Tagged Trauma!

OK so I guess I'm still learning about blogging. I started My Favorites post last week, but it stressed me out so I quit and saved the draft. Then when I posted it today, it posted it in order of the date which is down a couple posts. If you're like me, and you've already checked my blog, you will see the same pictures on the top and skip to someone else's blog. If you want to read it scroll down and enjoy. If you don't care, well there you go. You got to read that I get stressed when I have to think too hard. I did want Jeanette to know, Yes I finally finished your tag--and Linds I'm working on yours.

A Day at the Beach . . .

These are some of my favorite pictures I took of the kids at Corpus last Saturday. I had fun playing photographer. If you want to see some more pictures of our day at the beach, I updated the slide show at the top of my blog.

We had such a fun day at the beach last Saturday! The kids pretty much entertained themselves, swimming in the water and playing in the sand. Savannah said her favorite part of the beach was twisting and dancing in the "quicksand." Makayla found a perfect spot in the sand where once you stepped into it, you immediately began sinking. Logan and Savannah thought this was hilarious, and they all spent quite a while sinking in the sand and then trying to jump out. I filmed a short clip of them "Doing the Twist" in the sand below.

I Love the Lazy Days of Summer . . .

I love everything about summertime! I love the lack of routine, the lazy mornings, spending time with my kids and actually getting time to play with them. I especially love living close enough to the coast to slip away on a Saturday morning and escape to the beach. We had such a nice weekend at Corpus Christi. It was so relaxing spending the day playing in the water with the kids and getting some time to talk to Mike on the drive and on our family stroll down the beach. The kids love it too, which makes it especially nice for me because when they're happy . . . I'm happy! : )

Tagged!

My First Tag. I'm really into blogging now.

What was I doing 10 years ago?

Mike and I had been happily married for 3 1/2 years. (Life seemed a little easier back then. Maybe kids are a factor??! : ) Mike had begun his quest for a PhD in Biomedical Engineering a year earlier and I had just graduated from BYU in English that April. Mike was working as a research assistant at the University of Utah and working for my Dad at the farm on the weekends, and I was managing 50+ hours a week at Taco Amigo. We were renting a tiny little white house with kitchen carpet and pink shag. That was a sweet house!


5 years ago?

We had just moved to Texas that February for Mike's new job. We moved on a snowy day in Utah and arrived in Texas to an incredibly hot humid day with rain, rain, and more rain. The first couple of months we lived here, it rained. I was worried that was all it did here. We jumped head first into a world where we knew no one, Mike traveled all the time, I had a new fussy baby who cried A LOT and a very busy 3 year old who needed my attention too, and we were crammed into a little apartment with no yard for the kids to play in. Good Times! On the upside, we did have a pool. We swam a lot that summer and spent many days at the park. By the fall, we had found a house and many new and very good friends!


1 year ago?

Last summer, my kids still seemed little. Savannah was my cute little toddler, Logan was getting ready for Preschool in the fall and Makayla was finishing 2nd Grade. They have grown so much the last year. We have gone from toting a diaper bag and changing diapers to running from soccer to dance to activity days etc. Life seems simpler now to pick up and go, but busier now, always on the go. Last June, my parents came to visit us in Texas for Makayla's baptism. We had so much fun with them here. July was filled with swimming and Sea World, trips to the zoo, play dates with friends, and of course our trip to Utah to visit all our friends and family (which we are anxiously counting down the days until we get to go home this summer too.) For the last five years our summer vacation has been spent in Utah. The kids love going to see all their grandmas and grandpas and cousins. We have such a good time there with cabin trips in the mountains, backyard BBQs in the cool evenings and days spent swimming and playing at the park with cousins. I also look forward to sister shopping trips and lunch dates with my friends. OK so you can see I am ready for Utah this summer as well!


Yesterday?

I helped my friend, Jill, out by watching her girls for most of the day while she spent the day at Scout Camp. (Glad we're not quite there yet : ) We ran to Susie's to drop off Jill's baby at lunch time (this is a long story but it involves swimming lessons and splitting watching Jill's kids) and left Logan to play there with his buddy Cameron. Then, back to our house for lunch and playing dress ups, pioneers, pollies and many other 9 year old girl activities. I did a little online shopping in the afternoon (this is not a habit I recommend as it could become dangerously addictive) and picked up dinner at Chipotle. That evening I watched "The Sea Turtle Movie" with the kids which is Mike and my vacation footage from Hawaii 8 years ago that the kids love to watch. Finally it was bedtime for the kids and free time for me! Yea! I spent a little time blogging. Then, I spent some time watching TV with Mike before we crashed for the night. I just read through this and realized I did not spend anytime cleaning yesterday. Two reasons: 1. Our washing machine is broken, therefore, I cannot do any laundry, dang it! 2. I spent the entire day on Tues. cleaning my entire house.

My 5 favorite snacks.

Apple slices, grapes, cheese (I love cheese!),Pringles, and Sunchips.

5 favorite books.

I love to read! I will stress about this question trying to narrow down my favorite books to 5! So I guess I won't think too hard and list them off quickly. Mostly these are books I've read recently.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer
These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner
Nighttime Is My Time by Mary Higgins Clark
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

5 places I would run away to.

