La Familia

What an action packed Easter weekend. It was quite memorable. We started our road trip with a stop at the Cameron Park Zoo in Waco. (I am fond of you, Waco, I actually miss you)

We packed a picnic lunch after touring the zoo then we were back on the road heading northbound to Arlington. We spent the weekend at Teta's house and even took Carver to his first Rangers game. The weekend was filled with several egg hunts, lots of food, quality time with Carver's cousins, a washer tournament, and even a little time in the country. Heck I even rode a 4 wheeler! It doesn't get much better. Happy belated Easter to all.

First real zoo experience

Mommy loves to be silly with me

Finally with my cousins,

whom I greatly idolize

Impromptu egg hunt..but this egg won't fit in my basket?





First Rangers game (exhibition)

Easter Festival at Teta's church

Playing ball with cousin Julian at Chavez celebration

Sweet, sweet boy

Mira! What form Popo has tossing washers!











Patiently waiting to start the egg hunt

Wow I found an egg with $5 AND candy!

Now here comes the fun part - cascarones!

Had to get Daddy with the help of Aunt Margaret

Oh Kelsey girl - Carver's favorite cousin...I don't know if I feel worse for Kelsey or Kelly, her mom, who has to tediously comb all the glitter & confetti out of her curly, curly, thick hair!

He loved when Uncle Robbie would play chase

Now I'll chase you, Kelsey...wait for me...

Whew, that's tiring, better take a rest with Kelsey and Aunt Gloria. Look at this hair!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yours truly after getting eliminated from washers tournie

Ha ha, Omar & Robbie show up in the same shirt. They got alot of hell for it, deservedly so.

Jonathon's not too big to sit on mom's lap, good boy!

Carver still hanging with Kelsey, he doesn't leave her side too often

Carver with one of his favorite people - Richard

We decided to finally go see Amiee & Robbie's land they will eventually build and live on. For now it houses alot of great "toys" so to speak & their camper. ALOT OF FUN.

If only his legs could reach the pedals...

Don't you just love to look at all this space? You can see Wil riding the 4-wheeler off in the distance if you look closely.

Much to our disbelief, Carver jumped at the opportunity to ride this go-cart with Kelsey. He is very timid, but this just validates how much he loves Kelsey and trusts her. Buckle up, boy!

It was a bumpy ride..

What can I find next? Oh let's see...thanks Uncle Robbie for the kid's club.

I think I'll hit a few balls out here.

The crew that headed to the land

Amiee & Robbie posing in front of their camper

Thanks to all for a wonderful trip & the Chavez hospitality. Nothing like family.

The Sand Box

After several attempts to finish uploading many more pics in chronological order (being built, sand being poured in, Carver putting toys in there, etc, etc.), my patience is worn. So this is it. After Gilbert took on the garden, he was ambitious enough to use the extra wood to make a little sandbox in the opposite corner of our yard. We are so grateful for our big ole' spacious back yard.

The Garden

Gilbert carefully drew, planned and built this little vegetable garden in the corner of our back yard. Watch them slowly sprout & grow as we do too. Soon enough, we'll be pulling corn, zuchinni, squash, tomatoes and peppers from our own garden. What a lucky gal I am to live with such a green thumb!

"Moneys"

You know how you start saying a word like your child does instead of the correct way? Well, maybe you can't relate. I realize I should pronounce the word correctly but instead I find myself saying patsy, moneys, and teptool instead of paci, money and stepstool. I limit this to just our conversations in order to spare my husband & friends.

Moving on...Carver has a coin sock whose "face" fell off due to the amount of coins weighing it down. That sparked a fun little project for him & I - to collect all the change around the house, add it to the coin sock & take his first trip into the bank to trade coins for dollars. I still get that nervous excitement waiting for the teller to come back and tell us what magical number we hit. We were somewhere around $50 and of course mommy kept half (is that bad?) and gave Carver his own crisp $20 bill. Do remember, folks, this was all mommy and daddy's change in the first place. $20 is plenty to add to this piggy bank for a 2 1/2 yr old. Not to mention the kid has quite a few big bills already in "Mr. Piggy."

