In the Mean Time

Father's Day in Colorado

9:47 PM - Posted by Erin - 1 comments

Hey you!! I got something to say!

See that... it's my daddy's happy face... he has that face a lot when we're in Colorado! And he especially had it when we made a special Father's Day cake for him!

See, mommy and I worked real hard mixing up the batter.

Mommy said I should test it to make sure it's yummy.

It was.

So we cooked it in the dutch oven.

I wasn't too happy when I had to wait for the cake to be ready... it took a long time...

But I passed the time by playing with some sticks...

I hear that's what you do when you're camping.

I sat in a camp chair like a big girl!

I even learned how to unzip my zipper... and look - another zipper!!

And when the cake was ready, I put LOTS of sprinkles all over the top and stuck my finger right in to try it. It was really yummy... what a great way to celebrate my daddy!

Each night before dinner daddy prays a little prayer that goes like this:

Dear God,

Thank you for our food (yes, thank you for the cake),

Thank you for our family (oh yes, thank you for my special daddy),

And thank you for Jesus (because he loves me).

And we all say Amen!

Colorado 2011 - The Big Hike

8:27 PM - Posted by Erin - 2 comments

Our annual Colorado trip came and went this year... We've got so many pictures that I figure I'll give them to you in bits and pieces... hiking is always on the agenda.

This year we had a great group:

Uncle Chrisper and Miche (with Buddy)

Aunt JuJuB and Uncle JaJa (with Halpert)

And Rob, Taylor, and me (our pups are getting old and we left them at home this year... we really missed having them around on our hike)

With Rob toting Taylor, Taylor toting dandelions, and me toting my new camera we were off.

Before long, we were ready for a break where we stopped for snacks and water.

Julie and Halpert

Williford Family Portrait

After our break we kept on hiking... Taylor was so funny asking Rob to stand a certain way allowing her to watch him at the water crossing.

The Aspen trees, with their smooth white bark and fluttering leaves were just beautiful! They're also a little creepy because as they grow they lose branches and the spots where the branches used to be look like eyes... so in the forest you could let yourself get worked up about all the Aspen eyes staring at you... or you could just enjoy the beautiful forest.

Starvation Creek Trail

Chris and Michelle sneaking some cuddling time on the trail.

Julie and Jason on a bridge.

I always enjoy documenting the variety of flowers we see in Colorado... these were so unique! From the top they looked like stars, but this is how they grew - like a crown!

Even the flowers honor our King!

After about four hours of hiking at the end of the trail, T fell asleep and I snapped one of my ALL-TIME favorite pictures of my mountain man!

Now, this picture was was taken the next day when Rob, Chris, Jason, and Julie went on the BIG hike of the trip... if you look closely, you can see tiny Rob, just right and down of center... See him?

Talk about Mountain with a capitol M!

Another view from the BIG hike... beautiful!

More beautiful, amazing, awe-inspiring Colorado to come...

Phraseology

9:12 PM - Posted by Erin - 1 comments

Taylor is going through a phase where she says various sentences that are hilarious (at least to us)!

I'm thinking I'll share them as they occur.

She's learning to express herself and I can't get enough of it!

Taylor's new favorite phrase, always said with a straight face, and usually said while leading me into the kitchen: "Mommy, I gotta eat."

Girl after my own heart!

Wrestling Anyone?

10:28 PM - Posted by Erin - 1 comments

Last night I came home from work to find the bed pillows strategically arranged on the bed.

Apparently, Rob and Taylor had been "wrestling!"

Tonight I came home from work and found the pillows in the same arrangement and said, "So, did you and Taylor wrestle again today?"

Rob's response (with a hint of a grimace): "No, we danced."

Taylor knows how to turn the alarm clock's radio on and uses that to bust a move dragging anyone in the room along with her! Daddy's make the best dance partners, don't they?!?

Even if dancing isn't quite their thing...

What a great daddy!

This is going to be one heck of a summer.

Our Bounty

1:28 PM - Posted by Erin - 0 comments

At the beginning of April we started a garden.

Nothing huge... about 8 feet by 16 feet.

We worked hard to remove the grass, till the soil, mix in good soil and natural fertilizer.

We planted a few plants and bunches of seeds.

This is the picture after we first planted everything...

About a month later we had all sorts of sprouts!!

And almost two months after we started everything has grown!

We've got green beans, strawberries, peppers (bell and jalepeno), cucumbers, squash, zucchini, herbs (basil, parsley and cilantro), tomatoes (roma and some other ones - can't remember their names!), onions... I think that's everything...

These are zucchini plants! The were seeds to begin with...

Cucumber plant... see the little cucumber just below the big leaf?

Strawberries!! These were our first edible items from the garden!

Never having done this before we were very excited to actually have tangible results!!

What's a garden in Texas without jalepeno peppers?! Can't wait to try to make some salsa using these, our various varieties of tomatoes and our onions!

Taylor helps!

A couple days ago we had our first dinner from the garden!! It's true... home-grown veggies are the BEST!

More to come!

Sure would be nice if we'd get a little rain!!

Our Oasis

8:02 PM - Posted by Erin - 2 comments

My husband is awesome.

And I'm not just saying that.

After this, you'll think so too.

He's got such a vision when it comes to many things.

One vision I LOVE revolves around turning our 1983-built house into a home that is inviting, comfortable, and outdoor-centric.

We want our home to be an oasis - a getaway in this crazy world - not only for us, but also for our family and friends.

Last summer, in the heat of July, Rob (and family/friends) got to work on our deck!

Check out the progress pictures!

Here's the final product as of a couple months ago!

We eat dinner out here on a regular basis and just enjoy being outside.

Our vines have taken off! These three flowering vines have reached the top of the trellis and are starting to fill in up there! This added cover is natures air conditioning!

Here's the mastermind himself enjoying the evening!

We've got more of our backyard oasis to share, but that will have to wait for another post!

Get ready for pictures of our vegetable garden!!

Oh, and feel free to drop by to make our oasis a little oasis of your own!

Happy BIrthday Pups!

8:33 PM - Posted by Erin - 0 comments

Today Toby and Daisy are eight years old.

Seems like only yesterday we were carrying them up and down the stairs of our first apartment!

I didn't really know what I was getting into when we got these pups... I still haven't gotten used to all the HAIR or how expensive dogs can be.

But the love they give us daily is just awesome!

Did you see the news recently about the kid that went to heaven (his dad wrote a book about it)? Well, at one point he mentioned that there were lots of animals in heaven... I sure hope that means Toby and Daisy will be with us in heaven someday!

This was their first camping trip - Pedernales Falls State Park- we were quite proud of this family picture.