The Johnston Family

Random Pics from My Phone

2012-02-10T14:33:00.000-08:00

So, just as a presursor, this is Brad doing the post and not Mary Elise, so I have an excuse for it not being pretty and cute and being somewhat random and thrown together. I will admit I am not the best at this, but I wanted to get some pics up because it's been a while since we did anything and we have been just crazy busy with life, work, school, and everything here lately.

Enjoy the pictures.

Landry living it up at Beauty and the Beast in 3D, this was a big deal!!!

After picking the wrong stocking, it was empty, she thought she didn't get anything.

Christmas Presents!!!!

Beautiful Princess

Christmas Morning

Don't tell me she doesn't have attitude! I think she gets it from her mother : )

Landry has been taking ballet for a while now and she is really good. I will try to put her recital on here later.

Acting goofy in Wal-Mart

This is not a normal sleeping animal....

SuperGirl

At SixFlags

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

2011-12-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

In order to start getting into the Christmas spirit we started small: we made our very first gingerbread house...and we put up our Christmas tree.

I put the house together and Landry decorated. We thought the house would be a nice suprise for Daddy.

Landry put each gumdrop on one by one. She put each little sprinkle on the windows too.

Tah-dah!

What next? Hhmmm...of course!

We need a Christmas tree.

The day we decide to get our tree it's raining. We had been putting it off and putting it off...we braved the rain. The tree stayed in the garage for a few hours and after being vigorously shaken Brad brought it inside. It needed a little trimming. Landry supervised.

Landry's new ornament for this year: a sparkly and hot pink ballerina.

She found the perfect place for it.

Almost finished.

Brad lifted Landry up to put the star on top.

We went to Holiday in the Park. We looked at all of the decorations, watched some shows and rode some rides. Having hot chocolate on the train ride made it feel like we were on the Polar Express.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-26T09:27:00.000-08:00

This year we were in MS for Thanksgiving. We stayed in Duncan and Southaven. Landry and Reed played superheros the whole time!

Landry had been in the car for 8 hours and Reed had been waiting just as long. They made Uncle Lynn get in on their play.

As it neared bedtime Landry and Reed watched a show on Brad's phone. They had to go to sleep to get energy for the next day.

The Dynamic Duo

Look at those superhero muscles!

Supergirl is off to find Ironman.

Supergirl and Ironman conquering the wilderness.

They needed a little time to relax and regain some villian fighting energy.

Erin and I told Reed and Landry how when we were little we pretended the magnolia tree was our fort. In an instant the tree became their batcave.

Hard at play.

Thanksgiving night we stayed with Skip in Southaven. The pretending didn't stop in Duncan. Skip and I showed Landry a basket seat.

Landry liked pretending Laylay was her horse.

I can't tell you how many pictures of Caroline, Erin and me (and Kelley when she got old enough) were taken on these steps. There were many laughs trying to get a picture of everyone looking at the camera at the same time.

We did get the picture!

Before heading back to Texas we stopped at Reed and Chase's for a little more superhero action. This time Chase played too.

We enjoyed spending time everyone and will see you in 3 weeks for Christmas!

Texas State Fair 2011

2011-11-03T14:38:00.000-07:00

We look forward to going to the state fair each year. This year we rode the train down and checked out some of the venues. We stayed long enough to see the bird show, go a couple of rides, look at the cars and watch the fireworks. We had a good time.

Landry watched everything go by on the way down.

Yay! We're almost to the fair.

The Texas ferris wheel is the largest one in North America.

Landry wanted to ride the "paddle" swans. It was more fun than I thought it would be.

She also enjoyed pretending to drive the cars.

She picked some good ones to drive.

The size of this car made us think of a wind-up toy.

A Texas shaped mattress-really?

It's the largest one. Does mean there are other Texas shaped mattresses out there? Hhhmmm...

The view from the top of the ferris wheel.

Family pic!

Downtown Dallas.

We look forward to next year's fair.

Cowboys 101

2011-11-03T13:52:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago a friend of mine invited me to with her and some other girls to Cowboys 101. What in the world is Cowboys 101? It's where you get to go to the stadium and learn little about football, sort of like an introductory class. I had a blast!

When we arrived we went down to field level to enjoy some drinks and heavy appertizers. I couldn't wait to go on the field.

Given that we live in Texas and have a child named Landry people assume it's for Tom Landry. If you're reading this you know our Landry is a family name.

One of the people that talked to us was an official NFL official. He talked and then we were able to ask questions if we had any. If you look closely at the ref's right wrist (left in the pic) you can see a black band with a loop hanging down. He asked us if we knew what that was for. We didn't know. Do you?

Unfortunately the Cowboys haven't seen much of this gesture this season. Did you know the width of the goal posts is 18 1/2 ft and the longest field goal is 64 ft? I didn't either :)

There's Pepsi! I wonder if Brad could get tickets through work? Hmmm...

After talking with a defense coordinator, the ref and an offensive coordinator we went into the guest locker room to chat with 2 of the cheerleaders.

Moving on...we talked with athletic trainer Greg Gaither. Then we went to the Cowboys' locker room!

In the locker room with Jon Kitna and

Stephen McGee. I feel like either of these 2 guys could do as well if not better (it wouldn't take much) than Romo has been doing this season.

As we were leaving I snapped one last picture of the field. Look how small the cheerleaders are and how big the screen is in comparison. It's really is a humongo screen.

Hopefully the Cowboys will have a better season next year. Wins and losses aside, it was still really cool to be on the field and walk around, go behind the scenes, in the locker room and meet 2 of the Dallas Cowboys.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-11-03T13:19:00.000-07:00

The weekend after Landry's birthday we bought and carved our pumpkin for Halloween. Landry drew some faces on paper and Brad picked the one he could carve.

Yummy!

She asked if punpkin pies were made from pumpkin guts and we told her yes.

Reaching in for more.

Making sure all of the guts are out.

I think the excitement of cleaning out the pumpking wore off...

what do you think?

Thank goodness the pumpkin was so close to being emptied.

This is the last of the pumkin's insides.

Time to carve!

Landry did a great job supervising.

Tah-dah!

Landry was so excited to have a pumpkin to put outside by the front door.

Tuffer Dog

2011-11-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

Tuff Johnston (Von Luckshoff)

January 1, 2003 - September 24, 2011

We lost Tuff on September 24, 2011, but he will forever be in our hearts. Tuff was so many things to us that it is still hard to believe that he is gone. He was our four-legged child, security system, security blanket, workout partner, garbage disposal (at times), snuggling buddy, play friend, etc. It is so hard to get back on schedule when someone that was a part of everything you did during the day is not there to do it with you anymore. The house is so quiet without his barking, shaking, toenails clicking on the floor and his heavy breathing. Funny, but you could always hear Tuff no matter what he was doing. Tuff was always a good sport whenever Landry wanted to play or squirt him with water or throw the tennis ball. He was also a great companion, he would always be by your side no matter what. I can't count the number of times that I had to make him go into the bedroom and go to sleep because he wanted to stay up late with me while I was in the living room working all hours of the night. He was the best dog ever.

