A Big Trip to celebrate a Big Day

So on Sunday, Corey turned the BIG 3-0. His present? A trip to Austin, Texas with our best friends the Taylors. We all arrived on Friday around noon ready to explore the new city-and especially ready to eat. Friday night we hit a local tex-mex place called Chuy's. It was amazing! There was this jalapeno cream sauce that I will never forget! Saturday was filled to the brim with all kinds of activity. First I got to reunite with one of my best friends Ellen who moved back home to Texas last spring. She met up with us to go to the first annual Gypsy Picnic-a gathering of 30 food trailers that are unique to Austin. We got to try pulled pork tacos, bratwurst, and the most amazing donuts I have ever tasted-one was maple with bacon called the flying pig, the other was cinammon and sugar. It was very indicative of the live music capital of the world-a great stage was set up and we got to listen to several bands while we enjoyed our food. Once we were full, we decided to explore downtown. We walked down 6th street - a very famous street in Austin. That evening we hit a famous BBQ place called Rudy's. There was quite the plethora of food--brisket, ribs, chicken, sausage, cream corn, beans and potato salad. It was amazing. Then we dressed ourselves up and took ourselves back downtown to 4th street. We hit a really fun bar called Cedar Street and listened to an awesome 80s cover band called the Spazmatics! Sunday was more laid back. We went to the infamous Round Rock Donuts, which was awesome. Did some shopping at the outlets and hit up a sports bar called Pluckers for lunch. Corey finally found a hot chicken wing that challenged his palate! Then went down to South Congress Ave--which was full of all kinds of vintage shops and where Corey got a free hug that apparently was the best hug ever. We took it easy that night and soaked our soar feet and bodies in the hot tub, ordered a pizza and packed ourselves up. It was a great trip with great friends, and we can't wait to have another adventure soon!

Our Crazy Bunnies

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. It was Joe's first Trick or Treating experience, and he loved it. The kiddos dressed up as Max&Ruby--a show about a brother and sister bunny that is eerily similar to Joe and Libby in real life. They both were pros at saying "Trick or Treat" and "Thank You." By the end of the night, they were tuckered out from getting a lot of loot.

In other news, Libby and Joe are great. They play really nicely together (most of the time) and are growing up so fast! Joe is still in a crib, but we think we are tackling big boy bed and big boy pants at the same time over my winter break. More to come later!

The last month

Oh goodness... school has begun again. Thus posts are few and far between, but I have a few minutes today to tell you how we all are. Libby and Joe are both great! They are funny and vibrant kiddos. Libby is getting to be a really big kid-who loves to play dress-up and pretend. She is a fabulous dancer and a really good big sister when she wants to be. Joe idealizes Libby. He follows her around. He says what she says. They are both getting bigger and bigger-albeit, Joe is growing up at an alarming rate! He is taller and denser than Libby now. He weighs in at around 35 lbs. Libby is right at 30. Joe loves to color now-and Libby is working on her letters, so we have table time everyday to let them practice. They both also really like jumping-off tables, couches, toy boxes. It is kind of terrifying, but they love it. I am pretty convinced that they are monkeys.

Libby making a funny face-she is SO much like her daddy.

Fun with the Taylors x 2

Our best friends live in TN which means that we see them when we see them. Usually holidays mean a few hours of time together; We try to make it down there once or twice a year. But all that has changed these last couple of months. The Taylors were in town at the beginning of July-so much fun was had that we went down at the end of July. Once we realized Joe would be ok in the car, we packed up the kids and headed down as a family the weekend before school started for me. It was crazy to have all three kids, but it was so much fun too. We took the kiddos to a park, to a fountain.

Another perk of visiting TN is getting to see my friend Erin! And even better, she got to meet our kiddos for the first time. It was instant friendship!

We took ourselves to a pub. There was a lot of hanging out and watching them destroy the Taylors house. I cannot tell you how many times we cleaned up the toy explosion. But we said our good-byes completely expecting to have an 8 week drought of Taylor-age. But the next week, the Taylors decided that being at the season opener was really important! So we readied our house and did the whole thing over again!

Now we are gearing up for the Syracuse game--too may weeks away!

Our first family trip to the beach

We just got back from our first family trip to the beach and it was a blast. Most of my family rented a house in Bethany Beach Delaware this year. The trip got off to a rocky start with ridiculous traffic that added 2 hours onto our drive. The kids were great though-we have never had Joe on a long journey so we weren't sure how he would do. Once there, we settled in. There were 11 people total (3 young kiddos) so it was kind of a tight fit. Joe ended up sleeping in a pack 'n' play in the walk in closet and Libby was on an air mattress. They slept great. We stayed in a golf community resort area, so there was a playground right around the corner and several pools to play in.

The ocean was a little rough, but Libby liked getting her feet wet. Joe liked sand. We actually didn't spend much time at the beach-it required a lot of prep and a 10 minute shuttle ride to get there, and the kids were only happy for an hour or so. We spent the majority of our time at the pool and it was a HUGE hit. In fact, by the end of the week, Libby and Joe could both "swim." Joe could go with just water wings. Libby was a bit more timid and required 2 noodles, but once she had them, she was fast in the water.

Belated Birthday Photos/Libby's New Room/Our Trip to TN

The kiddos had a fabulous Yo Gabba Gabba themed birthday party! While the kids had a great time eating the cake, the real fun was had outside on the swing-set and sand box. At the end of the day everyone was so sweaty that everyone needed sprayed down with the hose. Apparently that included me since Elliott grabbed the hose and sprayed me right in the face!

Once the birthday party was over, Corey and I got serious about transforming Libby's room into a "big-girl" room. She was ready for a twin size bed and new color scheme. It is very PURPLE.

FINALLY, Corey and I took off to TN to visit our friends the Taylors and celebrate my birthday/end of internship. We had a great time. We went to Dollywood and rode some great coasters, had a fun BBQ with friends and hit up some outlets. But of course the best is just being with our best friends.