Easter Visit to St. Dominic Center

We visited the retired priests with our homeschooling group on Wednesday, March 24th for an early Easter celebration.  The kids made Easter crafts to give to the priests and put on quite a little performance for their entertainment.  The kids recited poetry, played the piano, sang and one sweet boy even put on a magic show.  Emily sang a duet with Michelle just like last year.  I think they really enjoyed it!

Nichole's Shower

My Mom and I were able to attend this lovely baby shower for my cousin Nichole on Saturday, March 24th.  It was held at Chocolate Angel in Richardson and was probably the fanciest tea party I have ever attended.  Nichole's guests were encouraged to wear fancy hats and accessories.  After seeing all the creativeness... I wish I had tried a little harder!  Ok... I wish I had simply worn a hat.  Any hat!  Ahh... next time.

My cousin Nichole announced her baby boy will be named Mason!  Her son Max is counting down the days.  It will be fun to see him as big brother.

I was very glad to see my Grandma!

And even better, I got to hang out with my Mom for this fun road trip.

Natalie, Leisa and I are all smiles.  It is so enjoyable to be fed fancy food and have time to visit!

I found this picture of the tea room from the web site.  We certainly felt like Fancy Nancys.

We continued the family visit at Abuela's for dinner and I got this picture of Max being silly.  He is so stinkin' cute.

My Aunt Val sent her hat home to Emily who was thrilled to receive the gift.  She got out her fancy Chinese wrap from China to complete the look.  It is fun to be a girl!

Day Trip to Galveston, Part II

After Moody Gardens, the kids were begging to go to the beach so Chris found us a little beach park (Seashell) where the kids could run around a little.  They had each packed a little bag with their bathing suit, towels, and an unreasonable number of toys the night before so they were able to make a quick change in the car.  This park had a nice little inlet where the kids could wade around and make drip castles.  Later, David and Emily fought the waves in the big ocean and thorougly enjoyed themselves... as they generally do when there is an ocean involved.  We were really lucky to have such a great day and to find this relatively uncrowded park on the last Saturday of Spring Break.  As my Dad would say, it was great salt-water therapy for all of us.  :-)

Day Trip to Galveston, Part I

Chris was able to take the day off on Friday and we took advantage of it by taking a fun day trip to Galveston.  We had been wanting to visit Moody Gardens for a while and we were lucky to have beautiful weather for our trip.  We got to the entrance a little before noon and headed to the visitor center for a really nice lunch.  It was also St. Patrick's day... so we dressed appropriately.

David was just a little excited.  This picture was taken before lunch.  We made the important discovery that David is allergic to shellfish.  He selected fried shrimp off of the children's menu and as he was eating it we noticed he was breaking out around his mouth.  As the day progressed, his eyes swelled up too!  Luckily, he only ate 1 or 2 shrimp so the reaction wasn't too bad.  We are grateful he didn't eat the entire plate!  His eyes have swollen up one time before and we think it was a time we grilled shrimp at home... but we won't be testing it any further!

After lunch we explored the grounds outside the restaurant.  Emily is enjoying her transition glasses.  As you can see, they dim quite nicely in the bright sun.

Lia kept kitty cat close to her all day and enjoyed seeing all the seagulls.

We decided to explore the Aquarium pyramid this trip.  Chris and the big kids split up and I saw most of the museum with Lia and kitty cat.  Lia really liked seeing all the sharks... especially the ones that swam above us in the tunnels.

 And there is nothing quite like seeing a penguin... up close and personal!

KG's letter to Emily

KG wrote Emily this super-sweet letter and I was lucky enough to see her read it and then see her eyes light up when she processed that she was being asked to be a part of her wedding.  Emily looked at me and said, "Can I?"  And of course, I said she could.  After thinking about it a little while, she then asked if she should wear her 1st Communion dress and I chuckled a little and then told her that one of the best parts about being the bride is getting to choose all of the dresses for the wedding party.  I also told her not to worry because KG has fabulous taste and she will pick out a beautiful dress and flowers for her to carry.  And even better, her cousin Ainsley will be the other flower girl so they will have an awesome memory to share together.  We are very excited for the big date next October!

Emily's Art Work

Emily has really enjoyed her art classes this year.  Ms. Gaby is always teaching them something new.  I thought this painting was exceptional! 

More Party Pictures

Lia's Nana and Grandpa brought the perfect gift bag!  It coordinated with everything:  her dress, the cake, the party room... perfect!

 Lia's Aunt Jeanne Marie and Cousin Jed helped us to celebrate her birthday too!  We were so blessed to have her grandparents, 2 aunts, and 2 cousins at her party.

Here she is trying to figure out how to hold up four fingers.

Happy Day!