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Monday



 I'm back from Texas and I can't wait to show you where I went!  Don't I look excited?


I have to start at the beginning of the trip, so be patient and hang in there with me!
(Or just scroll through until you see the frozen yogurt!)

AH (Awesome Husband) had business in San Antonio and the whole family tagged along! 


My son lost his tooth in the middle of our plane ride. 
Apparently, flight attendants take over the tooth fairy duties when flying over 30,000 feet in the air?!
Who knew?


We landed in Austin and drove to this AMAZING resort outside of San Antonio!

The rooms were beautiful and the pools were INCREDIBLE!
{Apparently this place is where they hold PGA tournaments...
I'm not a golfer, so I can't tell you how the links are, but from my hotel room they looked lovely.}


While AH (Awesome Husband) attended meetings and trade shows (poor guy), 
the kids and I played in the pools (aren't we lucky?!).


The lazy river was so relaxing, but the kids spent most of their time on the...


WATER SLIDES!

MY son went down each slide 35 times! 
He kept track, purposely making sure each slide got even coverage.
It was so great not having to wait in lines, that he didn't want to stop!

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After spending a day in the pools, we ventured out into the city on our next day.
AH joined us (I think he skipped out on a meeting or two?).
First stop:  The Alamo.


We all got a little history lesson..."Remember the Alamo!" as we toured this historic mission.
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The city of San Antonio celebrates 'Fiesta' the last week of April. 
It's their celebration honoring the heritage, culture and spirit of San Antonio.
We just happened to be right in the middle of their party!  (I guess we're party crashers?)


All the San Antonio kids get a day off of school to come out and celebrate.
We watched a bit of their Battle of the Flowers Parade.


(Notice how the girls on the float kick out their legs and show their cowboy boots under their dresses?  That's the tradition!)


My kids loved the marching drill teams...especially the ones carrying swords and weapons.
My husband and I loved that the band members wore backpacks of water with straws positioned next to their mouths...we had never seen that!  It's HOT in Texas!

And the highlight of the day--spending the afternoon with a very special person...
Our daughter's birth mother!  (She lives outside of San Antonio.) 

She and her family met us for a stroll down the Riverwalk.

{We adopted our daughter at birth over 11 years ago.
It was an open adoption that has turned into a wonderful friendship for all of us.
We try to visit each other every few years and we communicate through letters, e-mails and pictures.}



The Riverwalk is so pretty! 
We loved passing by the restaurants and stores right next to the river.
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The next day, bright and early we were in line at Fiesta Texas-Six Flags!


Our daughter's birth mom and family joined us for a day full of rides!


Of course some were scarier and wetter than others!
AH got drenched!


The driving ones are always our daughter's favorite!
(She's always in a hurry to grow up!)


What a fun, exhausting day we had!
Our favorite 'beat the heat' treat...


Frozen Yogurt with toppings!
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Now...  Last month as I was reading through a Country Living Magazine, I saw this ad.

A Country Living Fair in Austin, TX
I was going to be in Texas on those dates! 
Would it work out? 
I asked AH (Awesome Husband) if I could spend an hour or so at the fair before our flight home.  Well...Guess what?

He said "Yes."  (I told you he's awesome!)

The family dropped me off and went on a tour of Austin's capitol building,
while I had 2 hours of fun at the fair! So, are you ready to see???  Of course you are!


2 big buildings full of vendors!

Lots of booths packed with--Antiques,
Handmade items,
Vintage jewelry,
Displays,
Furniture,
Gardening Supplies,
Ah... I'm loving these vintage white pieces and glass domes!


And look who I ran into!  My high school friend, Dixie of Junk Salvation!
(Yep, we're both from WA state and somehow meet up in Texas?!  Crazy!)

Dixie and her sister had just finished hosting a 'Junk Salvation Show' in Austin.
I was sad I didn't make it to her TX show,
but you can click here and here to see their WA 'Junk Salvation Shows' I've been to!  So fun!
Check out these boots!  Whooowheee!  Cost: $300.

Now, I will say that the prices were a little steep...isn't everything 'bigger' in Texas?
Maybe the prices were inflated because everything looked like it came straight from the pages of Country Living Magazine...or maybe because these vendors had traveled across the country to be here and needed to make back their expenses?  I talked to some vendors from New Jersey, New York and Ohio!  They had loaded up their trucks and drove all the way to TX! 
(And I thought the plane ride was long!)

