Monahans, Alpine & Memorial Day

What a weekend....it was packed full of FUN, Good FOOD, and Great COMPANY!!! After 6 days without our kiddo we pulled into Monahans about 11pm Friday night and unfortunately it would be one more night before we got a hug and kiss from our sweet lil angel because when we got there, no one was stirring, not even a mouse, however; my parents had Motel 6 beat, they left 2 lights on for us!!! Saturday morning about 7:30 I heard this little giggle and voice saying Mama, Git UP! This was followed by Daddy, Git UP! And though we were still a little jet-lagged from the drive the night before we got up and enjoyed the booger that we were both missing like crazy!!!

We planned on getting out of Monahans fairly early and we actually did make it out around 10:30 or so, stopping for a necessity (breakfast burritos from Emma's!!!!). We went straight through to Alpine, stopping for 30 minutes or so for a WallyWorld break in Ft. Stockton.

The beautiful view as you are driving to Alpine

We had a great lunch with Grandpa Nicholas, at the Buffalo Rose, where Isabella insisted that there were "cows" on the wall (Buffalo!). She tried "buffalo" a couple of times, but pretty much came out with "buffo" (close enough...Daddy was proud of her). Speaking of, Alan keeps trying to get copies of these Cajun recipes on the wall in the Buffalo Rose. We've taken pictures before and couldn't read them, so yeah, we didn't get them this time either,
but I know Alan's gonna try again!!!

Grandpa reading to Isabella

Playing on Grandpa's Porch

Visiting with Grandpa Nicholas was a lot of fun. Every time we got out at his apartment, Isabella insisted on smelling the flowers, playing in the flower bed, trying to sneak rocks into her "pocket," chasing the semi-stray cat from across the street, and pretty much doing everything she could to avoid actually going IN the apartment. Once we actually got into the house Isabella would help Grandpa Nicholas get out of his seat, insisted on Grandpa Nicholas and Daddy winding up the music box like every five minutes and otherwise was a perfect angel!!!

She was so amazed with the music box.

In total "AWWWW"

Grandpa, Isabella and Alan

Isabella playing in the trees

This is the sneaking of the rocks!!

Dinner was FANTASTIC!!! This wonderful little Italian spot in the middle of Alpine, tiny, very small, quaint, totally unassuming and completely AWESOME!!! It's impossible to relate how excellent the food was, the atmosphere. It was tough to keep Isabella from tearing up the entire restaurant, but completely worth it! Alan was pumped (they served Il Bastardo wine)! Better than any Italian food in Lubbock, it totally blew our minds!!!


Grandpa, Isabella and Alan walking into the Italian restaurant

Hug, Kisses, Bye-Bye's & I Love You's for Grandpa -- Thank you so much for having us for a visit, we had such a good time!!

We didn't get to spend as much time the next day with Grandpa Nicholas and we were a little sad to be going so soon, but with SOOO many days in the long weekend (Three) we had to get back to Monahans so we could make it back for grillin' on Monday (the Memorial Day grill and swim fest!). Upon returning to Monahans we were invited over to the Baker's to swim and cookout. They had prepared an EXCELLENT dinner and after dinner we had promised Isabella she could swim...it was sooo cold and Joe & Lecia chickened out on us because they had been in the pool already for most of the day. The things we do for our children, but she had a blast jumpin off the side and swimming around all by herself. When the cold had become too much for Alan and I, Lecia coaxed her out by saying she would take her to the park to swing and slide. And just that we did...we caravaned over to the park and Isabella had a wonderful time. After the park we returned back to the Baker's and Isabella roasted her first marshmallow and ate her first S'more. She also helped Robert play the guitar which sadly I missed and don't have any pictures of. Thank you Baker's and Hawkin's for such a wonderful evening of DELICIOUS food and AWESOME Company!!

Bouncing on the trampoline @ Grammie & Papa's before heading over to the Baker's

Swimming all by her big girl self in Gina & Robert's pool!! She loved the in-ground pool because she could jump off the side and make big splashes!

Joe holding onto the monkey bars by two fingers....I think he was having a hard time

*wink-wink*

Isabella roasting her first marshmallow

Lecia sporting the synchronized swimmer look! ;)

Monday I was up and at 'em early getting our things packed and loaded. Isabella rose about 8:30 ish and then woke her daddy up. After all three of us getting ready we headed over to Grandad's to visit for a little bit and then up to the school to say bye to my mom. We managed to leave town around 11 and headed home. Later that afternoon Ricky & Brandee came over and we all swam and cooked out steaks and drank Strawberry/Mango Margaritas. We had lots of fun. We were sad to not have the company of Jennifer, Sara, & Cassie but we understand their circumstances and we've got all summer!! (Jennifer have a safe trip, Sara have a safe trip & your grandma is in our prayers, & Cassie get that foot better and study hard)
She thought it was so fun that she got to swim while it was rainin'!!

In Isabella words..." I'm swimmin' "

My cute lil frog hoppin' off!!

This kiddo LOVES Corn On The Cob!!!

That about wraps up our long weekend. We always have a good time when we are surrounded by family and friends!! Hope all of you had a fun and relaxing long weekend as well!!

And since it has taken me a week to get this all together and posted...We hope everyone has a good weekend this weekend as well!!

Kidless

Last week was uneventful. I did have to take Isabella to the doctor on Thursday and found out that she had DIAPER DERMATITIS (yes, this is a FANCY medical term for extremely bad diaper rash). My kid has never till last week had such a bad case of diaper rash that one application of A&D couldn't take care of. But after a Dr visit and $60 butt cream (thank goodness for insurance it was only $8), she now has a cured bottom. My mom also came to visit Thursday and we had an uneventful, relaxing wonderful visit with her the rest of the weekend.

