Blue Eyes, and Blue Bonnets! Spring has arrived in Texas!

After a brisk walk around Pflugerville Lake. The wildflowers are out in force right now. This might explain allergy induced croup and other breathing maladies at our house, but they sure are pretty! We will do a dressed up version in the wildflowers this Sunday. We have been enjoying the 90 degree weather. We are going to hit the pool tomorrow! Woohoo!

Leprechaun Noah and the Red Velvet Cupcake- It should have been green! What were we thinking?

Noah has not been exposed to too many sweets. He has the occasional Graham Cracker, Animal Cracker, and Nilla Wafer but nothing as sweet as this. We truly enjoyed watching little No-No go after this cupcake. He was all business. Happy 1st Birthday! You are a joy and a blessing in our lives.

Spring Break- Texas Style

 We went to San Antonio for Spring Break this year. Last year we were in Utah anxiously awaiting the arrival of sweet little Noah. It was total craziness in Texas during Spring Break (never have I seen such crowds). I have been to Disneyland over Spring Break and I think there were more people at the San Antonio Zoo then there were at Disney the one year we were there. We decided to check out The Natural Bridge Caverns. Had a total blast! We took Aunt Lauren along and it was the first time she had ever been in a cave.

 Luke loved the Caverns. They were quite warm inside, wet (aka-moist), and at times a little spooky! We had a wonderful adventure and will most definately go back someday.

It was Noah's Birthday. Here he is getting his Birthday spanking (Grandpa Baxter, I know you loved every second of it). A pinch to grow an inch, and a smile to go a mile! Luckily he is only 1 this year. That little rear end can't handle very much!

Mark and Mindy lovin' it in Hawaii

 The hike (let's call it a glorified walk) to Twin Falls on the Road to Hana. We had such a great time and were lucky enough to spend the afternoon with our friends The Eyre's. The swimming was a little chilly but definately worth it. It was a great time and I was amazed at the vegetation hanging off the cliffs. It looked almost fake. That's how real it was.

 The view from our corner room/balcony at the Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa on Maui. Gorgeous! Loved every moment of our time there. We could see whales surfacing from our balcony. The grounds at this resort are great and I really enjoyed the walk along the beach past all of the resorts. I will go to Maui again any day!

Mark, being well, Mark! Maui truly is a paradise. We were tempted to move there. But no, we had to come home to the great state of Texas! Hawaii's got nothing on the BBQ here. :-)

Going Nuts over Nutcrackers.....

This last Saturday was our Church Christmas Party. One of the Sisters in our Ward asked me to cover for her and set up the Nutcracker Room at the church. Of course I said yes because why would I turn down the opportunity to decorate? I love to decorate. Calista and I spent most of Saturday gathering things, setting up the room, and making treats for the party. This is the mixed theme table. There are sports Nutcrackers, Snowman Nutcrackers, a Mickey Mouse Nutcracker and all kinds of Nutcrackers. I love all of the football player nutcrackers at the back. They were some of my favorites.

 The King and Soldier Nutcracker themed table. I love the Kings with "Bling". I love anything that sparkles. We had a blast setting up this room.

 More Kings and Soldiers. I brought in lamp tables and lamps from the entryway/foyer to give the room a more cozy feel and also because all of the other tables at the Stake Center had been spoken for.

 Kensi had her Winter Program at school last week. They sang songs, danced, and overall put on a great show. Her favorite song was "Snowpants". When you see her at Christmas you will have to ask her to sing it solo. She won't hesitate. She loves it!

Kensi doing her cartoon character smile in front of the Winter Program set. What a cutie!

From the Mixed up Life of......Mrs. Mindy B. Preator

November seemed to fly by didn't it? We stayed in Texas for Thanksgiving and experienced our very first Holiday away from family. We were hosted by The Ginos Family and had a wonderful meal and great company. I baked my brains out for the first time in my life. As practice for my pie crusts I made a quiche at the first of the week (see below). It was delicious if I may say so myself and enjoyed by all.

                                        My very first Quiche Lorraine - Delish!

    These two girls are natural born readers. I think it runs in our family. They participate in a program that tests their reading level. They set goals and when they reach 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of goal they receive dog tags. Cali has reached 100% of goal (she takes after her Dad) and Kensi is at 50% of goal for the school year so far. Great job girls! Keep hitting the books!

 This week Calista's class had a field trip to the Blanton Museum of Art downtown. I chaperoned and had a great time watching her interact with her classmates. We ate lunch next to the museum with the Capitol in the background. It was a beautiful day. The art was amazing and as a bonus they also were able to tour the Texas History Museum. I have to say their is a little bit of Texas pride brainwashing that occurs there but it is all in good fun. We had a great time!

Calista's Fourth Grade Class at the Blanton Museum. The blue tiled walls in the foyer/entrance are a piece of art. I love it! Very cool!

Our life is a Zoo.....and a little bit of Sea World too!

You would think that in November we would be wearing sweaters, long pants, and heating ourselves up from the inside out with hot cocoa. Not in the Great State of Texas. Last Friday night we drove down to San Antonio to spend the evening with our Dad who had been working at a Conference there. Saturday he worked some more and I took all the kids to the Zoo! When Mark was finished with his work day we managed to squeeze 2 hours at Sea World in to the already packed and exhausting day. The kids had a blast! Journey to Atlantis at Sea World is their favorite ride.

 Kensi, hanging out in the Reptile House with these lovely little crocodiles.

 Checking out the new Africa 2 Exhibit at the San Antonio Zoo. We loved the bug display!

                                                      She's a Butterfly! Oh, and he is too!

 Sea World is decked out for the Holidays already. Had to pose in front of their giant Christmas Tree.

Drenched at the Shamu show. Luke was so upset that he got wet that he cried for 20 minutes. We are not sure what those animal trainers told Shamu and his sidekick but they nailed us three times. They must have promised a gigantic cupcake. That would have motivated us! It was funny to get this wet. Noah was saved by the blanket I held over him. The rest of us looked like we took a shower with our clothes on. After getting this wet we ran and hopped on Journey to Atlantis and added more water to the mix. After that it was off to the roller coasters to dry ourselves off. All in all, a fun filled weekend. We love our Season Passes!