I had no idea...

I really didn't.... Ten years ago I had no idea what I was getting myself into. And I mean that in a positive way. Ten years ago if you had asked me what the next ten years were going to bring, I would have been so off! I am so grateful for a husband who has been by my side the past 10 years. In those years, we've experienced, seen, and done a lot. And it's been an amazing journey so far. I'm not going to make any predictions about the next 10 years, because one thing I have learned is I am far from being in charge. Here are a few of the adventures we've had the past 10 years together:

• Both graduated from college and began our careers (Andy's still going strong with the same one and I've switched gears a bit.)
• Moved to Texas
• Purchased our first home
• Welcomed 2 beautiful, healthy girls to our family
• Moved to Amsterdam
• Traveled to Canada, Mexico, Central America, New Zealand, all over Europe, and we've also covered some of the U.S.
• Moved back to Texas

These are the biggies. There have obviously been lots of stuff in between as well. Life has been good - the ups, the downs and the in-betweens have all been doable with Andy. I am looking forward to the rest of forever with my one and only!
(Next year it won't have to be a picture of a picture... One thing I'm working on currently. And one of the many ways things have changed the past 10 years.)

Hermann Park

Andy doesn't get Good Friday off here in the U.S. And even if he did, it's not like he'd be able to take the holiday anyways, so it's all good... The girls and I decided to go for an adventure that day. And an adventure it was. Traffic was insane! Obviously a lot of people did have the day off and a lot of people had the same idea as me. I circled Hermann Park twice before settling on a parking garage. I had to pay $9, but it was better than other parking garages I walked by after parking... Anyhow, the day started off with a play, "The Princess and the Pea", at the Miller Outdoor Theater. I've recently been introduced by a friend to the free children's programs they have during the week. Andy and I went years ago to an evening performance, but I wasn't aware of the daytime ones... We went to one back in March that the girls enjoyed, so we decided to make another go of it. Rachel loved the show and Audrey enjoyed dancing:

Just in case you are wondering about the background music it was a bilingual play (Spanish/English). Kind of like Dora, they'd plug in Spanish every once in awhile. Here's Rachel enjoying the play:

After the play we were going to attempt to ride the train around Hermann Park, making a stop at the splash pad. Once again, that's didn't work out. After waiting 20 minutes and have 2 full trains pass us by, we walked. The girls enjoyed the splash pad. Our community one is currently closed due to construction, so it was fun to let the girls enjoy one. They played, in the water we had a picnic lunch, they played in the water, Audrey hurt herself, we played on the nearby playground, they played in the water some more, and then finally the girls enjoyed ice cream sandwiches. Instead of spending $9 on a train ride, we spent $5 on ice cream and the girls were happy. They had never had ice cream sandwiches before and they are definitely fans now!

It was a fun day! We headed home around 2:30 and within 5 minutes of being in the car Audrey was sound asleep. One of these days hopefully Andy can just take a random day off work and join us. I think that would be the ultimate perfect day!!!

Celebrating Easter

We celebrated Easter all week long. The week started off with a friend emailing me to see if I wanted to put together a Resurrection Eggs Kit with her. Of course I couldn't resist! I love having friends that share such wonderful ideas. A few days later I was talking to my mom and telling her about this wonderful thing I was doing with the girls each night before bed. We did a fast forward version - 2 eggs per night. My mom, ever so kindly, informed me that she did the exact same thing with me when I was little. Sorry Mom, I don't have a great memory....

On Wednesday Rachel helped me make Bunny Buns. She was in charge of providing snack for her preschool class last week. So, on Thursday we took bunny buns. Next year I am going to make them half the size, but otherwise they were fabulous! I was so proud of myself for not killing the yeast. Rachel had fun decorating the bunnies:

Friday night we dyed Easter eggs. The girls had a lot of fun! And we only had one major spill by Audrey, but she's so cute in her pigtails that it's all good...

Concentration...
Hmmm...what color do I choose?
I love the clarity of this picture. And I love Audrey in pigtails...

Saturday morning the girls and I went to the church Easter egg hunt. The sun was bright, the girls had fun, and all the chocolate they got was a melted mess... The girls looked pretty cute sporting their bunny ears and Rachel was excited to use the bunny bag that she had made at school.

Sunday morning the girls were a little bit excited about seeing what the Easter bunny left for them. Luckily the Easter bunny was smart enough to not leave much candy (we had enough from the previous day's egg hunt).

All decked out in their new stuff. We are definitely anxious for the pools to open!!! :)

We decided to grab a picture of us after church:

After church I was able to convince the girls to get into regular clothes. They wanted to wear their swimsuits.... The girls had fun looking for their eggs:

It was nice to have Uncle Craig to help the girls find their eggs. Andy was busy with the video camera and I was taking pictures. I'll just share the first video with you. The second video has a lot of drama...

