Better late than never…

My beautiful niece and handsome little nephew turned one last month.  We were fortunate enough to get to celebrate this milestone with them. 

Happy 1st Birthday Asher and Sophie!

Hello, my name is Crystal….and I have a problem!

I’ve always considered myself a thrifty person but being a stay-at-home mom for the past four years and learning to live comfortably enough on one income has turned me into something I don’t think I would have recognized a few years back.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining.  In fact, I love it!  However, I do need to confess I do have an addiction that is growing by the month.  As a disclaimer though, I blame Blake 100%.  Okay, so maybe not 100%, but he is on the one that first introduced me to the blog that started it all, http://moneysavingmom.com/.  Her blog is a bit extreme and I do not endorse all of her ideas, but she offers great tips and has taught me how to positively use the “Buy Ahead” principal. 

That being said, I now must show you what I “bought ahead” today…..

 

In my defense, each row of shoes represents a different size that Addie will grow into over the next year or two.  And most were under $5, which is a steal for decent little girl shoes. 

I’m so glad that God only decided to bless us with one little girl….because if we had more, I’m pretty sure we would be in debt!

Cow Appreciation Day

Mooooo!  It’s good to be a cow….especially when it means free breakfast at Chick-fil-a.

I may be biased, but these are the cutest little cows I’ve seen.

Addie trying to negotiate a trade with Dalton. 

“I’ll give you my chicken for your bread.”

It didn’t work out for her.

Happy Cow Appreciation Day!

Brownie Bowl

For the record Mom asked, “Who wants to lick the bowl?”

Florida Vacation

For vacation this year we headed off to Crestview, Florida (near Destin) to visit some great friends and old neighbors of ours, Brad & Jeri.  It was a 13 hour drive each way.  We left on Thursday night and made it to College Station where we stayed the night with our friend Jessica.  (Thanks Jess for letting us leave Belle with you!)

We left at 3am the next day to get as many miles underway as we could. 

On the way…

Sunrise over Lake Charles, LA.

Tunnel in Mobile, AL

At the Beach

We made it to Florida by early afternoon on Friday.  We went and saw Brad & Jeri’s new house and then headed for the beach.

Dalton swimming with Brad & Jeri.

 

Nightlife…

Brad & Jeri took us down to the harbor and shared some excellent seafood with us. 

On Saturday they took us out on a dolphin cruise.

I asked the kids to wave at the boat coming in next to us.  This is what she started doing…

We spent a lot of time everyday at the beach.  Because we were in the water so much, we didn’t get as many pictures as we normally take.  We had a great time staying with our friends.  We can’t wait to go back and see them again! 

New Orleans

We left Florida on Monday morning and drove the four hours to New Orleans.  We toured some of the historic area around Tulane University and downtown.  That night we got a nice hotel in the French Quarter. 

We walked around the French Quarter for the rest of the afternoon.  We stopped at ate at a cool little blues restaurant and then went back to the hotel and let the kids enjoy the evening by the pool.

St. Louis Cathedral

The Mississippi River

Then on Tuesday we picked up Belle and made the drive home.

Another great vacation with the Lacy Family!

Dog Days of Summer

Best Weekend Ever

This weekend has been the best weekend in a really long time.  It’s been pretty lazy with lots of naps.  Surprisingly, we’ve also done quite a lot.

On Friday we got to have dinner with Maca and Poc on the Riverwalk.

Saturday we had a pizza picnic in the living room.

Then we watched fireworks at Seaworld on Sunday.

Then on Monday (no work – Memorial Day) we took Addie to the tea gardens and zoo.

Kindergarten Graduation

You are now looking at the Lacy family’s new kinder graduate. 

This is Mrs. Pelkmann, Dalton’s kinder teacher.