Texas

We visited Longhorn Cavern State park yesterday, climbed the observation tower to look above the treetops and then went on a cave tour 135 feet below the ground. The last time we tried to go in the cave about a year ago, Addie was too scared so only half of us went. This time she…

Dipping our toes in the lake before bedtime. Mostly our vacation has been , except for the 30 minutes during which Chris and I were trying to get a rock out of Addie’s nose this evening and debating if this was emergency room territory. Oh, three year olds. I’d post a laugh emoji except that…

So much baby chub Also I loooove babies in cloth diapers. It’s just too cute. We got lucky and I had not yet gotten rid of our diapers (when I went through our baby stuff purge post Addie, when I thought she would be our last). So I didn’t have to buy any diapers for…

Celebrating a week off work with the most epic milkshakes ever @theyardmilkshakebar. Yes, we splurged and let the big girls get their own, no they didn’t finish them. Nora got a coffee milkshake with a donut. Zara’s chocolate chip cookie had a giant scoop of edible dough. Chris loaded up on all the artificial colors…

Once upon a time, a girl named Amber kept bumping into a boy named Chris at parties and one night asked him if he wanted to go out for a 2 am egg sandwich before going home. 16 years, 6 states, 4 kids, 1 business, and countless egg sandwiches later, I’m so glad he said…

Sitting in one of our favorite quiet places on the river. We’re taking a vacation this week from work and I am loving that we can leave the business in our employees’ capable hands. Being able to take vacations is one of the best things about growing the business to be more than just me…

Selfie with my running buddy. I decided it was about time to get active again and have started running (or trying to, anyway) 3 times per week in the mornings before it gets too hot while Vivi is still sleeping. Zara is our early bird, so this morning as I was getting ready to head…

Spring felt like it was crawling by every day, though at the same time I also can’t believe that it’s July already. It feels like those early days of utter exhaustion and frustration trying to get Vivi to nurse and gain weight are far in the past, though they really weren’t that long ago. I’m…

Walk, mask selfies from the other night down at San Gabriel Park. Its hot, but not unbearable. I am super missing the wonderful cool weather we had in the Pacific Northwest last summer, but at least we have super cute masks. Also, my COVID test was negative so that’s worth celebrating. @isacattostudio masks…go check them…

Half birthday girl! Zara is 7 1/2 today. I made her (vegan) gingerbread cupcakes with lemon buttercream and candied ginger on the top. She’s normally our chocolate girl so I was surprised by the request, but they turned out crazy delicious. It’s the first time that I used this cookbook and I can’t wait to…

Happy 4th of July! We were supposed to go out to the lake with Chris’ parents but stayed quarantined in our house instead as I had a tickle in my throat most of the week and an occasional cough (but no other symptoms). I went to get a COVID test on Thursday out of an…

I think one of my favorite things I will remember about Addie is how incredibly in love with “capes” she is. After watching Frozen about a million times, she has taken to wearing swaddling blankets as if they are capes and running around with them streaming out behind her. She does it all over the…