Fall Picture Day

Fall picture day at school is my one time each year to gauge the kids as they grow from year to year. I try to make sure the kids are dressed nice, hair fixed, and I make sure to choose the same traditional blue portrait background for the Lifetouch photos. It's so fun to see how the kids change from year to year.

Of course, I don't have any control on their actual smile when they pose for the photographer, but at least when they leave the house, they appear photo-ready.

Fall picture day.

Did I say photo-ready? Who am I kidding? It never fails, picture day falls on a warm and muggy south Texas day. Even when we use the car line for school drop off, a head of hair can only tolerate so much humidity. Both kids, despite an arsenal of products, end up with a flat and frizzy mane for their annual photo.

Front porch pic of my 1st grader.

Kaitlynn insisted that we include Anna in her matching dress. It was Anna's picture day, too!

As much as Connor fights it, this is one of the few times throughout the year that I make him wear a collared shirt. You'd think I was making him do manual labor or something. He just has it in his head that a collared shirt, even an athletic one, is pure torture.

Front porch pic of my 4th grader.

Picture Day wasn't a total loss despite the flat and frizzy hairdos. Their sweet smiles totally overcame the state of their hair fail. Of course, each year when I see these official portraits, I tend to feel overwhelmed with emotion. My babies look like such big kids!!




Connor's 4th grade portrait

Father Daughter Dance

At the start of the new school year, I always take some time to sit down with the school and PTA calendars to make sure all of the events and activities are on my own calendar. As I was entering the fall dates, I noticed an EXCITING activity that our PTA was hosting for the very first time: a Father Daughter Dance!

It's no secret what a special bond Kaitlynn has with her Daddy. They were both beyond excited about the chance to have such a special date together! They began discussing and planning their night weeks in advance. Many of the conversations led to sweet little notes that Kaitlynn would leave around the house for her Sweet Daddy.

One of Kaitlynn's special notes to Jeff she wrote in her journal.

As the date for the Father Daughter Dance arrived, I realized we needed to pick out a special dress for Kaitlynn to wear. I left work early one day to shop the Dillard's dress section (the BEST place for special occasion girls dresses!), but there were so many beautiful options that I just couldn't decide. So I did what any reasonable mother would do: I bought them all! Ha! I purchased the ones that were my favorites and brought them home for Kaitlynn to try on. I felt like her personal stylist and shopper. Just like me, she was overwhelmed with the choices.

Kaitlynn loved them all. How would we decide??

We conducted a little fashion show in my bedroom as Kaitlynn tried on all of the dress options. It was a difficult decision, but she picked her favorite all by herself. I think she made an excellent choice, and we made sure to find some shoes and accessories to match.

In the meantime, I began hearing whispers and talk from some of the other PTA moms about what a big night they were planning for the Dads and daughters. One of our amazing neighbors was spearheading the event, and she was going ALL OUT. The decorations, menu, activities, dance selections, and all of the special touches going into this dance sounded like such a dream. The other moms and I were so excited for our daughters; it was going to be such a special night!!

Finally, the day had arrived. Kaitlynn couldn't wait to get herself ready! I had agreed to let her wear a touch of makeup, so I applied some blush and mascara to my girl as she waited in anticipation of her night with Daddy. The weather was a bit humid for the October night, so we decided to keep her hair with natural curls and just fluff it up a bit with a flower bow. Then, she stepped into her dress, strapped on her shoes, and just like that... my beautiful baby girl was transformed into a dazzling princess for her special date with her very own Prince Charming.

Kaitlynn's look for the Father Daughter Dance.

She was perfection, head to toe!

The "I love my Sweet Daddy" pose!




Look at that face. She was SO excited!!

After our impromptu photo session, it was finally time for Jeff to pick up his date for the dance. Kaitlynn and Jeff had gotten ready on their own and hadn't seen each other yet so that it would feel like a real date. Jeff had cleaned out his truck and made his own preparations to make sure Kaitlynn felt special. He walked to the front door, rang the doorbell, and waited for her to answer. And boy, was it special!

Jeff presented Kaitlynn with a rose corsage. Look at her face!!

Those two, oh my! It was so heartwarming to see Kaitlynn's excitement when her Daddy arrived for their date. Jeff was overwhelmed at how gorgeous his baby girl looked, and both were filled with anticipation at their special night ahead. Of course, I didn't allow them to leave until I had a chance to take their pre-date pics.



My favorite of the night. Sweet Daddy and his beautiful baby girl. In many ways, SHE is the girl of his dreams.

Front porch pic of the sweet couple.

Finally, it was time to head out on their date. They were both excited and couldn't wait to see what the night had in store for them. It turned out far better than they could have imagined! The gym had been transformed into a magical place, with Pinterest-worthy decorations, tables laden with snacks and desserts, a professional photographer and DJ, and the hit of the night, a candy buffet with jar after jar of sugary treats. What more could an elementary-aged girl wish for? It was the night of Kaitlynn's dreams, and I'm not sure ANY of her future dates will live up to this one!

Time to drive to the dance.

Father Daughter dance pic.

Selfie with her corsage and a ring pop.

Dancing the night away, barefoot!

Her very first dance with the perfect partner.

Kaitlynn with some of her classmates at the dance.

The Father Daughter Dance was a fairy tale experience for Kaitlynn. She felt like Cinderella at the ball, and her date with Prince Charming will be a night to remember for us all.

Father Daughter Dance 2015

 

10th Anniversary Surprise!

