Hey Lena Kate...

Whatcha doin?! Are you BUSTED?!

All pretty now:)

Aww Mom, I am pretty without make-up!

Such a cutie!

By the way, I think she's been wearing this skirt since she was about 5 months old! It is still cute on her and not too tight, believe it or not!

Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty

Meet the new additions to our family.

I haven't decided on names yet. I was tossing around Tigger and Pinky, but then my sweet friend Sarah suggested Laverne and Shirley...that may stick-Too cute! It mighty be kinda hard for Lena Kate to learn to say though. One technically belongs to my mother and I'll deliver her when then get back from vacationing, but I may end up keeping both if it is too hard to separate them and Lane (the boss) allows both of them to stay. He originally said one was enough, but I think he can be worked. Lena Kate loves them and cries every time I don't let her go out and chase them. The are sweet and pretty gentle. They are also loud. Last night I left them on the porch which happens to be outside our bedroom door as well as the front door. I know I heard them at 1 am and again at 5am. I'm guessing Lane is grumpy this morning and I'm also guessing they will stay in the washhouse at night from now on until they are no longer noisy kittens.

Hi Kitty

What are THEY doing in Missy's doghouse?

Come here, I won't hurt you.

Aww, Missy like.

I WILL get you!

Now, I've climbed the wall, if only I can figure out how to open that door.

I'm not sure what I got us into!

Daddy's Weekend!

We had such a fabulous weekend just spending time together as a family. Saturday we all took a little trip to Corpus so Lane could run a few errands and look for a belt to go with his new buckle. Let me tell you there are TONS of belts to choose from, but NONE like he wanted. I can attest to the fact that you can't find a plain belt that tapers down for a smaller buckle without a metal tip. Lane did find a nice little .22LR as a treat for himself after completing busy season. He's wanted a little fun varmint gun for awhile. I'm glad he decided to treat himself, he surely deserves it. We stopped by Sam's Club and headed home. I can say I do miss Costco...but oh well. Maybe they will build one in Corpus eventually. Saturday afternoon we ordered a pizza (I went and picked it up...no delivery out here) and relaxed. Sunday morning we got up, fixed breakfast and tackled a few chores. We skipped church for some extra family time. On a whim we decided to drive over to Rockport to see Mimi and Papa's condo they rented for a month and play around with them. What a wonderful afternoon we had! We shopped briefly, went for a walk around the Racket Club where they are staying and down to the pier. It is 750 feet long...a very long pier. The funniest part of the day was when Lena Kate decided to throw her nana out and didn't realize that when on a pier and you toss it in the water it is g.o.n.e. GONE. She kept asking for it and well, it was gone. I've really only been giving it to her when she is ready for bed or a nap these days, but she sure knows how to ask for that nana..and she is persistent. I hope her strong will serves her well in the future. She is really an easy going child, but definitely persistent when she wants to be. We hit MoonDog's for some seafood and decided to stay after dark and fish for a few hours. Mom kept Lena Kate and let me fish with Lane and Dad. Lane caught one trout, but it was just a bit short of keeper range...bummer. We plan to go back later this month and stay a few days if possible. Hopefully the weather and waters will be perfect for fishing. I'm determined to catch some yummy fish this next round. Lane had yesterday off so we spent the day working around the house and just hanging out together..it was perfect! I'm so thankful that we had a good weekend to just enjoy our time together since we hadn't had much quality time together. We are so thankful Lane doesn't have to work long hours year round and that he has a good secure job in these times. Thanks be to God for our many blessings and for this great family weekend. Here are a few pictures.

Playing after dinner...good thing Dada was holding on!

Dada teaching Lena Kate about boats

Dada said he'd take that one. Also take note this is one of the very few times you'll see Lane in shorts. The coast calls for shucking the Wranglers for some shorts!

Watching the birds with Mimi

Lena Kate learned a life lesson-don't throw your nana when you are over water. Can you see it floating in the middle right? There was no dramatic nana rescue to speak of.

Going for a stroll down the LONG pier.

Checking Papa's cows

The Dada himself!

Happy Tax Day

I love today, and not because it is the day that people must send their money in to the government to squander. Lane will finally be home to see his family at a decent hour. Tax season is over-yipppeeee! This morning I took a big pan of lasagna, garlic bread, Caesar salad, and a Butterfinger cake to Lane's office to help them celebrate all their hard work. I think they really appreciated and enjoyed it. I must confess that somehow I managed to get 2 hairs in the salad...I KNOW- GROSS. I will never blow dry my hair and then go chop a whole head of lettuce for a fresh salad. I'm guessing this is why it happened...talk about embarrassing! Oh well, it happens I guess. At least I know it was clean hair:) The salad tasted good anyway. Wouldn't you know that it would happen when I was fixing lunch for somebody else!!! UGH. I think I made up for it with the yummy cake.

Here are pictures of Lena Kate one year ago today. She's still our little tax exemption. I think I'll have to frame one for Lane's office. They weren't the best picture, if I recall she wasn't cooperating that day, but she's still as cute as ever. She's now lost a few of those little rolls she had.

Randomness

We've had a pretty quiet week around here. The weather was nice and we spend most days at home....just playing with a little cleaning thrown in for good measure. Lena Kate has a snotty nose that refuses to go away...poor girl has to run from somebody with a tissue constantly!

