Bubbles, Bubbles, and MORE Bubbles!

We bought Bella a bubble machine for Easter and she loves it! We have already gone through 3 bottles of bubbles in 2 days, maybe I should get some stock in a bubbles company?!?!? (It probably doesn't help that the machine blows over 1,000 bubbles per minute!)

Ms T is ready for summer

Bella LOVES bling...plastic bling (thanks, Aunt Esther!). She is constantly wearing 3-4 necklaces, 2 bracelets, and a headband at any given time. Here's the latest fashions of Ms T:

"I pity da fool"

I love this new summer outfit and Bella was quite excited to show it off for the camera. The headband was just an added bonus.

Cousin Love

Bella saw several of her cousins this weekend while celebrating Jake's birthday & graduation, and she had such a great time playing with them! Bella hadn't seen Elisabeth since Christmas time and had LOTS of hugging to give her. I think it *might* have been too much love.

Bella & Elisabeth swinging (I love the excitement on Bella's face)

How many girls can fit through the door at one time???

Kitchen Cabinets are finished!

Brian finally got our kitchen knobs and handles on the cabinets!!! YAY!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Saturday the forecast was heavy rain & thunderstorms, but where did the WIND come from??? It seemed like a mini-tornado blew through our area because we have a ton of wind damage. We got over 10 inches of rain in one hour, and the winds were 60-70 mph!


This is our side street that is flooded up to the live oak.



This is the view of the flooded cul-de-sac from upstairs.


Backyard was a mess! Pots, plants, furniture...and where's Bella's swingset???


Our neighbor's Little Tykes playhouse flew THROUGH the wooden fence. It's hard to see the big hole at the left and then also in the corner. We had shredded playhouse parts all over the yard!

New Mexico trip- Part 2

I decided to dedicate an entire "Part 2" post of our New Mexico trip to our Monday adventure to the Albuquerque/ Rio Grande zoo. It was alot of fun and we got some great pictures of Bella being silly, so I didn't want it to get over-shadowed by all the other details of the trip.

We were suppose to meet at the zoo around 9:30-ish, but we were SOOO late! We had driven in from Gallup pretty late the night before (see previous post), and we were all exhausted. Bella had been waking about 7am, but this day she decided to sleep in until 9am. Who am I to wake a sleeping baby??? Plus, I was tired too! :)

Anyway, we got there super late to meet up with Gma & Gpa, Aunt Krissy, and the Meeks (Kristin's eventual in-laws). One of Bella's favorite things was feeding the fish & ducks in the pond, and she loved it so much that she did it twice.

Next up were the peacocks, which were just wildly roaming the grounds. Bella loved watching them until they got a little too close for her comfort. We watched the male peacock spread his wings and do a bird dance trying to attract the nearby female.

We ventured to the zebra exhibit and noticed one was VERY pregnant. No one could decide if they are black with white stripes OR white with black stripes...hmm, the jury is still out.


And what zoo visit can be complete without Bella's lion impression? It's the best in the land!

New Mexico trip- Part 1

Easter week was spent in Albuqueruqe with Brian's side of the family. We flew from Intercontiental Airport (the big Houston airport) and enjoyed checking out the Continental President's Club and all its amenities before our flight. (This was one of the few restrooms that actually had changing table liners stocked up... VERY nice! Yes, I grabbed a few extra for the road.) Bella is a perfect little traveler, which I am extremely thankful for because I am not.

Happy Little Traveler on flight to NM.

We arrived on Wednesday evening, just in time for dinner! Gma & Gpa took us to El Pinto for dinner and it was fantastic. While waiting for our table, we checked out pictures of celebrities who had also dined there, and also numerous politicans...Hilary & Bill Clinton, President Obama, John McCain, and Sarah Palin. Besides just checking out the photos, the dinner was delicious.

The three of us in Santa Fe, NM.

On Friday we went to Santa Fe for the day, and it was the perfect day to go. We shopped in the plaza where Bella chased the pigeons and I bought some gorgeous earrings.

Then, we toured the Loretta Chapel where the Miraculous Staircase is located. The chapel was built in the 1870's and is best known for its choir loft staircase. It is called Miraculous due to its two complete spirals without center or side supports, defying engineering logic.

The staircase leading up to the choir loft.

After touring the Loretta Chapel, we headed over to the San Miguel Church, which is the oldest church structure in the US. The original adobe walls and alter were built by Tlaxcalan Indians from Mexico in 1610.

On Saturday, we loaded up the car and headed 2 hours west of Albuquerque to Gallup, where Brian grew up. We spent the weekend visiting with cousins, aunts & uncles and of course the Easter Bunny visited Bella too. She got three huge Easter baskets filled with toys, stickers, bubbles, plastic jewels (her favorite!), sidewalk chalk, books, and candy. She was definitely a happy, and VERY spoiled, little girl.

Happy (belated) Easter!