Mini-van mom!

Oh yes, people, I did. I bought a mini-van! Or is it minivan? I should probably know this now that I am, OFFICIALLY, a mini-van mom. And:

source

You know that's right.

We bought it used and old because we're super cheap like that. Hopefully I won't find myself stranded on the side of the road in two days, regretting that decision as smoke pours out from under the hood and flames begin to engulf the engine. Guess we'll see!

It's a 2002 Honda Odyssey, silver color, and so far I really like it (just bought it last night...so I don't have much to go off of yet). I know some people are anti-van, but I think they are AWESOME. Obviously I like them because I bought one with only one kid. Nerdy? Probably. Do I care? No--I drive a minivan, clearly I don't have much pride to begin with. :)

My favorite function so far is the push-button-automatic-sliding-door. SO CONVENIENT. And it's nice not having to bend over and contort myself into a crazy position just to get Emery into her seat. I'm excited just thinking about getting groceries and piling them in the car with room to spare. Bring it on, Costco, you can't over-fill my little car now!

"Things of a Better"

I came across a scripture today that stood out to me. D&C 25:10:

"And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better."

Isn't that beautiful? It made me pause and ask myself what I'm worried about and/or what my energy is going to. Is it frivolous things that don't really matter in the long run? Or am I seeking something better.

I also like it as a reminder that there is more out there than what this world has to offer. God has promised us so much more than we have here. But we have to seek it.

Stuck

I recently acquired this adorable tutu for Emery. It's a bit big for her still but it's just so fluffy and girly I had to put it on her. She strutted around in it for an hour or two, and went off to play. Soon I hear her crying on the stairs. I leave her alone because usually she figures things out herself, but when the crying continues for awhile I go check on her and find this:

She had tried to take the tutu off and got stuck in the process! She was so sad about it, but it was really cute. She looked like a purple lion.

Color in Motion

I did it! I ran a 5K a few weeks back, and I survived. I know, I know, it's only 3.1 miles, but the last time I ran that far was my sophomore year of college...and that's getting to be quite awhile ago. It felt really really good. I had been trying to run in the mornings but I never went more than about 2.2 miles, so I was surprised  at how enjoyable the 5K was, and how quickly it went. 

This particular race was a lot of fun because it's basically one big party the whole time--no one seemed too concerned about anything except having fun and getting covered in as much color (that holi color powder) as possible. And I was pretty covered by the time I was done:

Me and Marguerite. I wanted to run it with her but Gavin and I got stuck in race traffic for 45 minutes so I was too late  to catch her before the race. 

Here's the finish line, I emerged from that red cloud feeling so happy!

 I can't imagine how awesome it must feel to finish a big race, like a 10K, or a marathon. Maybe some day I'll find out.

Emery wasn't too sure what she thought about me being so colorful. Actually, she was sure. She didn't like it.

Here's my little cheerleading team:

It was a good experience for me to participate in this. It wasn't anything huge, but I felt really good about working towards a goal and accomplishing it. I guess the goal isn't finished, I still want to continue my exercise schedule, but the race was a milestone. 

Mom and Spencer visit

We had a lot of fun while my mom and Spencer were here. I felt like we drove A LOT, but that's kind of how things go around here. Everything is so spread out. Unfortunately I took very few pictures, but I got a few good ones. 

My favorite thing we did was take a trip to Galveston. It's about 2ish hours away, but we had a lot of fun and it was worth the drive. First we went to the beach and looked for some shells had a nice little walk along the shore. I had a little container to put the shells in and Emery loved it. She would get about 4 or 5 in there and then lean over to pick another one up and they would all dump out. She kept doing it over and over. It was hilarious. 

 It was a bit breezy which made it a little chilly, but the sun was shining and they sky was beautiful.
See, we're a bit cold:

After that we ate at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., and that was delicious. Then we took a tour of one of the old mansions on Galveston, Bishop's Palace. It was incredible. Here's a picture I snagged from their website so you have an idea of what it looked like:

Isn't that gorgeous? The inside was so detailed with expensive wood lining everything, and marble fireplaces, and stained glass windows. It was built from 1887-1892. The original owners were the Gresham family, they were one of the first families in Galveston. Eventually they moved out and a Catholic Bishop and his two sisters moved in, hence the name Bishop palace. I love touring old houses!

Emery was definitely spoiled by her Grandma while she was here. And Emery was loving every minute of it. This is a goofy picture of Emery (I promise she usually does wear clothes and her hair is usually fixed...not that you'd know that if you read this blog) but I think it's a super pretty picture of my mom:

Emery is obsessed with those gold jellies my mom bought. She's always bringing them to me saying "shosss, shooosss", wanting me to put them on her. 

We love people to visit us, so if you need a place for your next family vacation, COME ON DOWN TO TEXAS!

Twinners!

 Guess who came to visit us in Texas?! My mom and Spencer! It was SUCH A BLAST and I LOVED having them here to see our house and explore Houston with me. Mostly I just loved having them see Emery here in her "natural habitat". One night when we were getting Emery ready for bed I noticed a strange resemblance between her and Spencer's hair. Twinners!

She's giving all sorts of crusty looks because she's squinting in the bright light of the flash. It makes for funny pictures. 

Tree huggers

Gavin and I bought a real Christmas tree this year. It smelled so good...and actually still smells good as it's still sitting in our garage. Even though this was Gavin and I's 4th Christmas together and Emery's second Christmas, it kind of felt like our first Christmas. I think it was because it was our first Christmas in our first house, first real tree, first Christmas in Texas, and it was the first year of some fun traditions that we want to keep going. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that we are attached to this tree. We wanted to have a piece of it to remember all the happy times this year, so Gavin decided to cut off a chunk of the trunk and carve a design in it. His sister gave Gavin and his brothers a wood carving set for Christmas and it inspired the idea. It's far from being finished, but we'll post a picture when it's all done (probably months and months away so don't hold your breath!). 

Here's Emery, thinking Gavin needs her help.

Emery loved banging on the trunk with that wooden handle. She would just bang it and laugh and laugh!