My 27th Birthday

 I went to WalMart to get the puppies a new pool since the old one had a crack in it.  Wow we're they psyched!

 Handsome Bronx waiting patiently for me to throw his frisbee

 And beautiful Olivine waiting for me to throw her football

 And since I have my stress fracture and I'm pregnant, I tried to sit back and elevate my feet every once in a while

 Mike and I headed to Jim and Lexi's that weekend so Mike could interview them for his marketing project and we got to spend time with them.  And yes Mike is holding a cane.

 Mike made me my favorite for my birthday cake!  It's an Easter confetti cake :)  It was sooo yummy!

 The night of my birthday, Mike and I went to Texas de Brazil for dinner!  Delicioso!

 Mike and I were outside with the puppies before we headed out playing with our new camera :)  And I will admit, I absolutely love this picture!

 I love this picture of Mike and I too :)  He's so tall!

 After our big meal of their salad bar, numerous meats, sides, and Papaya ice cream :)

 More pictures with our new camera from the birthday weekend

 Love this action shot picture!  It was perfect timing by Mike to catch the puppies playing!

 And there's Olivine in a daze

I was talking to Olivine holding the other camera lens while Mike was taking pictures...I love her smile!
Well I turned 27 on March 27th!  It was so exciting!  The weekend before my birthday I got the puppies their pool, which is where the top pictures were from.  And the pictures at Jim and Lexi's and the bottom ones of the pups are from the weekend after my birthday.  On Tuesday morning, I woke up all sorts of happy and got to hear my first Happy Birthday wish from Mike :)  It was definitely a great way to wake up in the morning and be motivated to get ready for work.  Just a side note, this is the first time I've gone to work on my birthday since I joined the police department.  I worked my very first birthday and shit hit the fan and I was told to never work on my birthday so I took that to heart and didn't for four years.  Well since I'm on a desk job for light duty and I'm trying to save up my time for when Reece is born, I figured I would go in.  Well not to far from our house on 35 driving up to work, a 3 car accident happened one car behind me, so I was reminded why I usually don't work on my birthday!  While I was on my way, I got the famous phone call from my parents of them singing happy birthday to me, which I love!  That put a big smile on my face for the rest of the drive to work.  I went to my doctor's appt for my foot and the pain I was having for 2 weeks did turn out to be a stress fracture so they put me in a boot.  Altogether, it was a good day and I couldn't wait to get home!
Once I was home, I showered and got ready for my big birthday dinner at Texas de Brazil with Mike.  It was so awesome!  We ate so much food and it was so romantic and just great!  I love him soo incredibly much as a man and my husband!  We then headed home and hung out with the puppies before bed.
The next day, I stopped by Sears on the way home and ordered my birthday present!  Kenmore Elite front loader washer and dryer with steam in both!  Yay!  It's going to be sooo convenient to have a larger washer and dryer for our clothes plus baby clothes plus our california king sheets, coverlet, and comforter can now be washed by us!  Yay!  Once Mike got home from work, he went for a run without the puppies since he wanted to see how he would do on his own since last year when he got his stress fracture.  Well, some irresponsible kids in the neighborhood left their huge pieces of sidewalk chalk on the sidewalk and Mike rolled his right ankle (the one he injured in Iraq and in OCS).  He did his duty and brought it to the attention of the kids and dad and then hobbled home.  Once he got here, his ankle was huge, bruising, and there was a bulge :(  He wanted to wait to go to the VA Clinic the next day, so we just elevated it and iced it and he took some Advil.  Well the next morning, we both took off work and headed to the VA Clinic when they opened.  Lets just say the care was TERRIBLE!  We won't be going back there EVER!  They didn't help him with his stress fracture last year and now with his ankle injury.  We then headed to the Texas Health Care Burleson ER and he had a 2nd degree ankle sprain.  They put him on crutches, wrapped his ankle, and gave him hydrocodone for the pain.  Well we ended up getting him a cane b/c it's way more convenient for him to use than the crutches.  So, we're both gimps haha.
We went to Jim and Lexi's for dinner Saturday night and had a good time visiting and hanging out with them and the kids :)  Mike wanted to make my birthday cake (like he did last year) so he decided to make it for dessert at Jim and Lexi's.  It was a hit with everyone!  He did a great job!

Annual Crawfish Boil and Kingwood Baby Shower

 The clouds in our backyard when a big storm was coming in...so awesome looking!

