Celebration USA 2008

Yesterday ended up being a great day! Chip made it home to go to Celebration USA with Lily and I around 5:00. Which ended up being perfect timing since Lily woke up from her nap early. After only an hour and a half I could hear her talking up in her crib and imagine my surprise when I went to get her and discovered that her and Calli had been having a slumber party! I always check the 2 places the cats can hide in her room before I put her down, the closet and under the crib. So Calli was probably just chillin in a corner or somewhere completely obvious and I didn't even notice! But in retrospect it was a good thing since the storm was coming in and I wanted to get out before it hit. So Lily and I were all dressed and ready when Daddy came home. I decided to dress her in her 4th of July outfit since this was technically a 4th of July celebration and I am afraid Chip will have to work late on Friday and we may not get a lot of time out to celebrate. . . so we'll cover our bases and celebrate today and if we get 2 celebrations that is even better!

The event was a lot of fun and very family friendly. I think in years to come Lily will have a blast. They have a whole row of bouncy things and a activity tent with crafts and activities; 2 stages for local entertainment; food, food and more food, etc. . . here are some pics: Lily in her cute little dress.

Celebration USA -- notice the storm coming in . . .

See all the bouncy things behind them. . .

The main stage where Three Dog Night plays!

I bought Lily one of those little fiber optic light toys and she loved it!

YUM! All this food and we only got a soft pretzel for Chip and a sno cone for me! Not sure what we were thinking! :)

We were only there about an hour when they announced on the loud speaker that it would probably be a good idea to take shelter since the storm was headed towards us. It was cool because we could see lightning bolts off it the distance the whole time we were there. So since we had pretty much seen everything and Lily was too young to really go play, we headed home to wait out the storm. They said the event was by no means canceled, just put on hold till the storm passed. So we played at home and waited it out. It was actually kinda disappointing because the storm missed us. They got hit hard both east and west of us, but really nothing where we were. Here are some pics of Lily playing at home with her light toy:

These doors are to the dining room and they are by far one of Lily's favorite things in the house. She plays here all day, opening and closing the doors.

At around 9:15 we headed back to see what was going on, and the event was in full swing. We caught the end of Three Dog Night and found a spot to watch the fireworks. I wasn't sure how Lily would react to the fireworks. She did great last year, but she was only 6 months old then and didn't know any better. I had debated just watching from the car, but then changed my mind. It was even more exciting because it was sprinkling out. Not really raining, we didn't have an umbrella and probably wouldn't have used it if we did, but it was a definite sprinkle. I don't think I've ever watched a firework show in the rain before!!

It ended up being one of the best nights ever. Lily LOVED it and had the time of her life! She was enjoying the light sprinkle and having fun watching all the families around us. And every time a firework went off she screamed with delight and gave us a high five!! It was SO funny! We hadn't gotten high fives in awhile, I guess nothing lately deserved one until now. It was all just perfect. We could watch the fireworks and look slightly to the right and see a magnificent lightning storm off in the distance! It was so cool. And Lily ran around laughing the whole time. It was probably one of the best nights ever, one of those moments you just wish you could freeze in time. I tried to take pictures of her and you can kinda see how much fun she is having, but then I just stopped and enjoyed the evening. I can't wait till the actual 4th and do it all again, of course, she'll probably hate it next week. Ya never know.. . .

The event at night. You can see how it was just raining ever so slightly.

Good firework. High five!

Grandma's House

I am sitting here watching the Doppler to see when the thunderstorms are going to get here from Oklahoma. Our town is having their Forth of July celebration today and I really want to go (hoping Chip can get home from work in time). It started at noon and lasts till 11pm, there are bouncy houses and carnival types games and rides for kids and arts and crafts; Music and dance stages; tons of fair-type foods and then tonight Three Dog Night is playing and there will be fireworks. It is kinda cool that they do it a week early since next weekend there are 3 other similar events within 10 miles from us. So now we can celebrate 2 weekends in a row! I knew that there was no way Lily would want to hang out all day and she is really a little young for all the festivities, so I just wanted to head out in the evening and walk around some. Maybe even head home before the fireworks and watch them from our backyard. However, we are supposed to get some severe thunderstorms this evening between 6 and 12.. . . so I am keeping my eye on that for now.

In the meantime, I thought I would share the huge progress made on my parents house! This is how it has looked for the last few days (haven't driven by yet today). But compared to the grassy lot it has been for months prior, this is real progress!

Experimenting

While we were outside yesterday, I took some video with my digital camera. So I am just playing around and seeing if I can get it to post on my blog properly. . . imagine the hours of Lily videos you can watch if I can get this to work right!! :)

This video is of Lily doing her monologue and then getting mad at me when she noticed the camera was pointing at her!

Grillin' Adventure

I hope you are in the mood to look at pictures of Lily today, because I got a lot of 'em!
Chip was finally feeling a little better last night so we decided to finally go outside and do some grillin'. The grill was literally one of the first purchases we made when we got to Texas. We bought it the same time we got the refrigerator! The plan was to grill meat and veggies nearly every night. It was the perfect scenario for me, because it is a nice healthy dinner and Chip would essentially do all the cooking! Woo-Hoo! Of course, it did not work out that way since Chip has been working till sundown (which is 9pm here) and by the time he got home it was time to get Lily to bed and just eat a quick meal, which usually involved driving thru somewhere. So we were excited to use our grill.