He has also touched so many other people and taught them that Rottweilers aren't the mean and vicious dogs that TV makes them out to be. Tuff was a 120lb baby. He required loads of attention and was convinced he was a lapdog, although his head was about the only part of him that would fit comfortably in your lap. That didn't stop him from trying though.

Here are a few things about Tuff you may not know.

Mary Elise and I got Tuff when he was 6 weeks old from friend of our's mother. We got a chance to meet Tuff's mom (Lafayette) and it really felt more like an adoption then it did buying a dog. All the puppies were just cute little balls of fluff the first time we saw them. I think we actually made 4 or more trips over to see the puppies before actually getting to take him home. Naming him was funny because Tuff turned out to be tough, but never mean. He used to play with Jack, Mary Elise's cat from Jackson,MS, they were about the same size and Jack would get the best of him sometimes, but Tuff quickly grew up and Jack knew better, but they would still chase each other around. Funniest thing to see a Rottweiler running from a cat.

I remember when I was travelling a lot with PwC, Tuff was my savior because Mary Elise was left home alone and we had moved out to Sterlington where we really didn't konw anyone. Tuff would sleep in the bed with Mary Elise at night and make her feel safe. The only downside was that he got so used to sleeping in the bed that when I came in on the weekends, he thought I was sleeping in his spot so he would crawl in between us and put his paws in my back and try to push me off the bed. I think the funniest thing was when he "marked" Mary Elise's side of the bed trying to tell me something. This is hilarious, but this is how Tuff liked to sleep.

Another thing about Tuff is that he was the only dog I knew that would lay down on his belly and tuck in his front feet and cross his back legs. It always cracked up guests when they would see him do this.

Landry has also grown pretty fond of Tuff, after all, he has known her all her life and was very protective of her. If she screamed or laughed really loud he was coming to see what was going on and usually going to bark just to let you know he was there. They were big buddies. She also loved the fact that Tuff would come into her room every night and lay in her floor until she fell asleep. We would joke that he was guarding to door so that no trolls or goblins could come in because he would eat them.

Tuff really made us all feel protected from anything. I remember one time the UPS guy came to deliver a package and he knocked on the door and Tuff started barking and by the time I could get the door open the guy was already in the truck driving away!

One of the funniest memories that I have of Tuff has to be when Mary Elise and I took him from Monroe, LA to Orlando, FL driving all the way in a single cab truck. On the way there is was great, Tuff just laid in the floorboard and enjoyed the AC blowing on our feet. When we got there Dustin was watching a dog for his friend, it was a hyper-active Husky. He warned us the dog was a little off and may jump around a lot, but it was pretty funny that when we got there the Husky jumped the fence and tried to jump on Mary Elise but Tuff took his big ole paw and slammed the dog down and held him there. He didn't hurt him, but it was like he was saying don't mess with my mama. The drive back was crazy, the AC in the truck went out so it was hot as Hades and then it started pouring rain so we couldn't roll down the windows and Tuff sat between me and Mary Elise and was just drooling buckets on both of us. It was so gross and I was scared that Mary Elise was going to decide Tuff was walking home, but she stuck it out and Tuff has shown us so much love since.

I don't think we could imagine the hole that Tuff left when he passed away, but after a while we have come to understand that Tuff was a huge part of our family and we are happy to have shared the time we had with him. I can honestly say that there isn't anything that I would have done differently with Tuff, I feel like we provided him the best life possible and we never ever took him for granted or treated him like just a dog. I really hope to see him again one day as I still miss rubbing his head and taking him for walks.

Cherish everyone in your life whether they are a pet or a parent, we never know how much time we have with them and you never want to have regrets about the time you spent with them. Make the most of every minute and you won't regret it later. We are really thankful for every moment that GOD let us spend with Tuff, he was definitely an angel sent from above to make our lives better.

WE LOVE YOU TUFFER DOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do princesses wear rain boots?

2011-10-12T13:11:00.001-07:00

Do princesses like to wear cowgirl boots?

They like to wear them when they curtsy and scoot.

Do princesses work on cars with the king?

Oh the joy it can bring.

Do princesses splash in puddles of rain?

It's so much fun it's hard to explain.

Can princesses jump higher than a mile?

They jump up and down then greet you with a smile.

Do princesses like puddles all the time?

They like the ripples they leave behind.

Do princesses like to get their hands wet?

Hands and feet any chance they get.

Do princesses get in the mud and dirt?

They wash it off so it doesn't get on their skirt.

Landry had so much fun running through the water.

She walked in the mud a little.

Her skirt got a little wet.

Super jump.

What goes up must come down. This picture captured the water right as Landry's feet landed back down on the ground.

Then the water dispersed into a big splash!

A Fabulous Fourth Birthday!

2011-10-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

The first weekend in October we had Landry's 4th birthday! This year is the first year we let Landry decide, all by herself, what kind of birthday she wanted. She chose Big M aka McDonalds. It was so weird not having to do anything for her party aside from making the invitations...so weird. Landry invited some school and church friends, there were presents, balloons, Happy Meals, cake and ice cream and lots of playing. The party turned out great!

Reed and Chase sent Landry's present in the mail. She opened it the day it arrived.

Yay! A Wonderwoman costume. Of course she immediately had to put it on...

Wonderwoman to the rescue.

Villians don't stand a chance against these muscles.

The weekend of the party Pops, Meme, Aunt Skip and Laylay stayed with us. They got to our house Friday. Landry's hellos and hugs were followed by "Can I open my presents now?"

Thank you Uncle Duhduh, Aunt Bug and Cooper for the Fancy Nancy Ballet Studio, slippers and leg warmers.

Thank you Granpa, Granma and Gail for the Fancy Nancy outfits and Fancy Nancy book.

Thank you Uncle Blake, Aunt Morgan, Rylan and Audrey for the princess books...

and princess jewelry box...

and gloves and rings.

Landry dressed Fancy and put on her fancy slippers and gloves.

Saturday morning Landry woke up and finished opening some presents.

Thanks Pops and Meme for the shirts and

dress sweater.

Thank you Gran.

Thank you Mommy and Daddy.

Thank you Laylay for the baby Pocahontas. Thank you Aunt Skip for the Pocahontas jewelry and shoes.

Time for the party!

Landry and friends from school.

Patiently waiting on her Happy Meal.

Everyone is happy. Food tends to have that effect on hungry kids.

More playing. I asked Landry to show me how old she is.

Time to sing Happy Birthday and have cake and ice cream!

The big four year old.

The cake was pretty good.

Landry and Emmy. Eden is playing Where's Waldo in behind them.

Peyton, Landry and Eden.

Is it possible? Are there more presents? Yes!

Landry 's party was a great success. She and her friends had alot of fun. Thank goodness Landry took a nap before her party. We hung out Saturday night while Pops cooked ribs.

Supper was slow cooked ribs, potato salad and baked beans. Landry decided her dessert would be toasted marshmellows.

Tuesday was Landry's literal birthday. On your birthday, her school has a Celebration of Life.

The candle Landry is walking around represents the sun. She's carrying a little Earth around the sun while her friends sing "Here we go around the sun.....until the year is done". We started with Landry's birth and when she was a baby. She walked around the sun and she was one. Ms. Masooma lit a candle.We talked about Landry at one and looked at the poster, she walked around the sun, we talked about when she was 2, Ms. Masooma lit another candle so on and so forth until Landry was 4.

