Beauty in Bloom

It's Spring, for real this time.

Hello there Spring.  I feel like you have been teasing us since Fall.  I mean, come on, 60 degree days in January? 80 degree days in early March?   Sa-weet.  Thank goodness for it too.  I really needed it today.

I feel like I have been clawing my way back into reality since I got home from my girls weekend.  Usually, I am very refreshed after going to Hearts at Home.  This year was different though.  I really can't explain why.  However, I attended some pretty awesome workshops.  My favorite, which surprised me, was one given by The Duggar's. They are so sweet. Seriously wish I could have brought them home in my pocket. Cute cute cute!

I saw this sign over the weekend.  Control your crazy?  Yeah right.  HAHAHAHA! OK, sure. :)

Moving on. At around noon today I decided to try and snap out of whatever it is that is wrong with me.  I remembered that Alicia @ La Famille gave us a challenge.  She has started something called The Happy Day Project. (click on the link to read more)  Challenge #1...It's Spring, go buy a plant. I can do that.  It's the first day of Spring dang it. I needed to get off the couch.  I can honestly say that without her prompting me to do this my girls day would have been way less adventurous. As it was, they had already watched too much tv. I guess what I am getting at is that without her project I would have never made some of these sweet memories. 

We started at Lowe's.

She wore her Mardi Gras beads, of course.

Oh my goodness I love tulips. Too bad they don't last.

I did not find what I was looking for at Lowe's so we headed to Home Depot.

It was so windy.

We had to bring home this princess seed kit. Had to.

Here is what we came home with. A succulent. Annie wanted a cactus, but she has Liv for a sister. Probably not a good idea. I replanted it into this cute rain boot planter that I already had. I sorta LOVE it. Happy Happy Happy!

Happy Spring! For reals, no more pretending. :)

 

 I am happily linking up here:

Love you for this Alicia.  Something so simple can be the one thing that can make a big difference sometimes.

OKC 2012

It is almost 9 pm as I sit down to write this. Finally got the kids to bed. They were extra crazy tonight. Which made their momma extra crazy too.

I meant to post about this yesterday morning but the weekend kicked the life out of me. I am slowly recovering and I am currently drinking my final cup of coffee for the day. Who needs sleep anyway?

We made this trip to celebrate my baby brother Joshua who turned 30 on February 17th. A bunch of us traveled down to Oklahoma City....including my family, my dad and step-mom Leona, my brother Jake, his wife Vicky and son, my step-sister Steph and her three kids, my step-sister Cindy, her husband Mike and their 2 kids and my uncle Jeff and his wife Chrissie. A whole lotta people.

There was drama. There was cake. There was so much food. There was a lot of partying. Too much drinking for my liking...not by me or my husband. There was crying.  Lots of noise, but also lots of laughter. I think we even grew as a family. At least I hope.

Here are some highlights...

We got on the road at 6:30 am to meet my dad and the rest of the caravan at the Cracker Barrel for some stomach ache inducing breakfast.

Grandma Leona bought the girls whatever they wanted from the General Store. Liv is in this posing phase.

Finally got the honeybadgers on the road after multiple bathroom breaks. My dad was honeybadger #1. My uncle Jeff was honeybadger #2. We referred to them as honeybadgers all weekend because they do whatever they want. Much like the honeybadger.

LOVED the Love's gas stations I saw.

Passing the time playing Angry Birds on momma's phone.

Princess is playing her game. The tiara had candy in it. That was her choice from the General store.

Are we there YET?

We arrived Thursday evening. My step-sister Stephanie was already there and had prepared dinner for all of us. It was a nice surprise after such a long day on the road. It took us over 10 hours when the drive is only a little over 8 hours.

Friday. The birthday boy is 30. *Sigh* Time is a great storyteller. If I had more, I might tell some stories. I will spare my sweet brother. He is my favorite anyway. Shhhh...don't tell Jake.

My step-mom brought the cake down with her. Made by a friend.

All of the girls just love his girlfriend Ashley. Marry her please.

The boy and his girl.

Faith was fresh out of the hot tub to sing Happy Birthday.

Poor Faith. She couldn't handle all the noise. I think I snapped this photo at 1 am. Annie slept through it all. We should have stayed at the hotel with some of the others. I was trying to save money by staying with Josh. My bad.

Saturday.

Breakfast at Jimmy's Egg. A popular place down south. The food was egg-cellent!

Keeping busy before the bowling party. Fridge art for Uncle Josh.

Ashley put together a bowling party to include the kids in the whole weekend. She even sent us invites ahead of time. It was a Thor theme. Too funny!

After the party we went swimming at the hotel. The highlight of the weekend for my kids. They are like fish.

More game playing. These two get along so well, Annie & cousin Dylan. They are only 1 month apart.

Sunday.

A happy mom & dad. We could not wait to head home. Back to routines, our own bed and some PEACE. Lots of laughs on that drive home.

The weekend was overall a blast. I loved seeing my brother, but being around lots of family is hard. Especially when you do not share the same views on life. I do not want to go into detail because it doesn't matter why there was drama. My theory is that all families have it.
Even the Braverman's.

*********

Here is a video I took on the way home. The girls were so restless and being funny. It is a little slow at first but stick with it. If you are reading this and have never heard my voice and want to, you are in luck. HA! {pause my music on the sidebar too}

  

KC trip & American Girl!

 (Faith got Chrissa's hair braided at the salon)

This past weekend we went to visit some dear friends in Atchison, KS. About 45 minutes north of Kansas City, KS. Recently our friends, The Rush's tore our hearts out and moved 5 hours away! Real upset about this and I am not sure I will ever get used to it! Heather is the one I measure a persons character against....If she doesn't like you, then there is something wrong....with you! Now what will I do girl?  Thanks alot! Hailey, their daughter, was one of Faith's best friends, and she is missed greatly. Their son Ben is a hoot and I will miss his sense of adventure, whom he gets from his Mom. Wayne is Heathers husband and I will miss giving him a hard time. Anyway, a couple of Heathers other friends and their kids went over to KC to surprise her. We pulled up honking our horns and she came out of her house crying. She was sooo surprised! The weekend was wonderful and I regret not getting any of our time with Heather and her family captured on camera. I did however remember to take photos at American Girl Place. Enjoy!

 

The ride home....... 
 
 
We can't wait to go back!
 

Chicago in 2005

This photo was taken in June of 2005...the last time our little family went to Chicago. We have been planning a trip to go back for the last couple of weeks and will be leaving very soon. The things we are planning to see and do: American Girl, Shedd's Aquarium, Museum of Science and Industry, Millenium Park, Sears Tower, Rainforest Cafe, Navy Pier, Architectural Boat Tours, and many yummy restaurants. I guess we will see if we can get it all in. Pics to come after the trip!