Uncle Chris and Aunt Melanie's visit

We all had a blast when Aunt Melanie and Uncle Chris came to visit! The boys had so much fun getting their room ready and making welcome cards to put on their bed.

The first place we visited was Guero's Taco Bar down on South Congress. We hung out for a while listening and dancing to the band outside and the boys had a blast. (If you can't tell by Joaquin's enormous smile)  :)

Talia getting all dressed up to go out for dinner.

The weather was amazing that weekend so we went to Zilker Park and the boys brought some of their allowance money to play around with.  They both chose to buy spiderman balloon animals and Elijah also paid to have his face painted to match his spiderman balloon.

Cool dude

They had a blast

After playing at the park for a while, we walked over to Shady Grove for a late lunch / early dinner. The kids hitched rides on Ian and Chris. 

We ate at a lot of fun places while they were in town. Of course we went to Phil's Ice House down the street from us, Guero's, Shady Grove, Alamo Drafthouse, Magnolia Cafe and more.

By the end of our day at the park, Talia was exhausted. She pretty much slept in daddy's arms through the entire meal. :)

Another highlight of the visit for the boys was getting to see the Lego Movie with Aunt Melanie and Uncle Chris at the Alamo Drafthouse. I didn't get any photos from that event, but the kids and adults all had a blast. 

It was such a fun time with family and we are so grateful they came to visit! We love you guys and can't wait till you come back again some day!

Geo Cache Adventure

 The fam all gathered in the car to go on our first Geo Cache treasure hunt last weekend. If your not familiar with Geo-caching, it is a really awesome thing to do with the kids. People hide things and note the GPS coordinates then go online and put in the coordinates to where they hid their treasure along with a little riddle or code about how to find the loot.  The locations are marked by level of difficulty so you can start with a simple treasure hunt until you learn how to do it.

Ian used his google maps on his phone for the coordinates and we were off! The riddle on our first geo cache said that it was located somewhere that people walked over it and it usually stayed dry. Our coordinates led us to this underpass and the boys looked around till they found the tin can treasure.

Inside was a log of all the names of the people who had also found it and the dates it had last been opened. We signed it with the boys names and the date and left a small fake pirate coin Elijah brought along inside.

It was the perfect Saturday activity!

Mother and Daughter Spa Time

My mom and I had a special time this weekend at one of our favorite places in the whole wide world... the Lake Austin Spa and Resort.

The weather just happened to be gorgeous and we lounged around all day and soaked up the sun! Our massage appointments were scheduled for the morning so we spent the rest of the time just relaxing. And let me tell you something -- that is the way to do it. Start you morning off with an incredibly relaxing massage and the rest of your day will be stellar!

One of the reasons we love this spa so much is because the grounds are simply beautiful and the food is amazing. You can just grab a bite to eat and walk around down by the water, lounge on a hammock, sit by the pool, soak up the steam room or sauna, and more. It truly was a wonderful time with my wonderful mother and I am so grateful to have such a chance to recharge.

beautiful walking paths

listening to the water lap against the dock

poolside cabanas listening to the waterfalls under the deck

Mom and her hands of light :)

One of my favorite spots

Happy Valentine's Day

We had a wonderful Valentines Day 2014. It has always been one of the boys favorite holidays since it is all about love! :)

We started the day out with special valentine pancakes, a valentine card for each other and we all got dressed in pink and red for the day of parties at school. 

(It was especially fun to dress up baby Talia in bows and ribbons and girly fun!)

Joaquin tried on MiMi's glasses for a laugh

Elijah and I making lovey faces before heading to school

Once the boys were home from school we decided to have an art day on the back patio.

They had a blast painting on their new easel. 

It was a special family day of love and creations!

Elijah's Poetry Reading

Elijah had a special day at school the other day. Their class had a poetry reading in the library. The librarian turned the library into a little coffee shop, complete with tables and tea-lights, as well as coffee and tea. All the parents were invited to hear the kids read their poems on the stage. 

I wasn't sure how Elijah would do since he is still learning to read and he has never been in front of an audience on a microphone like that before. However, my fears were soon quenched by is complete confidence and control on the stage. He was fantastic! His poems were hilarious...about his favorite deserts and such. Here are some pictures from the day.

Talia's Christening Photos

All the babes in the family have had a photo session in the special Christening outfit. Ian's family has passed down this beautiful Christening dress for generations and the kids all posed at around three months for photos in the family outfit.

I'm not sure if it is because she is a girl or what, but Talia loves posing for the camera. I think she thinks the flash is funny. She did a great job of letting me catch her in the special Christening dress. Here are some of my favorites from the shoot.

All smiles in the underdress. 

My beautiful baby blues

The outfit has two layers...a slip and the dress as well as a hat.

I swear she could be a doll baby! Such a special outfit for my last child to wear.

Happy Chinese New Year

We got all dressed up around here for the Chinese New Year. The boys made masks at school and streamers around the house! They love celebrating things that their cousins in China get to do.

Snow Day

The boys had their first snow day off school this year and there was a lot of excitement in the air! Their teacher told them the day before to keep a watch on the weather because it was supposed to snow and so they were peaking out the window all night and went to bed dressed like this:

The next morning they did actually call off school but there wasn't much snow. Nevertheless, the boys had a blast playing in the ice and little bit of snow on the back porch!

Talia stayed inside and kept warm. She has recently gotten into pica boo with daddy!

She is such a happy girl!