Sunday, May 26, 2013

Randoms of life lately

Family road rally, which started at a super cool free car museum tucked away in Farmers Branch:

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 005iPhone misc AprMay 2013 008

First Frosty Paws (doggie ice cream!) of the season:

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 018

Daddy/Daughter adventures:

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 029

Denton Arts & Jazz Festival 2013:

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 066iPhone misc AprMay 2013 073iPhone misc AprMay 2013 082

Julie, Abby and Patrick came over to rescue me prior to finals so I’d have some time to study in peace at the library while B was highly entertained by her best bud. So sweet!

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 120iPhone misc AprMay 2013 124

Our first Rangers game of the year! Not only was the weather awesome (the girls got to snuggle under a comfy blankie!), we also got a great fireworks show and a Rangers WIN!

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 131iPhone misc AprMay 2013 135iPhone misc AprMay 2013 137

On the hunt for fireworks:

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 154

Bridget yelling at me through the camera – she’s all of a sudden SUPER against the camera moving at all. It’s actually hilarious.

073074

STARS game with Bridget! Another sports WIN!

079081

Mommy and Daddy at the Opera. The production was amazing, and so was the AT&T Performing Arts Center. We were both so annoyed that it took us so long to finally go see it!

126

Enjoying some kite time with Daddy:

iPhone love 4-12-13 024iPhone love 4-12-13 029iPhone love 4-12-13 035

I wasn’t about to miss bluebonnets this year – so we managed ONE good shot just off the parking lot of Arbor Hills. That’ll do for this busy momma!

iPhone love 4-12-13 058

Visiting Daddy and his band at Sandy Lake Amusement Park:

iPhone love 4-12-13 130

Grand Day at B’s school. She was beaming with pride being the only kiddo in her classroom with FOUR grandparent visitors. She’s so blessed to have them!

767

With all our busy, wild craziness, she often needs that afternoon nap pretty badly. Love how relaxed her sweet face looks when she’s sleeping. Precious angel.

775779

Saturday, May 25, 2013

I’m Back! And I’ve been to Europe since my last post!

(started writing this two days after I returned from the trip – its now been 2 weeks – LIFE HAPPENS!)

Oh geez. So much to catch up on in life since early March! Let me start with my fabulous trip to Amsterdam last week:

We met with my parents the Sunday before Mother’s Day because my parents had a wedding to attend in New Orleans over Mother’s Day weekend. I was pleasantly surprised to see Jonathan had brought a card for me, though he’s pretty thoughtful, so I just thought it was a sweet touch. I read it, it was cute. I smiled. You know the drill. Then I noticed the little note at the bottom telling me to “turn the card over”…that’s where I found this:

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 169

Um, what?? I wish I had a video of my face, because I’m pretty sure my family could actually see my gerbil wheel making sense of what was in front of me…and when it finally clicked (and when I realized the departure date!), you know I burst into tears! Let’s be real, we all did. I’m sure Bridget was wondering why she was surrounded by a bunch of saps. It was fabulous! Too bad I still had a day and a half of finals to deal with before I could actually think about and prepare for my world travels. Thankfully Jonathan had found and checked my passport…phew! Still good for a few more years!

Finals can be discussed at a later date. Or not. In fact, let’s not. They’re over! Wahoo! Moving on. I’ve got a Europe trip to tend to!

No time to clean the house. No time to shop for new clothes. Just enough time to do laundry (oh, I haven’t mentioned that laundry, cleaning, and cooking had all stopped two weeks before since I was knee deep in school) so I could make sure I had some clean underwear for the excursion. Honestly, though…I assured Jonathan that the last-minute-ness of the surprise didn’t phase me one bit and I’d be hopping that plane with or without enough clothes and supplies!

Seriously, one of the best parts of the trip were the flights. And don’t let that fool you – the Amsterdam time was amazing! But the peace, quiet, and solitude I was awarded on four flights was something I hadn’t known for a looooooooong time. It was so rejuvenating!

Well…I left DFW at noon on Wednesday and rolled touched down in Amsterdam at 6:15am on Thursday. With such a short trip, no time could be wasted! Amanda picked me up and we headed to her place for a quick battery charge:

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 183

And after about 2 hours, we hit the town!

Amsterdam 029Amsterdam 030

Here are the hilariously steep and narrow steps that lead up to Amanda’s apartment. Ya’ll. Her place was AWESOME. I’m never going to want to return to Europe without staying with her…she lives in style! So great!

Amsterdam 032

We took the short walk to Vondelpark for a mini picnic and some rest time…ahhh..

