Friday, July 10, 2015

Our trip to Houston

We are back from Houston, woop woop. We had such a great time hanging out with hubby's cousins in Houston for the 4th of July. We decided fairly last minute to take advantage of the long weekend to visit hubby's cousins, we booked our flights and off to Houston we went.

We were really nervous about this trip because it was the first time that we were traveling with all 3 kids by ourselves without any help at all. It was not easy but we made it and live to tell the tale :). It took a lot of bribery and letting the boys do things they wanted to do in order to survive.

At the airport I of course managed to get a family picture before we boarded
The boys loved the moving walkway, Tman dubbed it the "magic carpet" a few trips ago and it's been the life of the party for the boys at the airport.
They also loved looking at planes from the window, Tman is a riot
We went back to the magic carpet this time with Bean
Tman doing his surf move, this kid I tell you
Oh hi handsome Bean, how do you like the magic carpet adorable baby ;)
Before we knew it we were in Houston. I was a little dissapointed at other passengers on the plane that kept giving us the side eye or complained about our kids to the flight attendants. All I kept thinking is how can you complain when you can clearly see that we are attempting to keep the kids calm plus seriously, lend a hand if you are so annoyed. Anyway, that was my only gripe this trip so it's really not so bad.

I digress, the next day and every morning, the boys enjoyed their milk followed by a delicious breakfast courtesy of hubby's cousin and her husband. More importantly, they loved sitting at the breakfast bar spinning around while they waited for the food

My boys drinking their daily milk in the morning. I love that Bean wanted to be part of this group
Breakfast time spinning around as you do
Another morning when they were joined by hubby
The first day we decided to go to the Zoo. It was such a great idea. Tman is really into animals these days and he was excited at the prospect of seeing some Lions after watching the Lion King the night before. We packed everyone and off to the zoo we went

Our family with hubby's cousin and niece at the Houston zoo
This zoo was so nice and had so much to see that we spent the whole day there. I took so many awesome pictures at the zoo that it deserves its own post.

That evening like every evening, we walked the dogs and that turned out to be one of the boys favorite activity.

Tman chilling with Suzie
Taking the dogs out for a walk, check out Bean mr independent over there with his bow legs ;)
The next day we went to a local water park. Jbird and hubby fell asleep right before we left so we went without them. You snooze you lose in this family.

As soon as we got there we of course took a pic in our bathing suits :)
Tman was in heaven, he went down the big and small slides a gazillion times. Every time he emerged from the slide, there was a huge smile plastered on his face, my boy loves him some water.
Bean enjoyed the water too, look at him smiling with Suzie
I went down with Bean a few times too :)
We had such a great time hanging out at the water park, now let's take a selfie before we leave :)
Tman loved Suzie's glasses and asked to take a picture with them
And of course I had to put them on Bean too :). You are too cool for school beanie baby. I love this baby so much
I asked Tman to act crazy and this is what I got, I love this kid so much
The afternoon of the 4th of July was spent chilling and relaxing. Our family on 4th of July :)
The boys running around the cul de sac before we went to the park
Suzie and I were definitely representing with our red white and blue
The big boys at the park, Tman was telling me he was King Mufasa from the Lion King
Another great day was enjoyed by all. The next day we decided to take everyone back to the water park since Jbird and hubby missed out on the fun. Before we left, we let the boys kick the ball around and Jbird and Bean had a ball doing that, literally.
Our family of 5 at the water park
I love this picture of the my boys going into the water, even Bean wanted to walk all by himself, he is such an independent baby that one
Jbird loved the slide as I knew he would
Tman was attached to Suzie's hip
Tman and Jbird loved going down the slides together
We had so much fun swimming, going down slides and playing in the water. The boys took a nice long nap when we came back. Our family friends came over to visit later that day and we just chilled and hung out the rest of the afternoon. We visited them the last time we were in Houston almost 2 years ago.

 The boys watching the Lion King again
While our friends were visiting, we decided to work on our favorite thing we did 2 years ago: the jump picture. The kiddos suggested it last time and I bought into it so we decided that every time we get together we'll do the same.

