photo 120...

Dessert this evening for the girls...by Ashton

So for a few days now, Ashton has wanted to make a fruit shake....so tonight we let her make it. She told me the ingredients...and how much of each...we put it in the blender with a little ice and wha-la....strawberry~banana~chocolate chip shakes.

The funny thing was that I suggested adding a few mini chocolate chips as Landry's contribution. Landry of course loved her small sample of the shake....Ashton not so much! She decided it was better to get milkshakes from restaurants! She totally cracks me up sometimes!

photo 119...

Today, Auntie Megan, Uncle Ricci, and Parker came up for the day. They came to watch Ashton play softball and to have their pictures taken at Portrait Innovations. It was a busy day but we enjoyed it!

Thanks for coming up to visit...we enjoyed seeing yall twice in one week...what a treat!

photo 118...

"Wah-Wah...Wah-Wah...Wah-Wah"

This is what Landry kept yelling as she was playing in the water today! We had a fun little playgroup and picnic with some of our "blogging buddies". We met at this fabulous spray park...this girl had a blast! She was not afraid of the water at all and was in heaven!

I will blog more about this fun time...and hopefully I can beg and borrow some pictures from Jodi...I was way too busy chasing Landry and couldn't have my camera with me...I was afraid it would get ruined in the water. I did however manage to get a few pics!

photo 117...

Today we headed to Lorena for a whirlwind afternoon/evening trip for my oldest nephew's high school graduation. {More details to come soon}

As we headed home I noticed this beautiful sunset and wanted to capture it in a picture. Sounds easy enough....but not so much when you are driving on I-35 heading north, the sunset is on your left with tons of semis driving in between my camera and the sunset. I managed to get this one with no other cars in the picture on the second try and all while Bobby continued to drive.

photo 116...

Jammie Night at Bunco...

As I mentioned before, I play bunco with a group ladies that I used to teach with and I truly love it! Once a month I get to hang out and play and chat and eat for a couple of hours. Well this month we our hostess had a FABULOUS idea to do a "Jammie Theme". We had breakfast food...homemade cinnamon rolls {that were so yummy} and mimosas! I left stuffed so it was a darn good thing I was wearing elastic wasted jammies!

photo 115...

My mom {and grandma} came up today to help me out with the girls since it was going to be another busy Tuesday in the Bryce house AND we were minus Daddy! What a lifesaver!

Anyway, my mom had asked me to embroider some burp cloths for a co-worker as a baby gift. So this evening after the girls were bathed and tucked into bed....I worked on these for her!

Thanks mom and Ninny for coming up to help out....I appreciate it more than you know! We also enjoyed getting to visit with yall! (more to come on the blog soon)

photo 114...

Tonight after supper, instead of taking our walk/bike ride, we decided to go visit the ducks. We attempted to feed them, but this is what they did when we walked up...so we fed the birds, turtles, fish, and Landry {details to come on our blog soon} instead.

We took a bunch of pictures that I will post on our family blog soon! We hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day!

photo 113...

Memorial Day Weekend...

We are enjoying our long weekend and remembering the many soldiers who died fighting so we can enjoy the freedoms we have. We are so thankful for these men and women and their families who have sacrificed so much!

One of the things that makes me think of Memorial Day Weekend is watermelon! I picked one up at the grocery store today and it was delicious...so red...so juicy...not many seeds....mmmmm!

photo 112...

Our 11th Anniversary!

Today Bobby and I are celebrating because 11 years ago we got married! We had such a great day hanging out together as our family of four then headed out for a date night just the two of us! It was fabulous!

The Leonards so graciously kept our girls so we could do this...and we appreciate it more than they will ever know! Ashton spent the night with them and we picked Landry up around 9:15 or so and brought her home to sleep in her own bed.

Thanks again Leonards...you guys are awesome!

photo 111...

kicking off memorial day weekend with a sno cone!

