Downtown Aquarium {mother-daughter weekend 2013 - part III}

Our visit to the {AG Store} was the big surprise I had planned for Grace since she was able to get Saige. But I also wanted to do something fun with the rest of our time that day so we made our way to the {Downtown Aquarium} to check things out.

After checking out some of the habitats and exhibits, we made our way to the Tiger Smash! A couple of times a day, the tigers get a special treat...meat and "bloodsicles" hidden inside of a hollowed out pumpkin. The trainers place the pumpkins in different places within the Maharaja Temple to keep the tigers learning. I can't believe how close we were to the tigers!!

We fed the stingrays...

And then we then made our way to the shark tank voyage...

But the little pumpkin's favorite thing to do is always the super high or super fast rides!!

One more drop-you-straight-down kind of ride and then we finished off with the carousel!

Such a super fun weekend, Grace!!!
I loved spending time with you, my sweet girl!

Can't wait for our next adventure!!

SURPRISE! {mother-daughter weekend 2013 - part II}

On Sunday, I had a couple of special surprises for the little pumpkin. We got up early, had breakfast, and off we were!

My sweet Grace in all her 6 year old splendor...

Her big surprise was that Mama & Daddy had decided to add the remaining $ she needed to what she had saved so that she could get Saige, the American Girl doll she had been saving up for all year. Excellent report cards sure pay off! :) 

Her reaction when she found out was PRICELESS!

Once in the store, her joy reached an off-the-charts level! I'm still smiling from ear to ear just remembering my sweet little pumpkin jumping up and down the moment she spotted the Saige display.

I don't care if I looked like a crazy mama snapping pics all over the place...these sweet snapshots are such a treasure to me!!

We spent over an hour just browsing and looking at every little thing without having to rush. Girly girl heaven! She added lots of things to her Christmas wish list, that's for sure!

We then went for lunch in their bistro...so...very...girly...and...PINK!

Just the two of us!

Okay, make that 3...I'm not leaving you out, Saige!

It was so sweet having uninterrupted time with my first born. Just getting to really listen to all her silly expressions and the things that six year olds find funny. This weekend just made me realize even more, the importance of spending 1:1 time with my littles...just being in the moment and treasuring every second of it.

That little pout and that sweet little beauty mark...Oh, I love this girly girl of mine! Dear Heavenly Father...THANK YOU for the blessing she is in my life!

Getting Saige was sweet...

...but spending this time together was priceless!

I'll be back tomorrow to share the final stop on our Mother-Daughter Weekend {2013}!

just the two of us {mother-daughter weekend 2013 - part I}

One of my fondest memories growing up was spending annual weekends away with my mom doing all sorts of girly things. From makeovers to shopping sprees to adventures, it really didn't matter much what we were doing, just that it was the two of us. 

I want to have those kinds of memories with Grace so a couple of weekends ago on Oct. 26th, we embarked on our own little adventure. We didn't go far, just Houston, but I love, love, LOVED spending time with my girly girl.

We had lunch with some sweet friends that we met in person for the first time!!! My friend Olivia and I have been blog friends a long time. She has the cutest little girls and it was so neat getting to meet them in person!!

We ate at Barnaby's Cafe in downtown Houston and it was yummy! I'm still dreaming of this delicious salad!!

Olivia took all these fun pics - thank you!!

Thank you Olivia for meeting us - we had a great time hanging out with you guys - you and your girls are so stinkin' cute and sweet!!

Later that night, Grace and I made a special stop at the KPea/Kids Fly Too Houston shopping event. Fun times!

Both of my littles love elevators. I'm not sure what the fascination is, but it's cheap entertainment, so off we go!

This sweet girly girl of mine had a lot of fun picking out a cute dress for her American Girl dolls and a couple for herself...

We made a late night run for.............................. pancakes, what else! The little pumpkin and I share this love language. {and yes, I was good and stuck to a grilled chicken salad - boo! but I'm almost at my weight loss goal...38 lbs. and counting so I didn't want to ruin all my hard work!!}

We came back to our hotel with grand plans for girly manis and pedis, but we were tuckered out after a busy day so we ditched the pampering for a sweet dose of snuggling under the covers and we were out in 10 min. flat!

We had such a fun day!!! Even with the parking lot fender bender {yes, in our new car!! *tear*} I wouldn't trade these memories for anything in the world. I love you, Grace!
Mama