Saturday fun

It has been a while since I last blogged. I came down with what I am fairly sure was the flu. I can't ever remember feeling quite that sick. Fortunately, Bret was around to help a lot, and I managed to not give it to the girls. They had a flu shot which I am sure helped. After being sick for ten days, the girls were ready for some fun! We had a great weekend. My sister Lizzy is getting married in August. Her fiance, David, has a sister and two nieces. On Saturday, we got to meet them for the first time. It took the girls a little while to warm up, but they were best friends by the end of the play date. I had to leave early with Shelby who ended up having a bad ear infection, but my sister stayed with Abby and Macey. These pictures were taken by David after Shelby and I left. Aren't little girls the best!!!

Wedding Dresses

This past weekend, I went to Dallas with my mom and sister, Lizzy, to shop for wedding dresses. Lizzy is getting married in August. My other sister, Jenny, lives in Dallas so we were able to stay with her. It was such a wonderful weekend. I immensely enjoyed the alone time I got to spend with my mom, sisters and Chelsea who is a honorary sister and Lizzy's BFF. It was so amazing to watch Lizzy try on wedding dresses. I am so grateful that I got to be a part of it! Lizzy is gorgeous already, and in those dresses she was stunning. When she finally found "the one", she started crying. It was so sweet. Obviously, there will be no wedding dress photos on here (at least not until after the wedding), but I did take a hundred. One of the best parts of the trip was coming home to my three girls and having them jump into my arms. I missed them so much.

Vacation photos

Here are some more photos from our vacation. We had such a good time, and it was such a great bonding week for the family. Shelby made it a little hard being the age she is. If you have met Shelby then you probably understand! She decided that she wasn't going to sleep in the hotel room, and she didn't fall asleep until midnight the first two nights we were there. The third night, she went to sleep at 5:30. We did everything we could to try and wake her up, but it wasn't going to happen. To my surprise, she slept through the night. There were also random crying spells to deal with too. The older two were great! It is so much easier the older they get. I am looking forward to the next vacation when Shelby is a little older.

Bret is such a good daddy! He climbed all the way up the net to rescue the girls.

The most exciting part of the trip for Abby was finding out she was tall enough for most of the roller coasters. I was very nervous about her going on them, but she loved it! This is before she got on her very first one.

This is Macey checking out the roller coaster. She wasn't quite tall enough, and I think she was secretly glad.

Feeding the Sea Lions was very exciting! The first picture is Shelby checking out the plate of fish Bret just bought.

The little girls LOVED the sea lion show.

The day we went to Sea World was so cold, and I forgot to pack the girls coats. We had to layer shirts and sweaters.

Feeding the birds was really neat. Shelby has loved birds since she was an infant. The older two got a little nervous when the birds actually landed on them but not Shelby.

Daddy the bird whisperer.

Look at that hair!

We ate at our first Rain Forest Cafe. Bret wasn't inpressed, but the girls and I loved it!

Are you sure that thing isn't alive?

Before going to Six Flags, Bret took his girls shopping at the Bass Pro Shop. He felt they needed some pink camo in their wardrobe.

We had a blast at Six Flags too. I didn't get as many pictures because we were on so many rides. It was open only from 4-10, and we were there almost that entire time. All the Christmas lights were beautiful! Bret and Abby rode a ton of roller coasters while Macey, Shelby and I went on all the little rides and enjoyed the Christmas lights. There was one area where the Christmas lights flashed with music. The little girls LOVED this. They dance under the flashing lights for about an hour.

What amusement park experience would be complete without a cotton candy disaster. You would think that Abby knew this was all over her face, but she did not!

American Girl

All three girls got an American Girl doll from my mom for Christmas. They love them! I have Shelby's put up and only let her play with it when she is supervised, but Abby and Macey can't put theirs down. Abby especially loves reading the books about her doll. Its a great way to teach her about other times. For her birthday, she got matching pajamas for her doll and herself. She was so excited about matching with Samantha (her doll), and she wanted Nani to see her.

Abby's birthday and day one of our vacation

I can't believe that I am now a mom to a seven year old! It's funny how much faster time seems to go by as you get older. I still feel like she should be the five pound baby we brought home from the hospital. We have been so blessed by Abby. She surprised us three weeks early and has been keeping us on our toes ever since! She is quiet (except when she is at home), thoughtful and smart. Most importantly, since Abby was very little, she has wanted to know all about God. She has an intense desire to understand and serve the Lord. We are so proud of her!

Abby turned seven on Dec. 27 which was our first full day in San Antonio. She got to have breakfast with Alyssa and Ava, some good friends from Houston. She had not seen them since the move. More importantly, I got to see Alyssa and Ava's mommy. :)After breakfast, we went to Build a Bear and did some shopping. She then got to see an IMAX movie with her daddy while the other two napped. That night, we had dinner with some other friends of ours from Houston, Mike and Shae, and we got to meet baby Aubrey. It was a very special birthday!

Macey and Shelby couldn't wait to give Abby her presents. They threw them at her the moment she woke up.

We had such a great time at breakfast. Abby and Macey loved seeing their old friends.

Dinner was wonderful, and Abby got the chocolate cake with chocolate frosting she had requested. Isn't Aubrey the cutest baby!!!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day pictures

Here are some pictures of our Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I am still working on all the others!

Santa brought us lots of baby dolls and nursery sets!

Shelby loved her beauty shop!!!!

The whole family chipped in and surprised my dad with a new quad on Christmas morning. He was very surprised! Hopefully he will enjoy it.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family. We have had a fun and busy couple of days. Yesterday we got to visit with some friends we have not seen in a long time, Monica and Alan, and we got to meet baby Simon who is so adorable.

Christmas Eve night, we went to a candlelight service at church and then to my parents for dinner and family presents. The girls went to bed late, and Bret and I went to bed really late! It is amazing how long it takes to put together Santa's toys! I think almost every year, Bret and I are up until at least one in the morning, but it is all worth it the next morning when you see those delighted faces. The girls, of course, didn't make it past 6:30 before they had us up.

Today was another busy day. We had the whole family over to our house for breakfast, and then went to my parents house for a late lunch. Now I am finishing laundry and packing for our trip to San Antonio tomorrow.

Here is our Christmas card picture. A few people never got our card so let me know if you were one of them and I will send you another one. I have plenty more pictures to share, but my photoshop isn't working. As soon as I get it back up, I will post the pictures from Christmas and from our trip.