This weekend we met our crew at the sno cone stand...also know as "The Sno Cone Lady". This is always a fun treat in the summer and we thought it would be a great way to enjoy the nice weather hanging out with friends.

As you can see....Landry LOVES her some sno cones! She and mommy shared a strawberry one which explains the red mouth! Ashton's was rainbow...her mouth ended up being a dark bluish-purple! It was a fun way to spend the evening!

photo 110...

The games kids play....

...sometimes really gross me out! Take this one for example, two kids race to see how many marbles they can throw out of the pool with their feet! Just think of all the dirty, sweaty, feet that have been in that water and touched those marbles.....yuck...but, the kids LOVE it!!!

photo 109...

a sure sign of spring....

for some reason, birds LOVE our house to build their nests. We have a family that comes back every year (although I have no idea if they are the same ones or not) and lays their eggs above our front door.

Well...this year we not only have that original family in the front, but we now have a family that decided to build a nest on our patio. I took the picture above this morning before Ashton went to school. The babies finally hatched a sometime over the weekend and in the morning they are loud in letting their momma know she needs to feed them!

Ashton was so tickled to see these babies with their mouths open wide...she then proceeded to tell me how many animal parents regurgitate food for their babies. I had to pick my jaw up of the bed so I could finish doing her hair.

photo 108...

(sorry for the horrible picture this was the best of 6)

What I love about girls night with Jodi and Gina:

...watching the Grey's Anatomy Season Finale and the Season Premier of the Bachelorette

....eating Gina's peanut butter popcorn

...drinking a glass of wine

...coming over in my jammies

...laughing, chatting, chatting, and more chatting

...out loud predictions of what is happening on our shows

...and this is only the "short" list!

I love these two girls....

photo 107

Tonight after supper while Ashton was "practicing" getting going all by herself on her bike, I was distracting Landry with some bubbles. I knew I had to do something because she is obsessed with Ashton and Ashton's bike which means she gets in the way.

She loves bubbles....and loves to chase them while yelling "bubb-a" in her little toddler voice.

photo 106...

Today's weather was absolutely perfect...sunny....not too hot....not too cold....not too windy....just perfect! After Bobby finished taking care of the yard and we had supper, we took a walk/bike ride. Ashton has been bitten by the "determination bug". This girl has been riding her bike with no training wheels for almost a year, but still has trouble starting off on her own.

Well....today she was determined to get it. She tried a million times and got herself going on some of those tries. After we got back from the walk/bike ride she spent another 15 minutes or so going up and down the sidewalk in front of our house just trying to get going all by herself. I love her determination. We decided this will be what we do in the evenings so she can get some practice.

And Landry...oh boy! She rode in her push car while leaning over the side and grabbing the wheels as it was moving! She would do it on one side, then switch over to the other side. I only wish I had my camera! She kind of looked like a dog with it's head sticking out the car window as it is driving the road! Thank goodness she was buckled....they invented buckles for kids like her!

photo 105...

Our Little Texas Girls...

photo 104...

matchy-matchy plaid...

so....i love plaid shorts {especially on little munchkins}....and i love when my girls match! I don't match them all the time, but they always have 1 or 2 outfits that match. what is unusual about this is....Ashton hates plaid! I can't believe we got her to try these on AND she liked them. She was thrilled when we found these same shorts in Landry's size!

photo 103...

Lil Baby Flip Flops....the cutest things I have EVER seen!

I have to give the whole story about these flip flops...because I thought it was funny! Anyway, I ran into Old Navy today to find Landry a plain white shirt and to see if they had brown flip flops for Ashton.

We wandered into the baby section and there they were...flip flops! I checked to see if they had Landry's size {these were the only size 5 they had...luckily it was a good color}. Before I could get them off the rack she was squealing for me to hand them to her. I tried them on her and she had the biggest grin on her face. She held up her foot so she could see them... I thought she would hate them once they were on since "the between the toe thing" is new for her.