By the time Chip had decided he felt good enough to grill it was 6pm and we still had to go to the market to buy meat and other essentials. So we ran to the market, only to discover at nearly 8pm that the grill was out of propane! We had loaned the grill to the golf course for Memorial Day and apparently they returned it empty and dirty. So Chip ran to Lowes for a propane refill (luckily everything is real close) while Lily and I played outside. I put her bathing suit on, but it was cool out and she was entertaining herself just fine, so I never did break out the hose. We played with the bunnies that ran though the yard. Lily is funny because she is afraid to walk on the grass, so she just stands at the very end of the concrete and points! She actually fell on the cement and scraped her knee up, but didn't even cry a little. However, when she fell in the grass she had a fit! Chip wasn't gone all that long, but Lily was annoyed with me taking her picture. She was performing a monologue and felt that by taking her picture I was not paying enough attention to her. So she found a way to stop the photo shoot as you can see in the series of pictures below.

Finally Chip got home and grilled up some steaks and chicken kabobs. We also tried to grill broccoli in a wok we got for the grill, but it was pretty nasty. So we'll try to improve on that next time! But the meat turned out well. I also made baked potatoes. It was a nice meal -- our first home cooked meal in the house! How sad is that??? I had wanted to eat outside, but by the time we were done it was 9:30!! So we ate inside and Lily actually tried a tiny piece of steak, which is a shock since Lily usually doesn't like to try anything that is not a bread! And even more shocking she didn't spit it out and ate like 3 more pieces!!
All in all it was a good first trial run with the grill . . . hopefully next time we can get dinner make in under 3 hours! :)

Hmmm . . . maybe we are out of propane?

Look, a Bunny -- or Bun, I think she said!Hi. . . why are you taking so many pictures of me?

Lily, where's the sky??

Please stop taking pictures of me!

Seriously! Stop taking pictures of me!!!!!!!!

That is it lady, I am putting an end to the photo session right now! I just have to get my hands on the lens cap.

Almost got it . . .Perfect!
Daddy's home and finally ready to grill -- notice how dark it is now?
Yummy, steaks and chicken kabobs -- already pre-made by the butcher at the market!

Lily eats steak and likes it!!Lily, why are your feet on the table?

Trust Me, you'll want to set your Tivos for this

I just finished watching the greatest guilty pleasure TV show ever (and I watch a ton of crappy shows which I deem to be 'guilty pleasures'). Next Tuesday night be sure to watch or record "I Survived A Japanese Gameshow" on ABC. It is so much fun. In case you missed the first show this last Tuesday (and hate to watch TV on your computer as I do), I'll catch you up real fast. Ten Americans arrive in LA to be on a reality TV show and are immediately flown to Japan where they discover they have to split into teams, the Purple Monkeys and the Yellow Penguins, and compete on a Japanese game show. The winning team, gets a reward and the losers get a punishment of some sort -- on the first show the winners got a helicopter tour of Tokyo, while the losers had to act as rickshaw drivers for 2 hours. Then 2 members of the losing team have to compete in an elimination round on the gameshow to determine who goes home. In case you have never seen part of a Japanese Gameshow before, they have the strangest, most humiliating games imaginable. Think "Double Dare" times 100. While I have to wonder who these 10 people are who were so desperate to be on TV that they signed up for any reality show without even knowing what they were signing up for, I am glad they did. This is a fun summer show - I was totally entertained! (I hope I didn't build it up too much -- it isn't that great, but it is totally fun and entertaining!)

OK, so there was my random TV review of the day. :) Chip is home today which is good except that his allergies are acting up again. So he took a much needed benadryl and is now pretty much just a sniffling and sneezing lump on the couch. Hopefully, his body will adapt to the new TX environment quickly and his allergies will calm down some. We had planed to go to the market and get some meat and veggies and finally do some grilling tonight! So hopefully he'll feel a little better soon. I have been looking forward to grilling in the backyard and maybe even eating dinner outside while Lily plays in the water. . . . so we'll see if all that actually happens!

I'll leave you with some pictures of Lily 'helping' me fold the laundry:

It is cute because she tries to help, but usually just ends up unfolding what I have already folded and I hate to fold, so that can be kinda annoying. So I usually let her play with the towels and socks. It keeps her occupied for awhile as she puts them in and then takes them out of the basket. I didn't get a picture, but when she was finally tired of helping with the laundry I noticed the basket was filled with more toys than actual clothes!

It's beginning to look a lot like . . .

Random fact I got from Bean's Blog -- today is half Christmas or Christmas and a half. Exactly six months since last Christmas and six months until next Christmas! And anyone who knows me knows how I love Christmas!! I have already started thinking about how I want to decorate the new house and how to hang the outside lights! Woo-Hoo.

