried tickling him.   

Since Colorado is an hour behind us, Gavin was a little messed up with his time.  He'd wake up EARLY in the mornings, thinking it was later, and at night, he'd be sleeping early because his body thought it was later.  Wow-- that was a little tough to handle but we managed and he did great.  One morning, Gavin woke up at 6am and was wide awake.  In order to keep him from waking the rest of the house, we loaded him in the car and took him to McDonald's to play on their playground.  He loved it!  It was a brilliant idea on our part if I do say so myself.   Brooks and I enjoyed our coffee while Gavin ran around.  He's still too young to handle these types of play houses alone, so Brooks and I took turns going in with him.  Part of entertaining Gavin while we were there, was letting him water all the flowers and plants in the backyard.  In order to do that, it required taking his clothes off and running through the sprinkler.  As you can see, he preferred just the hose part!   Another opportunity to entertain Gavin came with the piano.  He played it often and made some great "sounds" with it!   

We miss you guys already!

This is really happening...

Well, it's official.  Our house is on the market.  We put it up for sale last Wednesday after a really long process.  It's amazing the amount of stuff you have to do when you are selling your home through a relocation company.  It has been a really busy few weeks for us as we've been working very hard at getting the house "show" ready as well as maintaining it daily because you never know who is going to come by and see it.  We're praying and hoping our house sells soon!  

Anniversary Celebration

Brooks and I had our 4 year anniversary over a week ago, but we actually celebrated it a little early (I forgot to post about it).  Since we've lived in Houston after getting married, we've made it a tradition on our anniversary to spend the night at the hotel where we stayed the night of our wedding.  So, this year was no different, especially since this was going to be our last year in Houston for a while.

Brooks and I were fortunate to have one of our best friends, Stephanie, ask us if she could watch Gavin for the evening, and let him spend the night with her, so we could get away.  We knew that Gavin loves his Aunt Steph and he does very well adapting to new places so we agreed and went off for our weekend Anniversary celebration.

Brooks did a little research and found a cute restaurant that was actually across the street from our hotel.  It was called The Grove and it looked out to Discovery Green, a large park in downtown Houston, near the George Brown Convention Center.  We had a delicious dinner (with dessert) and were stuffed by the time our meal had ended.  After wards, we went back to our hotel and actually went swimming in their indoor pool (Brooks LOVES to swim and every year we'd forget to bring our swim suits) and just relaxed.  The next morning, we got up and went to a couple's massage.  That was my gift to Brooks.  When he went to China, he would get a massage almost every day because they were very cheap over there and he loves getting them.  I thought he'd enjoy another one, plus, at this time, we had been doing a LOT of work on the house and we both just needed a break.  The last time (and only time) we've ever had a couple's massage was on our honeymoon so it brought back memories from 4 years ago!

We're glad we went and took the time to celebrate our anniversary.  Here are a few pics from the last few anniversaries at the Hilton Hotel.

On our first anniversary, we brought the top of our wedding cake and ate it up!

We also exchanged presents!

This was our 2nd anniversary.. I was 9 months pregnant (since I was on bed rest for our actual anniversary in May, we went in August to celebrate me getting off bed rest and to have one last weekend alone before Gavin came. 

**I just realized we didn't get to go last year. The NBA playoffs were going on at the Toyota Center the month of May, therefore, prices were INSANE!

Cake Demo with a Pro

A few weekends ago, I had the opportunity to attend a day of cake demonstrations made by local cake decorators and a famous cake artist.  I learned a lot of information and was very excited that I chose to spend my day learning.  It was amazing to see new techniques used and get an array of ideas varying from decorating, to recipes, to supplies used.  

Here is a cake that was brought in when teaching models.  It was a jungle themed cake filled with tree leaves and jungle animals.  It was cute. FYI: this cake would cost someone anywhere from $250-$400.  

The following two animals were used in our demonstration class.  I now know how to make a monkey and a tiger.  I was surprised by how easy they seemed to make, however, I'm not sure I could recreate these again to look just like this!  I'm glad I learned so maybe ONE DAY I'll venture out and try them!

The highlight of the day was getting to sit under the teachings of Michelle Bommarito.   She is a phenomenal cake designer who is very talented and had a very successful bakery in New York.   She now spends her time touring the country teaching lessons and being a motivational speaker.  She's very good at expressing her enthusiasm and passion for cake decorating.  She taught us how to make a shopping bag-- handle and tissue paper, too.  It was a neat concept to learn, now all I need is someone to order one from me.  Not only does Michelle tour the country, she also competes in cake challenges, too.  This past Sunday she was on the Food Networks Cake Challenge.  It airs tonight, again, at 6:00pm.  

Michelle is an entertainer when she teaches.  

  Before she started her demonstration, she walked around the entire room and shook hands with every single one of us and introduced herself to us.  So nice!