First Austin Symphony in the park of the summer.

So Dan and I made it out for the first Austin Symphony in the Park concert of the summer series this past Sunday evening. Two summers ago we spent most Sunday evenings at the park listening to the Austin Symphony. The venue is different and we aren't as happy with it but the music was still great and the boys had a wonderful time. Lots of people to sniff at and other dogs to raise the alarm.

AJ and Reese enjoyed a lovely 2009 sparkling agua. After pouring, the agua was allowed to breathe until it reached peak enjoyment.

After his 2nd bowl full AJ got a little silly.

Vanity, thy name is Reese. Isn't he pretty!

Jed's Dedication - Easter weekend

Dan and I attended Jed's dedication on Easter Day. Unfortunately I didn't get many good photos because it was rather dark.

While I didn't capture the actual dedication of Jed, I did catch some of the special event :)

Lounging around the house with the family.

Nothing better than lounging on the couch with the Big, Big.


Unless the Big, Big decides to crawl over ya!



OR crawl behind you...

Such a snuggly boy.

Christmas with Lovey

Little Lovely sittin' pretty.


"Uh-oh, Who me?"



Such a big girl!

Oh no...here comes Elmo! Apparently we're on the lookout for an "Abby Cadaby" doll so if you see one...let me know!


Now, isn't that the cutest?

My sister calls her daughter 'Lovey' on the Graco blog (where she works and the ladies in the office blog about their experiences as parents) so I'll call her 'Lovey' here as well. Mom and I visited the middle sister over Christmas break and loved our visit with Lovey. Since our visit the little sister has been born. She doesn't have a blog name yet and I don't have a photo to upload at this point but she is mini-Lovey all the way! Adorable :)

Christmas Day at Oma's house

Dan and I took our boys over to Mom's house for Christmas day. It's so nice to be able to take the boys over to mom's whenever I want to visit for a little bit. They love Dutch's doggie door but they haven't met Lovey or Audry. They sniff around and know there is something else in the house. Dutch really enjoys having the boys over as well and is perky for several days after a visit.

Graduation

Graduation day December 19, 2008. Up until the end of my final class I was under the impression that everyone in my classes was making straight A's. It wasn't until I was reading the graduation program that I realized just how few of the graduates of the Master's Program were graduating with a 4.0. My cup of pride swelleth over!

Dan and I had the sun in our eyes! Squint, Squint! The beautiful bouquet is from Dan in celebration of my final day as a student teacher.

Back Room Make Over

The "Before" photo of our back bedroom. Yes, the room had become a bit of a dumping ground for any and all things not currently used...

We measured and leveled...

And cut and trimmed...

We painted and sealed

Until we had built in shelves inside the closet.

The room did not have a ceiling fan so we picked one up at Home Depot but didn't like any of the color pallets so we sanded down the blades and painted the fan blades to match the wall base color and ceiling.

Dan used Dad's table saw to miter the chair rail trim that we mounted around the perimeter of the room.

One thing we learned about taping was to stick with the blue painter's tape (hahaha! I'm feeling a little punny right now I guess). The green 'bull frog' tape was super sticky and actually pulled paint off the wall. In this photo you can see the "Ho Hum" color on the top part of the wall. "Ho Hum" is a Winnie the Pooh paint color available through the Walt Disney line of paint colors with Behr paint. Go figure...ME choosing a Winnie the Pooh color...!

We taped and taped and taped....

Then we taped some more!

But we are super pleased with the end result! You can't see it in the photo but the trim that Dan cut with the miter saw have an ivy vine that trails along the trim in the green that matches the stripes. Another painting technique that we learned about stripes is that you should paint the base color over the tape to seal off the little nooks and crannies BEFORE painting the accent color. We learned that by the 3rd and 4th walls...!

Can't wait to start the other guest bedroom!