I know, random, but exciting for me! :)

My Green-ish Thumb

While most everything here in North TX is cheaper than in LA -- car insurance is 50% cheaper, gas has not yet hit $4 (highest I have seen is $3.99), homes prices are obviously way less, etc.. . . -- the one thing that cost more is a gardner! While I never before had a lawn to maintain, I know what my parents pay for lawn service, and gardners (or is it landscape specialists -- what is the PC term?) are like twice as much! I called around and they were all $27 to $30 a week just to mow and trim the lawn, and if you wanted the flower beds maintained that was like an extra $15! Since there is no way Chip has time to mow the lawn and I don't really want to take on that project (even though the gardner is here for a whopping 10 minutes a week, it doesn't seem that hard) I hired someone to mow the lawn, but decided I would manage the flowers and bushes myself. So a few weeks back I bought a pretty pink pair of gardening gloves and a big-ass pair of garden shears with the intention of trimming and cleaning up the flower beds. Finally last night I did it! I wish I had the camera with me, since I am sure it was quite the sight. Me in a skirt (since that is what I was wearing all day, and it was comfy and the weather was warm and shorts are very unflattering) and Chip chasing Lily up and down the sidewalk. I really had no idea what I was doing and Chip and I kept disagreeing on what was an actual, intentional plant and what was a weed that needed to be pulled. While trying to help, he pulled a few flower plants thinking they were weeds. But after only like 10 minutes or so, I got it cleaned up some and I think it looks a lot better. There are still some weeds that need to be pulled, and I'll try to get to that tonight. But overall I think my first attempt at gardening was a success! Now with the $60 a month I saved, I can buy shoes or something fun! :) I'll try to get some photos next time!

Also, last night we took my parents to the airport. Lily actually cried as we dropped them off. I know she will miss her grandma. But they will be back in 3 weeks! And, I need to get out and take some pictures today, because they are finally starting to build their house! Yesterday they had the foundation framed (or something like that -- I am not very well versed in construction). So that is kinda exciting, I want to take a picture everyday or so to document the house being built and the progress. I think it will be fun to look at in years to come.

I don't really have any new pics to post . . . so here are some of Lily and grandma from the last week:

New and improved kitchen pics

So, I totally jumped the gun yesterday by posting pictures of the kitchen table/breakfast nook area. Who would have thought that later that day I would find and hang valences! I love them, and I think they complete the area and make it 1000 times better. I know they are red and my kitchen tile is pink, but it won't be pink forever and it actually kinda tones the pink down some. The previous owners also had red valences. I choose red, because it ties this room together with the family room. . . This house is finally starting to feel like home!

I also got a shot of my Victoria Station clock which hangs between the kitchen and the eating area. I love my clock -- we had it hanging in the Fullerton apt too.
I also picked out the fabric for the curtains in the living and dining room! The curtain lady, Mary, came out this morning with all the fabric books and they had the one I was looking for. It is actually more sage green than it appears in the pic. But I am planing on getting a solid couch and letting the large window and curtain be the focus point of the room. I think it will look nice, but they won't be made and installed until probably the week of August 19th . . . so you'll have to wait to see how it all turns out.

That's all for now . . . my mom just got back with lunch! They are leaving tonight :( Lily is really gonna be bummed!

Our weekend

Can you believe that I actually went 2 whole days without blogging?? Glad my addiction is kinda fading, and to be honest I starting to feel that I am running out of things to blog about! But I will continue to try to blog daily and try to make it exciting. . .

We had a fun weekend. Friday evening we went to the mall to look at window valances and draperies. Someone is supposed to come out this week to measure and bring fabric swatches so I can have draperies made for the front room and dining room. Then on Saturday night we went to Steak and Chop night at the golf course and then went out to look at the fireflies. They get a lot of them, it is pretty cool. But the local Texans laugh at us since we get all excited by the bugs they are all so use to! And Lily had fun running around the course:

Sunday morning we went to brunch at the course and later celebrated my Mom's birthday by going out for Mexican food and then opening presents and having cake and ice cream back at the house. Lily helped grandma open her presents. We got her a set of Texas dishtowels and matching potholders! And a birdhouse(feeder) with an book on "Birds of Texas" for her new house. She is the hardest person to buy for, and since last time she was here she commented on the birds, I thought this would be a suitable gift!

The best part of the weekend (for me) was finally getting some of my light fixtures hung! I was going to have Lowes install them, but they came out and quoted me $500 bucks to install the 3 lights -- that is more that they cost! So my Dad and Chip hung them and it only took like 20 minutes each! $500, what a total rip off! We still have to find a way to do the one in the foyer -- it is 22 feet up in the air, so we'll have to borrow a big ladder from the course! But the one in the kitchen and dining room are hung! Woo-Hoo! I am slowly getting rid of all the brass fixtures in the house. Here is a pic of the new kitchen table and the new light fixture. The art is also new. All I need now is to get valances for the windows. . . and someday replace the blinds with the wood plantation shutters. Someday, we may paint some of the walls since they are mostly all white. But we don't really have the time now, so this will have to do. (I like how Britney posed on the bench for the photo).