JULY: In Review

I was totally MIA during the month of July. That's because it came and went in a whirlwind. Holy Cow. It was a such a busy month, but a fun month. We had family come into town and then the girls and I went out of town. Where to start?

Well, first my mom and youngest sister, Kristi, along with her little cutie boy, Trey, came to Houston to visit us in the middle of *cough, HOT, cough* July (brave souls!)... which means I spent the two weeks prior to that trying to get my house thoroughly cleaned and prepped. We had the carpets cleaned, the AC serviced, and the BIG chore... cleaning and organizing the office! Holy moly what a project. But I finished it and for the first 3 minutes when they walked in my house, it was thoroughly clean. Then we set to work at messing it all up again. :) We played and had lots of fun in the house because it is entirely too hot here in July to do much of anything outside. But we did venture out on a few occasions... we went for a walk or two around the neighborhood (had to work off some of those lbs we were quickly accumulating!), and following one such walk we had a little sprinkler fun with the kiddos,

we blew bubbles in the yard (Dixie's personal fave),

and my favorite was the day we spent 3 hours to get all dolled up and went to a little local restaurant called the "Tea Room" for a little 'tea party' lunch. And yes, you heard me right... it took us 3. hours. to get ready. (Hey! 3 girls at an hour a piece! Do the math! :)) But it was a lot of fun. All we were missing were some lacy little gloves and big oversized hats. :)

(Kris apparently thought Mom looked better as an Egyptian) :)

We had tons o' fun. I'm so glad I have family who is willing to come visit me in this weather! :) Anyway, when it was time for Mom and Kris to fly back, Dixie, Summer, and I got to fly back with them to sunny, but not-so-hot, California. The plane ride out there was so nice, since we had a whole row to ourselves (it wasn't a full flight, so Summer was able to stay in her car seat, and Dixie had her own seat since we now have to pay for her to fly- ugh). And when she got tired of sitting next to Mommy, she headed across the aisle to visit with Grandma, Auntie Kris, and Trey. It was quite pleasant. And while we were there in Carlsbad we thoroughly enjoyed walks on the sea wall, playing at the beach, and Dixie absolutely loved the pool. She would wake up in the morning and say "water?!" She just could not get enough of it. We even got decent tans while we were out there (well, mine was as decent as I can get without burning anyway). :) And Summer was a good sport about it all, just sat back and took it all in. So lovely.

And then there was the flight home. This was another story. Heaven help me. It was a completely full flight, so Summer had to sit on my lap, and Dixie was confined to her one seat for the entire 3 hour flight. That did not go over so well. She was content for a good portion of it with her movies and what not, but when she got restless, she started throwing things at the people in front of and behind us. Um, ya. I'm pretty sure I got a couple death wishes sent my way. And the poor guy sitting next to us... ya... I should have gotten his address to send him a "get well soon" card because I'm sure he went into shock after all that. :) Okay, she wasn't THAT bad, but just bad enough to be embarrassing for me. But, we made it through, we got off the plane, we headed to baggage claim where we found Daddy waiting for us with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and kisses all around. He is so sweet. And when we got home, there were balloons and streamers to welcome us home. Ah, yes. It was good to be home. I sure missed my honey.

Anyway, here are a few more pics of all the fun (as if this post wasn't long enough!) :)

...Daddy and Summer chillin'...
...Dixie and Trey enjoying some sandbox fun...

...this "pool" is really our sandbox (tarp on) after the rain...

...playing in the rain...

...Sweet Summer...

And let's not forget the precious, but "oh-so-useful for future blackmail" kissing cousins moments...

Ah, sweet memories. :) Thanks for all the fun, Mom and Kris! We sure love you and miss you!!