Plan like it's 2013

Ryleigh's first ever visit with Santa

I know, I know!  This blog has been dropped by the wayside (yet again) BUT I have every intention (like I always do) to not let it get neglected like it has been.  Or at least more than one post every 4 months - good grief!

So to all my readers still left out there (Hi Linsey!) rest assured that my New Year's Resolution to *better plan out my days* just may result in more than the quarterly posts you've been getting over the past little while.

Cheers to planning! Happy New Year!

And then the Ceiling Came Down

I know that it's been over four months since my last post - and that I owe a whoooole lotta updates and pictures and things we've been up to... but can we just talk about this picture of our kitchen in its current state?

It's what happens when your well meaning toddler leaves the upstairs sink faucet on while everyone is getting ready to leave for a little family outing to the library.  And then everyone does leave and the faucet is left running.

Oh, yes she did. (Insert note that it was a collaborated effort.  I'm not sure how I didn't catch that the faucet water was still running after she had plugged the drain to give her bath toys a little bath of their own in the sink while I pulled her hair back in a pony.  It's just a lot easier to point a finger when it comes to who was responsible. Hahaha!)

BUT, the good news is that we were only gone for an hour, Brant is a very handy guy, and the leak-turned-pool happening in the ceiling was over the kitchen.  This could have been catastrophic, but we've been wanting to replace the boxed fluorescent kitchen lights with canned lighting.  It was a lower priority project, but just found it's self at the top of the home improvement list.  It's like the canned lights knew this was the only way it was going to get it's chance.  Well done canned lighting.  Well done.

Annual Garden Post: The Best Yet

Scaling back on gardening space when we moved from Georgia to Texas year last year didn't discourage  Brant when it came planting season.  In fact, this avid gardener was actually excited for the challenge to reconfigure his plants to fit in our (much smaller) Texas backyard.  Leaving behind the square foot garden boxes and trellis, he went back to the drawing board and this year he planted in regular ol' pots - or whatever else he could plant in (remember his first garden here).

And the perseverance has been paying off!

It may be a smaller garden than in years past, but its thriving and the best one he's had in the five years we've been married.  Not that he has gone it alone, though.  With the help of some little helping fingers (who quickly learned that we only pick the red tomatoes) in our kitchen counter top basket there is now an ongoing fresh harvest supply of cherry tomatoes, okra, bell peppers, green onions, banana peppers, and jalapeno peppers.

Hats off to a hard working father/daughter gardening duo!

Best. Holiday. Ever.

 

The day after Ryleigh's baby blessing (see here) and the excitement of the sparkler fruitcake, we packed our car and headed up to Dallas for 4th of July festivities that included an excited Savannah getting her swim on, mouthwatering BBQ ribs (I'm thinking those are a must for every BBQ going forward) and a magnificent firework display that concluded an hour long wait in the local Kroger parking lot (hey, it was the best place to stake out if we wanted to make a quick exit afterwards).

And maybe one year I'll be able to decide on just one 4th of July outfit.  But until then - and for as long as they let me dress them - these cuties will be changing in and out of red, white, & blue all the day dong long.

Not Your Mom's Fruitcake

Thanks to Pinterest - and my sister who headed up the project - we were able to celebrate a birthday (Brant's 30th), a baby blessing (sweet baby Ryleigh's) and a holiday (4th of July) all in one weekend and all in one melon/strawberry/blueberry/kiwi cake:

What are those sticks coming out of the cake, you ask?  Just some sparklers.  It was a really fun cake -but word to the wise?  If you don't want to smoke out your home and all your guests that have come to help celebrate, then it's best to light a cake with sparklers.... outside.  

Summer Lovin'

All this new baby and summer lovin' has had us a little MIA lately!  So to hold you over while I get caught up in the blogosphere, here's a picture from yesterday of Savannah living it up at our local splashpad.    

On a side note, did I just count six different swimsuits that she's worn just over the last month or so??

Yes, yes I did.

My name is Kristen and I have a weakness for buying toddler swimsuits.



P.S.  Invites to the Our Little One(s) blog were sent out this morning, so let me know if yours didn't make it.  Silly Blogger. Always changing things around.  

Meet Ryleigh!

Interested in the birth story?  Click here.  

Don't have access but want it?  Just say the word.

For the Record

The Woodlands Public Library has a beautiful amphitheater and waterway next to it that made for an enjoyable family outing this morning.

That, and I think Brant has become an aspiring iPhone photographer with me being in week 34 of this little one.  

We're getting closer!

.

The Good  

(the great)

This Evening 5 Years Ago

Friday April 13, 2007 

Flying in a two seat plane from Provo to Salt Lake single ... but then flying back that evening engaged.

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The Bad 

(but hopeful)

10am This Morning 

Friday April 13, 2012 

Holding Savannah on my lap while at St.Luke's Hospital to have her blood drawn for allergy testing 

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The Ironic

Did you notice the date today?  Completely coincidental on both occasions!

More like "Icky!"