Landry is four so she gets 4 big hugs from her teacher. Landry's friends did the motions of giving her big hugs with Ms. Masooma.

Then she got to blow out her 4 candles.

This is the poster of pictures Landry took to show her friends.

Time has flown by so fast! Landry decided she wanted to spend some of her birthday money on shopping. She is no longer in the toddler section. We shopped in the girls' section...sniff, sniff, tears. Our baby is growing up!

A Magical Vacation

2011-09-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

We have wanted to go on a family vacation for a while now. This year the stars alined and our patience paid off. We went to Walt Disney World! Landry was so excited and looking forward to seeing the castle she sees at the beginning of every Disney movie. She couldn't wait to meet the princesses. We couldn't wait to take her!

Wednesday Morning: leave for Disney

Landry is packed and ready to get on the plane.

We made it to the airport with time to spare. Security was a breeze. Mickey sent a plane to get us.

While the plane was prepared we had some breakfast. Landry watched some Shera while enjoying her pink sprinkle donut.

Hello Orlando. Mickey, here we come!

The pilot and co-pilot that flew us safely to Disney. Thank you.

We hadn't gone far in the airport before seeing our first Mickey. When we arrived to the hotel (checking in 3 hours early was no problem) it was as though someone poured Disney over everything. Landry loved it. We thought it was pretty cool too.

Towel Mickey.

We stayed at the Disney All Stars Movie resort, particularly in the Toy Story wing.

Walking to our wing was like walking into Andy's room. The sign on the door says: Andy's room Keep Out.

Inside "Andy's room". The elevators are behind Woody in the book shelf.

That's a big Buzz.

We felt like little toys ourselves given the scale.

Wednesday Evening

We knew we wanted to see the night show, Fantasmic, at MGM. We got there in time to do some other things too. We shrank ourselves and ended up in a backyard. Landry and Brad took a rest amongst some mushrooms.

Landry found a friendly ant to ride...

and a leaf so she could slide. It was fun being so small. Once we were back to our right size we headed to...

a Toy Story ride. It was the only ride we had to wait more than 10 or so minutes to get on. We had been waiting about 35 minutes when this photo with Mr. Potato Head was taken. Landry was kind of ready to be on the ride. She was a great sport about being patient. The ride was worth the wait.

Fantasmic

Fantasmic is a great night show! It has so many characters, water, lights and lasers. It's one of our favorites.

Ariel and Eric

Snow White and her Prince

Mickey being brave and not letting the snake scare him.

This was really cool: the water caught on fire.

Most all of the characters that were in the show.

Mickey got his powers back from the villians!

Landry thoroughly enjoyed the show.

She wanted a pink hat like Mickey's. Our first day of vacation was perfect.

Thursday morning

As we passed the sign, our excitement grew. We had a big day awaiting us.

Landry wanted to meet characters, especially the princesses, maybe more than she wanted to ride rides. Characters were out right when we got into the park. Landry chose Daisy. She had her book ready for signatures.

She enjoyed taking pictures with characters too.

Walking down Main Street there are all kinds of shops. This one caught Landry's eye. Wonder why...We found out there was an ABC princess meet and greet. It was Aurora, Belle and Cinderella all in one room!

We waited in line about 10 minutes. For Landry, meeting the princesses was like meeting a celebrity. Cinderella was very sweet.

Landry asked Belle if she would make sure and tell Beast she said hello and he needed remember his manners.

Aurora admired Landry's dress. She noticed how she was on Landry's t-shirt underneath the dress and liked that too.

Onward to the castle!

We had breakfast with the princesses in the castle at Cinderella's Royal Table.

A castle must have guards.

We had a very yummy breakfast.

Landry enjoyed being inside of the castle. We thought it was pretty neat too.

Then the princesses came! Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel and Belle came to each table talked, took pictures and signed autographs.

A perfect princess pose.

Snow White telling Landry "It was lovely to meet you."

Sleeping Beauty making sure Landry was having a good time.

The princess pose strikes again with Sleeping Beauty...

and again with Ariel.

Landry asked Ariel about Sebastian.

She also told Ariel about practicing swimming under water and holding her breath like a mermaid.

Ariel said "I'm glad you like the water. I love the water."

Along came Belle. Landry decided this was Belle before she broke Beast's spell.

The windows were pretty.

Landry was having a good time.

The first picture with Belle turned out too dark. I asked to take another with her just in case I couldn't lighten the other. Landry thought we were interrupting.

They tried to pull the sword out of the stone. It wouldn't budge.

Prince Phillip's horse.

Of course we rode the ever thrilling Dumbos.

We rode another Disney classic: It's a Small World. I'm pretty sure it hasn't changed since it opened.

Landry took her dress off and wanted her hat to protect her face from the sun.

She was happy to see Alice and the White Rabbit. They were happy to see her as well.

I went with Landry to Alice while Brad held a spot to meet Tigger and Pooh. Landry wasn't afraid of the characters at all.

She gave everyone a hug.

The three amigos.

Landry asked the Fairy Godmother to say bibbity bobbity boo. They said it together.

Before we knew it, it was afternoon and we hadn't eaten any lunch. It's not vacation without ice cream for lunch.

Landry, do you like having ice cream for lunch?

On to the afternoon parade!

Stitch, Woody and Jessie were in the parade.

Mickey and Minnie,

Pinocchio and Jimney Cricket,

Snow White and Dopey,

Aladdin,

and Captain Hook.

While giving Captain Hook a high-five Landry told him to be nice.

Peter Pan, Alice, the Mad Hatter,

Cinderella and Prince Charming,

Prince Eric,

Beast,

Ariel,

Princess Tiana and Naveen. Speaking of Tiana...

we hadn't met her yet. She went to her gazebo after the parade. Landry asked her if she knew Grandma and Grandpa. Afterall, they all live in New Orleans.

Landry and Tiana also talked about gumbo and beignets. Princess Tiana was so very nice. It must've been her southern hospitality.

We planned on leaving the park after Princess Tiana.

But...

We had to meet the mouse himself! We heard Mickey and Minnie were in the theatre in Town Square which was on the way out.

Mickey twirling Landry around while Minnie autographed Landry's book.

Mickey signed too.

Meeting Mickey and Minnie was a special treat.

Thursday evening

Upon seeing the pool when we checked in Wednesday Landry said she would like to swim sometime. Thursday evening was the perfect time. We had pizza in the room for supper then went down the the Fantasia pool to relax. It was so nice not worrying about sunscreen or getting burned.

Landry asked Brad to dance with her like Dancing with the Stars.

Spashing and relaxing.

Landry has been wanting some goggles and a snorkel. She picked both out especially for vacation.

She knows how to use them too.

Friday morning

At a comfortable early we headed to see the animals.

On our way to the Lion King show we happen to see Pocahontas. Landry was so excited to see her!

Landry and Pocahontas

We saw Mickey and Goofy fishing. Landry said they were catching fish for lunch.

One of the people in the Lion King show. It felt a little like we were in Africa.

Timon

Pumba

Colorful stilt walkers. See what I mean about feeling like Africa?

We walked out of the show to discover more characters! Landry wanted to meet Donald first.

They're buddies.