In October, my parents visited us in Katy to see Connor and Kaitlynn at one of their fall football/cheer games. They usually visit once per season, so it was nothing out of the ordinary for them to make the trip. Each time they visit, we make sure to visit our favorite restaurant, Lupe Tortilla, for the awesome beef fajitas. But on this occasion, we ended up celebrating another surprise. Jeff pulled out some paperwork and said, "Surprise! We're going to Atlanta tomorrow to visit your brother and to see the Texans play!"

As it turns out, Jeff had been collaborating with my parents for several months to coordinate a surprise anniversary trip! He managed to book the flights, purchase the game tickets, and plan for a visit with my brother and his wife Charlotte -- all without me having a clue about the entire thing! I think I was so caught off guard that my reaction to the surprise trip wasn't exactly what Jeff was hoping for. Let's be honest, planning a trip for a PLANNER can't be easy. When he revealed his plans, all I could do was think through the thousand things I needed to take care of. But to Jeff's credit, he had already taken care of most everything. I had to wrap up some things for work and get myself packed, and then we were off on our trip to Atlanta!

At the airport heading to Atlanta. So excited to get away!

Jeff was so thoughtful to include Ben and Charlotte in on our trip. He knew I would love visiting and spending time with them, and he planned for them to attend the Texans game with us. Our beloved Houston Texans were visiting the Atlanta Falcons, and Jeff managed to get amazing front row seats for us. So awesome! We couldn't wait for the big game.

Arriving downtown for the big game.

Quick pic at CNN on the walk to the stadium.

Here's the view of the Atlanta stadium right next to where they were building the new Mercedes Benz stadium.

Jeff and I before the game outside the stadium.

Photo of Charlotte and me.

Here was the view in front of the new Atlanta stadium. Interesting foreshadowing note as our Katy Texans team is transitioning to the Falcons instead...

Ben and Jeff

My brother and I.

Finally, we made it to our seats.

 

Notice our mixed drinks. A little sneakiness never hurt anyone! ;-)

Charlotte and Ben in their seats.

We were SO excited to be at the game and in these awesome seats!

In true Texans fashion, our team was all hype. There was so much buildup for a good game against the Falcons, but the Texans played TERRIBLE. It was so bad that we were soon being heckled by the crowd, no thanks to Jeff who was quite intense on the front row. In order to blow off some steam, Jeff soon noticed the Falcons mascot and began doing some heckling himself. He started calling the mascot a chicken and making "bock bock bock!" noises at him. It didn't take long for the mascot to notice Jeff in his Texans gear.

Jeff heckling the Falcons mascot.

Well before we knew it, the Falcons mascot had heard enough of Jeff and decided to give it right back to him. That bird scaled the wall and climbed right up into the stands to have a go at Jeff! It was so funny!!

Scaling the wall!

You want a piece of this??

Giving Jeff a piece of his mind, I mean, beak!!

The crowd got quite a laugh out of the whole scene between Jeff and the chicken, I mean, Falcon! Unfortunately, our Texans continued to stink it up on the field. By halftime we were losing 42-0. It was horrible! Jeff proceeded to spiral into a funk and may or may not have said some mean things toward my beloved J.J. Watt. He ended up having to take some walks around the stadium to cool off. What can I say, we take our football seriously!

As the Falcons score continued to climb, the mascot came back to look for Jeff.

He was REALLY rubbing it in (riding the Texans bull!)

That may have gone down as one of the Texans' worst losses of all time. Not exactly how Jeff had hoped it would go. The night didn't end so well but in the morning it was a new day and we were ready to have some fun with Ben in Atlanta.

We enjoyed a nice breakfast and then rode the Atlanta metro train to see some of the city. We ended up downtown, walked around a bit, and then visited the World of Coke museum for a fun tour and yummy samples of my favorite beverage!

Riding the train.

In one of the train stations, this was the longest escalator I'd ever seen!

World of Coke with my brother.

In the lobby before the tour.

The vault where the recipe of Coke is stored. Shhh, it's a secret!

We really enjoyed the 4-dimensional show during the tour.

Our trip to Atlanta was such a neat surprise and a great way to celebrate our 10th anniversary (one month early). So thankful to Jeff, Ben, and Charlotte for such a fun time!

Impromptu Girls Weekend

After exchanging a few text messages and emails, I decided to make a trip to the Dallas area for an impromptu girls weekend with Dana and Katherine. It was a last minute decision to spend some much needed time together to catch up, and we had such a fun, rejuvenating weekend!

We met on a Friday afternoon at a cute hotel in Dallas near lots of shopping and dining. We made a first stop for some drinks and stopped at a few shops before grabbing a nice dinner.

Friday night dinner with the girls.

The next morning, we made the ever necessary stop for McDonald's diet Cokes followed by pedicures at the mall. Afterwards, we shopped and shopped all day long. We conquered the Northpark Mall and accumulated tens of thousands of steps on our FitBits, ha! For girls who claim not to be big shoppers, we sure proved ourselves wrong. It just goes to show how much more fun anything is with your besties. (We sure missed Amanda, though!) 

Diet Cokes for all!

Pedicures to start the day.

 Later that day, we set out to have dinner and drinks at Mi Cocina. I've been hearing about this place and the legendary margaritas for a while now, so I couldn't wait to try it. The strawberry frozen margarita was so yummy, and we all discovered that 2 drinks will be our limit from now on! Ha!

Cheers to awesome friends and yummy margaritas!

Our spot on the patio. We stayed quite a while!

While enjoying our drinks, I was coerced (haha) into posting about our Mi Cocina adventures on FaceBook. We had way too much fun with our hashtags!

Empty glasses!!

The silly faces may or may not have something to do with those empty glasses...

Love this one of Dana during our post-dinner stroll.

So thankful for lifelong friends and girls getaways!