So, I bought a few little gifts and tucked them into my carry-on.  I wanted to buy everything in sight, so I guess I should be thankful that I had to fly home with my little roller suitcase. 
(I did see a shipping booth there...maybe next time?)

My 2 hours was up before I knew it, my family was waiting...time to catch the flight home.


Goodbye, Texas!  Thanks for a fun time!







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Tuesday

Wow! I take a week off for Spring Break, and I can't seem to get back in the blogging swing of things around here!  The laundry is piled up, the schedule is full of softball and baseball games, my camera's memory card is broken, I have leftover party decor everywhere from Saturday's party (more on that later), and we leave for a trip soon...so I've got to get packed!  Yikes! 

I did want to share this post with you, before I get back to my crazy life!
It's my son's LEGO Organization Desk!



You may have seen this idea in the Family Fun Magazine
Built for Building! - Image Collection

No?  Well, I saw it and almost fainted! 
This was exactly what my son needed to organize his ever-growing, out-of-control
LEGO collection!
Click here for the Family Fun directions on how to make one.
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So...you may have already guessed what happened next?
I showed the article to my 'Build Anything-Do Anything' Dad,
and presented him with (4) wire drawer carts on wheels.


I found the wire carts at the Goodwill for $4.99 a piece on...
Half Off Day! Yay!
{Thankfully my kids were with me to push those carts to the checkout and to the car
without being trampled on!  Those Goodwill 'half-off days' can get pretty crazy!}

I bought the clear plastic bins and the plastic dividers at the Dollar Store. 
The bins fit in the wire drawers perfectly.
They're not as deep as I wanted, but I think they'll be easier to locate pieces in.

My dad cut a piece of laminate board the size of the wire carts, widthwise. 
The length of the board is 7 feet. 
2 wire carts sit on each side with space in the middle for a stool or a chair.


The table top rests on top of the carts.  No nails or screws needed.
This allows us to remove the top and use it for target practice!
...and move the entire desk to a different location.  Very handy!

Of course my dad always goes above and beyond (a trait I inherited).

He added a plastic finished edge all the way around the laminate board. 
It looks so professional! 

The whole family helped my son color sort his LEGO collection. 
It took us about 3 weeks...no joke!


However...my son decided that color sorting was not enough.
He took the LEGO organization up a notch!  (a trait my son inherited from his father...)

This bin holds special orange submarine pieces, creatures and swords and shields.


And check this bin out.  Wow!


The Family Fun Magazine version glued down LEGO base boards along the entire top of the table. 
My son, didn't want that.  He wanted the option to use the table for other things, too.  Plus it's very difficult to spin a Ninjago LEGO on a base board...
So we left the top plain.


Both my daughter and I are a bit jealous that the LEGO pieces got a new desk and we didn't.
However, we both remember what life was like earlier...

LEGO pieces were TAKING OVER THE HOUSE!!!
(It's so nice to have our house back!)







Click here to see how we organized my son's room.

Linking up to: FrugalGirls, Whipperberry, SassySites, HappyHourProjects,
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Monday

Hi Friends!  Whew! 
What a great Spring Break we had!

Here's just a few of my highlights...

Easter cookie making with my daughter...
(We used this frosting recipe--click here!)

 


A 5 hour car trip to see my parents = a wedding scrapbook made for a friend!
(Yes, I love to scrapbook in the car!  Click here to see how I do it.)


Time spent with the family...


Kids playing with grandparents, cousins and lots of babies!


Easter service with my folks...


Easter desserts made by my sister-in-law...
(Cream puffs and Oreo balls!  Mmmmm!)


Easter egg hunt and even more cousin playtime...



A three day road trip into Montana and back= The Hunger Games book series read.
(Yes, I like to read in the car, too.)

Lots of wildlife spotting from the freeway, big sky,
meals out, date nights and a movie!


Back in Spokane, I slipped away to go shopping at my favorite store...




Can you believe that Hobby Lobby has 4th of July products out?
...maybe it's for Memorial Day, instead...right?

More visiting and playing with cousins and grandparents.
Another road trip back home= lots of overdue hemming and mending.
(Yep, I sew in the car.)


And we even squeezed in a quick visit up to Camano Island in the sun!


...for fort building, of course!


 Today we woke up to the sound of rain...
perfect weather to go back to school and do laundry!

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