Hey, look at that, a family picture.

Another family picture with Goofy. The characters were really fun. On to the Kilimanjaro Safari!

We were able to see quite a few animals; the weather was awesome so they were out. Landry told us how the birds were cleaning the rhino and it was symbiotic. (Thanks Wild Kratts)

Crocs.

We were riding in a big, bumpy safair bus so I wasn't able to get great pics of every single animal. I was able to get some pretty clear, close pictures though.

Wildebeest

(googled the spelling, looks funny to me).

I forgot the name of these animals. Brad claims these are African Longhorns.

They immediately made me think of the movie Legend.

This giraffe was right by the road eating his breakfast.

We were on the very back row of the bus. It allowed me to turn around and get more pictures.

...and this is why giraffes have such long necks. They were so pretty.

The wildest life on the whole safari.

The mighty elephant.

Flamingos! I'm not sure if you can tell in this picture but there were some baby flamingos. The babies are gray because the haven't eaten enough shrimp yet to get their corally color.

A better picture of another rhino.

Then we got to see a lion!

I thought about whether he had already eaten his breakfast...because he was pretty close.

An ostrich. We saw some ostrich eggs too. They're the size of softballs!.

Scimitar-horned Oryx.

Another family photo.

This was taken right before I ran from one corner of the park to the other for a free $200 Disney gift card.

Waiting to go into A Bug's Life.

Us in front of the Tree of Life.

Headed to Rainforest Cafe for lunch. Thank you Disney for the gc.

Landry had to run under the water. She ran so fast she didn't get wet.

After a yummy lunch we headed back to the hotel to rest and relax.

We were all ready for a nap.

Friday night: Disney

Landry really, really wanted to meet Rapunzel. So Brad and I took turns waiting in line to make sure she did. Landry colored patiently while waiting.

It's Landry's turn to meet Rapunzel! They're talking about hair and Flynne Ryder.

Cute picture. Landry's shoes match Rapunzel's dress.

Landry listened to everything Rapunzel told her.

Memories in the making.

Talking about fairy stuff.

Landry and Rosetta

Landry showing Tinkerbell her baby wrapped in a leaf.

Tinkerbell even gave Landry some pixie dust.

Tinkerbell and her mini me.

Taking a ride on Aladdin's magic carpets.

It was fun seeing the characters all lit up. Given that I was sitting on the ground with people in front of me I wasn't able to get any good pictures. Thank goodness the fireworks were in the sky.

Ooooohhh....

Aaahhhhh...

Whoooooaa!

Landry thought the fireworks were pretty amazing.

Cinderella's castle.

Saturday morning

Saturday morning everything was packed up and ready to go back to Texas. Landry was kind of sad to be leaving Disney.

Once again, we had no problems in the airport. We made it through security to our gate and enjoyed an airport breakfast: fruit, juice and coffee.

It was a smooth flight, we chilled the whole time.

Landry made a tent on the plane.

Good bye Disney. We hope to see you next year.

(you can kind of see the shadow of our plane)

Gnome inspired

2011-08-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

One afternoon Landry and one of the gnomes thought it would be a good idea to play in the sprinkler. It was, like so many others, a hot afternoon.

Landry and the gnome that gave her the idea.

Landry has special powers the gnomes and fairies give her. With daddy's help, she can fly.

She flies up in the sky...

...she comes down.

All is well.

Gnomes don't talk to humans. Landry, however, knows how to read their facial expressions. She says this expression means "I want a kiss".

She said this one means (and I quote) "Sad, mad and aggravated."

Thinking about causing some mischief.

Seriously?

In a good mood and having fun! Thank goodness Landry knows how to read gnome facial expressions.

Landry figured she would wash her hair outside like the gnomes (and fairies).

Pretending her flag is a leaf so she can block the water.

The leaf didn't work that well. Gnomes stand under mushrooms to stay dry...an umbrella is just like a mushroom!

It worked!

Tuff thought "Hey, I have one of those" so he joined Landry.

Landry couldn't resist getting Brad wet. I play the don't get the camera wet card.

I love the way water pictures turn out.

They both got soaked.

The gnomes gave Landry an idea. She asked Daddy's permission...

here comes...

Brad getting drenched!

It's all fun and gnomes, I mean games. Then Landry ran.

She hid just in case Daddy wanted to squirt her too.

Oh, he found her!

They're both wet and it's fun. Our gnomes don't have a water hose. So, how do they water things?

Brad is showing Landry exactly how gnomes water things. Well...

monkey see, monkey do. Maybe gnomey see, gnomey do? (love cheesy humor)

and do

and do again. It's a good thing the gnomes don't move when we're outside. No telling what they would teach Landry.

The gnomes and fairies watched all of the action.

Time to go inside.

Footprints, Tents and Cupcakes

2011-08-20T18:14:00.001-07:00

It continues to be like a furnace as far the weather goes. We did however get a little, I mean little, bit of rain 2 weeks ago today. Well of course we went outside and walked around in it. Landry likes to make footprints. The garage was dry inside making it the perfect place for all of us to make footprints.

Brad's, mine and Landry's footprints.

Landry's almost 6" foot means she's growing out of a size 10 and into size 11 shoes.

Tents are the best!

This was a really good tent.

This past Sunday Landry had the idea to make strawberry cupcakes. They're easy to make and it gave me the chance to practice piping the icing on. The down side? Guess who has ended up eating most of the cupcakes.....yours truly.

I pipe the icing on and Landry deocrates.

The color sprinkles determined the kind of cupcake. The green one (in the center of the pic) is a Green Lantern cupcake. The yellow one is Wolverine and the blue and red one is a Superman cupcake.

The Superman was her favorite.

...getting better at piping.

Landry is getting better with decorating.

The cupcakes are really tasty. Homemade is the best. Still, the all time yummiest cupcakes, in our opinion, are Sprinkles cupcakes.

Landry writing Landry

2011-08-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

August 1, 2011 Landry wrote her name all by herself! She was in her room sitting at her table. I walked in and she had written L and A. She wrote the rest. Landry has been practicing at school through tracing. Writing it all by herself is an accomplishment. She was so excited.

Landry's name is at the top. Check out how well she stayed in the lines too.

Beginning writer!

She tried to write the N the way it looked in her name on her door.

Art and games

2011-08-11T07:48:00.000-07:00

Not long ago I had to go out to school. Since we were going to be in Denton I called a classmate to see what she and her kids were up to. She's an art education major; she has her own small art studio and invited Landry and I to come paint and create.

First things first: if you're going to paint, an apron is a must.

Clockwise: Landry, Mrs. Lisa and her daughter Claire painting.

One of Landry's masterpieces.

Next: button flowers.

The flower is buttons. The stem is a pipe cleaner. Too cute!

After painting and creating, we had homemade pizza and salads for lunch. We weren't much into the drive home when Landry fell asleep. She must have really been tired.

Later that evening Daddy showed Landry how to play Marvel vs. Capcom on the Dreamcast. She really likes that game now. If you ask Landry, when the game says a character is "finished", she'll tell you they had to go rest or take a break. We make sure and say good game too. (Landry always wins)

Having a good time playing.

