Memorial Day

Chris and I did absolutely nothing for the holiday, so today I called my mom up to see what she was up to.  Usually if she's not busy with something else, she will come out to Granbury to see us and thankfully that was the case today!  She showed up around 3 o'clock, we got out swimsuits on and trekked out to Lake Granbury to "the beach".  I think they built it either last year or the year before and we've never been, so I was excited to finally go.

As always, Macie wanted nothing to do with me and only wanted to hang out with Nana.  All I got was silly looks and the "really, mom?" look. 

And of course she would stop for two seconds for me to take her picture.  Busy, Busy 3-year-old!

Then we finally got home and she would take a picture with me.

We had so much fun with my mom, and it was all free {besides the gas my loving Momma spent}.  I can't wait to go back with the whole crew {Hannah and Noah included}.

Memories

As a lot of you may know, my Grandma Barbara passed away almost 2 months ago.  It was sudden, and for that I'm thankful that she didn't have to suffer through any illness, but it is hard because I never got to tell her goodbye.  I have so many memories that I will cherish forever, but it breaks my heart that Macie will only have the few memories made the past three years.  I hope she remembers her Granny B forever.  

One thing about this sweet lady is that she loved her grandbabies!  She didn't get to see them often, but would ooohhh and ahhhhh over them every chance she got.

My mom has a few pictures of me with Grandma Barbara that I will have to get copies of, so I only have one.  This whole sad experience really makes me appreciate my camera a whole lot more.  You take every minute for granted with your loved ones and when they're gone, you want pictures to remember.  I can't believe I only own one picture with her, but I will always love it!

 

This weekend, we went to her house to go through things before my dad and my uncles and aunt hold an estate sale.  I am so thankful to have received a few things to remember her by.  

I was lucky enough to bring home with me a mink collared wool coat that was my great grandmother's (known as Big Momma).  I never got to meet her, but I hear stories and it's an honor to have something so precious.

Macie picked out a cute little gold cocktail purse.

Something I really need, a marble cheeseball platter. :)

I loved these glasses when I was a little girl, and now I have them.  I almost cried and still get choked up when I look at them.

So many wonderful memories of my Grandma Barbara.  I will never forget this sweet lady and all of the laughs through the years.

I love you forever!

Park Day!

There's not a lot going on with us lately and it's been so relaxing! 

Lately, we've been trying to save money wherever we can so Macie and I have had lots of park visits.  Today, we set out to find the ducks with our out-of-date bread.  I know of one spot that the ducks hang out, but when we got there the business had signs up that said either customer parking or no parking {UGH}--later I talked to Chris and he said I should have gone in a bought a drink, but look at me Ms. Nothinker.  Anyway, we left to find somewhere else.  No luck, but we did visit two different parks {one of which I thought we might access the ducks from, but nope}.

The good thing about a 3-year-old is that anywhere you visit besides home is really awesome, especially when you go to two different parks!

 
Whenever we got home, Macie {of course} asked to paint.  I told her that we could as long as she would have a funny photo session with me.  She said okay--so easy to negotiate with {most of the time}. 

And Tex wanted some love too!

I think we knocked out our outdoor activities just in time because it looks like the rain is rolling in {at least I hope!}.

Sometimes the clouds can look so wicked, but they are super neat looking!

Well, Macie and I are going to lounge for a while, then think of something to cook for dinner.  I got a call from the husband about an hour ago and he asked me what I'm cooking for supper {I told him I hadn't even thought about that}.  Too bad I forgot that I was going to make smothered pork chops in the slow cooker.  I don't think they will taste that great cooking for only 2-3 hours--tomorrow, I guess.  I'm sure I will pull something out of the woodwork.  

  

With all of this time on my hands....

I have a ton of time to post!

I finally have internet again, so I will be posting as much as possible now! :)

I am enjoying my break a TON!  I get quality time with Macie {without having to worry about getting homework/projects done}, I've started to redecorate the house a little {let's just say spray paint is my new best friend :)}, and our house is A LOT cleaner.  I need to start taking pictures of my before and afters around the house, I guess.  There's a lot that can be done to make a dramatic difference while only spending a few dollars.  A few things that I have done are: 

spray painted two side tables--one in the living room and one in our bedroom--spray painted a clock in the living room, sanded and distressed a table that my Grandad made {many moons ago}, and I hung a couple of small shelves {that I have had for months and haven't had time to measure and hang}.

