Saturday, April 27, 2013

Princess Day!

It was Princess Day at the ExpERIEnce Children's Museum. Madilyn and Olivia met up for some awesome times. There were "REAL" princesses, and they got their hair done, nails painted, made princess wands and bracelets and got to prance around in their favorite outfits. All in all, such a fun day.
 Two Cinderellas with Snow White and Princess Jasmine
 Merida (from Brave) and Cinderella (aka Madilyn)
 Two Cinderellas on a firetruck
 Madilyn was in AWE! She was definitely star struck.
And, the event was free for members.
I'm so glad Allison reminded me about it--thanks, Allison! :)
 

Friday, April 5, 2013

Texas Vacation!

We redeemed our bad vacation to Philly with an AMAZING vacation to Texas! We flew into Dallas, and Cameron's parents picked us up at the airport. We ate and headed back to Abilene. Our time in Abilene was super relaxing, which was just what we needed! Tons of sunshine and fresh air. Ahhh...
 
 As soon as Mark and Sherla (aka Nana and Papa) picked us up, they whisked us off for killer good Mexican food at Uncle Julio's in Ft. Worth. Y'all, I missed decent hot sauce like you wouldn't believe (yes, we call it hot sauce, not salsa...however, if you ask for hot sauce in Erie, you will get some Frank's Red Hot wing sauce...so say SALSA. When in Erie, do as the Erie-ites do). haha
 And, here is the beautiful, sunny Texas sky that greeted us as we pulled into Abilene. So wonderful. We could smell sprinklers watering lawns, hear birds singing, and we finally felt some warm sunshine. I left my Vitamin D supplements in Erie. We went the natural way in Texas. 
 We went to see The Croods on opening day. It was a cute movie.
 And, we had delicious Sharon Allen's BBQ. My mouth is watering. I started to feel my head clear and my old self coming back from all the BBQ and Mexican food. And, no. I'm not joking.
You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can't take the Texas out of the girl.
 Cameron found me a Mason Jar glass with a built-in straw and a lid.
 We went to the Abilene Zoo! Madilyn, Nana and Papa rode the train, we fed the catfish, saw TONS of snakes (they have a HUGE snake exhibit--yuck!), and I got a sunburn. Yes! It was awesome :)
 Madilyn ran inside to grab something and came out with a big sunhat. This was what she did for lots of time...stayed outside and enjoyed the sunshine. We all did.
 We went to Champions Church in Abilene, and we were so blessed by the ministry there. In fact, we were prayed for by a doctor and his wife. It was very powerful. Then, they had us over that afternoon, sat us down, and told us the things they wish they would've known in our position. Pure wisdom. I felt the Lord just pulling us away, giving us a heart-to-heart talk, and equipping us to handle the seasons ahead of us. I can't even describe how much this moment meant to us. It was such an amazing moment, and I know we'll always remember it.

 Afterwards, we ate dinner at Taco Bueno (which is by far BETTER than Taco Bell), and we drove past our first home. It still looks the same...which isn't good since it's been 8 years ago that we lived there. Come on people, let's go for an update! :)
Madilyh had her first trip to Mr. Gattis. Oh boy. I'm pretty sure Cameron and I enjoyed it every bit as much as she did. The "whack-a-mole" machine was jammed and it kept replaying on our turn...so we got like 200 tickets just playing it over and over. Lots of laughter, for sure! :)
 
Cameron and I went on a date to Hastings, just like the old days :) I got my favorite Chai Tea Latte (they make the BEST one...Yes, better than Starbucks!), and Cameron had black coffee, as always.
 
Then, we made the drive to Amarillo. We drove with Cameron's parents, and then we picked up his Grandma Patsy for a birthday lunch. We all rode together, and there were not enough seats, so Cameron rode in the hatch back. He's a trooper. 
 Madilyn and Grandma Patsy had a nice car ride.
 I FINALLY got to meet my nephew Henry Milo Taylor, who is 4 months old!
 Madilyn had a blast in Amarillo. Here is what she did most of the time--drive the Escalade.
 The weather in Amarillo was absolutely FABULOUS! Here are Madilyn, Grammy and Grampy (my parents) walking back from playing at the playground.
 I got to ride to get dinner one night with my dad. It was priceless.
There aren't many quiet moments like this. I really enjoyed it.
 Here is me and my dear old dad :)
 We got to feed the ducks at Medi-Park in Amarillo. Once again, wonderful weather.
 My Gang-Gang and Anna (my Dad's side) drove up to Amarillo to see us,
and we ate lunch with them.
 Decorating Easter eggs was nice to do with extended family.
Last year, we did it alone. This year, we had my parents there, and it was a lot of fun for everyone.
 Here we are, riding in the backseat, to Easter Sunday morning at my parents' church in Canyon.
The girls were in the backseat, and the boys and their long legs were in the front seat.
 Here are the sweet little cousins--Henry and Madilyn--taking their first picture together.
 We also got to spend some time with my mom's side of the family, hunting Easter eggs. My dad and Cameron grilled BBQ chicken. My Poppy brought over strawberry icecream, and my Aunt Didi brought The Hokey Pokey on CD. haha It was a nice day, and we were all ready for naptime.
Here is a picture of the "hat rack" at my parents' church.
 In Pennsylvania, we have coat racks. In Texas, hat racks.
 While we were in Amarillo, a cute little Maltese showed up at my parent's door without a tag. We nicknamed her Molly. We walked up and down the streets looking for her owner. No one knew where she came from. So, we brought her in. She's much too cute to let her get hit by a car. So, as she was in the house, she instantly loved my dad.
However, about an hour later, her owners came to pick her up.
 Her REAL name was Millie. (I think my parents need a puppy!) 
And, the night before we left, my brother Tyson, came back over to see us.
We really enjoyed our time spent with Jenny, Tyson and Henry. They are such a sweet family!
 
 We made it home two days ago, and we've been adjusting to real life again.
It's nice to be back in our home, but we do miss Texas terribly.
However, I think we FINALLY made it to Spring in Erie, so that's something to look forward to.
Only a little over a year, and we'll be moving on to our next adventure--Residency!