Fredericksburg

We recently got away to celebrate our anniversary in Fredericksburg.  It's a cute little town with a main street full of shops, art galleries, and restaurants.  We stumbled on the National Museum of the Pacific War too, having no idea it was there.  There are many wineries there too.  The scenery just outside of town is pretty.  That's where our cabin was we stayed in.  It looked out over a bunch of trees and nothing else...exactly what I wanted.  A hummingbird feeder was on the covered porch where tons of them came to eat which was a really neat treat.  There was also a restaurant right across the street from our cabin that had been voted best burger in Texas by Texas Best Burger Joint.  And...it was really, really good.  They had live music each night too which wafted over to our cabin.  I loved seeing the vast assortment of different kinds of people that came to eat there - from bikers to very nicely dressed, kids to grandparents, all walks of life - a sure sign of a place that serves really good food & is just right on atmosphere.  At night we could see a sky full of stars - something that is not the case in the big city where we live.  It was a restful, slow paced weekend and we are so glad we were able to get away and just focus on each other for a few days.

The view from the covered porch of our cabin.

 

Hummingbirds!

 

In front of where we ate the "best burger in Texas."

 

The yummy burgers.  They really were good.

 

Live music on Friday night.  They were awesome.

 

We came across this artist in the process of a new painting.  The ones on the wall behind him are his too.

 

Inside the National Museum of the Pacific War.

Virginia 2014

We drove up to Virginia over Spring Break to visit Tom & Jan, affectionately also known as Pappi & JanP.  What a wonderful trip it was!  We got to stay with some friends of theirs on the way up in Nashville.  They had 2 chickens they keep for eggs so we got to pet and feed them too.  It was a nice opener to our week.  Once in Virginia the weather was perfect the first 2 days - warm and sunny.  Their backyard opens up to tree filled beauty and a train that passes on occasion.  We spent a good part of the first day out there.  The second day we got to drive to the farm in Appomattox where Joel's Aunt & Uncle still live.  There we got to hold 11 day old puppies - so new their eyes had yet to open.  Phil let all of us have a turn driving the John Deere - with his help, of course.  There was a smaller tractor that Jon got to drive all himself too.  Which he did for at least an hour - he was in boy heaven.  Maurine had a lunch for us and graciously opened her home up and showed us around the farm.  It was a really special day.  We also got to see Anna & Adriane the last night we were there.  Adriane made a birthday cake for all 3 kiddos so they could celebrate with them in person.  We are so very glad we made the trek up it was truly a wonderful visit!   

Mary showing the kids one of her chickens.

 

In Tom & Jan's backyard - such a lovely view and a lovely day.

 

At Phil & Maurine's home holding brand new puppies - one for each kid!

 

3 generations of Harrison men in a John Deere :-)

 

Jon driving his sisters around.  He was a happy camper!

 

Family photo at the end of a perfect day.

 

Another family photo back at Tom & Jan's.

 

Getting ready to blow out the candles!

Father Son Fun

Each year Joel now takes the girls to their own respective Father Daughter Dance.  So Jonathan gets a special Father Son Evening too.  It varies from year to year.  This year they had the opportunity to go to a Mavs game.  It was Jon's first professional basketball game he got to be at so he was pretty pumped.  They had a voucher from an awesome friend (thanks, Brian!) so they weren't sure where they would be seated until they got there.  The stadium ended up running out of all the seats the voucher was good for so they found some other open seats to give them...which happened to be so close to the court that Joel and Jon had to wait until between plays to be seated so as to not distract the players.  They even saw Mark Cuban seated just below them.  Pretty sweet!  And to top it off Joel bought Jon his own popcorn and soda - something that apparently was a big deal to Jon as we usually share concessions when we get them.  Jon also got to stay up waaaayyy past his bedtime...on a school night.  Bonus! 

 

Father Daughter Dinner & Dance

Emily and Joel got to attend the annual Father Daughter Dinner & Dance put on by our church last Friday evening.  This event could easily be renamed "the day Emily most looks forward to, second only to  her birthday each year" - no joke.  But then what girl would not want to have a new pretty dress and jewelry to wear, have her hair fixed all fancy, and get to wear just a touch of makeup.  And then get to spend time alone with her Daddy in a fancy place.  Pretty epic for a little lady.  I know Joel also enjoys these days, knowing they are fleeting.  I'm thankful as a mom that she has such a great example of how to be valued and treated.  It may just be one of this momma's favorite days of the year too. ;-) 

Looking good and ready to go!

 

I'm pretty proud of how her hair turned out this year.  I have boredom on an ice day to thank for this.  We searched online for how-to videos for easy up-dos and stumbled on this gem.  Love it! 

 

They were given conversation questions to discuss over dinner.

 

Having a great time together.

 

Emily ran into her friend Lynen at the dance too.

Beautiful Yellow Flowers

Katherine's favorite color is yellow.  She is thrilled that there are tons of little yellow "flowers" popping up in the grass all over the place right now.  Anytime we take a walk or are anywhere near some she has to collect a little bouquet of them to save and take home.  So almost daily we have a bowl or small jar full of them in the kitchen to admire.  She even decorated our patio table for dinner one evening with them.  Here are some photos of her with her treasures on 3 different days.

Visiting School

A few weeks back was public schools week.  Parents are invited to visit their student's classroom for about the first 45 minutes of the school day.  Katherine got to come along too.  She loves these days because she feels just a little bit like she's going to school too.  Here are photos from our classroom visits.

Jonathan asked his teacher if Kat could join the class on the mat.  His teacher (who is awesome, by the way) agreed and she joined right in on their morning songs.  It was very sweet.  Notice she wore her Hello Kitty backpack to school that day.  A girl's gotta be prepared!

 

Emily shared her desk with Kat.

 

And this is a photo from LAST year's visit to Em's class.  Love the smiles!

Character Kid

Jonathan was selected to be the Character Kid from his class for the 4th six weeks.  Each six weeks the school learns about a particular character attribute.  The attribute for the 4th six weeks was honesty.  Jonathan received the most marks for being honest out of his whole class and, therefore, was recognized for this accomplishment at the honor assembly this past week.  We are very proud of our little man.  Congratulations, Jonathan!