My life goals

Remember the movie AWalk To Remember? You know, Mandy Moore and Shane West fall in love, and Mandy dies of cancer? Oops. Sorry. Spoiler Alert.
Anyway, Mandy Moore has this book of things she wants to do in her life, like a bucket list. Most of it is normal stuff, befriend someone she doesn't like, get a tattoo, etc.

Well, I have a list too.

Mine is a lot cooler than Mandy Moore's though. Seriously? Make a medical discovery? Lame.


Here's my bucket list:

1. See a ghost- Yeah, really. You know I love me some ghosts.

2. Breath underwater- What? Ok, maybe it's not possible, but Mandy wanted to be in two places at once. Mine's still better.

3. Be in a food fight- Straight up Hook style.



4. Learn to do the splits- You already know this one.

5. Find out that I'm a wizard- Duh. Like I'd have any kind of bucket list without something Harry Potter related on it. I almost put "Hang out with Charlie Weasley," but this is much more likely to happen.

her mother's daughter

Portia got gumballs for Easter.
Tonight, as we were putting her to bed, she asked for some gum.
I told her that if she sleeps with gum in her mouth, it will get in her hair, and then we'll have to cut her hair off.
She paled.
She was visibly terrified, and started to cry.  The thought of cutting her hair made her panic.
I explained that we only had to cut it if she got gum in it, and she started to calm down a little bit, but she was still pretty worried.
Poor girl.
She is her mother's daughter.

beach crafts

I told you there would be a lot of beach related posts.

I was crafty! I made crafts!

The first beachy craft we did was this cute little shell clippy for Portia:

I just superglued shells onto a barrette. I know, my skills are incredible.

Next, I made a souvenir jar. Here's my inspiration:

found here.

I took an old candle, and cleaned all the wax out of it. 

.

and I gathered all the sand and shells I collected at South Padre.

Then I filled the jar.

I printed the place and date on an address label, and stuck it on the jar,

and I glued the lid onto the jar, because I have children, and it's not hard to imagine them opening up a jar of sand in my bed.

And that's it!

Pretty cute huh?

Vacay Part 3, or Six Flags and Jim!

After dying and going to heaven in South Padre, we shook the sand off, loaded up the car, and drove for what seemed like forever back to Dallas. And we couldn't leave Dallas without going to Six Flags again, could we?
Margot wasn't feeling well, so Brandon stayed back in the hotel with her, and the rest of us headed to the park. This time around, it was freezing, and there were no lines! Portia was a bit braver too, and rode pretty much all the rides she was big enough for! She had a blast!

By noon, we were all hungry and cold, and the kids were done. We left the park and went to lunch. Afterwards, the kids and dads hung out at the hotel, and Jeannine and I got to go play till our hearts content at Six Flags. We rode everything that we could! We stayed until the park closed and we were frozen solid! But it was so fun!

The next morning, we loaded up and drove to Tulsa, dropped the kiddos off with babysitters and went to go see Jim Gaffigan in concert. He's a great comedian, very funny! He does a lot of food jokes, so you know I love him!

And with that, our vacation ended. We are home now, and I'm dreaming about the beach! I can't wait to go back!

Vacay Part 2, or South Padre!

Lotsa pictures coming up guys, lotsa pictures!
You ready? Here we go!

From San Antonio, we drove about 6 hours to South Padre Island, aka My New Favorite Place Ever. It was gorgeous!

We rented a little condo right on the beach. 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, a huge living room and kitchen, and a sweeeet balcony overlooking the water.

The view form our balcony.

I'm a little excited, can you tell?

We arrived Sunday night, and stayed until Thurday morning. And we spent every moment we could on the beach! Here are a few beach shots!

mmmmmm apples!

After about 6 minutes, I had the worst sunburn ever. I spent a lot of my time sitting under the umbrella, all covered up. 

One morning, we woke up to jellyfish! This is actually a Portugese Man'O'War.

I love the ocean. I wish I could go back already! We had a blast, just soaking up the sun, or in my case, frying like a lobster.
Let the peeling commence!

Vacay Part 1, or Six Flags x2!

Well folks, we have officially been home from our vacation for 3 days, and I'm still trying to get the sand out of our stuff! Not that I'm complaining, we had a blast! 
Oh, you wanna hear about it?
Well, here you go!


Last Thursday morning, we met up with my Jeannine-sister and her family, and drove down to Dallas. We checked into our hotel about noon, and quickly headed off to Six Flags!  
It was interesting, as we had 6 kids with us, but they did pretty good! It was about 1000 degrees, and there were about 4 billion people there, so the lines for all the rides were ridiculous. Portia was big enough to ride all the kiddie rides, but she was too scared. She rode a few rides, the log flume and the airplane one. You know, you sit in a little airplaine and it spins you around like you're really flying. She was really happy while we were on it, but as soon as the ride ended, she was miserable again. 
We took the kids back to the hotel after a few hours, and Jeannine and I stayed with them while the dads went back to Six Flags to play. Then around bedtime, the dads relieved us and Jeannine and I went and rode a few rides. It was pretty awesome! 
There are no pictures of this day, because every time I paused anywhere, the crazy masses of people started shoving the stroller. No joke, at one point, a woman actually pushed my stroller for me in an attempt to get me to walk faster. I was not amused.
The next morning, we all packed up and drove down to San Antonio. We checked into another hotel, and headed off to the other Six Flags. Oh yeah. You wish you were us.