Amsterdam 035

Nabbed some drinks outside of the modern museum and met some of Amanda’s friends from work (who also had visitors in tow) and then headed to dinner – Ethiopian food! It was a true adventure, but a successful one. That stuff was good – and no one’s bellies rebelled!

Amsterdam 038Amsterdam 041iPhone misc AprMay 2013 197

 

Never one to waste a beautiful night, we all headed over to the more well-known area of town: the Red Light District. Everyone’s gotta say they’ve been! It’s not nearly as wild as people assume, and the place was PACKED with tourists. I just loved getting some great night time pics of the oldest church in Amsterdam – which just happens to tower over all the prostitute alleys. Hmmm.

Amsterdam 044Amsterdam 047Amsterdam 049Amsterdam 053iPhone misc AprMay 2013 199

After a night of oh-so-relaxing sleep (with the window open! Ahhh!), we headed over from some yummy breakfast (did I mention how slow all the restaurants are over there?? It would really take some getting used to for me!) before stepping out to the tulip town. On the way, we happened to see a man whittling hand made wooden shoes. I was amazed!

Amsterdam 058Amsterdam 060Amsterdam 063Amsterdam 065Amsterdam 069

TULIPS! Amsterdam endured an unusually long winter this year, which was my good luck because it meant the tulips all bloomed about 2 weeks later than normal and I still got to see – and smell! – them. Beautiful!

Amsterdam 074Amsterdam 076iPhone misc AprMay 2013 206

The pic on the left is the planting team next to the large flat with freshly planted bulbs. The pic on the right is the left third of the flat post-bloom. So cool!

Amsterdam 087Amsterdam 088

Amanda and I got a real kick out of all the chilled out dogs that people bring EVERYWHERE. Stores, restaurants, trains, ARBORETUMS. Penny would be in doggy heaven. Check out this mini-spotted Penny. So cute!

Amsterdam 096

Gorgeous:

Amsterdam 106Amsterdam 107Amsterdam 113

We grabbed some people watching time in the museumplein (directly across the street from Amanda’s place) and I cannot be more thankful for our decision to try a waffle. They were selling them everywhere, so I needed to see what the big deal was about a silly waffle. OMG. DELICIOUS. Not just a waffle!

Amsterdam 126iPhone misc AprMay 2013 210Amsterdam 128iPhone misc AprMay 2013 212Amsterdam 133

The afternoon brought us a trip to the Heineken Experience (its just too hard to call it a museum, and the tour is not of the actual brewery – the real thing is so huge it probably has its own zip code). We made a quick pop over to a lunch spot and had bitterballen (aka gravy balls) because I wanted some traditional dutch fare. Again, NUMMERS.

Amsterdam 141iPhone misc AprMay 2013 216

If you’re in Amsterdam and not sure if this is a good idea, IT IS. I was so impressed with the Heineken tour! Definitely worth the money – it’s fun!

Amsterdam 144Amsterdam 145Amsterdam 148Amsterdam 173Amsterdam 184

Our beer definitely needed a trip to Texas:

Amsterdam 189

This place was BIKE CRAZY. So thankful I was there over a holiday weekend and missed any real bike rush hours. They sound truly frightening!

Amsterdam 191

Hehehehehe:

Amsterdam 193

My other other half, slaving over a hot stove for me. Notice her “I (heart) TX” oven mitts. Those are from me Smile:

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 214

We actually needed the umbrella on the 3rd and final day. I was so blessed with great weather!

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 226

Secret speak-easy bar – got all dressed up for a great dinner and night out on the town:

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 232

More pooches, just chillin’ at the grocery:

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 235

Ended my journey with more people watching in the museumplein:

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 242

Can you see the bike with the giant box on the front?? That’s how people carry their kids everywhere. And no one wears helmets! WTH!

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 243

Boo…it was time to head home Sad smile

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 244

And I got to figure out the crazy luggage pods from space:

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 247iPhone misc AprMay 2013 249

Lo and behold, I had my little row to myself! Joy!

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 251iPhone misc AprMay 2013 252

Enjoyed declaring all my fabulous gifts for my sweet angels:

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 253

And was so thrilled to get home to my baby girl on the evening of Mother’s Day. I was gone just long enough not to be missed too much!

iPhone misc AprMay 2013 254iPhone misc AprMay 2013 256

I am one lucky wife and Mommy. Counting my blessings each and every day! Such a fabulous trip and the last-minute-ed-ness was one of the greatest parts. No worries about $$, no stressing about plans for B, no grown up concerns. People, we should travel like this more often!