Backyard Fun

2011-07-25T07:02:00.000-07:00

We like to play outside in the earlier morning or later afternoon. The way Landry is growing up, in a pretty big city, is different from the way Brad and I grew up, in a small town. This doesn't keep Landry from experiencing some our favorite past times like climbing trees and making a swing in the backyard.

Early morning

Brad planted this tree when Landry was born. Now they're big enough to play with each other. Landry thought being in the tree was really fun.

Landry the tree fairy.

Late afternoon

Landry and Brad made swing; drilled holed in a board, threw the rope over the branches and everything. It has been a hit ever since.

Landry says to Brad: "Let's make Mommy nervous" which means push me really high so that the branches sway back and forth and it looks like my feet are going to touch the fence. Brad is happy to oblige (because he knows she's holding on tightly and won't fall). Landry succeeds in making Mommy nervous.

They tire each other out.

I love this picture.

Conserving Water

2011-07-25T06:46:00.001-07:00

When there are over 20 days with temperatures above 100 (anywhere from 103 to 109) combined without even a drop of rain in 6 weeks conserving water is a must. We conserved water in a unconventional way. Landry thought it was so funny.

It started off with washing the cars. To justify using the water on cars...

Landry decided to take a bath!

Conserving and multitasking.

In the end...

the cars and Landry were clean, we conserved water and did 2 things at once. Not bad.

Independence Day (and some extra videos)

2011-07-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

We had a blast this 4th of July! It was hot we managed to stay cool. The food was good and being in New Orleans with family was even better.

Landry was all about looking underwater.

Searching for coins.

---Slip sliding---

Ready to squirt someone...

Uncle Dustin was ready too.

Pops was shooting too...with his camera!

Liz ended up getting squirted with someone's water gun. She was a good sport about it.

Then Brad got in on the action...

and Kyle followed. It's a good thing this camera is waterproof (which is why there are 2 different posts about July 4th).

Brad...about to come off of the board so he doesn't fall down. Uncle Dustin headed to...

jump in the pool! Right behind him...

Landry jumped in.

Stylin' and profilin'.

Cooper hanging out in her pool, staying cool and shaded.

It's not the 4th of July without cooking on the grill. Landry ate all of those beans, all of the corn and all of her chicken.

The food was finger lickin' good!

Happy Independence Day!

Here are some videos (in no order) from our trip:

A Big Easy Fourth of July

2011-07-11T07:09:00.001-07:00

This year for the Fourth we headed to New Orleans. For the first time in, oh, 5 1/2 years it felt like we had a vacation. Even with something to do every day our visit was laid back and relaxing, just like a vacation should be.

Sunday

Sunday morning, when Landry woke up, Cooper was at Granma's. She had been anticipating Uncle Dustin, Aunt Bug and Cooper coming in.

Granpa

Each morning Aunt Gail's bedroom became Landry's beauty parlor.

Monday

Aunt Catherine, Uncle Guy and family gave Landry a happy: her very own bead set. She had a blast making jewelry to wear.

Aunt Gail and Landry seeing Uncle Dustin, Aunt Bug and Cooper off. They had to leave Monday afternoon. Before they left...

Landry and Cooper took some pictures together. Earlier that day we went to the mall and Landry picked out matching dresses for Cooper and her to wear. Landry telling Cooper all about picking out the dresses and taking pictures.

Cooper enjoyed all of us singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider so that she would look at the cameras.

Awww, sweet cousins.

Landry loves her little Coop Coop (what Landry calls Cooper).

Tuesday

Before it got too hot we took a trip to Lafreniere Park to feed ducks, turtles, a rabbit, nutra, squirrels, geese and chickens. We were glad Meme could come with us.

Family pic!

Landry and Meme feeding animals.

The squirrels weren't scared of us. I wish I had been recording when Landry walked right up to one squirrel and handed it a crackers.

A mother goose was sitting on her eggs. They were big eggs!

Not just any white rabbit, oh no, according to Landry this is the white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.

Landry and Meme admiring the crepe murtles. After the park we made a much needed trip to...

Chuck E. Cheese's. Landry acquired alot of tickets...we were all playing games.

Big buddies.

Wednesday

We decided to leave Wednesday and drive as far as Mr. Curt's (which is Natchidoches). Before leaving we spent the day walking around dowtown at the Riverwalk with Meme, Granma, Aunt Gail, Austin and Kyle. It was tons of fun!

Can you tell we're in New Orleans?

Gators and...

crawfish.

The Mighty Mississippi River.

Beignets from Cafe Du Monde.

Attempting a group picture.

Family pic!

On to the Aquarium.

Landry has wanted a bird on her finger for so long. Every princess, even Mary Poppins, has a bird land on their finger. Well, I think this is as close to having a bird on her finger as she's going to get for now.

It was a pretty neat experience.

A frog prince?

Petting a sting ray. They are so soft and smooth.

An albino alligator.

What does this fish look like to you?

Now this fish has pretty colors.

A summer school of fish.

Pearly whites.

We named this shark Brokeback.

A tortoise.

Little jellyfish.

Aunt Gail and Landry watching a giant sting ray.

Check out how long his dreads are! Wonder when he last washed his hair...

Good bye Riverwalk.

Thursday

Thursday morning at Pops' place.

We are so glad we were able to see everyone in New Orleans. It was a great visit. A huge thanks to the courageous men and women who fight to ensure our freedom.

Texas to Mississippi to Texas

2011-06-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

The Sunday before Father's Day Landry and I headed to Mississippi. We drove as far as West Monroe and stayed with some friends. Monday morning we finished the drive to Mississippi. We stayed with Skip in Cleveland Monday, shopped in Greenville Tuesday, spent the day with Poppa and Nanna Wednesday (and got to see Meme as she was on her way to Bastrop), lunch with a friend Thursday and played with Erin, Chase and Reed Friday. Saturday morning we, accompanied by Laylay and Skip, headed back to Texas.

On our way (a few minutes from Skip's) Landry wanted to get out and walk in the corn field. You may be wondering why. Well, for the past couple of weeks Landry has been watching the first season of Smallville. Clark's ship lands...in a corn field. Lex loses his red hair...in a cornfield. Clark is pinned up like a scarecrow...in a cornfield. These are just a few examples of how much Smallville and cornfields go hand in hand. Needless to say we had to stop in a cornfield!

A true Smallville fan. A little trivia: Landry was born the same season Smallville introduced Clark's cousin Supergirl. Landry is our Supergirl.

As I mentioned Erin and the boys came in Friday. We went to Aunt Lois' to play. Well, Erin, Kelley and I all have summer birthdays so...Aunt Lois got us a Sally Chow birthday cake!

Reed and Landry playing with Sillystring.

Chase getting a little help squirting the big kids.

All around we had a great time seeing and visiting with everyone! Saturday morning Laylay, Skip, Landry and I headed back to Texas. On the way we stopped at Blake and Morgan's.

Rylan about to take Landry for a drive. Then, on the road again to spend a little time with Brad. Sunday afternoon he flew to New York. Before he left we had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory for Father's Day.

Aunt Skip playing with Landry.

Landry refused to look at the camera.

Even though he was in New York, Brad planned ahead and left Landry a surprise in her closet.

Pink kryptonite!!!

