Gallery Furniture

There's a 'little' furniture store that opened recently not far from us. It's called Gallery Furniture. When you walk in there's a large group of mattresses for kids (and adults) to jump around on! To the left is a bakery filled with freshly baked muffins, mini pies, pop tart pastries, cake balls, and cookies. A little farther past the bakery is a restaurant called Brick & Mortar. Throughout the store there are large commercial coolers filled with Ozarka water bottles. Take 1 or 2 or 10! They want you to stay well hydrated while browsing the furniture! Out in the atrium you will find birds, fish pond, and monkey or tiger exhibit. The morning we went the tiger had left the night before and went to the tennis club. The monkeys were expected to arrive that afternoon. Guess this means we will have to go back! Oh, there's also a 30,000 gallon aquarium with stingrays, baby sharks, and lots of pretty fish. It's a nice place to go and kill some time when it's 100 degrees outside!

Addison's Eye Check-up

Addison always get her vision screening every year at her well-visits. There's never been a concern, but I decided to take her to an optometrist anyway just for peace of mind. Her eyes are healthy and perfect! I guess she inherited her daddy's eyes! The doctor wanted to dilate Addison's eyes, but Addison wasn't open to that. Maybe next year!

Girl Time

Everyone is traveling so much this summer and we are rarely home at the same time as our friends. We were finally able to score a date with sweet B and her mom! A little lunch at CFA, nail salon for pampering, water trampoline for the kids, and wine for the mama's!

Austin Bound

Candor turned ONE! The girls and I loaded up and headed to 'Candor's Cantina' last weekend. We enjoyed seeing familiar faces, KJ's new house, and the sweet birthday boy!

Shopkins

Shopkins are a big deal at our house right now! They are tiny little characters and some are quite adorable! I've been trying to figure out some kind of storage to display all of the Shopkins. Well, thanks to Pinterest, I found a solution.

Pinterest Inspiration

Finished!

 Alyssa's is purple and I organized her Shopkins in order from Season 1 to Season 3. 

 Addison's is pink and she paired up her Shopkins with any duplicates.

Alyssa's Birthday Party Day

Alyssa went to a birthday party several months ago at a gymnastics place and loved it. Ever since then, she has asked to have her birthday party there! It was short notice, but we managed to get a reservation and had her party last Sunday (7/19). They bounced on trampolines, jumped into the foam block pit, spun around on the bars, and so many other things! 

Left: Addison, Alyssa, Taiden

Right: Mia, Sienna, Ava

Alyssa requested 'Frozen Fever' for the party theme. 'Frozen Fever' is a short spinoff movie from the original 'Frozen', except it's during summer. Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot of FF party supplies that are mass produced and available at Party City, etc. We did find some FF plates there. Dollar Tree had original 'Frozen' Olaf cups with a summer theme, so I used those for the favor cups. Matching napkins and a few balloons, done! Oh, the sunflower cupcakes! They are far from perfect, but they were delicious and looked pretty!

Happy 5th Birthday to Alyssa!

You will never see any pictures of Alyssa sleeping in her bed surrounded by balloons on the eve of her birthday. Why? Because she doesn't sleep in her bed all night! Without fail, sometime between midnight and 3am she makes her way to my bed. She always gives me the sweetest reasons, 'I just want to cuddle with you' or 'I just love to snuggle with you'!

Donuts for breakfast!

Check-up for Buddy!

Dairy Queen Blizzard!

Until Next Time - Louisiana

I commented how much I loved this plant when I saw it at mom's house. She told me I could have it, so I figured out a way to make it fit in the van!

We rarely stop at the rest area joining Louisiana and Texas. It's more efficient to stop at one place for gas, food, etc. The girls have asked to stop at this rest area the last couple of trips home, so we did this time! Buddy went for a walk and the girls posed by the Texas star.

The Tree

Once upon a time there was a beautiful tree that was perfectly situated in front of my childhood home. The tree had a large branch that seemed to have been made to hold a wooden swing for 40+ years. Mother Nature decided it was time for the tree to come down. Part of the tree was severely damaged by a storm and the rest of the tree couldn't be saved. It was sad pulling up to the house last week and seeing only a stump. By the end of the week, the stump had been removed and the yard was sprinkled with wood chips. I'm sure over time there will be many pictures that surface of the tree. You never realize how special a tree is, until it's gone.

2012

 2014 (Taken by one of the girls)

 2015 (damaged tree)