Just having fun & being silly!

We didn't have Life Group tonight, so Josie and I had "girls night in." We had pasta and broccoli for dinner. Josie had a sticker on her nose that said "Try me!" That combined with the sauce all over face, was pretty silly looking!

After dinner we rode our bicycle over to the playground to play. Josie looked like a super hero running around with her super-duper backpack and her helmet still on!

Houston Rodeo

While Mom & Dad were here, we went to the Houston Rodeo & Livestock Show on Saturday afternoon. This thing is a HUGE ordeal that lasts for a whole month! It takes up all the buildings of Reliant Park----the stadium, arena, and center building. There's a carnival, kids country, BBQ championship, concerts (Janet Jackson, Rascal Flatts, etc.)....not to mention the actual rodeo competition. So we took Josie to see the kid stuff. She really enjoyed "Fun on the Farm." Josie got to grab a basket and walk through the steps of running a farm....gathering eggs, feeding chickens, planting seeds, picking peaches & corn, shearing sheep, milking cows, going to market, and then she got to spend the "dollar" she earned on some crackers! It was really neat and she loved it!

Josie doesn't quite know what to do with her cup of chicken feed.

Inside the Reliant Center, we got to see all kinds of animals (including a pig in the process of giving birth to piglets!!!). They had a display of eggs that were hatching and another one of little chicks that had just hatched. Josie loved watching the eggs wiggle around and the little chicks were soooo cute!!! Hello, friend!

Fun with Nana & Papa

My parents came to visit for the weekend. It was supposed to be a surprise for my birthday, but they ended up coming while Lane was in China. It really helped the time that he was away go by quickly because we stayed so busy while they were here! On Friday, we took the kids to the zoo. It was one of the best zoo trips we've had. All of the animals were awake and roaming about. Plus, we got to see the new baby giraffe that was just born last week! I was super excited about that! We rented a pull-wagon for the kids to ride in which turned out great! Best $10 I ever spent! They could see everything, and climb in and out much more easily than the stroller. Nathan liked the lions, and Josie and Natalie liked the elephants. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures at the zoo because when we got there I realized there was no SD card in my camera. I really wish I'd gotten a picture of them in that wagon...so cute!!!

While they were here, Mom and Dad took advantage of some serious playtime with Josie. On Saturday morning, I got to run some errands while they took her to the playground.

Careful!!!

I did it!!!

Cleaning the dirt out of Josie's shoes.

Dad also gave Josie some tricycle riding lessons. She still needs some practice! She doesn't quite grasp the concept of steering. Plus, her little legs hardly reach the pedals when she turns. But she'll get it one day! (And yes....that is a bungee cord he attached to her tricycle to help her along....)Serious instructions on EXACTLY what to do!

Uh-oh! We had a few tumbles...
Now you're getting it!

Qq is for quail

We've been learning the letter Qq this week. Our new "friend" for the week is Quentin Quail, so we made quail hats. Some of us were more excited about this than others. Josie finally decided that this was fun and has been showing the twins how to run around flapping her "wings" and yell "Cawww!!! Cawww!!!" I doubt that's the sound a quail makes, but it's still cute to watch. The hats have already been wounded and then tapped back together multiple times.

Our Year So Far....

I know I drifted from "blogging" for a while. Sorry!!! I'm going to try to update more often!
Here are a few things that have been going on with us this year....

Josie in the dress that Nana got her with dogs like Zoey's on it.

Josie's new baby

"L" is for lion....ROAR!!!!

Josie is learning how to use a "big girl" swing!

And she can climb up the slide all by herself!

This is what happens in the car on the way home from a long day when you refuse to take a nap. One day she'll hate me for this, but I'm getting my revenge!

We're growing Josie's bangs out. This is her "pig-tail" look.

And that's basically what's been new with us lately!

Valentine's Day

Lane and I have never made a big deal out of Valentine's day. I personally think it means more to do something "sweet" for each other on a random day in June, rather than a particular day that we're supposed to do something nice for each other. So, we typically just exchange cards. But I want all holidays to be something meaningful, fun and special for Josie...especially now that she's getting big enough to really understand what's going on.
One of my favorite Valentine's day memories was always making my mom's special Valentine's day cookies. We've been watching our weight at our house, so this year we opted for a low-fat version (and ended up throwing half of them away). We had a great time making them, and that was the whole idea anyway.

Eating sprinkles, rather than decorating! A couple of times I handed her an iced cookie to decorate, and she immediately popped it in her mouth.

Ronald McDonald House 10K Race

Today my friend Melinda and I ran our first 10K race together. Our finish time was 1 hour, 3 minutes, which was basically a 10-minute/mile pace. We were VERY proud of our accomplishment! Plus, we got medals!!!! I feel like an Olympian! :-)