Jaina's first haricut!!

So we've been debating what we should do about Jaina's tiny pony tail at the back of her neck, and the hair that was falling in her eyes. I really didn't want to cut it, plus I have no idea what I'm doing with girls hair. So when we took Ryan to get his haircut, I asked the stylist if it would be okay to trim it a bit, and she said yes.....so I got brave and did it. It only took a couple of snips, but it was still too nerve wracking!! Next time she's going to CoolCuts!! :)

Grandma Lupe's Visit

Grandma Lupe came to visit this past week. We went down to Galveston and walked around at the strand, a street that has little shops and food, and other coo things! The first thing we happened upon was a HUGE chess set. It was pretty cool, Ryan "check mated" Angel several times, okay not really!! There was this really yummy looking candy store, but I resisted!! Maybe next time. There are carriages on the sides of the rode that will take you for a ride, we weren't interested, but the driver was very nice anyways. He let Ryan pet the horse, I was surprised that Ryan wanted to...usually he tends to shy away from animals that are bigger than him! Then we ate at Fisherman's Wharf, Ryan ate grilled chicken, salmon, and broccoli....who is this kid?! Our final stop was at the Bolivar Ferry. It was a neat experience, and it was free, but I wasn't prepared for the windy conditions. It took me an hour to get all of the tangles out of my hair!! From the ferry we could see SeaWolf Park, Ryan spotted the playground right away, but there was also a submarine....we're going to have to check that out next time. We also were lucky enough to catch a few glimpses of dolphins swimming near by. We weren't quick enough to get a photo, but it was pretty cool :)

On the Ferry passing seawolf park

Chess, Harry Potter edition

Waiting on the ferry

Captain Ryan!

Carriage rides on the Strand

Feeding the birds

After church we went with some friends to a top secret park to feed the seagulls. Never even knew this park even existed, and I'm guessing not many other people do either because it wasn't crowded!! After getting rid of our bread we let the kids play on the playground....this is the first time Ryan hasn't wanted me right there next to him!! A happy and sad day all rolled into one. He just saw the playground and never looked back, ha!

Bay Area Park

It was such a beautiful day out we decided to take the kids to the park and feed the ducks! We are so impressed with how brave Ryan is becoming. He's venturing out more on his own these days, taking on the swings and the BIG slides!! Our little boy is growing up :(. After running around, we went to the water to see if we could see any alligators, no luck!! But then we headed over to the duck pond and were able to feed them our leftover bread!! They weren't that hungry though....must have been full from others who come to feed them during the day. But on the up side, we weren't attacked by hungry ducks either!!

turtles

We went with our moms club this week to the Armand Bayou Nature Center. They have a really cool program for toddlers, this month's theme was turtles. We got there and sat down on their deck area and learned a little bit about turtles. While we were learning a little bit we made a turtle tambourine (see pic below) Then the kids were let loose to bury "turtle eggs", plastic balls...in the sand in a turtle shaped sandbox....too cool!! Then we all went on a turtle hunt through one of the nature trails, we spotted a few :) After that we headed back to where we started and passed around some turtle shells, and eggs!! Then the thing that Ryan liked the best was that he was able to touch a real live turtle. It was an awesome experience, definitely going to do it again!!

turtle tamborine :)

digging for turtle eggs!

LOBO

There a little gym by our house called Lobo Gym. We went to check it out with our play group, it was totally amazing :) Ryan loved that he could run around and around. And I loved that it was inside!! We brought our good friend Caily with us too, Ryan just loves her!! They both had a blast doing everything. Jaina even participated....kind of...she crawled around the floor exercise mat nonstop!! It was so cute to see the kids stretching out their muscles to warm up before doing the obstacle course. It's quite funny to see toddlers trying to follow directions!! Many of them were going the opposite way, but somehow, they made it work :) Then we went to the toddler side of the gym. I think it is safe to say that the number one most popular thing to do there is the trampoline. I was surprised with how patiently all of the kiddos waited for their turn. I think we're going to have to make this a regular activity :)

Ryan's first official movie :)

Tonight was daddy/son date night, just the two of them!! Ryan was so excited....they went to go see How To Train Your Dragon. I wish I could have been there just to see Ryan with his little kids movie pack....too cute!! Angel has discovered the secret to getting your 2 year old to sit through a movie....don't let the snacks run out!! :)

uncle ernies visit

We were so lucky that we were able to see Uncle Ernie before he went on his deployment. It was really great to be able to see him and Little Lexi :) We took the kids to the zoo, and to JumpNJungle, and just hung out here at the house. We sure are going to miss them, and pray for Uncle Ernie to come home soon and safe!!

The twins and the kids :)

I wonder what they are thinking??

Look Lexi, it's Alvin...if we wait here long enough maybe he'll sing and dance!

Oh man, this ice cream cone makes it all worth it!

So sweet, Lexi giving Jaina kisses

Not sure who Ryan is calling on the baby monitor! LOL

Air Ryan!

Easter Day

We had such a wonderful day, Jaina's first Easter :) It was so great to see the excitement on Ryan's face when he caught sight of his basket. He's been playing with his longhorn baseball bat and ball nonstop since, and I can't even count the number of times we have watched Alvin and the Chipmunks!! Jaina was most excited about the plastics eggs and how nicely they fit in her hand, and then mouth!

We had our Houston family over for dinner. We are so blessed to have such great friends!! The food was delicious, and the memories were priceless. It was so cool to see how accomplished the kids have become in the art of egg hunting since last year.