Oh, what shall a parent do without their kid for a week?? My mom took Isabella home on Saturday and my dad has been keeping her all week while my mom is at school. The original plan was for them to take her for the week so I could get some things done around the house, have a CT scan done on my head, take my grandmother to the pain doctor, beauty shop and to sign some legal work.

So lucky for us, Alan and I got a night to ourselves and we took advantage of that by heading into town to see Star Trek! Not my pick, but I wasn't completely bored out of my mind. There are plenty of chick flicks coming out that I will recapture the time lost while watching it. However, unfortunately I started feeling sick on the way home with a sore throat...that progressed into Sunday and by Monday I WAS SICK!!! Miserably sick, so that I moved from the bed to the couch and didn't move till I went back to bed Monday night!! So there goes 2 full days, kidless, LOST!! Oh, I forgot to mention, besides going to church and the tad bit of yard work done, Sunday, wasted away at a church pot luck, swimming, soaking up the sun, nairing, Cujo's & delicious bar food (that we paid for eating later).

Day 3, finally I was able to make some progress!! Yes, I know we have sprung into summer but I started the spring cleaning process...all the curtains came down and were washed, got on my hands and knees and cleaned the baseboards, all that fun stuff. Day 4 I took my grandmother to the pain Dr for a shot and when I returned home it was more of the same from the day before, however; laugh if you may, our Christmas tree finally came down and is put away for the remaining 6 months till Alan will have the dreaded day of going to storage and dragging all of the Christmas stuff out so I can put it up again. So some of you who aren't that close may be lost....YES MY CHRISTMAS TREE WAS STILL SITTING IN MY LIVING ROOM until MAY 20th!!! You may ask why...well I can give you several reasons, I've needed time without Isabella, I've needed help and I've needed a clean house (or living room at least) AND the big kicker, a place to store all of the valuables on the tree and the tree itself after it came down, and it just so happened that those events all fell into place on May 20th! So now my once crowded living room/Isabella's playroom has now become a little less cluttered more spread out Isabella's playroom!!

Brandee Helping me undecorate my Christmas Tree!!

The ornaments

It's almost all the way out!!

Day 5 & 6 entailed a trip to the beauty shop and lawyers office and a quick trip to Lubbock. I did manage to get the dishes washed, pick up the bathroom and some of Isabella's room....and saved the final projects of tackling our room and the storage to organize stuff for a garage sale for a later date (maybe when my mom gets out of school). After 6 days of being kidless I really am missing my little booger! She won't talk to me on the phone, Barney, outside, the trampoline or just her Grammie or Papa are too much excitement and she doesn't have the time to say Hi Mama or I love you (but I know she does)!! Boy will I be glad to see her when we get to Monahans tonight!! I thought I was ready to let her spend a couple of weeks with her Grammie & Papa at a time...but I just don't think her daddy nor I are ready for that!! After about 4 days of a quiet uncluttered with toys house and 3 good nights of uninterrupted sleep, we start to miss the little stink and don't quite know what to do with ourselves!! We LOVE YOU ISABELLA and can't wait to see you!! So after a busy semi-eventful week, all was accomplished except for my CAT scan that will take place at 8:30 Tuesday morning!! Please keep me in your prayers that they find out what is causing the neck pain and headaches and that it is nothing serious.

An Amazing Mommy's Day!!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!! My Amazing Mother's Day started on Saturday when we went to Weight Watchers and I had lost my 10% = 30 lbs in 17 wks. It's no "The Biggest Loser" weight loss...but I think it's an amazing loss for doing it on my own. I still have a long road ahead of me and I appreciate all of my family and friends who are so supportive. I'm also so proud of all the achievements of all of our fellow weight watcher goers!!! Congrats on the new you!! To date Alan has lost 43 lbs, so I am extremely proud of him. He's 10-20 lbs from going on Maintenance and becoming a Weight Watchers lifetime member!! We have made a life change, for us, for Isabella and any future children. Thank you Alan for your love, support and active roll you have taken in our weight loss journey!!What a wonderful day yesterday was! We woke up a little late but still made it to church stress free! After church Alan took the ladies (Isabella, myself & my grandmother) out to eat at Joe's Crab Shack. DELICIOUS and I still managed to keep it Weight Watcher friendly!! Yes, I did let Isabella play on the slide in her Sunday BEST...you just can't explain to an almost 2 yr old why?!?!
And she had a BLAST and didn't even get her dress dirty! After running a few errands in Lubbock, we came home to these amazing little gifts and flowers from Alan, Isabella and my wonderful mommy!!!
Then the rest of the afternoon was spent out in the yard enjoying the beautiful weather we had, unlike the gloomy, drizzling, cold day we are having today. Isabella played while Alan, Ricky and I did some work on the garden and planted the rest of our flowers. Then we all relaxed and played till the sun went down. Isabella and I ended our afternoon with countless Eskimo Kisses!! Thank you Mommy for being the BEST mommy EVER, I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day and also Thank you Alan and Isabella for making my 2nd Mother's Day an AMAZING

and RELAXING one!!!

Bubbles & Muddy Baby!

Here are the pictures from this morning, just as I promised!!

Playing in the blowing bubbles!

Watering her dirt!


I thought she was going to play in the mud but she obviously had a different agenda.



And then when I told her to get out she posed for a picture.


After I turned my back on her...she sat down in it.


And after getting a wet bottom, she decided to go for a drive.


This is what your shoes look like after playing in the dog water and mud!

Skipping home from great-grandmother's house!