Boy was I wrong! She didn't want me to take them off, but when I handed them to her to hold she was a happy camper.

We got home and she kept trying to say "flip flop". She grabbed my hand and wanted to get her flip flops to show Daddy. She waddled into the bedroom beaming of course and so proud of her flip flops. She didn't want me to take them off for nap. As soon as she woke up she went to her closet and was pounding on the door trying to say flip flop.

So it is safe to say that she LOVES her flip flops! Once again, she just wants to be like everybody else! This girl cracks me up...oh how I love her!

photo 102...

Dinner with my little girls...

Daddy was out of town yesterday and today {but is home now} so us Bryce girls were on our own for supper. We had talked about getting together with the Leonard Ladies to play and have dinner since their Daddy usually works on Wednesday evenings, but we had a change in plans since they were celebrating Mother's Day with Bill's mom. So I gave Ashton the option of making pizza at home or going out. She chose going out of course.

I let her pick where to go and she chose Chili's. We had a delicious dinner and the best part was the chips, salsa, and ranch.....yummmmm-000000!

I enjoyed my dinner date with my little girls! We are glad Daddy is home and that it was a short trip!

photo 101...

here is a picture of a shirt I made for Ashton...

My big girl loves her some zebra print (and mommy does too) so I made her this shirt. I am toying with the idea of starting a small business with my embroidery...and I thought I would experiment with some different things as possibilities.

I am planning on making a matching one for Landry if only I could find a black shirt in her bitty size. She may get a different shirt with a different style of lettering and fabric.

photo 100...

Look who just barely has enough hair for a mini-piggy tail....

She LOVES it and thinks it is absolutely hysterical. As soon as I put it in, she went to her mirror to check out her "new do"...she giggled and laughed and couldn't stop touching it. She didn't pull it out so that is a good sign. I really don't love it...only because I think it makes her look BIG! However, it does keep her hair out of her eyes.

photo 99...

Happy Mother's Day 2009!

photo 98...

A spread of 6 faboulous desserts (a chocolate fountain, strawbeery crisp, ice cream, bundt cake, famous Jodi Leonard brownies, strawberry salsa and cinnamon crisps) 2 dessert wines along with some great friends made for a fun evening!

photo 97...

The Best Helper Ever....

Today as I was cleaning, Ashton really wanted to help me. So...I gave her a swiffer duster and she went to town dusting her room. Anything that could be dusted~she dusted! After she finished the dusting she wanted to do some more...she came bee-boppin' out of her room asking for the glass wipes. I questioned what she needed the wipes for and her response was one like I was asking THE DUMBEST question ever...."ummmm my mirror". {Even though I had cleaned her bathroom while she was at school, I let her go to it}.

This girl was so proud of herself and loved every minute of it~I do realize this is like making her lunch...she doesn't have to do it yet so it is still fun. She also wanted me to teach her how to do laundry....I thought to myself "who are you and where is my 6 year old LITTLE girl?" She got to wash two loads of towels and was in heaven!

I will take all the help I can get whenever I can get it...I love this girl!

photo 96...

Mom's Night Out...

So tonight was MNO with moms from Blogland! This was the first time I had met most of the these ladies and I had such a great time! I am so glad I went....I hope to hang out with these gals again soon. Oh and Chuy's is delish!

photo 95...

Hi-5's all around the table...

So...we have been working with Landry on some of her habits at the table. Let's take for example, launching her milk cup when she is finished taking a drink, or gently dropping the pieces of food that she doesn't want on the floor, or when she is finished eating-launching her plate.

We have really been trying the positive reactions over the negative. When she puts her milk cup back in the spot...she gets a" hi-5" from everyone at the table. Same thing when she eats her food instead of playing with it (or feeding it to Buster) and when she hands us her plate after she is finished rather than throwing it on the floor.

