Trip of a Lifetime!

Oh what a time we had this weekend! All 4 of us had such a great time on our trip & I know the memories will stay with us for a long time.

Both of the kiddos did WONDERFUL during the EIGHT hours that it took us to get from Lubbock to New Braunfels. Hardly a fuss out of either one & Blake even stayed accident free the whole time!!

We had a blast playing in the water & relaxing for 2 days. Blake even braved some slides with Danny. Ava & I splashed around the kid areas.

Then, we spent Monday at SeaWorld where I saw Blake's face light up more brightly than ever before. He loved feeding the dolphins, seeing the giant aquariums, riding a kiddie rollercoaster and was awed over Shamu. Of course, he then proceeded to wander off out of the play area by himself where he was found by a kind SeaWorld employee. And gave both of us near heart attacks.

All said, we all had an incredible time together & can't wait to travel together again! Here's some pictures:

The Calm After the Storm...

With our days so packed lately, things have been a little hectic at the Holwerda house. We've been running back and forth to the hospital (to see Grammy), getting Ava settled at her sitter, and playing host to my mom. Whew!

So, starting Friday, we will be taking a family vacation. The first one we've taken, in fact. (I'm not counting trips to see Noni & Grandad.) Especially with all 4 of us!

We will be heading to the Texas Hill Country and spending 2 days at Schlitterbahn. Then, we're going to spend an evening on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, followed by a day at Sea World! Since, I've never been to Sea World, I think I may be just about as excited as Blake. And he's pretty freakin' excited.

Danny & I are looking forward to some nice time with the kiddos without any other demands on our time/attention. It seems like some days it's all we can do to make it through the day.... needless to say we feel like we've been slacking on the "fun time" with Blake & Ava. We're definitely looking forward to focusing on US for a few days.

I'm sure everyone will be excited to see our pictures when we return.

Pirates of 77th Street

As a cheap and easy way to reward Blake for being incredibly patient during a long day of errands, we ended a recent weekend day at Toys R Us. Now, usually a stop here ranks way down at the bottom of the "fun" list for me, right along with cleaning toilets. However, $25 gift card in hand, we entered.

We started out with a very specific set of "things" we were looking for, including swim diapers for Ava to wear at Schlitterbahn. Of course, TRU being what it is, none of the actual things we needed were available. Sigh.

Poor Blake rode peacefully in the basket of the cart, only occasionally uttering the dreaded, "I want..." So, when we were about to leave & he spotted some foam swords, and asked for them, we caved.

It was completely worth it. He's so excited about them & loves running in the backyard with his Daddy to play pirates. Both of them got locked up in "jail" tonight. And both of them came in giggling and happy.

A complete value at a mere $5.

Running Wild

You know how some people say they wish that their kid had more imagination? Well, not us.....we haven't been able to call Blake by his actual name in over a week, nor have we been called by our actual names. The dear boy has such an imagination that his identity is changed daily.

One day he might be Spiderman & shoot webs at us, attack "bad guys", & help save his sister.

Another day he's a rocket ship zooming through.....everywhere......

And, we've already covered the squirrels. He loves squirrels. And other animals.

Maybe we have a really creative child who shares his father's love for drama & make-believe. Or maybe we have an undiagnosed schizophrenic. Only time will tell.

Diva of the House

Ava and I were playing the other day while Blake napped & I couldn't resist setting up some cute photo opportunities. Here is the princess at her sweetest!

Playing with the tea-set she got from Grammy:

Wrapped up in a feather boa (doesn't every diva have one?):

And, examining her shoe collection closely:

This girl makes us smile so much. Especially her brother.

Baby Squirrel

Who knew squirrels were so intriguing? Blake has always had a love for animals, and it is certainly showing itself again. We have had lots of pretending about squirrels lately, including their sounds and picking "acorns" from "trees." Our trees are just about any surface in our house....chairs, tables, walls. The squirrel sound.....well, that's indescribable. But, it's an attempt at this. So, tonight, Mommy Big Squirrel and Daddy Big Squirrel helped Baby Little Squirrel carry all of his acorns to his room & go to bed. Sleep tight Baby Little Squirrel.

Paint and Popsicles

We've been having Mommy-Blake time lately while Ava is napping. Of course, sometimes she wakes up earlier than we anticipate & we have to (get to!) throw her into the mix. Today, as Blake brought me the popsicle mold (Target $1 section...woohoo!), Miss Diva woke up. So, popsicles had to wait while she nursed.

We finally made our popsicles. Ours are pink lemonade. Then, we put them into the freezer. Which began the waiting process. Poor Blake did not realize that they wouldn't instantly become frozen treats. So we checked on them.....alot.

In order to occupy his poor little mind, we took some butcher paper and finger paints (Target $1 section again!) outside. Being Lubbock, TX, it was quite windy at the time. Solution? Blue painter's tape, of course! Blake went to town mixing all his colors on his fingers and the paper. The slight control freak in me was frustrated by the now mixed paint jars, but he was having so much fun. And, he certainly didn't mind.

Unfortunately, the popsicles still weren't ready. The trials of a 3 year old!