 Bronx messing with the crawfish when we first dumped them out

 My dad and Mike laid out their 40 cal glocks and took a picture of all the different 40 cal glock models

 Kyle, Mike, and my mom squeezing lemons into the crawfish pot to flavor the water before we put them in

 My dad, Sofia, Kyle, my mom, and Mike standing around the crawfish pots ready to get them going

 The first batch is in!  Yummy!

 Aunt Liz, Nanny, Brooks, and Lauren came over to chow down with us :)  Nanny, Lauren, and Aunt Liz all ate Sobret hot dogs instead of crawfish.  I'll admit, I ate both lol!

 My dad surprised all of us with Reece's first Red Rider BB Gun!  Soo exciting!

 Nanny, Lauren, Brooks, Aunt Liz, Mike, my dad, Sofia, Kyle, and my mom.

 The great food and set up in Aunt Liz's kitchen for the baby shower!  It was so yummy!  My mom made the fruit sticks, bought the live laugh love sign, made the little flower arrangement, and her friend Tammy made the great food!  Tomatoes filled with bacon avacado, tomato something hummus, ramen noodle salad, and chicken salad sandwiches!  Yum!

 My mom got Reece a giant stuffed frog and bought a princess shirt for her to wear :)

 The entry way decorations when people came in

 These cookies were delicious!  They were from Elite Treats.  They do look a little weird though lol!  They're supposed to be pacifiers, but we all thought they looked a little phallic lol!

 The super yummy Italian creme cake from Elite Treats :)

 The dessert table in Aunt Liz's living room.  My mom made the cake pops in the background :)

 Some of the gifts at the shower

 My mom made shirts for herself, Aunt Liz, and Nanny.  They said grandma, great aunt, and great grandma :)  Oh and I'm 29 wks along.

 Me and Sarah at the shower :)  Super good friends since we were 8 years old!

 Sofia, Nanny, frog, Rachel (Jame's gf), James, Sarah, Jan Preston, Mrs. Irene (Sarah's mom), Georgia, my mom, and JoElaine in the living room

 JoElaine, Robin, Aunt Liz, Lauren, Cindy, Mrs. P, Jan Haase, Barbara, Sofia

 Me and Nanny!  She's going to be the best great grandma ever!

 Since I won't be home for my 27th birthday and my parents aren't coming up, we celebrated with a super yummy Carvel cake in Kingwood :)

 Carvel cake is the best frozen custard cake EVER!  We all devoured it haha.

 Me acting like I'm going to chow down on the baby shower cake

 Me all smiles holding the baby shower cake :)

 Me acting like I'm going to eat one of the cake pops my mom made...then I chowed down on it haha.

 Mrs. P handmade Reece a Raggedy Ann doll!  So awesome!

 Some of my mom's work buddies got Reece a bunch of Disney onesies we found on Amazon...AWESOME!  101 Dalmatians, Lion King, Bambi, and Monsters Inc

 My mom's lecturing and pointing the finger!  Uh oh!  Lol!  I love this picture :)

Me opening up my Aunt Liz's present.  She got a bunch of the smaller gifts on our registry and filled the lightweight stroller full of them :)
Every year my family has a crawfish boil at their house during spring break.  It's been going on for about 6 or 7 years and it's been a success!  My mom and I discovered our love for boiled crawfish during a softball tournament in Sulfur, LA at Steamboat Bill's.  We then took my dad and Kyle there for a little trip so they could taste it and wow!  We all loved it!  So we decided a couple years later to start doing it on our own.  Every time we have it, anyone is welcome!  We also usually celebrate my birthday since they're so close together and no one has to make extra trips.  This year my parents got me a gorgeous big purse, a Sleeping Beauty sweatshirt, and a vintage metal frog yard sign.  I loved all the gifts and the cake was my favorite...Carvel frozen custard!  We all chowed down on all the food and the cake and everyone had a blast visiting and hanging out.  I so love family time!
The next day (Sunday), my mom, Aunt Liz, and Nanny threw me a baby shower down in Kingwood to celebrate with close friends down there.  The weather wasn't the greatest since a big storm came in, but pretty much everyone came, which meant a lot!  One of my mom's good friends made all the food, which was delicious!  And all the desserts were even better!  When it came to the gift opening, Mike and I are soo incredibly blessed to have so many people who love and care about us and Reece!  She is going to be such a lucky and privileged girl when she arrives!  Since the baby shower was for us girls, the guys ended up doing their own thing.  Mike went to Cypress to visit his hometown and he ended up running into the Clouds, who were a big part of his life when he was there.  He had a good time reminiscing and catching up with them and just driving around Cypress.  My dad and Kyle went to Costco for their outing haha.  When we all got home, Mike and I went through all the gifts and my mom ended up doing all the laundry for us!  That was much much appreciated!  We headed back up Monday afternoon after Granny and Aunt Loueva came by to give us their gifts.  All around, the trip was a blast! 

