San Antonio {MDG Trip 2011}

I think this marks the 19th year my mom & I have made our annual trip! After I had Grace it became known as our Mother/ Daughter/ Granddaughter trip and after I had Hudson it became the Mother/ Daughter/ Grands trip, our own little annual tradition.

Last year we went to Minneapolis (in May...with gorgeous weather) but this year we stayed close to home and decided to go to Sea World in San Antonio...in June...and it was HOTTTT!

Check out the shananigans going on while I packed...seems someone else loves my yellow wedges as much as I do ;)Everything I packed, this little stinker unpacked - he thought it was the funniest little game...needless to say packing is NOT my favorite thing in the world. We split the trip and stayed in Dallas our first night. Dallas always means two things: shopping & Chipotle! HA! I ♥ Chipotle. Grace packed her own backpack full of treasures for this trip. I let her take anything she wanted...so long as it fit in this backpack :) So cute to see what she considered her "essentials"...lots of little Princess activity books & stickers, a lemon meringue strawberry shortcake mini, her kitchen bell - HA! Finally made it to San Antonio! She was sooooooo excited! This little pumpkin loves staying at hotels for one thing...the elevator! She decides whether she likes a hotel or not based on how she feels about the elevator - silly little pumpkin! This one got an A+ rating :)Unfortunately, little brother did NOT like riding in the elevator. I'm talking death grip hold of my neck. After he realized that he could press the buttons, the elevator wasn't so scary anymore. So cute when he finally conquered his fear, he stepped off the elevator and said "I did it!" Sweet boy!

What he DID like was riding in the little shuttle and checking out the big seat belt {don't worry, he rode on my lap for the actual ride}. Time for the Riverwalk! I love all the sights along the Riverwalk...so pretty!First restaurant on the Riverwalk...Casa del Rio. We even caught the beginning of a wedding ceremony. The bride looked so pretty...even in the 100+ degree weather!Saint Anthony, patron saint of the city...and according to our tour guide, patron saint of lost/missing children as well, a sweet sentiment. And check out this little family...My own little duckies - HA! By the time the ride was over the littles were HUNGRY...and just as we were deciding where to eat, we turned the corner and of course, they spotted this:Oh well, "eat dessert first" goes right along with VACATION!

The little pumpkin was so excited that the duck family had made its way over to where we were...Lucky for her, the waitress feeding the ducks shared some bread with her so she could see these sweet little duckies up close and personal! So cute! More tomorrow on our Sea World adventure!!

we're baaaack!

There's nothing like your own bed, is there???
We're back...exhausted but deliriously happy with the fun memories we made during our trip...like seeing the little pumpkin's expression at the first sighting of Shamu! Priceless! More soon!

P.S. To everyone that I owe Lulu & Co. party hat emails from this past week......I'm working down the list and should have everything caught up by tonight! Thanks for your patience!

to market, to market...

One last little post before heading out on our trip...
{read: I hate packing. This was one of the many distractions I kept finding to keep me from stuffing those suitcases! One can always sleep on the way, right?}

Remember THIS sweet vintage trim...My friends Angel & Amy rocked it out once again and turned it into this sweet "to market" apron dress for the little pumpkin! Eeeeeek! It was like Christmas when I opened up the package! Thank you Angel & Amy!!

When we get back I have to hit the ground running for Hudson's birthday! I can't believe my baby boy is about to turn T-W-O!!

Stay tuned for two fun shindigs...
"red, white, and TWO!" on his actual birthDAY and "Animals on Parade...Swing like a Monkey, Splash under the Elephant's Trunk" for his party with friends.
So excited!!

Gymboree & Sea World!

We've sat out on the last couple of semesters of Gymboree Play & Music classes...but thinking of how hot the summer is around here, I knew it would be great to have a place the littles could run around and play that was air conditioned for when the temps hit 110°!We lucked out, there was an Art III for Grace and L5 Gym for Hudson at the same time! Gymboree has a great summer special (not sure if this is everywhere, but worth looking into) where you can take 3 classes per week, all summer long (June, July, August) for just $80 total! Once you're enrolled in classes, you're also able to go to as many play gyms (free play) as your little heart desires...ca-ching!Grace told me she was nervous to start a new class where she knew no one, "I'm going to be a little bit shy, you know." Sweet little pumpkin! Of course by the time her class was over she was all smiles.