Well....she loves this "hi-5" thing SOOOO much. She thinks she needs a "hi-5" every time she takes a bite of something. She will pick up her plate and set it back down on her tray just so she can get a "hi-5". She now gives "air hi-5's" to me and Ashton since we aren't sitting right next to her.

Whatever floats her boat and helps her learn some manners works for us! This is a phase that too shall pass.

photo 94...

Runnin' Shoes...

These are the shoes I probably should have worn today but didn't. Today was a SUPER busy day at our house. Here is a brief run-down...

9:15 ish...It started with Landry swallowing some (a small amount, while I was standing right there in the bathroom with her) soap from my face cloth and me being the sometimes paranoid mom I am and calling poison control to make sure she would be fine. For the record...in Ashton's almost 7 years on earth I have never ever had to do that...kid number 2!

10:30...Landry's class at My Gym

11:45...Return home grab some lunch real quick and hand Landry off to Daddy

12:15...Mommy meets Ashton's school at Frisco Fire Safety Town for a field trip

2:15...Return home...finish getting geared up for the afternoon/evening (Thank goodness Daddy helped out with this one while I was a the field trip)

3:00...Pick Ashton up from school and hurry home to change, make a bun in her hair and head to dance

3:45...Dance (with no power in the building)

5:00...Get Ashton changed into her softball uniform, feed the kids, and inhale my own dinner (thank goodness for Jodi's help on this one)

5:35...Head to the softball field

6:00...Ashton's softball game

7:10...Packed up and headed home

7:25...Get Landry ready for bed and put her to bed

7:35...Give Ashton a shower

8:00...Put Ashton to bed

Whew! After all of that it was time to make the appetizers for the Teacher Appreciation Lunch tomorrow and of course do my 365!

photo 93...

Miss Independent...Our Older Version

oh my. Ashton is at this age where she wants to do everything by herself! She wants to make her own breakfast and her own lunch on non-school days. She wants to pour her own milk, do her own hair, pick out her own clothes, etc. I am willing to give in on some things and especially on days where she doesn't have school and we aren't going anywhere.

On non-school days {like today} she chooses things for lunch that she can make by herself. This basically means a sandwich. I try to get her to eat things for lunch that she can't take in her lunchbox on these days. Well....today was one of those days where she wanted to make her own lunch: ham and mustard sandwich on wheat, a cheese stick, applesauce, and cheetos.

My dilemma is that I really enjoy doing these things for her, but I know that this is part of growing up and while she is only 6, I don't want her to grow up not being able to do things on her own. I know there will come a time when this gets old and she will want me to do it for her again. I really am not loving this whole my kiddo is growing up way too fast thing! How can I make it slow down! Geeeez!

photo 92...

I'm TOTALLY lovin' sisters....

Since Ashton was awarded the game ball yesterday at her softball game she also got a $5 gift certificate to Dick's Sporting Goods. So this afternoon we headed to the mall so she could spend it {she chose some super cute pink camo shorts} and while we were there we needed to make a drink stop at Sonic.

As soon as Ashton had taken a drink of her apple juice slushy she tilted her cup over toward Landry so she could have some too. Landry had the biggest smile on her face and shook her head/whole body to say "yes" meaning she liked it and wanted more. Ashton continued sharing...Bobby and I were so proud of her! What a great big sister she is!

photo 91...

A good ole spring afternoon thunderstorm...with hail!

This was the scene out our backdoor this afternoon around 3:00. It looks like it should be night time. We ended up getting to snuggle up and watch a movie on Mommy & Daddy's bed because the storm was making our satellite go nuts. That actually turned out to be a good thing since Mommy and Daddy missed movie night with Ashton last night. Grammy came to visit so she got to have movie night with Ashton while Mommy and Daddy had movie night at the movie theater!

We were so glad the storm waited to hit until after Ashton softball game this morning and Grammy made it home.

photo 90...

Ashton was awarded the "PE Student of The Week" at her school today!

We are so beyond proud of this girl...I have blog post in the works with all the details!