What Happens When Grandma Visits....

Dallas Arboretum in the Fall!!!

One of my favorite places during my favorite time of the year. Amazing. The Dallas Arboretum has a pumpkin village with 3 houses made of pumpkins, hay bale maze, and of course pumpkins everywhere. It truly is delightful. All the children running around happy, moms trying to get "the" picture of their kids, a plentiful setting of orange pumpkins, am I painting the picture accurately?

 We love pumpkins!

 My sweet babies. Yes, Gabe liked the hay too.

 The best I could get of these two goof balls...

 Happy first trip to the pumpkin patch Gabe!

Gabe's Buddy...

Every kid has their special stuffed animal. Emory got a bunny at a friend's build a bear birthday party and slept with it from that night on. The day of the fire we realized that she would not have it that night and the thought of her being with out it was awful. Our sweet friends Mark and Sarah asked what they could do to help, and off they went to get her a smoke free bunny.

Gabe likes the bunny. It becomes an issue when he tries to get it, and one of them ends up crying. So I got Gabe his own special stuffed animal. Polar Bear. He chuckles when he sees it, so I guess we will take that as he approves.

Fall is here!

It's not really Fall in the Dess house until you have made your first batch of pumpkin cookies! Check that off our list. Emory and I decided to make cookies one night and we both had a great time. And they were also delicious, an added bonus.

Tongue out for more concentration...

 The finished product. I don't know if you can tell which ones Emory decorated and which ones I did. Lets call it a talented 2 year old decorator and an average 30 year old decorator.

 Emory fell and hit her little lip on a railing. She had a fat lip for a day and then just her little scar. All better now!

 What do you do after an evening of cookie decorating/eating? Hug your bro.

10+10+10= 30!!!

It was my 30th birthday on Sunday, 10/10/10. Soon after the fire I started thinking if we were back in the house, how much fun it would be to have a 30th birthday party/housewarming party. But we were not in the house, and we did not have a party. But I did have a nice day with the family and Grant and I went out to buy our washer and dryer (woo hoo) and out to dinner, with out the kids.

Last week I was thinking about turning 30 and I thought, I am closer to being 40 than being a teenager. That is a strange thought. I can remember my parents turning 40 and thinking about how "old" that seemed. Not so much anymore! Mom of two and a 30 year old, ok. I can handle it.

Here is a blast from the past. This picture is from Christmas 2005. Just a young 25 year old.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

Today was Grant's birthday and we had a great day. Emory painted Grant a picture and made hand prints and we turned her hand prints into a birthday hat. Once again she is obsessed with birthdays. At school and they must do a birthday hat and get purple bears because she talks about it and we have no idea where it came from.

Grant wanted to go to breakfast and drink some coffee, so out we went. What a difference in birthday breakfast from before children! Emory spilled her orange juice and Gabe literally grabbed my french toast and pulled it across the table. But we ate yummy food and of course Grant got his coffee. After that he just got the relax and the rest of us took naps. Still recovering from being sick!

Happy birthday Grant. I hope you enjoyed your day. We love you.

Park Weather...

I took the kids to a park by our house the other morning. It was beautiful, and we had the whole park to ourselves. I love the thought of our kids playing together and swinging together. This was Gabe's first time to swing at the park!

 I think he liked it!

 Emory is always a fan of swinging. She had to bring "her" purse to the park, which used to be my purse. So it begins!

 Gabe nearly fell asleep in the swing!

 Emory is slightly obsessed with birthdays. She found this hat in the back of my car from a recent birthday party we went to. She also tries to put things on Gabe's head and sings happy birthday to him, so sweet.