Road Trip {Arkansas or Bust}

Just got back from a long weekend away. We stay at the Ouachita River Haven Resort just outside of Mt. Ida, Arkansas. We did a little kayaking and had a blast with friends. Below is a shot of our cabin and the Expedition’s first road trip. We put it to good use by bringing our kayak along for the drive. You can't tell from the picture, but the cabins all sit high on hillsides overlooking the river. Beautiful views.

Here is Tasha leading the way shortly after launching the kayaks on Saturday. We launched at 11 a.m. gearing up for the five hour float.

Um, yeah, ignore the hilarious glasses Steven is wearing...you'll wear just about anything to keep from squinting in the heat of the day! Below Nathan shows of his mad "paddle passing" skills. Note the beverage can on the end of his paddle? Impressive, eh?

Steven M. and Nathan resting in the shade. Breaks were necessary and refreshing.

Journey the adventure dog! Steven and Tasha brought their 12 week old puppy, Journey, with them. She LOVED the trip and kept Marin entertained.

Proof I was there...that's the back of my head. Marin really enjoys running her fingers through the water...it's kinda hypnotizing for her. However, it makes ME really nervous (grin).

Baby water shoes...so sweet. Does my baby have to grown up?

The only family picture from this weekend.

At the Dairyette waiting for ice cream.

Sunday evening views of the river below our cabin.

My favorite memory from the weekend was our Sunday evening walk. We strolled through the campground under beautiful hard wood trees admiring the soft green grass when small blinking lights slowly appeared. Within minutes we were surrounded by thousands of fireflies. It was right at dusk and there were little twinkles of light in every direction! Truly magical….I’ve never seen so many in all my life.

Marin and "Turtle" the floaty she insists on sleeping with. It was FULL weekend of FUN.

Arkansas Here We Come!

We are hitting the road, on our way to Arkansas for a long weekend. Meeting our friends Tasha and Steven from Memphis and Nathan and Shania (from Texas…grin) for a weekend of kayaking the Ouachita river. Steven and Marin are wrapping up the last few items and I’m headed out now.

Below are pictures of Marin and I in the car from last week. She loves playing peek-a-boo in this mirror. Although, she doesn’t look to happy in these…Ah well, it’s good for a laugh. Back on Monday evening. Cheers!

It's Summertime {and the Weather is HOT}

We've had an exciting week. The plumbers have been here working. Steven and I have been gearing up to fork over the moola $$$$. Excited about the progress, and trying not to stress over the money.

Did I mention that the A/C window unit in the breakfast room went out? Yeah, my car said the outside temperature was 111 degrees yesterday!!!! It's HOT, HOT, HOT outside and it's not much better inside. Good news is the unit was still under warranty so the repairs will be covered, we just have to wait. Ah...gotta love this old house livin'.

This is how we survive! Pigtails and sonic. Two great ways to stay cool. Can you believe Marin has pig tails?! It's only taken us two years for her to have enough hair for pigtails. She was so cute in these pics I just had to share them.

She is so good for my soul. It's hard to worry or stress when I see her smiling face.

Happy Father's Day Steven

I'm sure Steven would have rather been sailing, or fishing or even taking a nap would have been a better father's day weekend activity...instead he rented a jack hammer and took out solid concrete steps from the back corner of our house. We have plumbers coming tomorrow...oops, well, technically today since it's 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday. They'll be installing a tankless waterheater on the wall photographed here and we'll be replacing the siding once they are done with their portion of the work. We needed to remove these steps so that the siding will be even at the bottom and because they no longer serve a purpose. That's why Steven worked on Saturday, in the heat, for seven hours.

Yes, I helped as much as I could. This pile of rocks is my handy work. Moving all of the rubble from the steps into the back of the truck was my job.

Finished product below. I know, it doesn't look like much to you, but that's life in an old house. Working your butt off for hours and days and when you are finished, nobody but you can appreciate the effort and time.

And now, for my favorite part of the day, this picture of Steven and Marin. How beautiful is the connection they have? Steven is such a wonderful father. Marin and I are truly blessed to call him daddy and husband. He is: hard working, resourceful, faithful, loving, funny, talented, dedicated, gentle, strong and courageous. He was by my side throughout the 30 hours it took to bring Marin into the world and he hasn't stepped away since. He is wonderful with Marin and I feel quite confident he does more with/for her than the average daddy does with a 2 year old. I'm deeply in love with you Steven. Thank you for being such a wonderful Father.

Duck Feet Sugar Cookies

This idea hit me while brainstorming cookie ideas for Marin's party. I didn't want to have a duck cake AND duck cookies that didn't match (go on roll your eyes and laugh at me). Soooooooo I I thought why not duck feet! I knew I'd have to fashion my own cutter, but thought I'd start with a circle, UNTIL is stumble upon a couple heart shaped cutters I already had.

I keep a sketch book handy for all of my random ideas. Here is where I was brainstorm the transformation. The graphic artist in me just could help but turn this into a "pretty" diagram. Just in case you guys want to make duck feet cookies at some point in your life. Oh, and so I could remember what I did and how!

Dinner With Friends

I don't think there is anything more fun than having dinner with friends. Especially when they do the looking (grin). Here are a few photos from our meal with the Taylor family on Sunday evening. Their yard is so beautiful and quiet. The meal was excellent (thank you Jake). Hannah was so excited about Marin coming over and had gifts and entertainment ready! They had a blast. Thank you Ricky and Dana for a wonderful evening, we should do this more often!

The New and Improved Duck!

Remember the felt ducks I wanted to make for Marin's birthday party? Well, I just hated that they didn't match the duck on her invitation, so.....I played with my own pattern and tada! Here she is a felt duck that matches Marin's party!!!! Yippee. So excited. Too cute for words. I've got to get busy making more!

A Weekend of Firsts

Marin and I visited Aunt BiBi at work. This was our first time to visit her at work and our first time in a professional lab. I think Marin must have thought all of Elizabeth's co-workers were going to give her a shot. She has "scrubs-a-phobia" I guess. Poor Elizabeth cried more than Marin!

We hit the pool Saturday afternoon and it was Marin's first time to "layout" and work on her tan. (Yes, I put sun screen on her). How cute is this picture of Marin and aunt "K"?
And finally, this weekend Marin went to a Movie Theatre for the first time with Uncle Josh and Aunt Kay to see the new Pixar movie "UP." Not sure what she liked more, the movie or the limitless number of M&Ms Aunt Kay gave her.

Thank you, Aunt Kay, Uncle Josh, Aunt BiBi and future Uncle Kyle for a really great, fun filled weekend of firsts.

Coca Cola Wall {Shiro, Texas}

I've been wanting to take pictures of Marin in front of this wall for months, so on our way to College Station this weekend we finally made time to stop. She's so tiny next to this HUGE wall. The Coca Cola logo is mostly faded and difficult to see in some of these, but I just LOVE the vintage setting. Of course we had to visit the antique shop where we bought a father's day gift for Steven. Aren't the clouds dreamy....?