77.

Sometimes it's hard to discipline your child when all you want to do is laugh at them.

Evie's latests:

-Growling at me when she's mad.

-Interrupting me with, "Bye bye mama." When she is sick of listening to me or doesn't like what I have to say.

76.

How did she get so dang cute?

Is she really mine?

...two questions I still ask myself daily.

Man, I love this girl!

75.

7.4.11

 Day Festivities: 

Our ward had a pancake breakfast the morning of the fourth, followed by a bike parade for the children. I caught wind of the parade the day before at church so I threw together Evie's trike decorations Sunday night with stuff I had on hand. We were both pretty pleased with the turn out. My favorite part was the denim pendants I made from old jean scraps...and those straggling cans. I love it when light bulbs go off in my head;)

Night Festivities:

That evening, Boyd got off of work early and we went out to Kemah where we had dinner with our selling family at T Bone Toms (featured on Diners Drive-Inns & Dives...One of my favorite shows). It was pretty good. Fun atmosphere. Best sausage I've had and that's saying a lot cuz I rarely eat sausage! After dinner we walked over to the Kemah boardwalk to watch the fireworks. We intended on riding a few rides but after how crowded it was, we not only didn't do that, but nearly walked away without seeing fireworks due to a big building obstructing our view. On our way back to the car, we luckily landed a spot with a great view of the fireworks and it was a great ending to our night. I love making memories in this big state with my little family. Evie is at such a fun age to be doing these kinds of things. She loved the fireworks...almost as much as she loved that cotton candy!

I'm blessed to live in this land of the free!

74.

We had a lovely Father's Day this year. Boyd deserves everything this day is celebrated for. He's truly an amazing father. Sweet, hard working, patient and fun. Evelyn is one lucky girl! And she knows it. She loves her dada very much. (She even blesses him in her prayers...all on her own.)

Oh, and I had to include a picture of our Father's Day meal because Boyd described the day as "Mmm, mmm,  mmm, yummy!"

73.

Evie & Jaycee

Happy Anna

Berkley & Anna

Evie & Cooper

This weekend we made a little day trip to the beach in Gavelston. It's about a 45 min. drive from Houston. It was such a nice treat. Evie LOVED it. (Ps. Doesn't she look so grown up in these pictures?) We will definitely be going back. 

72.

 

 

Today we met Sister Mandi and kids at The Woodlands Waterway District. She was telling me about her amazing experience there earlier this week and I was so excited to check it out. 

We grabbed lunch at the Hubbell & Hudson Market and checked out all the fun goodies they had. We went on and on strolling and talking about how we loved the market and how good it felt to be in there and how we wished it could be our regular place of shopping.

We took our lunch down to the splash pad just a few steps away and had a picnic while watching the kids play in the water. Our sandwiches were phenomenal. I chose the chicken goat cheese sandwich with carmelized onions, roasted red peppers and walnuts, and let me tell you...that sandwich will be frequenting my dreams!

It was such a lovely time with even lovelier company.

71.

 Here's a few snippets of my place here in Houston. The apartments come furnished so it's important to me that I put in as many personal touches as I can while still being minimal.

Left: Some Anthropologie zinc letter look-alikes I made for about $7 total.

Top: An awesome thrifted cross stitch that was meant to be a gift but never got mailed out...Sorry CoCo (I'm attached now.) Plus some thrifted jars with giant safety pins and Billy Bob flowers (Thanks Angela-they're still being loved.) Plus an Ikea plant.

Bottom: A cross stitch my mom made when she was young. Plus a vintage owl, either terracotta or ceramic, that belonged to my late grandma. I think we had a lot in common. Wish I could have really known her! Plus another Ikea plant and pinch pot that holds a yarn puff instead of salt;)

  

Top: Yarn puff flowers I made and put in my two favorite jars, which were 25 cents each.

Middle: Books and some frames acting as book ends.

Bottom: A scrabble art piece I made Boyd for Valentines day one year.

Right: Ikea succulents in some pretty metal vases. (Ikea has the cheapest succulents I've been able to find- $2.99 each.)