Landry gets special superpowers from this crystal. Landry is into Smallville and superheros in general. She likes to pretend to be Supergirl so to go with her pink kryptonite she needed...

a pink supergirl outfit!

I ran to WalMart for something. While I was gone Landry wanted just a little makeup.

Aunt Skip was happy to oblige. (it was just a little bit)

The week pasted and Friday was here before we knew it. We went to the malls (yes, plural, 4 different ones) more this week than I go to do all of our Christmas shopping.

Friday night was girls' night. We went out to eat at Whiskey Cake. Landry was a big girl (only big girls get to wear a little bit of makeup) and picked out what she was going to wear and...

stood still long enough for Skip to do a fishtail braid in her hair.

Whiskey Cake was delicious! We'll definitely be going back.

Skip, Landry and me.

I know, I'm not looking at the camera. The other picture of us was too dark.

Landry couldn't wait for her turn in this swing.

I'm leavin' on a jet plane...

The past 2 weeks have been so much fun! Thanks Brandon, Gordy, Skip and Gran for letting us stay with y'all, thank you Gran for my birthday, thank you Poppa and Nanna for Plum Pudding and Dora dvds, we had a great time with ya'll, thanks Meme for stopping and seeing us, thanks Erin, Reed and Chase for playing with us and for the slip-n-slide, thanks Aunt Lois and Tom for the birthday cake, thank you Laylay for everything, thank you Skip for my birthday and thank you Lord for letting everyone's travels go safely and smoothly!

Slip Slidin' Away

2011-06-25T09:45:00.001-07:00

While we were in Mississippi Reed gave Landry a happy: a Little Mermaid slip-n-slide. She couldn't wait to get home, put it in the backyard and play.

Go Landry!

Headed toward the little pool to...

splash, splash, splash!

Happy girl.

Tuff decided to take a drink between Landry's slides.

Tuff wouldn't get off so Brad splashed him.

Tuff is a good sport.

Staying cool in the heat. Thank goodness for the shade.

Brad pushed and pulled Landry back and forth.

1, 2, 3...She's off!

Landry waiting on Brad to slide.

Thanks Reed. We're really enjoying the slip-n-slide!

Scarborough Renaissance Festival 2011

2011-06-03T17:02:00.000-07:00

On Memorial Day we ventured out to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie, Texas (about an hour south of Dallas). We had heard it was fun. Kings, queens, knights, ladies, maidens, fairies, trolls and everything in between. On the way to the festival we happened upon a super tasty new place to eat: Good Eats Cafe. Overall the day was fun filled and not so hot. We will definitely be going back to Good Eats and the Festival.

We all had a homemade wheat roll. Brad tried to get a bite of Landry's roll.

Landry's picture taking skills.

Oh yeah, there were pirates there too. Landry was excited to see a girl pirate.

The first exciting highlight of the day: riding an elephant. Landry felt how rough the skin is.

Hey Daddy, I'm on an elephant!

Peek-a-boo.

Here we go....

It was a slow ride.

The elephant's ears kept brushing our legs. The were so big!

Cinderella had a fairy Godmother. Landry met a fairy Godfather.

A screech owl. I didn't think he was real at first.

An eagle. There was a Birds of Prey show.

We were on our way to the Mystical Creature Museum when we saw a real fairy. Landry had really been looking forward to seeing fairies. This fairy gave Landry some bubbles. On to the Mythical Creature Museum...

...where we saw a unicorn skull and...

a dragon's head. The museum had other creatures that were either creepy or corny. All part of the fun nevertheless.

Right across from the museum people were fencing or as Landry would say: sword fighting. We took a break from walking to watch and enjoy some cold drinks. Landry was into the sword fighting.

An elf was watching the sword fighting too.

Landry and Daddy hard at work making the boat go.

Landry the Swashbuckling Princess (she's serious about it if you can't tell).

Lord and Lady Johnston

Another fairy!

This fairy gave Landry and magic stone...

which Landry used to try and make the baby dragon come out of the corner.

As I mentioned most everyone was dressed up.

There were some gypsies too.

Landry and a knight.

All day long we saw girls wearing "jingly" skirts. Towards the end of the day Landry picked out her very own jingly skirt. The nice lady explained to Landry and Mommy how to put it on and the different ways it could be worn.

Landry enjoyed admiring herself in the jingly skirt. The last event of the day was the knights jousting. This is the event Landry wanted to see more than anything! Thanks goodness we made it to the last show of the day.

As if getting to see knights joust wasn't enough, Landry got to go on the field with the knights! She even had her own stick horse.

We told her she was out there with Ivanho.

The big picture. Landry is right under the red and yellow flag (in the hot pink and yellow).

The knights put on an exciting show. Wait for it...

Bam! They hit each other and the...

red and yellow knight's lance broke and fell to the ground.

Landry and "Ivanhoe".

When there is no homework...

2011-05-15T15:31:00.000-07:00

Spring semester, for me, Tuesday. While there was a break from school Landry and I headed to Austin to see some friends. Our visits are low key and easy going. We always have so much fun.

We arrived at Meagan, Jeff and Jamison's Wednesday evening. Jamison had a happy for Landry: a butterfly visor.

Thursday we hung out all morning in our pajamas. Lunch time started approaching. We put on daytime clothes and headed to Magnolia cafe. Eventually I will become one of those people who take pictures of everything. Unfortunately I'm not there yet, believe it or not, so there aren't any pictures from Magnolia. I must say it was the best food!

We headed to Mozart's afterwards for dessert. Meagan had told us to save room for dessert but the food at Magnolia's was so good it was hard to. Well, the dessert at Mozart's was delicious too. Needless to say I ate more than I have all semester. Landry is always a good eater so she ate as usual. Mozart's sits on Lake Austin, it's a pretty cool place. Again, no pictures. After eating we walked down on the deck to let the kids feed the fish; Landry and Jamison split a cupcak and had some left over.

Playing all morning + tummies full of yummy food= nap time!

Friday morning before heading out Meagan took us for donuts at Round Rock Donuts. It's hard to compete with Krispy Kreme donuts but RR donuts held their own. The donuts are made from scratch each and every morning. When they're gone, they're gone and you have to wait until the next day. One donut Round Rock Donuts is known for is their "Texas" donut. It's the equivalent of a baker's dozen.

The chocolate covered donuts on the left are regular size donuts.

We came back to the house and had donuts outside. Landry found a bird egg shell she shared with Jamison.

Milk mustache.

Burning some energy before heading back to Dallas.

One last picture together...until next time. Thanks Jamison, Meagan and Jeff for entertaining us.

Friday evening we went to a birthday party. Landry's friend, Eden, was turning 4. It was a very fun party! The birthday girl and Fiesta Freddie. Fiesta Freddie sang and played the guitar while everyone sang.

June and Landry.

Enjoying a cupcake.

Saturday morning was so nice! It was a bit chilly but we'll take it. It's only a matter of time before we'll be begging for cooler weather. We decided to go fishing. We had only been fishing for 15, 20 minutes when Landry caught the first fish! She can't cast yet but she can reel 'em in.

Checking out her fish. Notice she's wearing a dress...for fishing. Dresses are all Landry wants to wear these days, even to go fishing.

After catching the first fish Landry decided to see what else she could catch...

She wasn't so fond of the moss she caught. She kept saying it was gross.

