My Birthday Weekend

Joe and I got to stay the weekend at the JW Marriott Hill Country Resort in San Antonio to celebrate my birthday. It's a fairly new place and a couple of people highly recommended it so I wanted to try it. It was truly fabulous. We didn't take our good camera so my pictures are from my phone and they don't do the place justice. The wheels are already starting to turn in my head about planning a little family get-a-way.

 This was the view from our room. There were actually lots of people swimming in the pools because all of the water was heated (even the water slides) and the water was 85 degrees. It felt wonderful when I checked it out but there was no way I was going to get in....the water may have felt good but you have to get out eventually. There is a lazy river and a swimming pool plus 3 water slides.

Our self portrait



Joe's brother, Clinton, lives about 10-15 minutes away. Clinton and his
girlfriend, Jennifer, got to meet us for dinner Friday night at the hotel. 

This place is super kid friendly but they did have an adult only
infinity pool that overlooked part of the golf course. 

Kiddie pool section

Every Saturday morning they let the kids to a Rubber Ducky Race in the lazy river. The kids decorate their ducks and each one is numbered on the bottom. Santa Claus dropped them into the water. They also have different activities each day.....like smores in one of the outdoor fire pits.

There is a sports bar in the hotel with some incredible TVs.

This projector screen wrapped around the entire room

I just thought this was a cool picture

On Saturday I just relaxed by the pool the entire day and read a book. Joe spent some of the day over at Clinton's house but the rest was spent with me at the pool and drinking coffee. I can't remember the last time I had that much quiet time. It was great but the truth is I'd rather be with the girls.

I did visit the spa later in the day and got a wonderful facial. Afterwards we went to a Mexican restaurant close by that Clinton recommended to us. It was really nice to spend some time with just Joe but I seriously missed my two beautiful girls. I can't wait to take them back there...they will love it.

My Mom watched the girls this weekend and it sounds like they all partied like rock stars. :-)

Tis The Season ~ Shutterfly Holiday Cards

I absolutely love Christmas cards and I especially like holiday cards with photos.....click here to see what they offer. They are so much fun to receive each year and display through the holidays. You can get folded cards, flat stationary cards or photo cards.  I have used Shutterfly for many photo needs from photo storage, birthday invitations and holiday cards. I'm about to order a photo book as well. I did the twins 2nd birthday invitation with Shutterfly and I absolutely thought it turned out beautifully and was so easy to design and get printed. Another great idea is thank you cards. How fun is it to have clever thank you cards handy?

Shutterfly also offers birth announcements and desk calendars plus many more ideas online. Check out the birth announcements here and the calendars here.

Shutterfly has many great holiday card designs to select from and there is bound to be the perfect card for you. They have everything from traditional to unique styles and one photo to many photos to display. I highly recommend using Shutterfly for your holiday cards this year....I will be. I think the hardest part will be deciding on only one card and which photo or photos to use. I look forward to designing our family card each year and I am so excited to check the mail box during the holiday season to see if I received any cards. I love cards of all kinds but lets admit it.....those with photos are so much more fun to receive. Start your order now while you have plenty of time.

If you are a blogger then you should check out this link to learn how to receive 50 free Shutterfly holiday cards.

Thankful

I am thankful for many things and I definitely know that I am very blessed. I am extremely thankful for Kristen & Sarah and I can barely remember life before I became their mother. I love them with every little piece of my heart....so much it could burst any moment it is so full of happiness. I am also very thankful to have Joe. He "gets" me and still loves me plus he is an amazing Daddy. Both of the girls are Daddy's girls but Kristen is seriously in love with Joe. The way she looks at him....that's something to be thankful for!

Today we spent the day with my Mom and she cooked a wonderful Thanksgiving lunch. I am very thankful to have her and she is always there for me and would do anything for me. Joe fried a turkey today and mom made everything else. It was very good and I just enjoyed some of the leftovers.

I am always telling the girls that I love them. One thing I often say is that I love them mucho grande....that's just a little thing I say. Tonight I asked Sarah if she knew how much I loved her and she replied back to me.....mucho grande. :-) I'm thankful to know they feel loved.

Here are a few pictures of the girls from today.

I cannot get enough of Kristen's dimple. I could take pictures of these girls all of the time. Joe told me that we need a personal photographer to just follow us around....that would be awesome.