The list goes on, but I think I have accomplished a lot!

Each morning after Macie and I wake up, we get a little bite to eat then head outside.  I've made it my goal to drastically cut our TV time for the time being.  My reasoning is because the other day, Macie threw a huge fit because the show she wanted to watch wasn't on TV and there was nothing I could do.  I just turned the TV off and she went to her room to play--simple as that.  I hate that I let her get to "addicted", but it's so easy to turn on the tube while I'm trying to get things done {homework & housework}. 


Anyway, we're changing that!  More vitamin D for us--pool time, craft time, and just time to run around. 

Craft Time

Running Around (in our jammies)!

Pool Time!

Needless to say, we are having a lot of fun!  

Chris took the day off today, so we're just hanging out.  He mowed this morning and Macie and I removed the awful border in the master bath.  It ended up being a ton easier than I thought it was going to be.  I looked up instructions on ehow.com and all it said to start out doing is wetting the paper with warm water.  I was so lucky that worked because I would have been stuck with an even nastier looking bathroom!  

 {I'll post the after after whenever I finally paint}

We're having a busy, productive day and I like it! 

What a lovely day.

Early today, I ran to Ft. Worth to make a Hobby Lobby run. I needed some fabric to do a "project"--I have lots of projects on the list for my summer break! While I was there, Macie and I picked out some paints and crafts to occupy our mommy-daughter time. As soon as we got home, we started the fun stuff.
First, Macie had to give Tex a bone, then she played on the swing set for a while, followed by a short drive in her Barbie Jeep. Fun fun, but that wasn't the end of it...oh no.
We broke out the paints, foam letters, and card stock (to make pictures for everyone). I made Macie paint her foot so I could get her print for my keepsake. I LOVE it! As a matter of fact, I am probably going to frame it for the time being. :) She painted a picture for her Nana, Lolli, Hannah, Noah, and Tex (the dog).
So, right now she is busy sliding and swinging and I decided to take this time to write a new blog. I'm just sittig here listening to old '80s country music and relaxing in this near perfect weather. I just love the outdoors!
I am so blessed to have this day with my little special girl. Words cannot describe how thankful I am. So sappy, I know!
Enough with the sap, and onto the good stuff--pictures! Here's our afternoon wrapped into a few pics:

It's always nice to get outta town...

First of all, I apologize for any typos--our Internet is still out of order and we're STILL waiting on our service call...UGH! I do have a mobile option, so here it goes:

Sometimes the smallest trips can make the week. This morning, we got up and did a few things around the house, then got ready and headed out to Paradise for Brittan's birthday party (Chris' friend Bubba's daughter). We had a great time over there--Macie got to play with her buddies, Lilly and Brittan, and Chris and I got to spend time with our friends. A win win! I wish we could have spent more time over there, but we went over to my in-law's for a little visit too.

Going to the Pikes' is always like a trip to imagination land for Macie and I love watching her play! First, she always has to go check on the chickens. She and her Lolli stayed out there for a while and Chris and I stayed inside visiting with his brother, Matt.

The Berry Fairies visit every time Macie is at Lolli and PopPop's and they didn't skip today. Macie pick a bucket full!

She was pretty excited :)

Then we found some very hungry caterpillars--they ate a while dill bush and were working on another. One looked like it might have been in a food coma.

It was a really fun day!

We still have one day left of the weekend and no plans. I have no clue what we're going to do but I know I plan on sleeping great tonight. We stopped on the way home to grab some Melatonin (that mother-in-law suggested to aid in sleeping well). I took the stuff about half an hour ago, so I hope it works!!

Here's to a weekend full of smiles and great sleep!

With the mobile feature, the pictures won't post within the text so here are all of the pictures from our weekend:

 

Testing My Mobile Feature!

My Internet is currently out of order, so I'm testing out my mobile blogging feature!

This is a picture of a rose from my Granma's house. I snapped this pic on Easter Sunday. :)