Family in Houston

Last week, we headed down to Houston again. It's been seriously the BEST to have my little brother and his family so close. Since we've moved here we've seen them probably every 6-8 weeks. Either they come to Dallas or we head down to Houston.
I have loved it!
In January I was a bit adventurous and drove the 5 hours down there with just Andrew and I. Andrew did awesome on the drive and loved spending the week with cousins.

My new favorite stop! The Beaver.....It's about half way from Dallas
to Houston and it has the most incredibly clean bathrooms
and awesome drinks. Serious. I never knew I'd could
get excited over a gas station/convenience store. 

Enjoying a sunny walk in January!

Joined this darling girl for lunch at school one day! Aaahhh the memories
of an elementary cafeteria. Sure don't miss that as a teacher! 

These two together mean trouble. It was so funny how they'd work
together to get around that baby gate. We are in serious trouble when they get older.

My brother and his wife went on a date one night and I had a litttle
 pajama party with these two. Nothing like dancing and singing in the kitchen. They crack me up!

Then in February we headed down again to help out. Matt had a few projects around the house he needed some help with.  So Stephen and I drove down again.  It was just the day after my birthday and they surprised me and made the yummiest birthday cake EVER! And of course put all 33 candles on my cake. WOW was that a fire hazard or what!?!

This became an expensive trip to get some Texas BBQ. On the way,
Matt unknowingly ran over a huge bolt and got a flat tire. Nothing
like to-go BBQ smelling up the car, while you're
trying to change a tire.

A few markers and a box make for hours of entertainment. These two are
seriously best buddies and play so great together. 

Roasting marshmallows to make family night s'mores! YUM!

Cousin Bath Time

Funny story about this picture....I learned how dangerous it can be to bath two boys at the same time. They were having a great time splashing, when about 30 seconds after I snapped the picture, the little boy on the left peed right in Andrew's face. Surprised by this, Andrew gasped with of course his mouth wide open. Yep. WIDE open....and boy did he get a mouthful! I wasn't sure if I should laugh or be totally grossed out. It was hilarious and we'll have stories to tell when they get older. 

I'm not sure how this idea started...we didn't plan on this until right as Stephen was leaving to go home on Sunday. We decided to help my brother out a bit and take their dog "Lucy" for a little while. So we've had this little fuzzball running around our house. The past week. Andrew has loved it and tries to give her kisses. Because of the dog, he's now learned the word "down" and also frequently says "no, no doggie". It's hilarious to hear him say it. It's been a fun change, but dogs are a lot of work.