I love the rest of the year!

The past few weeks have been pretty low key around here so there are no fun pictures or anything to share. It has been nice since we had been SO busy in August and the beginning of September. However, the madness is about to begin and last through October. We have many events and fun times ahead this month such as a trip to the pumpkin patch this weekend! I love this time of year because from now until the end of the year is just so festive and fun. I love the decorating and holiday spirit that starts to show. I love all the "shopping fairs" in which people set-up their booths and sell all sorts of different items. I love seeing all the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas stuff in the stores even if they do put it out REALLY early!

I really can't wait for all of it this year because Bailey is SO much more aware. Last year she liked everything but this year seems different because she is talking so much and can really get what is going on where last year she just liked seeing the decorations and such. She is SO into the decorations and we cannot have a visit to Costco without walking down the Christmas decoration aisle now as that is Bailey's favorite even surpassing the toy aisle! People always tell you that you cannot understand the joys of seeing things through a child's eyes until it is your child and that is SO true!!! Everything from our basic weekends to holidays would be so BLAH without Bailey these days. She brings such life to our homes and with the holidays approaching she makes them that much more exciting. I cannot wait for the holidays to actually begin as Bailey is going to love it! Plus, as most people know I love to cook/bake and Bailey has taken to these activities as well and is such a helper in the kitchen! So, this year I am most looking forward to sharing my kitchen with a set of little hands that is eager to help in anyway I let her!!!

Sorry, no pictures this time but definitely stay tuned because we are going to the pumpkin patch this weekend!

Good Shopping Day

So, Sunday we headed to the mall because Joe had gotten some Macy's coupons in the mail since he has a card with them. We went for 1 blazer and that was it. Needless to say we came out with way more!!! First, we looked around Macy's mens section for shirts, blazers, pants, and shoes for Joe. He ended up getting 5 shirts. Then we decided that we would go look for some Puma's since we have been wanting to get each of us a pair of them. We found ones that we loved and snatched them up! They are all matching pairs(I know...LOL now). Bailey and I have the exact same ones because I fit into child sizes(LOL again here) and Joe's are the same as ours but the Puma symbols on his are black. So, then we head back to the car but have to walk through Macy's mens/Furniture store. We decided to do a quick walk through of the furniture section as we love their furniture and our bedroom set and dining room set are from there. We got lucky and found an amazing table set that we fell in love with! They also only had 1 left so it was 30% off and then without even asking the sales ladies gave us an extra 10% off!!!! It is really cool. The shelving units on the end are on rollers so you can move them to make room for more seating or you can move them to whatever area of the house could use the storage. We immediately brought it home and put it in the breakfast area. It is always a good shopping day when you go for 1 item and come home with everything from shoes to clothes to furniture!

Here are our shoes and new table....

The Mud Pit

So, this past weekend the weather was MUCH cooler then it has been which allowed for more outside time for us. I was inside getting some things done around the house and Joe, Bailey, and the dogs were outside. I then headed out to join in the fun and enjoy the cool night. Well, what did I find?!?!? Costco had been digging which left a pretty good size hole in our yard next to the patio. Joe had decided that Bailey needed a mud pit in which to get dirty and make mud pies. He had filled the hole with water which created a child's dream of water and dirt!!! Bailey had a blast playing in it and ended up playing for almost 3 hours out there! It was so fun to let her just be a kid getting dirty and serving us the mud pies and tea that she made. Here are some pictures of that and of the dogs with the "hot dog" treats that Bailey picked for them...

Busy Busy Bee's We Have Been

As most of you know we did lots of traveling this past month and now that it has calmed down I am finally getting a chance to update you. I have a slideshow below that is only about 1/8 of all the pictures I took between the wedding, Lubbock, and the beach house...if anyone wants to see them all feel free to email me and I will send you a link to them.

First, we started off our travels with my cousin, Kate's, wedding in Scottsdale, AZ. It was an amazing time in which we got to see family and relax at the nicest resort I have ever been to. Bailey was a flower girl and did her job like a champ and didn't even hesitate to walk down the aisle!!!

Second, Bailey and I left the morning after we got back from the wedding to head to Lubbock, TX. Joe grew up there and was there for grad school that week. He had to leave before us since school started so we flew out to meet him. We spent the week hanging out with Gloria(my MIL) and anyone else who happened to drop in(I love having family and friends around). We visited Joe during his lunch breaks to eat, explore campus, and stock up on Texas Tech goodies!!! We even got to catch a few glimpses of the football players gearing up for this season...GO RED RAIDERS!!!!! Bailey really enjoyed being with GiGi(Grandma Gloria) and didn't want to return home. However, who would after a long weekend at a gorgeous resort and getting loved on by family?!?!?

Third, Jackie flew in and we all headed down to the beach house. We had lots of fun, sun, and swimming! The weather was(still is) HOT and made for perfect beach days! We got to just have fun with Jackie and a few friends that came with her.

Fourth, speaking of those friends that came with Jackie...As most of you know we have been struggling for the past 2 years to have a baby all our own. Obviously, we haven't been blessed YET and the final straw was 2 weeks ago when our infertility benefits ran out DAYS before we were supposed to try IVF for the 1st time. Coincidently 1 of the friends is a child social worker in Austin and was a great advocate for fostering and fostering-to-adopt. Well, needless to say we are signed up and moving forward with all the training, paperwork, and housing inspections that will get us qualified to foster. We are BEYOND excited that we could have a child in the next 4-8 months!!! We are going to try and get the qualification process done as quickly as possible as we have already waited 2 years to have another child in the house and we want another SOONER rather then later. I will definitely be keeping you updated here about where we are at with it and what is going on.

Fifth, Bailey has officially started her 2nd year of school and is LOVING it!!! Last year there were a lot of meltdowns at drop-off and so far this year ZERO! She has great teachers and they make it easy for us to be at ease. We are really hoping that the excitement continues and the tears stay far away! Bailey is also now potty trained and talking NON-STOP!!! She loves to sing and knows ALL the words for many songs. We love her beyond words and every change we cherish as we have seen how fast the past 2.5 years has gone by.