I'm happy to say that my attempt at a small garden is going pretty well so far. My green beans are up and tomato plants are growing nicely. The okra is my tricky one. I have some up...and some, not up. I've replanted some so hopefully in a week I'll see some more plants because really the okra is my favorite. If you aren't from the south okra may be a little foreign to you, but one of my FAVORITE things to eat is fresh fried okra...um yea, my hips don't like it but I didn't ask them, did I? I also have a nice little herb garden that I haven't managed to kill. I do think Basil and dill are my favorite. My goal is to cook lighter dishes and add flavor with these fresh herbs. We'll see how that goes. I'm pretty motivated to workout every day now, so hopefully the eating better will catch up in the motivation department. It is 1/2 way there, but needs a little push.

The wildflowers are just beautiful. The bluebonnets are fading but many other flowers are popping up EVERYWHERE. Yesterday I went for a long run at Mom and Dad's and it felt so good. The weather was beautiful to go in just a sports bra (and shorts, of course) ...I don't think I'd do that in public, but out on the ranch it feels great. It is so nice to have Mom watch LK while I get a nice run in. It is a good rejuvenation time for me. I have my little walkman radio tuned to K-LOVE and it just keeps me going and makes me feel good, even if I'm hurting physically from the run! Yes, I'm old school and do not have an MP3 player or Ipod. Honestly, I just prefer the radio...and I'm cheap. I then meet Mom and LK and finish off with a walk to the cattleguard and back. Translation: We walk the road the the main entrance which is about a mile 1/2 round trip. Lena Kate usually does pretty good in the jogger but is ready to get out by the time we get back. I entertain her with goldfish and rocks...she eats the gold fish...throws the rocks, just in case you were wondering. My intention is to do this every day if possible. If not, I'll be at home working out to The Biggest Loser Cardio Max. I really don't want my larger pants to fit tight anymore! I know I can't not bake at all because that would just be WRONG, so I'll try to have a little more self-control overall. Now-stop rambling Elaine. I know you could probably care less about my lack of willpower.

Back to the garden. I also have peppers planted for Lane. Well, the tomatoes are for him too. I don't like raw tomatoes, but I love them cooked as longs as they aren't whole.

Lena Kate is just so much fun these days. She is quite the character. She is funny, sweet, a will be a little stinker on occasion too. She is a little smarty pants and much prefers to eat with a fork over her hands. One of her favorite things to do is dig my underwear out of the laundry and were them around her neck! That might not be the smartest thing, but she sure is proud after she's put them around her neck. Don't worry, I don't let her go out in public like that! If I let her pick out her outfit at this age, she'd choose that.

Reading with Grandpa

Lovin Aunt Nancy's Moose

One night she woke up after being asleep for only 30 minutes (VERY RARE) so I let her get up and possible get to see Daddy, she decided that she wanted to go to sleep on the floor next to Missy instead of her bed. It was too sweet! Yes, those are Christmas jammies in April.

I hope you have a blessed Sunday and beginning of the week. Lena Kate and I are about to get dressed for church and head that way. She is going to wear her Easter dress again since we were out of town last weekend.

Family Reunion Egg Hunt

I thought I'd share a few more pics I snapped last Saturday. Lena Kate had soo much fun. She was pooped out.

Snacking and relaxing

Tired girl

I'm gonna get that one!

Hmmm, what do we have here?

Happy Thursday!

Easter Festivities

Wow, we had a big weekend! Saturday we loaded up and headed to Beverly...or San Antonio...but I felt like a hillbilly with all of our stuff for just the weekend! We had a family reunion with my Granny's side of the family in Boerne. It was tons of fun and there were lots of cute kids for Lena Kate to play with. I enjoyed getting to visit with and catch up with cousins that we don't get to see often enough. There was also an abundance of yummy food. Lena Kate preferred to carry around the back of Garden Veggie flavored Wheat Thin crisps. SHE LOVES THEM. Lena Kate did great at the Easter egg hunt. She found several and put them in her basket. She had so much fun all day and was sooo worn out by the end of the day. She was falling asleep as I was putting her in her car seat. I had a doctor's appt in San Antonio on Monday so I stayed for the rest of the weekend.

On Sunday we got up and checked out the fun piles the Easter bunny brought for Lena Kate and Charles and then rushed off to church...not before snapping a few pictures! LK and Charles did good in church and didn't even have to go to the nursery. Kix cereal in a small container saved the day! Lena Kate loves it and Charles loves anything that Lena Kate has;) We spent Sunday afternoon with Lena Kate's Uncle Trent, Aunt Nancy, Leelee, and Grandpa. It was nice to see them all, but a shame Lane couldn't have been there to enjoy time with his family as well. Trent and Nancy just bought a new house and it very nice. Lena Kate enjoyed chasing the chihuahuas, but I don't think they enjoyed it at all, except for when she dropped lots of cereal for them. It is a love hate relationship, I believe! Yesterday was also very busy. We had a lunch play date with our San Antonio friends that we miss so much. The kiddos are growing up and their mommies are as sweet as ever. We headed for home yesterday afternoon because Lena Kate wasn't feeling too hot. Fortunately, she seems all better today. Maybe she was homesick.

Now I must go tend to my daughter. She is in a new stage and gets very frustrated when she can't do something she wants, either because it is too hard or she is told not to. Life is rough at 15 months old, let me tell you:)

Cousins

My beauty with her gappy teeth :)

Egg hunting pictures tomorrow :)