The crane gets a fish.

It's a party!

Mother's Day weekend

2011-05-11T07:34:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day weekend was eventful and relaxing at the same time. We had plans Friday and Saturday. It was a fun filled weekend.

In honor of mothers, Landry's school had Muffins with Mom Friday morning.

After muffins we walked down to Landry's room to pick up what she made me for Mother's Day. She was so excited about what she made. She colored the flower on the bag and wrote the card (with a little bit of help).

The bag is so cute! I love that she picked out the flowers hearts and ribbon for the bow. I love her hand print too. On the inside it says "Mother's Day 2011". Landry did a great job.

Saturday we did a little house/yard work before heading off to Sam's 3rd birthday at the one and only: McDonalds. Landry was pumped that we were going to Big M. Caitlyn and Landry.

Happy Birthday Sam! Thanks for inviting us to your party.

Saturday night we headed to Wylie for a crawfish boil. As princess as she is, Landry was intrigued by the live crawfish.

She wanted so badly to catch one with her stick. Daddy helped her.

She caught one...

and tried right away to peel it so she could eat it. Landry said the crawfish was yuuummmy. She tried some alligator and like it too.

Checking the crawfish out, learning we eat the tail, not the head.

Sunday morning, Mother's Day. We spent the day doing, oh, absolutely nothing. It was great! Tuff was especially relaxed. I don't think we left the house until around 4 that afternoon. We ran to the mall then went out to eat. My pick: Jinbeh.

Landry and Brad surprised me with flowers.

It was a great weekend. I'm so thankful to have been given the opportunity to be Landry's mommy. She is my heart outside of my body. Being a mom has made me appreciate the moms in my life so much more. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms reading this.

Easter Sunday

2011-04-27T15:03:00.001-07:00

Easter Sunday was such a nice day. We woke up, had Easter at our house, went to church then to lunch with friends. Lunch was low key and very, very yummy. The kids hunted eggs afterwards and we came home. Landry knows that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and wanted to know what Easter was. It was touching to see that she was interested in why we celebrate Easter.

Easter morning Landry woke up to discover what the Easter bunny left in her basket. She loved everything. We discovered the Easter bunny hid eggs in our back yard too.

Hunting eggs with a little help from Despereaux.

I think I see another egg...

Purple! Like Rapunzel.

After finding all of the eggs Landry was ready to squirt some silly string. Tuff was a good sport with what she wanted to do, as usual.

Ready to go to church. Yes, she wore her Twinkle Toes with her Easter dress. Speaking of Easter dress...there was another dress we had planned to wear for Easter. It was a 4 so I gave no thought as to whether or not it would fit. Well, guess what? It didn't fit and we found out that morning when trying to zip the zipper! Thank goodness we had a back up dress. Landry was a big girl and sat with us in big church.

After church we changed and headed to Jason and Beth's house for lunch. Matt, Sara, Caitlyn and Same were there too. The kids had their very own table.

They played pretty good together. We didn't have to tell them but one time to come down it was time to hunt eggs.

And they're off!

Even Ethan found some eggs.

Attempting to get a picture with all of them looking. Left to right: Sam, Connor and Landry. Caitlyn is standing up in the back. Sam will turn 2 in about 2 weeks, Connor just turned 6 and Caitlyn is will be 5.

Emptying the eggs=more candy.

Hanging out, just a swinging.

Good times, happy girl.

Girls just want to have fun.

Back home. Brad was trying to get the silly string to squirt. He got it to squirt alright.

Then he and Landry thought it would be funny to squirt me.

Some got on the camera...

and they kept squirting.

Landry wanted to use the bubble wand the Easter bunny brought. We had a recipe for bubbles from the Green Expo so we made our own bubble solution.

The bubbles were really cool and very fun. We're still playing with bubbles.

Overall Easter Sunday was a great day...and Jesus rose from the dead and went back to heaven.

Plano Live Green Expo 2011

2011-04-25T06:04:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the annual Live Green Expo. It's all about living green and the simple things that can be done everyday to reduce, reuse and recycle. Landry was excited about seeing Critter Man and getting in the garbage truck. We thought we'd go check out everything for a couple of hours. We ended up being there for almost 4 hours.

Let's go fly a kite! The kites were pretty cool.

Right when we got there we saw June and her family. June and Landry go to school together. It's nice that we've lived here long enough to go places and see people we know. Huge city, small world.

Landry and Brad playing with bubbles while waiting on the bubble show.

The mayor of Plano...in quite a big bubble.

Landry enjoying the Icredible Bubble Lady. It was entertaining.

Yes, that's a huge bubble.

To enjoy some cold air we went inside. Everything was about recycling and living greener. Landry is making an ornament out of cut up magazines.

Tah-dah. A glittering bird.

Back outside admiring the barn owl (I think).

What Landry had been waiting for: getting in the garbage truck. I'm not sure what it is but kids, at some point, seem to be fascinated with garbage trucks.

Inside the truck Landry got to pick up a garbage can, watch it on the cameras, dump it and put it back down. I must say, the process was amusing.

Landry and Chester Cheetah. This is funny because Pepsico makes Cheetos. Brad will have to use this picture as his background on his work computer.

Critter Man and a Texas tortoise. Are you surprised Texas has it's own tortoise? Ha, ha, ha. Ahh, Texas.

A prairie dog. It was so cute. We would have stayed to see more critters if the seating had not been directly in the sun. Moving on...

Well, if you're going to have a milkshake why not burn some of those calories making it? Staying with the whole "green theme", you're saving electricity this way.

Landry and Daddy writing about saving water. Landry was more interested in getting to write on the wall without getting in trouble.

Making a homemade pinwheel.

Talk about workout, there's no seat! There's also minimal impact on the knees.

T-shirt you don't wear anymore? Turn it into a bag.

Some interesting facts:

What to do with an extra car seat.

2011-04-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

This is what we do:

I hope you laughed as hard as I did.

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-12T19:09:00.000-07:00

This past weekend during our game of "musical cars" we made time for an Easter egg hunt. When we were little girls Caroline, Erin and I had an Easter egg hunt every year. When Kelley was old enough she joined us. We hunted eggs into our 20's. Well, Uncle Lynn thought it would be fun to have an egg hunt with Reed, Chase and Landry. We rode to Duncan with Erin and Chris (Chase and Reed were already in Duncan) for lunch and the Easter egg hunt. Gran and Laylay met us there. The whole day turned out to be a lot of fun (and very warm).

Reed and Landry on the lookout for eggs.

Landry showing Gran all of her eggs.

Doing pretty good for her first time hunting Easter eggs.

Landry helped Chase find eggs too.

...and another one. She really liked the pink eggs. There were a few times she passed eggs up because they weren't pink.

Chase became more interested in what was inside the eggs.

Putting one egg in the basket and already looking for more.

Deep in thought.

Showing us her prized golden egg. There were 2 gold eggs and 1 silver egg. These were special eggs.

This brings back memories: cousins and their Easter baskets full of eggs.

Landry and Gran seeing what's inside the eggs.

Landry gave Reed and Chase an Easter/birthday happy. See the bunny on the floor? You'll see who ended up playing with them... (Chase and Reed both got one).

So sweet.