It's the simple things- like when you are at the doctor's office with your two year old when she spots the Biohazard sign and exclaims "Mickey!" 

...that make you really laugh.

Is this girl going to be an ace at spotting hidden Mickey's around Disney World or what?

Someday

I hope to visit Chicago on St. Patty's Day to see it when their river is dyed green.  In the same way I'd like to someday be in Times Square to watch the ball drop for New Years, or be in Washington DC to watch the fireworks extravaganza that happens every year on the 4th of July.

But until then, Savannah and I will be sporting our green ensembles and spend the afternoon baking these mint brownies, eating frozen green grapes, and making leprechaun traps around the house.

And then I'm pretty sure that after Brant comes home this evening and we've had dinner - complete with our mint chocolate chip shakes for dessert- that I will be spending the rest of the night coming down from an extreme sugar high.  Love these holidays!

It was a pretty day in Texas

The multi acre Mercer Botanic Gardens could possibly top our list of favorite places around town at the moment (so could the gym which explains our choice of clothing this morning).  

Brant's favorite?  Pretty much any of the plants and colors (being the avid gardener he is).  My favorite?  Enjoying time together as a little family in the beautiful weather.  Savannah's favorite?  The turtles lined up sun bathing on the wood log in the pond along with the brightly colored fishies. ("How many fishies do you see?" "One...two...free...eight...ten!")  

And yes, I  know we're going to pay for this beautiful 73 degree sunny weather come summer time...but let's not think about that right now!

Babymoom - Galveston Style

So....Galveston Beach!

It's a pretty neat place and makes for a great overnight trip when it's just the two of you.  And when you go during the week in late February, you can plan on having the city to yourselves!  Some of our favorites:

-Driving into town and seeing the huge Carnival Cruise ship a block away loading up passengers

-A hit and miss with booking the night stay at the Coastal Dreams Bed & Breakfast.  Apparently they need more than a moments notice so they can be ready to book your room.  

- But then not feeling so bad about the B&B when we got a room here on ther 10th floor with a full ocean view

- Walking down the beach with our lunch packed away in a picnic basket.  Good thing my husband is an Eagle Scout- it takes some skillz to build a small fire on the beach and get the kettle water hot enough to whistle.  Beach fire boiling water makes for some great marshmallow caramel hot chocolate in the unforgiving coastal wind.

- Catching an afternoon showing of The Great Storm at Pier 21.

- Taking the hotel staff's recommendation of eating dinner at Shrimp 'N Stuff.
You know it's good when it's where the locals hang.

- Stopping at Ben & Jerry's after dinner for a Banana Split.  I think they call it a split for more than just the banana part.  You really need to split it with someone else because it's got that much sugar!

-  Stopping to watch a surfer kite surfing in the waves.

- Sleeping in over luxurious king bed with perfect down comforter while sleeping in the next morning 

- Eating a super delicious buffet breakfast at the hotel.  Not that anything on the buffet was out of the ordinary... it was just really good food.

- Stopping at a souvenir shop and saying to Brant "I think it'd be really cool to have one of those old fashion boat steering wheels in a miniature size as a souvenir Christmas ornament.  And then finding that exact thing there.

- Seagul and dolphin watching while riding the ferry (drive onto the ferry and ride with your car with you?  ok!) 

- Taking one last stroll around the old town Galveston before heading back home.

- Pulling over at a DSW to pick us up each a pair of new shoes.

-Coming home to a happy toddler who was really sad to see her Grandma leave after being showered with lots and lots of attention while mom & dad were away.

Now, where did I leave off ...?

I received my fortune from Zoltar this morning in Galveston Beach, TX  - where we were getting ready to hit the road home after our fun babymoom getaway.  He said that there were a lot of blog updates in my future.

Well, good thing I got rid of the personal assistant that I hired awhile back to do my blog updates.  I mean three months and no updates?!   Un.  Excusable.

Stay tuned.

Say ... Hot and Humid!

Back in August before we moved from Georgia, the Wilson side of the family was able to accomplish a never before done feat - which was coordinating every member of the extended family's work, school, out of town, and church schedules to take a family portrait.  Nine adults and four kids under the age of four at 4pm on a Sunday afternoon with high humidity, less than ideal lighting, and 30 minutes to work with (remember - this was the only window of time that worked with everyone's schedule).  I give the photographer full props that day.

But we liked how the pictures turned out and with Canvas People offering a free 11x14 canvas right now (you pay the $20 shipping) I'm having a hard time deciding which picture I'll be ordering.  Maybe one of each...?

One of our little family pictures were able to take after the big family photos were shot.  

And I'll give you props  if you can name the Reese Witherspoon movie that has a scene that took place in that Starr's Mill red barn. No guessing from any Georgia folk- I know this is old news :)

Candy Corn is Not For Snacking

With cousin McKayla

We spent Halloween weekend in Utah with the extended Harrison family this year - where these cuties got in lots of quality play time.


Other Utah highlights included early morning drives, taking family pictures, trunk-or-treating, running into old friends, a baby blessing (welcome baby Avery!), an early Thanksgiving meal, and having every member of the extended Harrison family present where good times were had by all.


