Mommy's 39th Birthday!

Well, I was totally spoiled on my birthday!  Chris had to go out of town on my actual birthday, so we celebrated the night before with dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Cheesecake Factory.  I LOVE the spicy cashew chicken there!  On my actual birthday, we went to one of Pearce's friends' birthday parties at a glow-in-the-dark mini golf place.  It was a really fun party and Pearce loved it!  He especially loved that they had a piñata there and he actually got a chance to pull one of the strings before the bottom opened.....at another party, he was so excited about the piñata, but it got opened before he got a chance to pull a string and he was soooooo sad :(  While at the party, I got a text from Chris that said "Check your email during the day today.  You'll be getting several surprises from me, Pearcey, and Sissy.  Happy 39th!"  I was so surprised about this because I told Chris that I didn't want a birthday gift since he had just given us such a great vacation.  Also, Chris NEVER surprises me in a big way, so this was so fun!  I got $25 gift cards to Panera, Zoe's, Starbucks, Redbox, Sephora, and then my last big one was a $100 gift card to Old Navy!  Woohoo....thank you Chris, Pearcey, and Sissy!!!!!!  Thank you Mom and Daddy and Cliff and Edie for my birthday money!  Thank you Ash, Jen, and Missy for my gift cards....Mommy's got some serious shopping to do!  Lora surprised me with the cutest picture of a bulldog which seriously looks just like Otis!  I really thought she had gotten a picture painted of him, but she found it at Hobby Lobby!  I love it, thank you Lora!  Pearce got to choose my birthday treat and he chose to go to Baskin Robbins for an ice cream cone :)  All during the day, he kept singing "Happy Birthday" to me, and I just loved it!  Thank you for making my birthday special!!!

Otis!  It's hanging in the hallway by the guest room.  Chris took down the razorback picture we had there.....that means Chris really likes it, too :)

We recreated my first birthday having Pearce and now...loved that little baby tongue hanging out!

GG's Visit

GG came for a visit the day after we got back from our trip, so it was fun to look forward to her arrival!  We took it easy on Saturday....I did laundry and GG folded it for me :)  Pearce played with his souvenirs and told GG all about our trip.  I picked up Sissy from doggy day care and then noticed that she was not feeling good....bubbly snot coming out of her nose, red eyes, and just no energy.  When I picked her up, they told me "Daisy was so chill while she was here, just wanting to lay by the fan in the kitchen."  The girl said they kept checking her temp to make sure she wasn't sick, but in my mind, I was thinking this is not how she normally is.  We really liked her doggy day care because the dogs get lots of outdoor play time and spend very little time cooped up in kennels.  BUT as soon as I got her home, Chris and I could tell she was sick....which made me really mad at the people at Taurus because they had to have seen the snot and her red eyes.  We wondered how long she had been like that, so I ended up having to take her to the after hours vet and they diagnosed her with a bad upper respiratory infection.  Thankfully she is fine now, but it took a good week for her to get over it.  We've since found a new boarding place that we will use next time...very disappointed with Taurus.  Anyway, we had lots of fun with GG!  We did lots of playing and GG did lots of spoiling :)  She got him TWO Star Wars Lego sets which we put together.  We also went to the movie to see The Secret Lives of Pets!  Pearce took a little stuffed Otis with him to watch the movie :)  We love going to the Movie House Eatery because they have recliner seats which are sooo comfy....plus good food!  We all loved the movie!  We also took GG to Jumpstreet so Pearce could show her his superb jumping skills :)  Pearce is always asking to get Dippin' Dots ice cream there, and I always say no.  It was Pearce's lucky day because GG got him this ice cream treat :)  One day, we went to Phil's Icehouse, which Pearce requested.  We sat outside and watched Pearce play and then he wanted to go next door to iFly to watch the flyers.  He LOVES to do that!  I think it's even more fun for him because he's actually gotten to do it.  I got to have a couple days to myself to run errands and even got to go to a movie with friends one night, while GG stayed home with Pearce.  We had fun with you, GG!!  Thank you for coming to play!!!

Our California Adventure Part 5: Last day of sighseeing

We booked late flights out on our last day so that we could have a few hours of sightseeing around San Diego.  The guys wanted to go see the Chargers Stadium, so we did that and then drove around the cute beach neighborhoods and fantasized about renting a beach house :)  We parked at the Coronado Hotel and explored it and the beach and then just walked around the little town a bit and ate lunch.  We dropped Ashley and Wayne off at the airport and Pearce had to say goodbye to Nay Nay and Charlotte :(  Pearce was sad to say bye, as always, but I think he was ok because he knew he was going to see them in another week when they come to our house while Ashley gets her classroom ready.  Chris and I still had several more hours before our flight left, so we surprised Pearce and took him to a little beach area and let him play in the water.  He loved it!  The water was so nice....kinda cool, but also so clear looking.  He played for a while, then saw an ice cream truck going by, so we got him a little ice cream treat.  It was a bit of a chore getting Pearce all cleaned up after playing in the ocean and eating ice cream, but I managed and soon we were headed for the airport :(  We got back to Austin around 1:00 am and Pearce was wiped out.  As soon as we got home, Daddy and Pearce went to bed, and I started a load of laundry and then passed out. We had such a great vacation, I just can't even put into words how fun it was being all together!  Thank you to the Daddies for giving us such a great trip!!!!!

Our California Aventure Part 4: San Diego Zoo

We got up bright and early, got everyone dressed, and then went downstairs to eat breakfast in the lobby.  It was nice being able to eat breakfast at our hotels.  They had a great spread for everyone to choose from.  We were all really excited for the zoo.  We had been going non-stop the whole week, so we were looking forward to a leisurely day with no lines!  The zoo is HUGE, but we were able to see it all and we never felt rushed, so it really was the best thing to end our trip on.  There were lots of baby animals which I loved to see!  My favorites were the gorilla baby (so cute!), and the nursing hippo baby (so cool to see!).  The gorilla baby was very active, running around and playing.  We could see the hippo baby really well because the front of the enclosure was all glass, so you could see underwater and the mama and baby were right there.  Then the baby started nursing!  It would stay down for a few mins and you could see milk cloud the water a bit, then it would come up for a breath and then go back down to nurse.  This lasted for a good 10 mins!  We also saw another little monkey baby where the Mama kept holding it, an orangutan baby which was sooooo cute, and a giraffe baby!  Pearce and I decided our favorite animals were the gorillas.  Pearce picked out a stuffed gorilla baby for his souvenir and named him "Harry Garry"....I have no idea where he got this name!  We really just had a great time walking around, getting snacks, and just taking our time while we were at the zoo.  We finished the day with the children's area where there was a big playscape and a petting zoo with goats.  The kids liked using the little brushes to brush the goats :)  After the zoo, we were ready for a good dinner!  We found a fun restaurant and enjoyed sitting down and eating "real" food.  The kids got to choose their own dessert and Nathan got a yummy peanut butter and fudge shake and Pearce and Charlotte got "make-your-own-sundaes"  YUM!!!!   Pearce's umbrella stroller was a lifesaver during this trip.  There's no way Pearce could've done all the walking we did....I don't see how Nathan and Charlotte did it!  What's funny is that on our last day, we were packing up the car and my stroller would not fold down all the way, no matter what I tried.  I took a closer look and saw that some mechanism on one the wheels was totally broken off and there was no way of fixing it, BUT, it must've broken when I was folding it up when we were leaving he zoo....so it broke at the best possible time, LOL!!!!  Off to the trash it went.....it sure was a great stroller, though! 

Next up:  Last day of sightseeing