Texas Andersons

I just love this time of year! It’s such a refreshing, beautiful season after the cold, bare winter. The weather’s warming; the flowers are blooming; the birds are singing… ah, spring!

A big part of spring, Ben had four Easter egg hunts! We had one with MOPS, then the kids had one at Mother’s Day Out, the city hosted one at the park, and the last was at Papa Marvin and Granny Dorothy’s. How fun! And not only was there a great egg hunt in Orange Grove, but Ben, Hondo, and Brandon got to spend the day together playing and driving the four-wheeler. And then we celebrated Grandma’s 75th birthday.

We had so much fun having a few bunnies live with us for the last couple of weeks. Ben got to love all over them, and I got precious portraits with lots of clients’ kiddos.

Something else that happens every spring- the Race for the Cure. We walked in our fourth yesterday. Thank you to those of you who made donations to the cause on our behalf; thanks Grandmom Loretta for walking with us this year.

And we’ve attended a couple of our puppy manners classes. Nathan has been named “The Boss”, in charge of Sophie during class while Ben and I sit and watch. And she’s doing great- she actually really shows off in class. But while she has the basic commands learned, we’re finding our big problem is barking. Gotta take care of that real quick before it becomes a habit to bark at everything.

These are a few of my favorite things…

Foods: Red Robin’s crispy chicken salad, Burger King’s whopper and fries, Chuy’s fajita beef taco salad, Fralo’s pizza, California Pizza Kitchen’s bbq chicken pizza, fried okra, and the many meals we make right here at home every night

Items: Bare Minerals make-up (I started using this in January- so good for your skin!), Clarisonic (also started using this in January- makes my skin feel so great, is helping to shrink my pores), George Foreman grill (the interchangeable plates have created many great sandwiches and meals), Roomba (has saved me so many vacuuming hours over the past year), Sony Cybershot (the only little point and shoot for everyday photos that met my professional standards)

Music: Jeremy Camp, Nichole Nordeman, Blue October, Matchbox 20, Third Day, Barenaked Ladies,

Places: our home and our backyard (so relaxing), Granny Dorothy’s house (filled with precious childhood memories), any beach (fun, fun, fun!)

Misc: my husband (such a wonderful, supportive, loving man who doesn’t hear “I love you” enough), Ben (the coolest, smartest kid, who I was so lucky to be blessed with), our friends and family (I couldn’t have asked for better parents, friends, even in-laws), the dogs, mowing, days at Fiesta Texas, my career, the Race for the Cure (means so much, brings tears to my eyes every year)

When Ben was asked his favorite things, he answered (in this order)…
race cars, legos, beautiful butterflies, singing birds, Easter eggs, Davis Mountains, his bedroom, school, Grandmom Loretta, Mommy, Daddy, Daisy, Sophie, and his friends

And Nathan…

And what are some of your favorite things? Anything that you just can’t live without?

Who just celebrates their birthday on one single day? Not our son! In the week surrounding his birthday, Ben and I went to a teddy bear picnic with our friends, we three attended the Chuck Wagon Cook-Off at the Ag Museum, we baked cupcakes to take to school and celebrate with his class, and I took Ben to the MOPS Easter egg hunt.

On the actual day of his birthday Nathan, Ben, and I met Grandmom Loretta and Papa Bobby at Chuck-E-Cheese’s for a few fun-filled hours of games, games, and more games!

And the birthday party yesterday was a blast! All of Ben’s friends were able to attend; Nathan bar-b-q’d a fantastic hot dog and sausage dinner; the kids had a great time hitting the pinata (and then watching as Mandy made the final blow to send the candy pouring); the cake was another masterpiece from Nadler’s; and Ben was thrilled by every gift he opened. THANK YOU to everyone who was able to attend and for the wonderful presents! The toys have all been played with, we will use the money for our puppy manners class registration tomorrow, and the gift cards will be spent on summer clothes soon.

I’m still finding it so hard to believe I’m the mom of a 5-year-old. My baby is so big…