End of June 2010... life back in Texas, post 5 week vacation.

Well, as much fun as it was to be in Utah, we were excited to start the next chapter of life.  Aaron, after all, had graduated and was starting his NEW LEGIT job.  We were excited to start our new life.

Here are some random memories we had during that last half of June.

Our friends, Kip and Kajsa, were almost ready to move away to Austin, so we wanted to try a new food place we'd never been to in San Antonio, before they left.  We'd heard something about their HUGE cinnamon rolls and thought it'd be fun to check it out.  Enter LuLu's Bakery & Cafe.  LOVE the text on the building. 

Since we had left for so many weeks on vacation, it was fun to catch up with them and see what they had been up to since graduation.  Kajsa's brother, Kade, was with them too.  He's pretty funny.

Cal was wondering, "when are we gonna eat the cinnamon roll?"  patience, laddy.  patience.

Yes, I'm aware of my wardrobe malfunction, but I had to post the photo b/c this is us in the parking lot---right after they had called our name and told us our table was ready.  As I was pulling Cal out of his car seat to a high chair, I realized he had a poopy diaper.  No big deal.  I'll go change him in the bathroom.  I had underestimated this diaper.  It was a ridiculous blow out.  Oh my.  Nothing could be salvaged.  I had to do a strip down.  And, of course, since we had just returned from our vacation, my diaper bag was not in a normal, organized fashion.  I knew I had forgotten to pack a spare change of clothes for Cal.  Could I bring him back out naked to eat?  What to do?  What to do?

Then, I remembered, I had a Goodwill drop off bag in my trunk.  It had a few shirts that Cal might be able to squeeze into.  So, I headed out.  Aaron decided to help me (bless him).  It was EXTREMELY hot outside, and the thought of wrangling an almost 6 month old in an oven car sounds LESS than appealing.

Cal looks pretty happy, though.  Love these unexpected dilemmas.

Aaron brought Tillie out too, it was a family affair.

Aaron proving he was there too.  Gotta love it.

Back inside.  Kade is showing the HUGE cinnamon roll.  When they brought it out, we were like, "What?  This is it?"

Yes, it IS as big as his head.  Too funny. 

So, I'm sure you're dying to know:  Was it delicious?  Heeeeh--ck no.  It was gross.  Proving that QUALITY is almost always more important than QUANTITY.  Sheesh.  OH well.  The rest of the meal was pretty good, though.  Made for a great story though, right?  :)  jk.

::: We sold our Futon.  It was time.  Fanny Futon had served us well for 5 years, but I complained EVERY time I sat in it.  That's right, I'm a whiner.  I kept saying, "One day, we'll have a real couch.  One day Tillie won't bonk her head on the hard sides."  Well, lucky for us, my mom hated sitting on it too when she came to visit.  :)  She and my dad decided to buy us a couch in honor of Aaron graduating!  WHOOO HOOO!  It was a present for the both of us, b/c let's face it, it WAS a team effort getting this kid through school.  :) 

So, blessed Fanny Futon had to find another family to live with.  (funny story: we gave her to our friends, the Horners.  Then they decided they weren't fans and it didn't fit in their room like they wanted, so THEY sold it.  :) hA!  but, nice friends that they are, they gave us the profit.)

Here she is in all her glory.  I put a thousand pillows on her to help give her SOME comfort factor.

As I was taking pictures of the futon, Aaron and Cal decided to take a lay down.  What cuties.

::: We rented a truck to get the new couch home (my mom had come down to help figure out what couch to get, then she flew back up to Utah after ordering it).  We had decided upon renting a Home Depot truck.  It was the best deal in town, and we only needed it for an hour or so.  Since we had the transportation, we decided it was time to move Tillie to a BIG GIRL BED and Cal into the crib.  Aaron was hesitant, b/c Tillie was a great crib sleeper.  But, when you have a HUGE baby in a pack'n'play, and you notice that the support was bending b/c of his weight---you say to yourself, "This can't be safe."  It was time.

So, we were able to get a mattress and bed frame for her big girl bed.  I'm happy to report, Tillie never fell out.  She was close, though.  We'd come in and find her in the WEIRDEST positions and think it was a miracle she never fell out.  But, it seems that the big girl bed was a good decision, overall.  The hardest part was the MOBILITY issue.  She kept climbing out and leaving her room making excuses as to why she wasn't able to go to sleep.  "I have an itch. I need some lotion," or "I have an hurt on my finger. I need a band-aid," or "I need a little more drink in my water bottle"---I could go on and on.  It was crazy.  Finally, after a month or so of coaxing and compromising, she calmed down.

Whew!  Anyway, here is the big girl on her new big girl bed.  Little did we know the adventures that would accompany this new addition.  :)  (and yes, Lyssa, I had put photos in the top two spots of your darling 3 frame delight you gave me, but alas, the third one is still not filled.  call me a slacker.  i deserve it.)

::: We have a friend named TJ.  He lives here in Texas, just a few streets away from us.  We are friends with their family and sometimes they invite us to have REAL TRUE smoked BBQ'd brisket.  SMOKING is a crazy intense process that involves TJ waking up at some absurd hour, like 3a.m. to get it started.  But, I'll say this, it's really really good.  Here we are at their house partaking of their goodness.  I have only TWO random pictures of the event, but here they are.  I have a feeling Aaron took these.  :)
The meat looks like it's burned, but it's not.  Just moist (love that word) and delicious.  Anyway, thanks TJ.  You're the man.

::: Now that we've talked about the meat, let's talk about the little porker (gross segue, i know).  Yes, that'd be Matilda Mae.  That girl is a nut.  At this point in life, she's 2 years and about 2 months old.  I decided that we needed to take some pictures of the kids, so as I told her to come out outside, she grabbed her sunglasses on the way out.  The rest is history.  Edit?  Who edits?

so serious.  keeping those HUGE glasses on, is a feat for a little head.

Calvin needed some pictures too.  So, I brought his little containment-play-situation out for better light.  Oh, that sweet boy...

i don't know what this face is, but it's funny.

the famous expressive eyebrows. 

inside with mom for a little more face time.  he looks less than thrilled in this one.

there's a happy baby.  he's almost 6 months in these shots.

Tillie learned her squat move from her mom's exercising videos.  Nice.   Here she is playing with an empty juice container.

one last happy shot of the Tillie-meister.  Wow, I sure do love those kiddos.

::: Here we are at a goodbye party for our great friends, the Evershed family.  We're big fans of this family.  We were sad to see them leave. Another one bites the dust.  But, we had a fun night.  Thanks, Horners, for hosting.  (Sad that the other family in the photo, the Walch's are moving too now! What's with that??)  :)

testing. testing. 123.

much better.

That's a wrap.  Thanks for playing.  End of June 2010.  done. done. and done.