It wasn't as crazy this time around, there seemed to be just as many people, but no one was freaking out. That makes a huge difference. Portia and Margot got to ride one ride, the train.

Classic.

After that, things all went downhill. The girls were DONE. They were so tired and hot and cranky, and so furious at the world because of it.

Here's Portia holding Daddy's hand, because she was getting real dramatic.

Aaaaaaand Margot.

So we bid farewell to Jeannine and her kids, and headed back to the hotel early. They stayed at the park till it closed and had a blast! We were thrilled to go watch cartoons.

This is before we even got out of the parking lot of the park.

We ate dinner, and went to bed, excited for a day of driving to come! 

things you need at the beach

Spring Break is coming up, and we are actually going on a vacation! We are driving down to the beach! I am REALLY excited. I love the beach; it's one of my favorite places on earth!

sweet mother, I could live there.

So, to prepare myself for the joy of the sun and sand, and to prepare you for the copious amounts of beach-related posts coming up in the next few weeks, here are:

Things You Need at the Beach

(besides the usual swimsuits, towels, etc.)

1. Flip-flops that you don't mind tossing after you get home. Here's the deal. The sand on the beach is really hot. Like burn your tootsies hot. You're going to need some shoes that you can wear right up to the water, which means that they are very likely going to get salt water on them, sand, sunscreen, etc. Cute little sandals might get ruined. Grab a $2 pair of flippy-floppies at Walmart and call it a day!


2. Some waterproof mascara and shimmery primer.
Here are my faves:

Maybelline Mega Plush Mascara, $5.94 Walmart

I like this mascara, the brush is really fluffy, and it really does stay on your eyelashes.

Hard Candy Sheer Envy Illuminating Primer, $8 Walmart

This primer has little shimmery flecks in it, so as you're going straight from the beach to dinner, just put a small amount of this on, you'll look fresh-faced and dewy. 

3. Mangoes. Dudes, you'll thank me. Buy some fresh fruit and take it with you to the shore. Swimming and playing makes you hungry, and there's nothing better that fresh tropical fruit picked in season! Mangoes are my fave, but whatever blows your skirt up. Plus, if you get all sticky from the juice, just dip in the ocean, all clean!


4. A bathing suit cover-up that you don't mind wearing in public. Most cover-ups are kinda skimpy and small, you'll need something that you won't be embarrassed to be seen in if you have to go somewhere right from the beach. I like a cute patterned maxi or sundress. It looks like you're wearing clothes, not beach wear, and a pattern helps to hide any dampness from your suit.

$16.80 Forever 21

5. Sunscreen and Aloe Vera. Bring them to the shore! If you're anything like me, you will get a little bit toasty. Re-apply sunscreen every hour or so, and wait for at least 15 minutes to let it soak in before you hop back in the water. The last thing you want in the world is to be lobster red while trying to relax in the sand. It just doesn't work. Every night when you get ready for bed, put on some Aloe Vera gel. It will help keep your skin soft, and help soothe any extra sun damage you got that day.


There you have it folks! Now you're ready to go!

400

This blog has reached  400 posts! Aren't I awesome? (Don't answer that.)
Here are some of my faves throughout the years:


I learned about trucking and camping.

I counted my blessings on my birthday, I loved on some food, and I went to the Farmer's Market.

I made some weird food,  I freaked out some random guy at Target, I lost my mind while being pulled over, and we had some serious library adventures.


All in all, it's been a pretty fun 400 posts, and here's to 400 more!

Grow it out!

I am in the process of growing my hair out. I have been for a while, and it's starting to really get long again! 

I know a million and one gals who are in the process of growing their hair out, and if they're anything like me, they get frustrated easily. Here are a few ways to get through the awkward in-between-long-and-short period.

One thing you can do is play with styles. Curl it, flip it out, try parting it another way, find some cute accessories. Get out of your rut!

Let those stacked-up layers grow out a little. Longer layers will make your hair chic and sophisticated.

Add some bangs or change up your color. This will revamp your look without taking off all that length that you've worked so hard to get.

One thing that a lot of people forget is that growing your hair out is a process. Be patient, and go get regular trims. If your hair is damaged and stringy, you will be more inclined to make rash decisions, like chopping it all off all over again, just make it look healthy.

Split it!

Ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted to be able to do the splits. I am naturally pretty flexible; I always have been. And I was very flexible in high school, stretching every day for four years, but I've never been able to do the splits. 

Folks, we're going to change that!

I found a list of stretches, and I'm going to start training myself every day. I'm doing this!!

Here's me today, after stretching.

The front:

Knee on the ground, knee on the ground, lookin like a fool with your knee on the ground!

And the side:

I'm not very good. 

It's ok, I accept it.

But check back here in a few months, and I'll be freakin Gabby Douglas!

http://dance.about.com/od/stepsandmoves/ss/Splits.htm

Things I'm Lovin Today

1. My mom and dad are coming to hang out tomorrow! Woohoo!!

2. My nails today, I love them!

Ignore my creepy blue hands of death. It's haircolor.

3. The beautiful weather today! It's 68 degrees outside right now! Spring is here!

which leads me to...

4. Spring cleaning! Sometimes it's nice to walk in your house and have it smell like lemon pine sol!

5. This guy:

What a hunk!

Mountains to Climb

What a beautiful message.