Mike's 30th Birthday

 Olivine and Bronx curled up and tucked in for the night on their doggy beds.

 Olivine cuddling with Bronx both next to Mike on the bed before their baths :)

 Bronx nice and clean after his bath playing dead for me haha.

 Mike wanted to go to San Antonio for his 30th birthday celebration so here we are at the Alamo!

 Inside the grounds of the Alamo

 The back side of the Alamo building

 Mike and Kyle reading one of the memorials for the soldiers

 Another view of the Alamo and the side wall that is still standing.  And the Crockett Motel in the background!

 Mike took this b/c it's the Texas flag flying high.  It also has the rest of the side wall of the Alamo.

 The beautiful memorial they have outside for the men that gave their lives at the battle of the Alamo.

 Another side of the memorial

 A close up of what the engraving said.

 Another side of the memorial.

 The back side of the memorial.

 Mike and I in sitting on the ledge of the back side of the memorial.  I'm 26 wks along with Reece.

 We ventured down to the awesome Riverwalk!  I hadn't been in forever and Mike had never been so it was a blast!  It was also Mardi Gras weekend so we got to see the parade going by on the boats :)

 A nice couple took our picture at the Riverwalk after we ate Mike's birthday dinner at Saltgrass.

 The sky was absolutely gorgeous that afternoon and evening so I took this picture right before we headed back to Canyon Lake.  The building on the right is haunted!  They tell you all about it on the Riverwalk boat tours :)

 Back at the lodge, Mike blew out his candles to his Charlotte Russe cake my mom and I made the night before :)

 Mike cutting the cake making his birthday wish :)

 Mike, my dad, my mom, Kyle, Koda, and Olivine all anxiously waiting a piece of the Charlotte Russe :)  This is a luxury lodge, which is the deed that we have through Silverleaf Resorts.  It has a full kitchen, eat in area, living room with pull out couch, off to the right is one room with a full bath and kitchenette, there is the master with a full bath, and an outdoor patio.

 Koda, Olivine, and Bronx posing super cute as we ate our cake :)

 Bronx and Olivine curled up in their travel beds taking a nap.

 And Koda on the floor by them passed out :)

 Mike with Bronx and Olivine the day we were heading back home.

 The view of Canyon Lake from our outdoor patio.

 Mike and I the first day we were there on the patio watching the storm roll in.

 And my mom and dad out there with us.

 Mike, me, and Kyle in front of the Alamo.

 Kyle and I on the grounds of the Alamo.

 Mike and I next to a huge tree inside the grounds of the Alamo.

 My dad, my mom, me, and Kyle about to go take a little tour into some of the rooms inside the Alamo.

 Kyle, me, and Koda in the living room hanging out after the day in San Antonio.

Mike, my dad, Bronx, and Olivine all relaxing.
For Mike's 30th I wanted to throw him a big party and celebrate with everyone, but he decided he just wanted to go somewhere nice and quiet and just relax so that's what we did :)  We signed up with Silverleaf Resorts back in December, which is kind of like a timeshare, but better.  We have access to resorts all over the world and can go when we want using Bonus Time and we have a specified week at our home resort where our deed is in Branson, MO.  It was either between the resort in Galveston or the one on Canyon Lake and they were all booked in Galveston since it was Mardi Gras weekend.  We ended up booking our weekend at the Canyon Lake resort, which is in between Austin and San Antonio.  We decided to go to San Antonio since it's awesome and so historic!  It rained Friday all day and Saturday morning, but God blessed us with a beautiful day once the rain passed on Saturday so it worked out really well!  We walked all through downtown, went to the Alamo, then down to the Riverwalk, had dinner, then walked around some more, and headed back to the resort.  My parents met us at the resort on Friday and Kyle drove over Saturday afternoon.  Once we were back at the resort, we celebrated Mike's birthday with his gifts and cake and all just relaxed and visited.  We ended up heading back to Burleson Sunday afternoon and my parents went to San Marcos to take Kyle and Sofia to lunch :)  Altogether, Mike had a good 30th birthday, which made me happy :)