The Horny Toad

What happens the day after Daddy comes home? 
They catch lizards in the backyard.
Yes, Maggie is wearing a hoodie. 
Yes, it's 100 degrees outside. Yes, she marches to her own drum.

Rachel loved the the little guy, and Maggie wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. 
I'm about 99% sure that he was a baby horny toad. He made big noises and was super prickly.
Not something you'd find in Houston. We definitely live in the hill country.

Rachel got brave and picked up the little guy.
Even got comfortable enough to switch hands and eventually let him go all by herself!
I was impressed.

Everything about this picture of Rachel makes me happy.
I finally caught a non-princess, genuine, double-chin, cheesy smile!
One thing I admire about my Rachel is her sheer determination. 
It doesn't matter if its soccer, swimming, spelling her name, or picking up a lizard; she pushes through any discomfort or fear and just goes for it. I think that determined personality of hers will take her amazing places. 
"You go girl!"
Love,
Momma

Airborne Ranger

Daddy was only gone for three weeks, but it sure felt like a ton longer! 
I know, somebody call the WAAAmmbulance! 
But seriously, it killed me. Possibly the traveling while pregnant put it over the top, I'm not sure, but I definitely couldn't wait to pick him up.
Of course, we got there early and wasted time at the airport. 
The girls found payphones and that kept them happy for a while. 
Girls and phones- comes natural.

Telling Daddy to hurry up and come home!

Our DADDY IS HOME!!! 
The girls were ECSTATIC! 
I've got to just take a moment to say how proud I am of my husband.
I feel so lucky to have him as my husband. He is constantly sacrificing his time and wants to do things for his girls. I love that he is constantly pursuing new opportunities and reaching new goals. 
So glad that he finally had the opportunity to go and complete Airborne school. 
I love him so darn much! 
Thanks for being my partner through this crazy little thing called life.
You make it better than I ever could have imagined. 

And then we got home and fought Daddy! We beat him up! 
And he loved it. ;)
And if you're wondering how we got the girls to go to bed... 
we bribed them with Krispy Kreme in the morning!

Houston Trip!

After the girls and I hit up Weatherford, Houston was our next stop.
I'm going to go ahead and admit this- I missed out on a lot of awesome pictures during our Houston stay. 
The girls and I had so much fun. I caught up with my Nana, Grandma and Grandpa (something I love about Houston trips), saw lots and lots of family, got a start on the girls twin bedding quilts with my Aunt Susan (squeal!!!), had a wonderful baby shower with my family (Thanks Katie!), and played and played and played with Mike and Mariela!
My Mom put on an awesome Texas wedding reception for the two newlyweds...

The cupcakes were a work of art. Seriously the prettiest cupcakes I've ever seen.
The girls loved licking all the icing off. 

Yummmmm....

One of the funnest days of our stay was going to this super awesome pool! There are TONS of awesome pools in The Woodlands! Seriously, makes me want to live there. We had so much fun!

"Yeah Mariela, I totally rocked that slide." haha!

One of my favorite pictures EVER! After having Mariela to catch her over and over again, Maggie looked Mariela in the eye and said, "You go, I catch you!"
hahahaha!
She. was. dead. serious.

Rachel was swim maniac! 
Swim swim swim... She actually can swim without that life vest now! But, I don't like to risk it without Daddy around. Gives me peace of mind. 
Thank goodness Rachel had Pop and Uncle Mike to wear her out!
Thanks for having the girls and I to visit for a little while! We were grateful for the distraction and break from the normal routine. It was wonderful.

The Fence

Rachel is a climber. Seriously the girl loves to climb! When there aren't any climbing trees her size around, she resorts to the fence. I've caught her all the way up on the fence, straddling it, and jumping over to the other side. She absolutely loves to stand up there and watch cars and people go by. 
Tyler added some extra stones to the top to the stone pile so that Maggie could get up there too.
Good idea? 
I'm not convinced. 
But Maggie sure enjoyed herself up there!

Oh this picture! 
Warms my Mommy heart.
I love happy girls...

Sisters are the PERFECT best friend.

Daughter of God

I got the calling I thought I'd never get. The one I've been whining and moaning that I'd never get, saying- "How come all the cool people end up in Young Women? or How come no-one see's that I could totally do this?"
I'm ashamed of myself for all this whining! And truly have enjoyed (or learned to enjoy) every calling I've received. All this said- I am very happy to be the new Beehive adviser. I love to teach. And I love the Young Women. I feel like the Lord gave me a hug and said, "Here ya go Jess, have fun." 
It's a good feeling.

One of our mutual activities was to write complements on the board while I take pictures of all the girls and their complements. I thought it turned out great, and of course Rachel and Maggie were DYING to have a turn by the end of the night. 
When my darling daughters sat up on that table and I glanced through my camera to take a shot, a feeling of gratitude beyond description hit me, along with a feeling a shame. 
I have not been the best Mom lately. Needless to say these pregnancy hormones are getting the better of me and I've raised my voice far too often in recent weeks. 
But, oh how these girls love me anyway! 
Almost every day my little Rachel comes up to me and says, "Mom, you look so beautiful today. I love your earrings and I love how your eyes sparkle." 
Seriously, she says that to me every day. What a sweetheart. 
Truly, she is a Daughter of God and of Infinite Worth. 
Heavenly Father has born witness to me of that over and over again.

And this little stinker! 
She is my cuddler. She knows how to squeeze into any space and fit just right. 
Even with this big, ole belly of mine.
She is becoming more and more grown up everyday and has the funniest sense of humor.
She is constantly laughing at her own jokes.

I hope my girls ALWAYS remember how much a love them, but more importantly how much Heavenly Father loves them.
They are my little angels. I couldn't be more grateful to be their Mommy.

One of the Many Reasons Why...

I love Weatherford.

S'mores and Little Girl Wishes

The girls have been begging me to make s'mores lately.
While we were in Weatherford, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. 
Plus, everybody could enjoy.
"I got this Grandma..."

I like to look at her cheeks in this picture... full of chocolate.

First bite...

I like making my girls wishes come true. Even if it's just s'mores and even if it turns out messy. :)

Being a Mom means that almost every activity ends up with one big mess. 
Especially s'mores. 
And especially if your girls decide that all they really like is the chocolate in the middle. 
hahaha! 
It was worth it.

Maverick

While Tyler went to some training, the girls and I hit the road to Weatherford to play with family.
Uncle Joseph and Teancum both work at a gymnastics place called Maverick and guess what...?
They got us in FOR FREE! Yay!
The girls had a blast jumping around for a while. Thanks guys!

The castle playplace was a hit!

Rachel's cheesy grin...

I just like this picture... I think it's the combination of the air-time and ponytail... yep, that and she's cute. ;)

Really, really cute.

And then Rachel cracked her toenail almost all the way down to the bottom... Aw man...

It was dramatic, so I took a picture. ;)
She survived and even got up and kept jumping!
It was pretty gross though!

All in all- A WONDERFUL outing! 
Nothing like foam cubes, a castle, and a zillion trampolines to make a kid happy. ;)