Jimmy Buffett

We went to the Jimmy Buffett concert with a bunch of neighbors at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco. I had only heard stories, but never personally experienced it before! The concert was great, but to tell the truth, the tailgating was much more of a sight to see. Tons of RV's, pimped out golf carts, music, drinks flowing - you get the picture. Now I know exactly what the Parrot head culture is all about! Next year, I think we'll just tail gate. That was the highlight, for sure!

Ava turns 4!

Ava's 4th Birthday was May 21st. She's such a big girl now! I can't believe how quickly time has passed. She says certain things are "baby things" now and not for her. She's all about big girl stuff like fancy clothes, princesses, barbies, Strawberry Shortcake and the such. The phrases she's been using lately have been hilarious too. We celebrated her 4th birthday with a party at Build A Bear with some of her close girl friends from the neighborhood and her preschool. Afterwards, we had Chick-Fil-A and cupcakes in the Mall Food Court. It was a hit!

Mia had fun too, but tired of the Build A Bear activities pretty quickly. She preferred to wander the mall with Pop Pop and I had to help create her bear for her! She loved the lunch and especially the cupcake, however! She dug right in, no hands, just all mouth on the cupcake icing! Too funny!

March Updates

Here are some snip-its of what we've been up to lately. March has been very busy with birthday parties, Spring Break (with visits to the Arboretum and the Zoo) and dance class. In between has been colds for all and an ear infection for Mia. Not fun on that front, but we've been managing to still have fun and enjoy the awesome Spring weather here (although extremely windy!).

Birthday Fun!

Ava and Mia had a blast at our neighbors' birthday party at Pump it Up. Mia was getting in there just like one of the big girls - so fearless it's a little scary! She especially enjoyed the princess cupcake!

Snow Day January 2011

Happy New Year and Happy Snow Day! TX weather takes us on a roller coaster ride again. Yesterday was sunny in the 60's and today we get 4-5 inches of snow! Crazy! The girls had fun playing out front. Some neighbors had the same idea, so they got to play with them as well. This was Mia's first real snow experience - she was only 3 months old last year when we got snow. She loved it! Especially the snow eating part. It's wrapping up out there now, but maybe no school/work tomorrow? We'll see ...

Family Photo Shoot

I wanted to do some family photos this year as my Christmas present. Doug was a little resistant, as you all know he LOVES getting his picture taken, but he managed through it and the end result was fantastic! We used downtown McKinney as our back drop, that had some wonderful old brick walls, bright painted colors and cool old doorways. We did it first thing in the morning when all were rested and in good moods and the light was just right. It was freezing though and we had to warm up the girls between shots to keep their lips from getting blue! We shared the session with some of our neighbors, so that helped the girls hang on by playing with their friends during breaks.

Ava's Christmas party at School

Ava had her Christmas party at school the other day and we all got to attend. They received and gave gifts, consumed A LOT of sugar, and wore the cutest hats that they made. Here's Ava unable to contain her excitement about a gift one of the teachers got her. Oh my ...

Dicken's Christmas

Amy and Nick were here for Thanksgiving and we spent a day in downtown McKinney at the Dicken's Christmas event. They had such a nice set-up for the kids - merry go round, petting zoo, train rides and even fake snow! Gotta love how they do it down here in TX! The kids had a blast and were even patient enough for us grown-ups to grab a pint at the pub. Check out Mia during her first petting zoo experience. She has a love for animals and was shrieking with delight! I think she even scared a few of them with her zealousness!

Ava at Disney on Ice

I took Ava to her first "show" this Thanksgiving to see Disney Princesses on Ice at the new Allen Event Center. She was so excited and had a blast! She dressed up in her Sleeping Beauty dress up clothes, complete with a tiara so she could be just like one of the Princesses. She sat next to another little girl and they both hooted and hollered for the characters throughout the show - so cute! She loved it all ... except for the big scary dragon that breathed fire. I thought it was cool, but for weeks she is still talking about how she didn't like that scary dragon. At least it was at the end of the show so it didn't ruin it for her. Had to dodge all the vendors selling all the Princess gear to the kids. She wanted everything - and it wasn't cheap! We got away with our $7 small box of popcorn and a $15 Ariel necklace. Not too bad! Ava is getting so big now. It's fun to be able to do things like this. Daddy is taking her to see her first movie in the theater later this week to see Tangled. I'm sure she'll love that too.

Fall Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

There is a pumpkin patch practically in our back yard at Story Book Ranch this year. They have a great kids' play area complete with pony rides, a petting zoo, a bouncy slide and a hay stack maze. I took Ava over one evening and she had a blast! Check her out ...