I present to you our jump picture, go ahead and laugh at us, we are pretty ridiculous like that  :)
I made hubby join in on the fun too, the crazy things I make my family do
It was all worth it because we had so much fun with it. Best of all, we now have a tradition going and every time we get together, we will do this jump pic :). 2 years ago Bean was in the belly and today he is here jumping with us ;)

That night when we walked the dogs, I got this awesome picture of hubby's cousin and her kids with our kids
What an awesome trip we had hanging out with our family and friends in Houston. It was such a short trip but so worth it for the time spent with family. The boys loved hanging out with everyone and I love that Tman remembers people now and recognize them from pictures and such. We'll aim to visit at least every 2 years so that the kids continue to be close to family. I am off to get ready for my BFF's wedding festivities.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Kate and James' wedding festivities

Hubby's sister got married a few weeks ago and it was such an amazing celebration. She decided to have the wedding in the U.S. instead of the U.K. and everyone traveled to celebrate with them. It was awesome for us because we didn't have to go anywhere ;). Since everyone was traveling, the wedding was actually a week long affair. Hubby was off the entire week while I only took a few days off to join in on the fun. It was such an amazing celebration.

The celebration started with an evening out with all the guest so that everyone had a chance to meet and greet. My mom watched the boys while hubby and I enjoyed a nice grown up evening. There was lots of drinking, laughing, and English accents ;).
Us with the groom's sister and her boyfriend
Looking good with the ladies, hubby's mom, her friend, hubby's aunt and sister
The next day, we had the rehearsal followed by dinner and drinks. The boys came to the rehearsal since they had big jobs in the wedding then they went home with my mommy while hubby and I stayed with the grown ups. My mom is amazing, I know.

I attempted to take a picture of our family but of course craziness ensued
All the girls before dinner (I am behind the camera so I am not in that group shot :))
Hanging out with the groom's sister at dinner enjoying a delicious sangria
And of course making silly faces ;)
We met the groom and his brother after dinner for drinks
The next day was the wedding day. We checked in the hotel that morning. We visited hubby's sister in the bridal suite while they were getting ready

Tman and the groom's sister were all smiles, the two became fast friends
Check out my boys acting crazy in the bridal suite
We went back to the room and all got dressed up and ready for the festivities. My boys looked amazing in their black tie if I do say so myself :).

The boys with my mom
Me and my boys (sometimes I pinch myself because I can't believe these are my kids)
I ran into the groom on my way down to the ceremony. My baby Bean is the cutest (I know, I am biased)
Our family of 5 in dressed up mode right before the ceremony, we clean up good.
Tman was passed out for 30 min before the ceremony and after much bribing, he managed to walk down the aisle like a boss holding this awesome sign that his aunt made for him. Don't mind his crazy face here, he doesn't know how to handle praises just yet
The married couple looking amazing
During the cocktail hour, I got trigger happy and took a gazillion pictures as I do :)
Hubby's parents with Tman
My mom with Bean
Hubby's dad with Bean, be still my heart
I so love this picture, Tman's face is priceless, doesn't he look like a mini James Bond in action?
My mom with her grandsons, I love this picture so much
Hanging out with hubby's aunt and uncle
We even went outside for a few pictures and I got this awesome gem of the 3 generations of men. James Bond better watch out because my men are going to show him how it's done
The decoration was so tasteful, check out Tman finding his seat
The cake was awesome
Then it was dinner time, our table enjoying their meal :)
Check out this awesome gift boxes aunt Kate got for the boys. It was full of goodies and candy. The boys loved this and you know I love my personalization the best
The boys went straight for the dance floor even though it wasn't even time to dance yet. The checkered floor was such a nice touch
Tman was cutting a rug like no other when it was time to dance
My mom and I changed into evening gowns because we could, I know we are such divas. Check us out with the lovely bride
After dancing for a while, my mom took the boys to bed (I am so glad we stayed at the hotel) so that hubby and I could actually enjoy a night of dancing and partying with the group.

Love this awesome pic of me and my English man
They had a photobooth and that was such an awesome idea. We had so much fun taking crazy pictures with the kids and by ourselves. So much fun.
The next day we had brunch with everyone before checking out of the hotel and going home. We all slept all day like little babies. What an awesome celebration it was. I cant' believe that was almost a month ago. Wedding season is here and this was the biggest wedding for us this year. The boys did amazing and everything turned out beautifully.