Some of the eggs had jelly beans inside which Landry loved.

...and the big boys ended up playing some with the Sing-a-ma-jigs.

A successful Easter egg hunt.

After the hunt we all came inside to cool off. Landry and Reed played together some more. They play amazingly well together. Thanks Uncle Lynn and Joni for having us.

A playdate and Pops

2011-04-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

Landry loves having friends over to play. She had also been telling us she wanted someone to spend the night with us again. All in one weekend Landry's wishes were fulfilled. We had a school mate over and Pops came and stayed with us! She was one happy girl.

Eden's cupcake. Eden and Landry bounced in the bounce castle then decorated and ate cupcakes.

Landry's cupcake. They used a variety of sprinkles. Soon after Eden left, Pops arrived. Landry had no idea he was coming. Landry wanted Pops to read to her. Usually it's me or Brad but with Pops there... Sunday morning Pops headed back to MS. It was a quick trip, definitely to short. Nevertheless we are so thankful Pops came in and helped Brad's car. Thanks Pops! The rest of the day Sunday was pretty relxing.

Spring Break

2011-03-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

This year we had a low key Spring Break. Poppa and Nanna surprised and came in Monday and stayed until Thursday. We were so glad to see them and thankful Poppa was feeling up for the long trip. We ate at Purple Cow one night and met Brad for lunch one day at Rainforest Cafe. Poppa had alot of fish so he brought us some. We love fresh fish. We truly enjoyed spending time hanging out with Poppa and Nanna.

Fresh fish, homemade hush puppies and french fries=really good eating! Thank you for the fish Poppa. The first day we had temperatures in the 80's Landry thought it was warm enough to play outside in the water. Needless to say the weather was warm. The water coming out of the hose? Not so much, it was pretty chilly. It didn't stop Landry from having a great time playing. Taking a second to wash the grass off of her legs and feet. Brad put a sprinkler on the top of the gazebo. Landry had her very own water slide. She agreed that the water was cold.

It was warm outside with a pleasant breeze. Landry layed down and covered up with her towel. After all of that playing she fell asleep in a matter of seconds.

Our first Dallas St. Patty's Parade

2011-03-18T11:49:00.000-07:00

Some friends of ours invited us to go to the parade. I didn't know if we would make the parade this year or not. To make it we had to leave the house as clost to 8 am as possible. Low and behold, we made it but not without running into some traffic and getting stuck behind a marathon of no telling how many people. Still, we made it!

We saw a great mix of people in the marathon. We even saw chickens, a cow and monkey amongst the walkers.

We finally parked and found where we were supposed to be. The girls: Landry, me, Tamaron and Heather.

The guys: Alpesh, Brad and Kyle.

Can you tell that Landry was ready for the parade to start? She was a trooper the whole day and ended up having alot of fun. She was a bead magnet too.

Kyle and Landry watching the parade get closer and closer.

The bagpipes were neat.

These are probably the most fuel efficient buses ever. If only more than one person could ride at a time.

Groovy. The 2 kids dancing on the hood were pretty funny- no rhythm what-so-ever.

We were all in agreement on how much fun having one of these would be. They're on each other's back wheel.

Out with the old, in with the new...

2011-03-18T10:33:00.001-07:00

air conditioner that is! The old ac went out in September of last year. This past Friday we had our new ac installed. The guys started at 8:30 that morning and were completely finished by 3 that afternoon. I wish I had taken a before and after of what it looked like in the attic and our thermostat. Both are totally different now.

Part of the old unit.

Another old part. Bye bye old ac!

The new inside unit. Yay!

Old on the left, new on the right.

Quite a mess.

Returns were put in all of the bedrooms and in the front rooms. I was most excited about these and the new thermostat.

Tah-dah. I think we're prepared for summer now.

Landry couldn't believe they were cutting a hole in our ceiling.

Gaubert's Wedding

2011-03-08T14:26:00.000-08:00

The last weekend in February we went to Monroe. One of Brad's fraternity brothers, Jonathan Gaubert, was getting married. We were excited about the wedding and being able to see everyone. Guess what Landry was most excited about? She was so excited about staying in the hotel and the indoor swimming pool. Friday night we stayed with Kevin, another frat brother. Saturday night we stayed in a hotel with Gran and Mom. Sunday we headed back to Texas but not before having lunch with Pops, Meme, Uncle Blake, Aunt Morgan and the kids.

Saturday morning: I'm so glad to finally be in the hotel!

Being allowed to jump on the bed is one of Landry's favorite parts about staying in hotels. She loved getting a Snow White dress too.

Saturday afternoon: off we went to the wedding and reception. I wanted to get pictures because where the reception was was so pretty. This is actually a picture of the floor reflecting the ceiling, not the ceiling itself.

Right inside the doors was a tree decorate for Mardi Gras.

Us.

Brad and Michael Creighton. Creighton is Brad's big brother in the fraternity.

Brad and the groom.

The newly wedded couple: Jonathan and Lori.

This was the wedding favor. It says: A prescription for love filled by your pharmacists Lori and Jonathan. Jonathan and Lori are both pharmacists.

After the reception we headed back to the hotel. Landry was so ready to swim.

Checking out the hot tub.

Swimming like a fish. After swimming we headed back to the room to get ready for dinner.

Dinner at Waterfront Grill was so yummy! A family pic, yay! Saturday night after dinner Brad and I actually got to go out! It was so fun being with our friends we hardly ever get to see. We both had a really good time.

Sunday morning. Thanks for coming Gran and Laylay. We loved seeing y'all.

We packed up and checked out. We were ready to see Pops, Meme, Uncle Blake, Aunt Morgan, Rylan and Audrey. We had a nice lunch then headed to...Academy! Landry and Rylan had fun hanging out together. We wish we had more time to hand out with y'all. Thank you Pops and Meme for lunch. Back to Texas we went.

Fun Dip

2011-02-21T15:02:00.001-08:00

Landry's class had a Valentine's party where they exchanged cards and goodies. One of the candies Landry came home with was Fun Dip. Today she wanted to eat her Fun Dip. She had 2 and gave me one so I could show her how to use the stick in the powder. I haven't had a Fun Dip in eons, I didn't know they still made it. I kept telling Landry not to eat her stick, she ended up eating hers so I gave her mine. She ate that one too. She wasn't about to let that stop her from getting to the rest of the powder. Fingers work just as well if not better than the little stick. Turning the whole thing up works even better (like a bag of chips when you get to the crumbs).

Making sure she can get her fingers down to the powder.

A pinch of Razzledazzle Apple powder...

wasn't as sweet without the little white stick as you can tell by Landry's expression.

A green tongue!

...and the powder ended up all over her hand.

but the green tongue made the sour taste and sticky hands worthwhile.

At the the car wash...

2011-02-21T14:40:00.000-08:00

This past weekend our temp reached 80. Landry thought it was summer. Brad took advantage of the weather by washing his car. Given her summer mindset Landry didn't mind helping Brad with his car...or playing in the water.

Please do not squirt Mommy's camera!

Running thru the "car wash".

Car washing is serious business...

who wants to be serious when you can play!

She found a forgotten about swimmie diaper in the back of the Honda. A late attempt at keeping her hair dry? Hilarious nonetheless!