Here's a photographic trip down memory lane......It's always the simplist of things that occupy our days and bring the greatest joy to both of us. I love this child.

For starters, he had to use his shopping cart to transport the coins around the house.

They are heavy afterall! Don't miss out on his Walmart red slippers.
Julie - check out his mouth, wide open as he focuses on the task at-hand. Remind you of anyone?

Wait, mommy, quick pitstop....I noticed a piece of dirt & need to sweep it up, just like you.

No pictures at the bank so the last one is him putting that dirty $20 bill on top of his mouth.

All in a day's work!

Burger Thursdays

Every Thursday Carver gets out of "school" an hour early at lunchtime. We eat lunch together that day instead of me packing his. Thursdays have become Burger Thursdays. Let me tell you - the apple doesn't fall far from the tree - the kid loves a burger. So we now have an official day for it.

This past week has been so beautiful here in the lonestar state. Spring is in the air and the sun is shining so warmly. Today was our 2nd picnic of the week - well, most picnics are sandwiches and fruit but today's was a burger. I quickly (uh, you could figure that out for yourself) snapped these pics at his school while we ate today. I love how he is wearing these pants. I did not send him off to school in those. I immediately thought he had an accident at school but nope, Ms. Amy said he just had poor aim when using the potty....thus had to change his outfit since he soaked his jeans. That's my boy. He's getting so big. My heart aches with love for him more every single day. I daydream about our family's future & all to come. I really can't believe I have what I have. I'm so grateful.

Friends in Low Places

Vegas, Vegas, Vegas. It's going to take me a full 7 days to recover this time around. Garth summed it all up for me, "I'm much too young to feel this damn old."

Gilbert & I flew to Vegas on Friday for a 2 night stay centered around seeing the other Chavez - Paul & Sandra, our old and dear friends. Marc & Melissa, our Mexico buddies, drove in from Phoenix to add a little more trouble to the mix. All of us were kid free which left us no other choice but to take full advantage. As the pictures show, we did things a little out of the ordinary with a limo, a little bull riding, and Fremont Street action followed by a delicious dinner. The main reason we booked our trip was b/c we saw Garth Brooks' "coming out of retirement" show at the Wynn on Saturday night. Re-living my past while forging it with the future. Oh, Garth...how I've never forsaken thee. That deep and true voice in an intimate 1,500 seat theatre, all acoustic show. None other than his lovely wife, Trisha Yearwood, surprised everyone and came on stage to sing along w/him as well as a few of her classics. Yep, you guessed it..."She's in Love with the Boy." My favorite part of the show was ALL of it - he talked to the audience the whole time, revealed tidbits of his experiences and influeces throughout his life. Actually sang and played some of his own personal favorites - everything from Elton John to James Taylor. Very impressive, very diverse. He had us guess what his favorite song of his is - and much to my surprise, it was none other than The Dance. Aaah, that song is so good, always will be. Yep, he sang Shameless too. The list goes on. Almost took this Waco girl to my knees.
Unfortunately they were very strict on not allowing cameras or cell phones in the theatre so the only pictures to share from our trip are a little rambunctious. They speak for themselves.
Looks like we're heading back to Vegas for Paul's 40th in December. I need to get a lot of sleep between now and then!

Fremont Street

On an escalator upstairs to country bar?


Fremont Street

Giggly about the limo

Ooooold friends - Gilbert, Paul & Marc (being silly)

Dinner

Already closing my eyes

Sandra, me & Melissa

My hunk & Sandra

Gilbert & I about 12 hours before the night ended!

Our room - Encore at The Wynn

Coming to town.....

Two of my all-time favorite people are coming to town....tomorrow...and the fridge is stocked, food is made, the house is clean, now all I need are these 2 people to hug and love on live in person.

Can't wait to see you, mom & dad!!