Hiking

We're pretty good about getting the girls out into nature and trying new things. But today I was reminded again about how much fun they have. We decided to go "hiking"on the first day of 2008. The first park we thought of happened to be closed on New Year's Day but luckily there is a very nice nature trail right here in Boerne. The girls had so much fun exploring and Vienne always fills her pockets with "treasures". It was cold though. A frigid 50 degrees. I know, some places are under feets of snow. But that's cold for S. Texas.

The Happiest Place on Earth

We had a wonderful trip to Disney World and the girls did great. I think we saw a little of everything on this trip. Our favorite park continues to be the Magic Kingdom park and our least favorite park was Epcot. Not enough there to keep the girls interested I guess. We stayed at our favorite Disney resort and saw just about every character the girls set out to see. Vienne loved the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and Natalya's favorite ride is always the carousel. I was so glad to see that Natalya, at her ripe old age of 6 1/2, was still interested in everything. She hugged the characters was just as happy as Vienne was. I just hope that it stays that way for a long while. And don't believe the guide books when they say that the week before Christmas is the least busiest time to go. It was pretty busy.

Our first park day was cold! We started the day at about 40 degrees and it only reached about 60. It was on it's way to about 80 on the day we left.

We are going to ditch the autograph books next time. It just takes too much time.

Vienne got chosen from the audience to help Belle tell her story. A very happy moment for her.

Our two Princesses. These shirts are from the Sweet Bling-a-Doo Boutique at Etsy. Visit her shop. She is very sweet and shipped right to the hotel to make sure I got the shirts for our trip. She has lots of cute things.

I was so happy that Natalya agreed to dress as a Princess, too. These are the gowns that I made. I finished them up at about 11:00 the night before. They weren't as difficult as I thought they would be but I'm I was very good at procrastinating.

On our way to have dinner with Cinderella.

V loved Cinderella but loved the Prince even more. You should have seen how big her eyes were the whole time we were there.

A little Mickey love...

...And lots of Minnie love. Minnie was very happy to see V in her Minnie dress courtesy of Sweet Priya. It had really made Vienne happy to know that Priya had worn it first.

The lobby of our hotel.

And this is what happens when you ask for kechup at the hotel restaurant. You get ALL of the ketchup. When another table asked for ketchup, we had to bring it to that table. The girls got such a kick out of it.

And now, we rest. I always think that I need a vacation after my vacations. I may post more on Flickr 'cause there are so many cute pictures. Later.

Main Street with our Buddies

Last night on Main Street was the Christmas parade. Lots of pretty lights, a high school marching band (currently, Boerne only has one high school. Until next Fall, when the second one opens. Won't be a small town anymore!), candy canes thrown at ya' smashing into pieces as they hit the ground. The kiddos sat so excitedly waiting to see Santa. It couldn't have been more fun because our wonderful friends joined us. Oh, and the weather here is whack. For those that are visiting, last weekend we went to Main Street it was 40 degrees. This weekend 77 degrees.

That's what Natalya had to say about that. Maybe Jen got a better picture of the kiddos all lined up in a row.

And THIS is what a Santa experience should be like. The girls saw Santa and the Mrs. walking in the street and ran right up to them. And this REAL Santa opened his arms and scooped them up! Then the Mrs. joined us and and mentioned how she "remembered me from when I was little." Sweet. Natalya asked for a camera and Vienne asked for a harp. I know. And Santa was sweating. The poor guy is used to the freezing North Pole and here he is in 77 degree weather.

(Trying to figure out why when you click the pictures to enlarge and open on another screen they are instead asking to save to disk. Apparently lots of people are having the same problem with Blogger.)


AND Seven Random Facts About Me. Miss Arizaphale has tagged me for a meme. I thought this was my first one but I then remembered that she has tagged me before. I never completed that assignment. She failed me that term and so I must redeem myself and beg for extra credit. Here are the rules to this one:

1. Link to the person that tagged you. Check.
2. Post the rules. Check.
3. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself. Will do.
4. “Tag” 7 people at the end of the post and include links to their blogs. No problemo.
5. Let each person know that you tagged them. Gotcha.

Here goes, 7 Random Facts about me. I will wake you up when it's over:

1. I was born in Thailand. My dad was in the Air Force stationed in Thailand. He met my mom and well, you know how it happens.
2. My favorite movie is Chocolat.
3. My sister and I once, when we were little, opened up every single present under the Christmas tree and then taped them back up. We did not get caught.
4. I taught ball room dancing. For less than a month. I hated it because I wasn't flirtatious like the other gals and that's what was expected. And most of the men that came in were old. OLD.
5. Growing up I always hated my name, Melody. It was so unique and I wanted the names that every one else had, like Michelle, Kim, Debbie (oh, man, are those name so typically 80's?)
6. I have a funky, long, second toe on my right foot. No, I will not include a picture.
7. I have two tattoos and want a third.

Now I tag:
The Honorary Indian, Mama's Boyz, Horizon Way Stories, Texas Cowgirlz, Princess Bishop , Golightly (she's visiting the Alamo City soon, makin' sure she's got street cred), and my sister Steph who doesn't have a blog but can do it in my comments . How do ya like that?