Anywhere with a beach, Mike and no kids for a week sounds awesome!
Hawaii, Cancun, The Bahamas, Fiji, Italy

5 Bad Habits

I kept most of Jeanette's on this list . . . hmm. Similarities in sisters??!
Popping my knuckles when I'm nervous, interrupting people, eating way too much junk food, shopping too much, and being late.

5 things I would never wear.

I like to try new things but there are just some things I could never pull off like skinny jeans, leggings, short shorts, a bikini, and anything mustard yellow. (Again Jeanette's list. I agree)

5 pet peeves.

When people cut me off driving and then go slow in front of me, putting the toilet paper roll on the wrong way, people in my house not putting their shoes away--we can have 10+ pairs out at any given time, solicitors, and mean old ladies who give me mean looks when I try to take my 3 kids grocery shopping.

5 things I like to do.

Shop, Read, Exercise, blog, and do fun things with my kids and friends. (I wish sisters--if we lived closer!)

5 favorite TV shows.

Grey's Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters, Dancing With The Stars, The Office, and Lipstick Jungle (my Sex and the City replacement).

5 famous people I want to meet.

Patrick Dempsey (he is so Dreamy! : ), Oprah (to be on her show), Jim from The Office (what is his name?), Bobby Flay (for cooking lessons) and Clinton and Stacy from what not to wear (I love them!).

5 people I want to TAG.

Lindsay, Susie, Kristin, Lisa, and Shannon

When Animals Attack! (on Father's Day)

Happy Father's Day to our Dads and Grandpas! I am so grateful for all of you in our lives. I am especially grateful for Mike. He is such a great daddy to our children. We had a fun-filled Father's Day at the Manwaring household! Mike spent the day relaxing, reading the newspaper, playing with the kids and playing with a giant spider in our garden. Leave it to Mike to have our own "When Animals Attack" in the backyard!

McNay Art Museum

Savannah and Brooklyn's first concert! They have got the moves down--grooving to Joe McDermott.

We had so much fun visiting the McNay Art Museum! The kids loved listening to Joe McDermott on the lawn outside the museum, and I loved soaking in all the art inside the museum!

These are some of my favorite paintings from the museum. It was so fun to do something culturally uplifting and have my kids actually enjoy it too

Monet "Water Lillies" and Picasso "Portrait of Sylvette"

Jane Freilicher "In Broad Daylight"

Georgia O'Keeffe "From the Plains I"

Our Little Future Scientists

Makayla and her friends, Sarah and Amber, had so much fun playing scientist after the zoo trip. They pulled out Makayla's science kit from her birthday (Thank you Mom!) and got busy making snow, magic sand and colored crystals. You can see the crystals growing in the colored glasses. Mike was so proud of his little scientist!

Summer Fun at the Zoo

While Mike was in Canada for the week, the kids and I played! We had a fun last week of school and a great time with our friends at the zoo. Makayla, Logan and Savannah had a blast with our friends, the Nielsons and the Barlows.

Savannah and Brooklyn__ Amber, Sarah, Mr. Snake & Makayla

Cameron, Logan & Josh

Savannah loves her little friend, Brooklyn. They were on their own agenda at the zoo, constantly lagging behind the rest of us. They were in their own little world, and it was so cute to watch them get so excited about the animals at the zoo.

Mike's Conference in Canada

Mike spent the first week in June in Toronto, Ontario at a wound healing conference for work. He didn't have much time for sightseeing, spending most of his days listening to talks and in meetings. Mike did manage to see a few of the sights of the city, and he dined in the Casa Loma Castle one evening. Canada looks beautiful! (Mike--next conference, plan on one extra plane ticket and dinner for two! : )

Casa Loma Castle--built in 1911

Lake Ontario


Downtown Toronto

Happy Birthday Mike and Andrea!!

I just want Mike and my sister, Andrea, to know how much I love them and I hope they had a great birthday! One thing that makes it extra special is that they share the same birthday. (A side note: One of those "signs" that Mike was the man I should marry)

Mike is such an amazing husband and father. He was recently in Canada for a week, and it is much more obvious to me how much I love him and how grateful I am for the little things he does for the kids and I when he is gone. I love you, Mike!





Happy Birthday little sister! What an example Andrea is to me. She works full time and is a wonderful wife and mother. I don't know how she does it all--it's probably that she is just amazing. I love you, Anz!

South Padre Island Trip

We love the beach! We had so much fun at the coast a month ago at South Padre Island. We headed to the coast with our good friends: the Barlows, Millers and Gordons. The kids had a great time playing with their friends in the waves and building sand castles. They also had a blast visiting a Sea Turtle Refuge where they learned all about Sea Turtles and how to protect and help them. It was so cute to watch how anxious the kids were to learn all about turtles. We had a great weekend! If Mike and I and the kids could spend every weekend in the summer at the beach, we probably would. Maybe one day we will have a little beach house on the coast somewhere!?? But for now we enjoy escaping real life for a life of sunshine, relaxing by the surf, and playing in the waves.

3rd Grade Graduate

Makayla loved everything about the 3rd grade! She had a great year and a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Moreno. Makayla gets excited about learning new things and loves science and art. She has made so many neat friends at school in the past four years. Her teacher says she is a friend to everyone, and her energy in class is contagious. I hope her love for learning continues as that will help her excell in school and in life.

Makayla's 3rd grade class

Makayla had a blast at her end of the year class party! She was also excited to tell me that she made the Roll of Excellence for getting straight A's all year. Way to go Kayla!

Makayla and her friends, Juli, Andrea & Jenna