P.S.  And for all those who think I haven't been updating enough...have you been checking Savannah's blog lately...?

I can't stop thinking about it

There's a rest stop located 1.5 hours outside of Houston on the 4 hour drive up to Dallas (where we visited Ma & Pa Harrison earlier this week).  The kind of place where you see billboards advertising for well over 200 miles before you actually get there.  We had heard about this place prior to stopping there, so we had really high expectations.

And let me tell you - it did not disappoint.

With its sparkling clean, roomy stalls- and dare I say- beautiful bathrooms, the only thing that makes it better is its well run deli counter (self service touch screens?  sweet!) and it's selection of classy Texas souvenirs.  No, not those tacky "Someone Went to (insert destination) and all I got was this lousy magnet" gas station souvenirs, but tasteful, non-annoying souvenirs.  

I've kind of always liked how Texans were so proud of where they are from and enjoyed looking around this rest stop.  And since I'm well on my way to becoming a Texan woman, I'm pretty sure that I won't be able to stop thinking about this apron that I have to have... until I drive the 1.5 hours back just to get it.  

Now how many state flags can make an apron look that fun??

I can explain...

*Disclaimer: picture has nothing to do with this post!

Remember that one time I posted about going to the Braves Stadium and then didn't post for over a month?  Remember also in that post when I mentioned that my camera had pooped out?

I know, blah, blah, blah, right?

Well, it turns out that the lens was broke and needed to be replaced (the the camera body was just fine).  It shouldn't have taken so long to replace, but I had already wanted to look into getting a different camera anyways, and since that was back when we were still living in Georgia and had too many other things (a move to Houston, Texas) going on that took priority over taking the time to research and find a good camera ... well, no blog posts.  Until now.

At any rate, my Nikon D40 (soon to be replaced by a Cannon) has been packed up and shipped off to KEH to be replaced, so it still may be a couple of weeks before I get pictures back up on this blog.

In the meantime, you can see on my Facebook profile a picture from the Sprint Triathlon (my first one!) that I completed back on August 20 when we were still in Georgia.  This was a birthday present to myself and I'm so glad I was able to participate in it.  .3 mile swim, 14 mile bike, and 3.1 mile run - in that order.  I had trained for two months prior to it and had a great support team waiting for me at the end (Brant, Savannah, and good friend Lacy - who also picked me and my bike up at 5:30am that morning.  Is she a great friend or what?)  I wish I had  more pictures of it, but remember how I mentioned that I've been camera-less the last little while?  I'm just happy for the picture that Lacy took on her phone and posted to Facebook before the start of it!

What else have we been up to the last little while?  While still in Georgia - dental work (cavity and then on top a crown - boo), lots of get togethers with Georgia friends and my family, my birthday, consignment sales, packing, moving, settling into our rental house in Texas (our home in Georgia sold quickly, but we were holding our breath towards the closing when there was a two week delay due to paperwork issues on the buyers part), flying back and forth between Georgia and Texas tying up lose ends, and lots of other boring things that go along with moving.

And while we sure do miss our house and everyone in Georgia - and wish that Skywest hadn't ever closed its Atlanta base - we love it here in Texas.  We got here on Sept 1st and have been setting up shop and learning the area since. And even though it definitely is hot here (still in the 90s in mid September), we love that Brant is home every night with us and has weekends off.  And having him home is worth any sacrifice.

This is Braves Country

One of the things on our Houston bucket list was tour Turner Field (it's where the Braves play for you non baseball fans).  We've been to many of games there before, but had yet to do a formal tour of the stadium until this past Tuesday (and let me tell you - it's awesome!)

Hanging out in the visitor dug out.  It's a whole other ballgame when you have seats that close!

Check out all of Savannah's hair - she's got lots of it!

My favorite parts were being in the broadcast booth, luxury suites, dug out, and clubhouse locker room (hello- I was thisclose and literally inches away from Brian McCann and Chipper Jones personal lockers).

A quick tip I learned?  I shoulda gone for the Cannon instead of the Nikon.  I've been having fits with my camera lately and missed a lot of good pictures (like of the clubhouse locker room... or a cool family photo on  the field at home plate). Ah, C'est la vie.

P.S.  Did you see the new post over on Savannah's blog?  Poor blog has been so neglected lately.

Annual Garden Post

Since this is the first year that we've been in a home for two consecutive summers, Brant's garden pretty much stayed the same as last year - with an added bonus of getting bigger and better harvests this time around.

But the biggest bonus this year?  Finally having someone to help Brant in the garden (since I'm nowhere near an avid gardener as he is).  And she loves it.

Time to go to work

It's like an Easter Egg hunt finding these potatoes.  We used those same potatoes for tin foil dinners the next night.

They make a great team - Brant digs them up and Savannah puts them in her apron for safe keeping.

We've been busy soaking in these last few weeks enjoying our home and where we live before we pack up and head out to Houston - stay tuned!