Short But Sweet Lake Retreat

We went out to Lake Conroe Friday and came back home Saturday. It was a short trip, but we maximized our time on the water. Papa bought the girls (and Alan) a new tube to pull behind the new boat and they LOVED it. I think they would have stayed on the tube for hours if given the chance. They got to swim, tube, and even watch Daddy do some pretty fancy skiing! What a fun day! The girls really love being at the lake.

Grandma's Birthday...and our Little Olympic Gymnasts

Tonight we celebrated Grandma's birthday with a dinner at Chuy's and then cake and gifts at our house. The girls ended the evening by performing their gymnastics floor routine in the Olympics (in our living room.) Maci would watch a routine on TV then take off around the room performing her version of the same routine...interesting. Payton would watch Maci and then mimic her as best she could. They were pretty wound up...ice cream, cake, and somersaults...bad combo!! Anyway, here are a few pictures of this wild scene.

At the end of this very difficult routine, Maci takes a bow as she takes the GOLD!!!

Helping Mommy Cook

Maci was absolutely adorable helping me bake an "angel cake" as she calls it. She basically did the entire thing herself...I can't believe how big she is getting. Anyway, this particular cake calls for grated chocolate and Maci loved that part. She would grate a Kiss and then eat 2 Kisses, grate a Kiss then eat 2 Kisses...this was really working for her until mom spoiled the fun and had her use the rest actually in the cake. Later she also insisted on helping with the clean-up...she licked the entire bowl spotless! Too cute! We really had a lot of fun. Later that afternoon, Payton got up from her nap and "helped" cook dinner. (She gets up from her afternoon nap a bit clingy and has to be on mommy's heals until dinnertime everyday.) Anyway, I got a few pictures of her helping as well.

The Girls at Play

Here are a few pictures of the girls playing. They really play hard together. I enjoy listening to them upstairs in their own little world...its so sweet. Maci is a great boss and Payton is pretty good at taking orders, I guess that's how they co-exist so easily.

Daddy would be so impressed with these basketball skills...Payton has learned a lot from her daddy...she's quite the little ball-hog (just kidding Alan!)
Maci stole the ball and went in for the dunk!!

New Pictures of the House

the girls' HUGE playroom

the new living room panels

the new dining room table and drapes

the breakfast room
our bedroom

Well, we are still very busy with the house. Each project seems to lead to a new one. My mom came in this weekend and made the window treatments for the living, dining, and breakfast rooms. They turned out very beautiful! Thanks Mom!! I took some pictures of those rooms to show you all, but I haven't taken any of the girls' rooms yet so I will have to get back to you on that.

Our New Look

Ok, so our previous blog has only a limited amount of space for pictures, which as you all know, is why I have a blog in the first place. I did not want to delete any of my pages so I decided to start a new one with more room for all our new pics. I hope you all enjoy!! I hope to keep it updated regularly.