Check out this funny face

Conversations Between Sisters

The girls are sitting at their red table coloring and sharing great conversations. I wanted to document real quick some of the cute things they are saying.  They are so sweet and I love them!

Kristen: Do you remember when Daddy sat in your seat? (the little red chair)
Sarah: Yes, but his butt is too big for the chair

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(Kristen got up and started dancing in the kitchen)

Sarah: Kristen, that sure is a beautiful dance!

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Kristen: When I grow up I will color in the lines but right now I won't
Sarah: Me too

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Sarah: I'm little
Kristen: I'm big
Sarah: It's o.k. to be little, because one day I will get big and you will be little

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Kristen: When it snows...I want a butterfly snowman. What kind do you want, Sarah?
Sarah:  The snowy kind

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Meaningful Dates

Yesterday was the 3 year anniversary since Charlie passed away....we will forever miss Charlie.  

Today is Katie's birthday and we got to meet Katie, Galen and Angela for lunch at The Domain. Angela is due in just a couple of weeks with baby Suni. It will be nice for the girls to have a cousin right here in Austin. These are cute pictures we got with our phones in front of the Macy's Christmas Tree. The girls sure are enjoying the Christmas decorations going up everywhere....this will be another special Christmas for them!

The Park

It's around midnight but I can't sleep. The girls and I actually cuddled on the couch after dinner tonight and I fell asleep with them. Joe ended up getting them ready for bed and let me rest. The down side to that is when I'm up....I'm up. Unfortunately I haven't been able to go back to sleep. Oh well....

Today I picked the girls up and we went to the park. It's a park close to our house that Joe took them to for the first time last weekend when I was at work. They desperately wanted to show me the "wiggly" slide (below). I was still dressed in my work clothes and the only person there walking around in high heels. I had lots of mulch in my shoes and my heels were all dirty from sinking into the ground....but it was so worth it. I'm a working mother with a demanding job but my little girls do and will always come first.

They are growing up before my eyes. They kept going down the wiggly slide together. One would be in front while the other would be in back wrapping her legs around her sister and then they would switch back and forth each time they went down. Sarah kept calling the front position the "conductor" of their little train. 

I had to see if they could still fit in the baby swing together. They could! The girls are so good at swinging on their own in the big kid swings. They can pump their feet now so they really don't need you to even push them any longer.  They will still let you because their goal is to go "higher" even though I would prefer they didn't.

These two little girls are so incredibly loved by me. Every night I just hug them tight, take in their sweet smell and thank God that he gave them to me.



Gymnastics Practice

The girls did an awesome job at gymnastics practice tonight. They have really learned a lot since starting this and I can definitely see how much stronger they are becoming.

Tonight they started practicing on the springboard. They would run from the end of the mat, jump on the springboard and jump over the noodle.

 For some reason Kristen never got on the balance beam but Sarah did. Ms. Tessa helped her get to the end and then let go so Sarah could balance all by herself on the big beam.

Kristen can pull her legs up to the bar so easily that it makes it look effortless for her. She definitely has an advantage with her long legs but she's a natural at anything athletic.

Sarah on the other hand didn't have as easy of a time due to her shorter legs. What was so impressive is she tried, and tried, and tried.....

and then she finally got it! Let me tell you....when she did this she was so excited. She started clapping for herself and pumping her fists up in the air. I was so happy for her because she had to work really hard to get her legs up. I was one proud mommy tonight.....and it had nothing to do with getting her legs up but rather that she wouldn't give up trying. They are both clearly learning a lot more during this than gymnastics.

The Skunk Conversation

The girls and I had a little conversation in the car this morning that I want to blog about so I can document it and remember how cute it was.

Kristen:  Pew....It stinks, Mommy
Mommy:  It's a skunk somewhere
Kristen:  Oh, it must be in someones backyard then (we have a skunk that appears in our backyard every now and then so she thought they were only in backyards)
Sarah:    The skunk must have pooped in its pants
Kristen:  Don't be silly Sarah, skunks don't wear pants
Sarah:    Yes they do or it wouldn't stink so bad

They clearly think that skunks are only in backyards and that something that stinky must be due to an accident in their pants. How sweet it is to be 3.