The rest of the day the girls were in their swimsuits. As a matter of fact, Audrey's already needs to be washed. After a yummy Easter dinner with friends, the girls and I made Resurrection Rolls (another idea from a friend). Audrey enjoyed eating the marshmallows and Rachel enjoyed helping me. They were yummy! So definitely a new tradition in our household. Rachel's already said she wants to make another batch.

The girls took baths while the rolls baked and then they enjoyed their rolls:

Definitely a good Easter! The girls are quite disappointed that Easter is over. But like any holiday, it will come around again. Rachel was able to gain a better understanding of Easter this year. And Audrey will get there... We are so grateful for our Savior and the blessing and promise we have to live again with Him some day.

Piano Fun

A few weeks ago Audrey was sitting at the piano singing while she played. Of course she became self-conscious once she saw Andy trying to take video of her. But they are still fun videos to watch. And as you will see in the second video, Rachel had to join in on the fun (and attention)... :)

We love our boy friends...

The past 2 weeks we have had various boy friends over quite a few times, whether it was helping a friend out or just having friends over to play. On this particular day there was a boy for Rachel and a boy for Audrey (not brothers). I couldn't resist taking a picture of them when they lined up the lawn chairs so well by themselves to enjoy a snack... And I also loved how the boys are in the blue chairs and the girls in the pink. We love having friends over and it seems like recently they've been all boys!

Pirate Rachel

We do princesses pretty good in our home. So, when I noticed Rachel was supposed to dress up as a pirate this past Tuesday for school, I was stumped. But then I thought of a few friends and emailed them to see if they could help me out. Aren't friends wonderful??? Because of course they did! We borrowed various items from different friends. And Rachel was given the actual dress to keep. The girl who used to own it is 8 years old now and it doesn't fit her anymore. She was so sweet to give it to Rachel. So, now Rachel can be a pirate any day she wants... She's standing really awkward because she wanted everyone to notice her wristbands... :)

You may ask, why did she have to dress up as a pirate? Well, I think the teachers were trying to figure out how to focus on the letter X for 2 whole school days. And this is how they did. The children went on a treasure hunt, made a bottle with sand and treasures to find in it, drew maps with X's on them, etc... So, it was definitely a fun day for Rachel!

Bluebonnets

Texas Bluebonnets are a pretty big deal around here in the Spring. We haven't seen too many. But we did find a patch at a nearby park a few weeks ago. I finally got around to taking some pictures of the girls in the bluebonnets. Andy and I have a picture in the bluebonnets that we took back in 2004:

That was life before a certain few clients of Andy's... Now he works almost every weekend in March and April and May. Maybe this Sunday we'll have to go for a drive in the afternoon in search of a huge field of bluebonnets. We will see.... Anyhow, I was able to catch a few good pictures of the girls in the little patch near our home despite the wind and threatening rain clouds:

Discovery Green

March was a month of travel for Andy. The last 2 weeks of March he was out of town for most of the week. And then when he would come home on the weekend he'd go into the office to work on Saturdays. Since the girls and I kind of missed him, we decided to meet him downtown the last Saturday of March. Lucky for us, kitty-corner from Andy's office is Discovery Green. While I dealt with traffic (2 major accidents made the drive to downtown take a bit longer), Andy picked up some lunch. After a quick lunch, the girls changed into their swimsuits and enjoyed the fountains. Kudos to the city of Houston that is willing to turn on the fountains when it gets warm! :)

Checking things out:
Rachel enjoys while Audrey still observes:
Audrey decides to get a little wet:
Audrey's soaked and loving it:

The girls enjoyed seeing their daddy on his lunch hour and of course playing in the water It's too bad Andy doesn't work in the downtown office more often. We'd probably make quite the habit out of this little tradition...

The winner is...Blueberry Muffin

Audrey went to Target last Friday to pick out a prize... A prize for saying good-bye to diapers and hello to panties! :) She's caught on quite well. And boy was she excited to pick a prize out. At first she wanted a suitcase, but the suitcases Target carried were either too big or a backpack/suitcase combo. Not a fan of either... So, we directed her towards the toys and she found something suitable. Way to go, Audrey!

Favorite Quote of the Weekend

Andy (attempting to settle Audrey down after tickling her): Okay, that's enough. Let's listen to Elder Holland.

Audrey: Holland??? I've been to Holland!

Thanks to Wee Sing All Around the World and an older sister who lets her know where we've traveled, Audrey knows where she's been! :)