Texas Andersons

Saturday morning started with a HUGE Easter event at Rainbow Play Systems.  I set up a booth for Shutter-Happy at 9:30 and was bombarded with families until 2:00!  Emily (my new publicity/marketing lady) and I handed out eggs filled with candy and our logo’d balloons; we stuck cute Shutter-Happy stickers on every child there; we had parents sign up for our mailing list to win some awesome prizes.

And while I was working, Nathan was busy with the boys playing putt-putt and letting them enjoy the playgrounds and bounce houses.

And then Nathan and I were off to the Boerne Education Foundation’s fundraising gala.  This year, we purchased a table and had a great place to sit and hang out with Alice (my consultant) and her husband Don.  The food was incredible; our auction item raised quite a bit of money for our schools; the band was great!

Today I was once again up-and-at-em, heading into San Antonio for a portrait session.  Then we made the trip out to the city park for the city Easter egg hunt and play time on the playground.  Then another session.  And it ended with a walk through some of our future neighborhood.

Busy, busy, busy!  Might need an early bedtime tonight to catch up on sleep that I missed out on.  And I sure hope the scale is good to me tomorrow since I barely had time to have a decent meal. 

We were surprised and disappointed with the weather yesterday.  Rain, cold, and high winds ruined our plans of having an outdoor party, of having a moonbounce.  Oh well… we had a blast!!!

The “outerspace” party started with food- bbq sandwiches, hot dogs, meatballs, chips, fruit, astronaut ice cream, etc.  Yum!

Then we moved on to games.  The kids competed to drop the most clothes pins into a milk bottle.  The studio was filled with loud pops and giggles as the kids tried to bust dozens of blown balloons.  Then the race was on to find the most eggs in our Easter egg hunt throughout the house.  After, we brought the kids back into the studio for a round of musical chairs.

Then cake (another gorgeous and yummy cake from Nadler’s).  And then Ben got to open presents.  He was thrilled with every gift and spent last night and today going through each toy, game, and book that he got. 

For those of you who were here celebrating with us, THANKS SO MUCH for joining us and making last night such a wonderful time!!!  And thank you for the great gifts!!

Slideshow I made of his last seven years…

Awesome activities, happy kids, and beautiful weather!!!  What more could one ask for?

Day One- Planting, watering, playing in the backyard.  And Nathan and Ben headed out to camp on our lot.  While there, they got invited to a neighbor’s get-together… bonfire, food, s’mores, and new friends.  They had a great time!

Day Two- Mulching, watering, playing in the backyard, and bbq.

Day Three- La Cantera:  Stride Rite for new shoes and sandals, Gymboree for spring clothes, Build-a-Bear so Ben could get an outfit for his dog, ice cream at Marble Slab, and the playground for fun.  Wheeeee!  And the day got better as we pulled off the freeway here in Boerne and ended up at the light, right behind my parents, who were on their way to our house for a visit. 

Day Four- Workout at the YMCA and lunch and playtime at the Burger King (where we were surprised by friends Morgan and Landon showing up!!!).  And wiiiiiiii!!!!!

Day Five- Took the boys’ portraits; played on the swings and in the sand box; fed the ducks; enjoyed the first snowcones of the year; took a walk through the neighborhood.

Day Six- Spent the day and night out at our lot.  We jumped on the trampoline, played on the swings, ate a great dinner, went for a walk, sat around the fire; the boys drove their tractor.  The stars were bright and the quiet was peaceful.  Aaaaahhhhh…

Day Seven- Errands in San Antonio, fun in the backyard, and dancing in the living room.  Mowing, edging, and ice cream!

We have pretty bright kids, but I can’t say they’re smarter than everyone else’s.  I certainly can’t say ours are the sweetest or most thoughtful children.  In fact, sometimes they can be rotten.  And they’re not the fastest, most athletic, most social, or cutest (although they’re pretty darn cute!).

But I can say that Evan must be the happiest baby around.  Squeals, screams, and giggles just constantly abound from his mouth, right from his belly.  Strangers constantly comment on how silly he’s being, how happy he is.  By all observation, he really must be having an awesome childhood and is simply just enjoying life.

Take last Saturday- We spent the day at the Agricultural Heritage Museum for their Chuckwagon Cook-Off.  Evan enjoyed the kids’ area… dropping balls in buckets, throwing bean bags, laying ropes over PVC pipe (redneck golf), sitting on the tractors, etc.  He had a constant smile and squeal.  I’m really not sure he could have had any more fun.

And this week- We spent our days outside in the beautiful Texas spring weather.  We gardened, watered, played on the swings, and searched for bugs.  Ben and Evan even ran around the yard with Sophie making all kinds of noise.  I’m sure the neighbors wondered what was going on!

And today- Evan had a great time playing with his toys and then heading outside.  He even got to discover and splash in some puddles.  The excitement was contagious, as we all laughed at how much fun he was having and how dirty he was getting.  In the end, he was covered in mud and grass and had to go straight to the bath.

Good times! 

It was an exhausting day!!!

All of Curington’s first grade classes had a field trip to Main Plaza.  So Evan and I tagged along, photographed the event, and joined in on the fun.  It was something of a field day- they had a bean bag toss, hula hoop competitions, soccer ball dribbling, three-legged races, jump roping, washer toss, face painting, picnic lunch, etc.  The kids had a blast, and Ben got to share cookies to celebrate his big day.

Then we headed to Emerald Family Fun Center to try it out for the first time.  Indoors, they had a big train table, a dozen inflatable bounce castles and obstacle courses, an arcade, and a bowling alley.  Outdoors was a putt-putt golf course.  Evan was glued to the train table most of the time.  But the boys did enjoy the bounce houses, and we all got to bowl.

Then it was off to O’Brien’s for dinner and home for cake.  And Ben got to open his gift from us- a couple of Mr. Putter and Tabby books.  “Make a Wish” and “Bake a Cake” were both about giving gifts and birthdays, both suited perfectly for his day.