Hudson couldn't wait to run, run, run and climb, climb, climb! He surprised me by naming all the shapes correctly and participating in quite a few of the group activities. Of course, he LOVED the bubbles at the end!Yay for a fun start to our Summer...see you next week...Noonie, the littles and I are Sea World bound for our annual Mother-Daughter-Grands trip!

follow the yellow brick road...

Saturday afternoon, Grace & I got away for a little mum & me time. We started off with a Wizard of Oz Tea Party, where they served the sweetest little treats...Tin Man Sandwiches, Flying Monkey Fruit Kabobs, Toto's Treats, Glenda's Magic Wands, and Melted Witch's Brew.They had cute little frames for the kids to get the characters' autographs...Grace wasn't too sure about any of them...that is, until Dorothy and Toto came out. Then she couldn't wait to go talk to them! She even told me she wanted to be Dorothy for Halloween :) Say cheeeese!Some of her school friends were there which made it even more fun...Emma, Grace, Kennedy. After the tea it was showtime! My friend Ashleigh and I got lucky and were able to get seats together. Here are our girls, Ella Grace & Grace - silly gooses, HA!During intermission, they let all the kids in costumes go up on stage just for fun... Time to take a bow... My very own Dorothy ;) To finish off the afternoon, the little pumpkin & I went to her sweet friend Julia's Wizard of Oz birthday party!Julia's mom had the cutest little themed games...make your own Lollipop Guild lollie...Team up to lay your own Yellow Brick Road, and my favorite...Melt the Wicked Witch of the West (water balloons)!They all got medals of honor for their bravery - too cute!

What a day! Super fun and super tiring too - he, he. We left the house at 11:30 a.m. and let's just say that by the time we made it home after 6pm, we were BOTH ready for some down time!

Happy 5th Birthday, Julia!

Canton or Bust {2011}

Last year my dear friend Heidi and I went to Canton on a Girls Day Out...we decided to make it an annual tradition {biannual if we can swing it - HA!}. What a difference one month makes. Last year we went in early May and it wasn't too hot...this year OH MY, IT WAS HOTTTT! But that didn't stop us one bit. We were there for 12 hours shopping for treasures! I didn't buy too many big things this year, but Heidi made out with some great finds like a vintage wooden bed for her youngest Ella Kate, and some other great pieces.

Here's my loot...

My favorite...a vintage baby plate...I've seen lots of these, but never one with little chicks, usually they have nursery rhyme scenes. This one is HEAVY too! Lots of sweet, hand-embroidered tea towels... Days of the week vintage linens are very popular in Canton (and cheap too!)... Some of these are going to be used for some fun new projects coming soon... Guess who fell in love with this little ballerina elf when she saw it??? :) Love it when I can find some boyish looking ones... I couldn't pass up picking up a couple of these mason jars. The aqua blue ones are always my favorite! The vendor that sold me the one with the narrower top said that it was one of the earliest styles, called a "strong shoulder" mason jar. Love that one! Canton has several pavillions that sell newer items too. I found this fun belt there... The little pumpkin just had to try it on when I got home. Here she is striking what she called a "cool cowgirl pose" and winking at the same time...he, he, he. Yay for a fun day full of girl talk and shopping for treasures! Thank you Noonie for keeping the littles!! Owe you BIG! :)

on teamwork and siblings...

THINKS: Hmmmm...I bet I can convince my brother to pull me around.
SAYS: Hudson! I have a super fun game we can do. Wanna play with me?GRACE: Yippee!!!
HUDSON: I'm missing my favorite cartoon...not so sure about this. HUDSON: Man, this is hard work. This is NOT what I signed up for! I don't know how you women multitask. :) HUDSON: Fine. Let ME have a turn!
GRACE: Okaaaay...but Hudson...it's more fun to PULL than to RIDE. I promise. HUDSON: I'll show you what I think about all that...
GRACE: Hey!!!He he he...never a dull moment around here!

Hope your summer is off to a great start!