Make a Wish

I just love this series of Miss Rachel.
Who can resist blowing Dandelion petals?

Make a wish and watch them float away...

What do you think Rachel is wishing for? 
I have a few guesses...

I'm not going to lie, Rachel has been giving Tyler and I a run for our money lately.
It's part of being a parent. Sometimes you can't help but think, "When in the world is this phase going to end!?" and I know that I don't even know the half of it. After all, she's only three. 
My number one goal has a mother is to make sure that my children always know that I love them unconditionally. 
So Rachel- you better get it through that thick skull of yours that I love you! 
And I'll never stop telling you. 
Love,
Mom

Our New Swing

A whole new world has been opened to me as a mother of toddlers.  It's called, fenced-in backyard. Holy Moses! A new world I tell you! I love wide-open spaces, but I must say with young children, backyards rule. And we got a swing! Yea!

You can't tell how tall this tree is because of the lens I was using, but its tall. 

Come on Daddy! We're ready for this!

Sky high!

Just beautiful.
Pictures like this make me feel so blessed. 
What a beautiful life.

Kiss The Girl

Being girly comes so naturally for Miss Rachel. I mean, were does this come from? It certainly didn't come from me. I mean, look at her... her hand really does just lay like that. Haha!!! I'm going to go ahead and tell a story. I promise it'll make you laugh.   Since moving to Austin, we've made new friends at church.  One of Rachel's good friends is Max. They've played together several times. The first time we went over to Max's house, Max's older siblings come running into the kitchen to inform the adults that Rachel and Max kissed. The horror. I immediately took Rachel out for a talkin-to.
"Rachel, we DON'T kiss boys. Kissing boys is disgusting. Yucky yucky yucky!" She is completely razzled. "Okay Mom."
Since that event, modesty and kissing have been a theme for our FHE lessons.  Fast forward a couple weeks. We see Rachel and Max playing in the backyard. Max has his hands on Rachel's shoulders and they're about to lean in for a kiss. Before it's too late I run outside...  "What do you think you're doing?!!" Another talkin-to- these don't seem to be working. "Rachel, what did I tell you about kissing? Kissing boys is gross!" Since that didn't seem to be enough last time, I go into more detail- "Rachel, only if Daddy says it's okay and you grow up big and strong and the good boy takes you to the temple to get married is it okay to kiss." Explaining seemed to help.  Since then, and lots of reminders before going to play with Max, there have been no kissing accidents.       

Yesterday Rachel and I were talking and of course she brings up kissing. 
"Mom, when Max comes home from his mission and we get married, I'm going to kiss him."
trying to avoid the subject completely, and not wanting to get into this again I exclaim-
"Kissing is GROSS GROSS GROSS! Boys are yucky!" 
Can't that just be enough? I mean that worked for me pretty much all through high school.
Apparently not.
"No Mom, kissing is not gross. When you grow up and get married in the temple, kissing is just lovely." -her exact words
Mom rolls eyes... "Yeah? Well until then it's YUCKY!"

Rachel's first season of soccer begins next month. 
Thank goodness. Let's go kick a ball! Please, let's just go kick a ball!

Lovey Dovey

Tyler and I got invited to go to a military ball. In the National Guard, these things don't happen too often or if they do they are easily avoidable. Nevertheless, we decided to go!
I got to wear these puppies... 

And I got to wear this dress... yep, it's my prom dress. Don't judge. What else was I supposed to do with 2 weeks notice? Plus, it fit me. Boo-yah! In my opinion, that reason alone sold me on it.

And I got to go with this amazing man to a fancy dinner. 
I always felt like I was missing out not getting to go to these things. I mean, it was fun and all but next time I'll definitely be staying home in my basketball shorts if possible. haha! 
I feel so lucky that he is mine. 
Mine all mine. 

And let's not forget these two little rascals! 
Nothing makes me happier than getting to spend my days with my girls. 
Let's face it, it's not always a picnic. But I couldn't ask for a greater blessing.
Happy late Valentines Day to all!

Yellow Ribbon Weekend

After deployment the National Guard puts on "yellow ribbon" events for soldiers and their families.  It's always in a fun city and in a nice hotel. This time it was the San Antonio riverwalk! It was quite a long weekend full of long seminars and meetings.  It was great to finally get outside and enjoy San Antonio!   

Poor Rachel started running a fever while we were out exploring. Tyler and I knew we were'nt going to make it through a long wait at a nice restaurant, so when we saw the golden arches we knew that was our ticket. Look at those glazed over eyes... poor thing.

haha! Those sunglasses crack me up. We told the girls that we'd get them a special surprise if the were good in childcare all day long. They were such champs. And they choose sunglasses. 
Girls after my own heart.

The Payne crew...

"We've just got to take a picture at the Alamo! Quick! Before the sun goes down!"

And that was our short and sweet trip to San Antonio. And I tell you what- nothing like a stop at Bucees on the way home cures those toddler grumpies. Best. Gas station. Ever. 
Almost did a whole post on Bucee's alone. No joke! haha!

Grandpa's Cabin

There are some places and relationships in this world that no matter how much time passes still stay the same. One of them is Grandpa's cabin. Hasn't changed since I was eight years old. Right behind that peninsula  was were I caught the biggest bass ever! Still remember that. No joke- it was huge.   

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 
This is beautiful. 
Yep, we had many a crawdad race on the levee. 
Is the nostalgia level here making you a bit nauseous? Well, get over it. 
We had crawdad races I tell you! haha! 

Tyler and I had the opportunity to go duck hunting in the morning. It had been way too long since we had been. I wasn't brave or stupid enough (you decide) to bring my nice camera with us to the blind. 
It was such a gorgeous morning out on the lake. One for the record books. Watching all the waterfowl fly over as the sun came up over the lake was some kind of beautiful. Next time I decided I'm not going to hunt- just take pictures. That's how beautiful it was.

Sunrise in the duck blind...

Our spoils. 
We each shot one duck. Not good and not horrible. I was happy considering how rusty I was. Those boogers can be tricky to kill. 

We invited Tyler's brother, Josh and his family down for the hunt. I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T GET ANY COUSIN PICTURES! Bah! I guess we were having too much fun.
I did however get some shots of the girls on the giant tire swing. It too has been here ever since I can remember. My Dad would swing we so high and fast! Best memory ever. It's hard to believe my babies are swinging on it now!
Maggie was pumped!

Hold on tight!

Rachel's crack... oh my, oh my. The girl has no booty! But she is tall! She just can't manage to keep her britchers up. I swear everyone at playgroup has seen that crack. sheesh.

It was mighty cold out there.

Mommy's turn!!! YESSSSSSS!!!!

We figured out that we could get the girls much higher and faster if they sat on Mommies lap.
Blurry or not- We are so happy.

If I wasn't careful, Maggie would slip right off my lap!

That huge oak tree with all that Spanish moss is absolutely breathtaking to me. One of my favorite places on earth.

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for having us out at the cabin. It was an amazing time, as always! Love you!

Daddy's Birthday!

For Daddy's birthday, we decided to go to the Circus!  I have never been to the circus, can you believe that? We had a blast.    

So I'm totally not meaning to be a llama-face here, but something about these pictures make we cringe. I guess it's the Wildlife Major in me coming out. Tigers and Elephants are not meant to be in such tight spaces. Apart of me wanted them to rip their trainer dude to shreds.
What did you expect Jess? Okay, now that that's out of my system- on with the show...
I will admit, it was pretty awesome to watch.

Elephants make my heart happy. Such amazing creatures and mothers for that matter. I loved watching the mommies with their babies in Africa. So sweet and tender.

Happy Birthday Daddy! We love you!