MOM'S DAY

The bouquet of flowers the kiddos and Alan got me for Mom's day at the Farmers Market

Yes WE are adorable !!!

To celebrate Mother's Day, Alan took me out on a date Friday night. We went to a great Thai place and then to Comedy Sportz and then to the tea garden for some bubble tea. (YUM !) I would definitely recommend Comedy Sportz to anyone who has one in their area. It is a group of people who do improv. They keep the language and content clean and are hilarious. I really enjoyed it and am grateful for a comedy club that keep things PG rated. Then this morning we went to the farmers market for flowers and Brats. We also picked up some locally grown asparagus and corn.(Super YUMMY !!) I told Alan it feels like celebrating mother's day is like my "bonus" for hanging out with my two favorite kiddos all day long.

Camping Trip

Here are some pictures from our camping trip. We went to William O'Brien State Park near Stillwater, Minnesota. We had great camping weather until Sunday morning when it got a little cold and rainy. But on Saturday we were able to take a good decently long bike ride. Ru LOVED camping and Isaiah tolerated it. He did do a good job sleeping which was the most important thing.

Ru and Lucy went hunting for ladybugs and came back with worms. Oh well at they didn't eat them.

Ru enjoying her roasted marshmellows. She triple stacked it !!

Alan and Isaiah hanging out by the fire.

Our new four person tent and while it is the biggest tent we have ever had it only weighs a mere 5lbs. Right Alan ?

PIzza Cutter

My new pizza cutter from Alan. What more could a girl want ?!?!

Easter pictures

It is the best shot I could get. He is struttin' his stuff. His tie is so cute !!! He is my little man.

Ru being beautiful !! I love the dress. My favorite. My mom and I searched high and low for this dress and she drove all over finding Ru's size. We both agreed that if "some other occasion" came up this would work out perfectly.

Ok so there is something that will make him smile. Candy !!

I had to get in another picture of Ru. She did such a great job. She calls this dress her "pretty dress".

Easter Pictures-The out takes !!

Isaiah drinking his chocolate milk

What happens when you take chocolate milk away to try and get a "good" Easter picture

Isaiah not wanting sister to hold his hand.

That is it !! HE wants his MOMMA and Ru is sick of all this picture taking !!

Easter pictures coming soon !!

Hi everyone !!

So I left the thingy majig at my parents that loads the pictures from my camera to the computer. So when I get that in the mail I will upload pics of the kiddos. They looked very cute :)

Ru likes to share and Isaiah likes to recieve !!

So this morning I was rushing to get to Target and gave my son Isaiah a granola bar for breakfast (I know I know throw me under a bus!!) Anyways, Ru wanted one as well but I didn't have another one so I told her I would buy some and give her one after we got done grocery shopping at Target ( it was a quick trip) So afterwards, I gave Ru her granola bar and knew Isaiah would want another one but refused to cave in. I mean really how many granola bars does a pint sized boy need!! So Ru is eating and Isaiah is wailing MI MI MI and grabbing at Ru's food. Very normal for Isaiah to do. In fact, at church he tried to grab a cookie from a complete stranger. And not a kid stranger a grown-up stranger. Anyways I digress. So, Ru after only eating half of her granola bar, hands the rest of it to Isaiah and tells him he can have it. Isn't that so sweet. I mean she could literally eat 2 or 3 herself. Little moments like that give me such a huge glimpse into the person the Lord is going to grow her up to be.

Restitution

I gotta story for ya. So a couple of friends and I decided to do this competition through the YWCA called Meltdown Madness. We get points for tracking what we eat, exercising during the week and then get points for how much fat we lose and points for how much muscle we gain. Anyways, so I have been doing this for a week and I weighed myself today. Here is the following conversation with my husband.

Rachel- Hey, I don't know if it was just the fact that I weighed myself in the morning and not in the afternoon like I did last week but I lost 2.5 pounds. Is that ok?

Dumb response #1 from Alan-(knowing Rachel is concerned about losing too much too fast) I bet it was just water weight.

Rachel- umm 2.5 pounds. I doubt it. Maybe some though.

Dumb response #2 from Alan- I think it is ok. The people on the Biggest Loser lose way more than that in a week and they are fine.

Rachel- umm thanks for comparing me to a 400 pound person. One of them is more than two of me !!! GRRRR

Dumb response #3 from Alan- YOU aren't going to be like THAT are you??

Rachel-You better stop talking before I push you into the grave you just dug yourself !!! ( I didn't say that but if I had thought about it I would have !!!) ( Then I gave my 2.5 pound less body a big hug and pat on the back) ( I didn't do this either but I would have if I had thought about it as well!!)

So before you think I am just bashing on my husband, he has read it and has approved of the legitimacy of the conversation-well at least for the most part :) Anyways, I started thinking about that whole conversation. When we were first married a conversation like that would have left him on the couch for the night !! But everyone who knows Alan knows that he is a very sweet and usually very sensitive person. And he also usually thinks before he speaks way more often than I do. I came away from that conversation not upset or mad or feeling down. I actually thought it was pretty stinkin' hilarious. What I was reminded of was that I feel super loved and taken care of by Alan. I also know he finds me beautiful and tells me that all the time !! And THAT is a great place for me to be. It might have taken the first couple of years of marriage to get there. But we are there and it is nice to realize it.

Fifth and Sixth Stop: The Lee's and the Cole's

Brian, Steph, teeny tiny baby lee (in utero !!) and big sister Jada !! Why did I not take more pictures of our visit ??

After visiting the Lee's, we headed for Steph and David Cole's house. Before bed Elli, Toby and Ru decided they wanted to watch a video. So cute !!


Elli and her mommy Stephanie.

Well, I had to get in a picture with Steph and I was not about to ask Toby or Ru to take it !!

Fourth Stop: Tia Amanda's House

My beautiful friend Amanda !!!

At the Children's museum in Colleg Station. Isaiah, Amanda's son Ephraim and Ru. Notice the change in Ru's hair. Amanda did such a great job with her pig tails !!

Amanda's daughter Naphtali and Ru painting.

This is my favorite picture. I love it !!

Third stop Continued

Ru and cousin Samuel

From Left to Right- Great Uncle Frank, Great Uncle Gene, Gram, Uncle Brian and Great Woofie.

Great Aunt Lisa, Woofie and cousin Samuel

This is the view from Gram and Grandad's back porch. SO beautiful !!

Third Stop: Gram and Grandad

The kiddos with their Great Woofie

Isaiah telling Aunt Natalie not to steal his cookie !!

Gram and Isaiah.

Grandad and Ru.

Second Stop: Grandpa Dub and Grandma B

Grandpa Dub dressing up at the Mayborn Museum in Waco.

Isaiah dressing up as well !!

Ru playing in the police car. This was her favorite.

Grandma B and Ru driving to school !!

First stop in Texas: Visiting Nana and Papaw

Ru and Papaw trying to fly a Dora Kite

Nana pushing the kiddos in a Barbie Jeep !!

What can I say? He likes talking on the phone !!

Papaw and Ru playing with bubbles. She used the whole bottle up in one day.