Santa the Grinch

He wasn't the jolliest of fellas but he sure was good lookin'. Tonight we took the Grands to the Main Street Boerne Christmas festivities. It was totally Christmas decked out with lights up and down, fake snow, Mexican hot chocolate, and 40 degree weather. We didn't get to ride the horse drawn carriages (and Vienne was a little more than upset about that) because the line was too long so we'll probably go back again next week. This runs for two more weekends so if you are in the area, small town fun.

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday we visited the Love Creek Orchards annual pumpkin patch. We've been going there for years. Last year we wore jackets and long sleeves. This year it was a warm 90 degrees. We always have so much fun there and the girls really look forward to it.

Natalya's obsession with horses started before she was two. She's delirious when she gets to ride a horse. Hence, the obligatory pony ride at the patch.

And I guess when Natalya eventually gets a horse Vienne may want one, too.

The girls also got to hold baby chicks...

...eat carmel apples...

...paint pumpkins...

...and get their faces painted.

I will post more from this set through the week because I just took so many. This one is My Best Shot for today. Sure I'll be seeing more pumpkin patch pictures at Tracey's Picture This.

Oh, and I get nothing from this but Photoworks is having a photo contest that could win you a Nikon D40. I don't use Nikon but I'm sure it would be a great camera to win. They have a few categories that you can enter so you might want to check it out. But then again, if you don't enter then it will increase my chances of winning so... hmm... forget I said anything. Where's that delete button...

Kendall County Fair

This weekend is the Kendall County Fair. There are livestock shows and auctions, a carnival, and this morning there was a parade. It was the longest small town parade ever at almost 2 hours. The girls had a blast and Daddy is now broke. We marvel at how much it is to go to a fair. The rides average about $3 each. You could easily spend $50 in just an half hour of play.

Pretty queens and princesses.

Candy! Run!

Sister love.

Daddy enjoying fair food and a refreshing beverage.

The longest corn dog ever. Vienne only ate two bites of it.

8 second ride. Any bull riding fans out there?

Coo Coo for Coconuts

This picture kinda makes me laugh. Natalya and I were at HEB the other day and she saw coconuts. Many a time I have said, "OK, one of these days we'll get one so you can see what they look like inside." Natalya reminded me so we took two home. Greg drilled a hole in each and we let the girls drink them. It was no surprise that Natalya did not like it and it was also no surprise that Vienne did. Then Greg smashed them open. I did what I could to shred some of the meat and made smoothies. If anyone has a trick to doing it let me know 'cause I had utensils and coconut everywhere. On the other hand, I now know why they have it already shredded and ready in bags.

House With a View

We visited the house this week. The sheet rock should be going up within a few days. Fun. After that appointment we had a picnic dinner at the park of the sudvision that we are moving to. They have a nice play ground for the kids and a very nice lake with a walking/horseback riding trail.

Feeding the ducks.

A horseshoe print that Natalya said looked like a heart.

Field Trip

This weekend we visited the "Here Be Dragons" exhibit at the Institute of Texan Cultures. Greg has been wanting to go to the ITC for a long time. It's filled with all things related to Texas history. The current special exhibit is about dragons. As you enter the exhibit there is a really cool animated dragon. The rest of the exhibit talks about how dragons came to be cross culturally.

This picture was taken at the entrance of the ITC. If you've ever been to Texas you know that the flag flies everywhere. This is a huge neon flag that I thought was very cool.
Across from the ITC is the 750 foot tall Tower of the Americas. It's one of the first things you see when you approach downtown San Antonio. We've never been up there. Frankly, I'm a wee bit scared to go up. There's a restaurant at the top.
And our little Sweet V. She's always asking, "Where are we going next?"

Saturday Afternoon Post

This morning Maile was in our little town again for another shoot. So I met her to pick up Vienne's portraits from our session. It was like Christmas. I opened the bow, then the paper, and there was my beautiful girl's face captured just as I know it. The book that she created was amazing. I may just have to carry it around with me for a couple of weeks to share it with any stranger who's willing to give me a few minutes.

Afterwards, the girls and I roamed Main Street for awhile. Trying to figure out why I always have so many pictures of Vienne and less of Natalya, I realized that when Natalya is done with me pointing the camera at her, she starts making funny faces. Here ducky, ducky.

(The "bottom" one will be My Best Shot. Whatcha got?)

Send in the Clowns

We celebrated Vienne's birthday with dinner at Rainforest Cafe and the Ringling Bros. Circus. I think Greg and I had just as much fun as the girls do. The circus was extra exciting this year. I think the best show was watching the girls watch the show. They truly were amazed. I hope it stays that magical for a long time.

Walking along the Riverwalk to Rainforest. We actually had some sun light and Vienne was so blinded that she had to pull out the shades.

This was Vienne's "Volcano". I think it could have served at least 10. But the girls were happy to try and finish it all themselves.

Rubber elephant for Natalya: $15 (wow.)
Pink, spinning, light up thing for Vienne: $20 (ouch!)
Cotton candy, regular size, regular color: $10 (WHAAAAAAAAAT?!)
The looks on the girls faces as they watch the acrobats flying right above us: the cheapest part of the whole evening.

4th of July Parade

This morning we celebrated Independence Day with the city of Comfort at their annual 4th of July Parade. It's a very small town about 15 minutes Northwest of Boerne. Lots of character, antique shopping, and small town flare. I was really hoping that this would be a "typical" small town parade and it was. Lots of children, tailgates open, dogs on leashes, and lots of smiling faces.

This is Natalya's expression every time she sees a horse.And for the girls, the best part of the parade was that every float threw them candy.