Backyard Makeover

So it's been three years and they have finally built houses behind us.  On Judy and Joel's last visit we started talking about making some changes to the backyard to help give us a little more privacy now that we have neighbors behind us.  We actually hired someone to come out on Thursday and remove some of the lawn and move the sprinklers.  Then Joel and his brother Rob flew in for the weekend to help us with this big project.  They arrived Friday afternoon and we decided to just spend time with the kids and have a little fun before diving into all the hard work.  We went to Chuy's for dinner which was fun and delicious.  Saturday morning we started bright and early.  There were lots of trips to home depot.  Our biggest obstacle ended up being some enormous rocks we ran into while digging all the holes for the plants.  We finished most of the work on Saturday.  We planted 3 trees and 6 bushes.  The trees are called Cleveland Pears.  They don't grow fruit but have really pretty white flowers in the spring and then turn red in the fall.  The bushes are wax myrtles and will grow into a hedge.  We also got a few little projects around the house done.  Overall it was a VERY productive weekend and the yard looks amazing.   Thanks Joel and Rob for all of your help!!!!

Here is the yard with the grass removed.

This lizard was quite interested in what was going on.

Ouch, got a little too much sun! 

All of our supplies being delivered.

Everything for the makeover.

NM martini's at Chuy's.

The boys loved playing with grandpa and uncle Rob.

Rob watching a movie with the boys.

The new backyard.  I can't get it all in one picture but like I said there are 3 trees, one in each corner and one in the middle and then 6 bushes.

Lady Gaga

On Wednesday I went to the Lady Gaga concert with a couple of friends from our neighborhood.  We bought the tickets six months ago and just thought it would be fun to go and have a girls night.  We left early and went to Sushi for dinner and then headed to the concert.  It was lots of fun.  She was really good.  There were lots of interesting characters at the concert.  I could have just sat and people watched all night long.  After the concert we decided to go downtown for a few drinks.  We ended up having a really fun girls night! We need to plan another one soon :)

Marie, Diana and me.

My crazy shoes I decided to wear. I brought a back up pair and they ended up giving me a blister go figure.

Our giant margaritas.

At our seats.

 All of our crazy shoes, we are lucky we didn't break our ankles.

This guy was sitting in front of us and he was crazy!

 These girls went all out!

 Gaga taking the stage. 

 Thanks girls for a great night!

Harper Claire Niemann

Matt and Abbey added a new addition to their family on Friday.  Harper Clair arrived around 11:30am and was 7 pounds 7 ounces and 19 1/4 inches long.   Both mom and baby are doing great.  We drove down on Saturday to meet her.  She is so tiny!  I always forget how little new borns can be.  Both the boys did great during our visit in the hospital.  Brody was very excited to see Kinsey, she is currently one of his favorite friends :) I was terrible and didn't take a single picture.  Luckily Matt texted us a pic when she arrived.  Congrats Matt and Abbey we are so happy for you!

Crawfish Boil

Matt and Shane had their annual crawfish boil a few weekends ago.  As usual it was lots of fun and really yummy.  Brody had lots of fun playing with all the kids and Connor slept most of the time but when he was awake he was trying his hardest to keep up with his big brother.   I forgot to take a camera but got a few pics with my iphone.

 Brody checking out the mud bugs!

Some stone crabs decided to crash the party.

Brody and Kinsey(aka his girlfriend).

Yoga!

A couple weeks ago after one of my yoga classes my yoga teacher told me about this contest that yoga journal was doing and told me she thought I should enter.  Basically you just take a picture of you doing a yoga pose and enter in the contest to win a trip to San Fransisco to be on the cover of the magazine.  So after Connor's birthday party, Matt and Abbey stuck around to help me with the pictures.  We took a few at the house and then a few outside.  Here are some of the pics.

It came down to the last two pics and in the end I went with this one.  The contest is still going on and we will find out the final 5 on April 21st.  Wish me luck :)

Shara's 30th

After Connor's birthday on Saturday we got to go out to help Shara celebrate her 30th birthday.  We had dinner at Trudy's and then headed to the Broken Spoke for some country dancing.  It was lots of fun with our best friends.  Mark even danced a few times, which I just loved.  It reminded me of Taos and going to barn dancing when I was growing up.  We love you Shara, happy birthday!!!

Me and Shara.

Christa, Dusty and Mark.

Christa, Dusty, me and Mark.

These are Shara's girlfriends from Dallas they came down for the party.

All the girls.

Jason, Kim, Dusty, Christa and Tim.

 Me and Mark.

The horns were playing that night so Tim was checking the score, good news they won!

Kim, Jason, Tim, Christa and Shara

Love these girls!

Shara and Mark.

Connor is ONE!

I can't believe Connor is one.  This past year has just flown by.  We had a party on Saturday.  He was a little overwhelmed at first.  He retreated over to his chair and just kind of watched everyone for a little while but after a bit he warmed up and was ready to party.  On Tuesday he had his one year well check. He was 23 pounds which was in the 50th percentile, he was 31.75 inches long which was in the 95th percentile and his head was 47 cm which was in the 75th percentile.  He is healthy and happy.  He has 4 teeth and is starting to walk.  He is very cautious about walking he can stand for really long periods of time and he just isn't sure about the walking part.  He is still very mellow.  He LOVES his big brother more then anything.  They really are best friends and love to play together.  He is a great eater. He isn't very interested in baby food.  He loves to feed himself.  His favorite food is definitely macaroni and cheese.  He is starting to sign and try to communicate with us.  We love you so much Connor, happy birthday!

This was his birthday invitation. 

Brownie Pops.

Connors Charlie Brown cake.

The cake for our guests :)

Connor and Kyla.

Kyla and Kennedy.

Girl fight! 

Happy Birthday to you!

He wasn't too sure what to do with the cake, but he found the cookies that I used to make the ears and that was his favorite part.

All the kids ready for cake.

Kinsey modeling some stylish shades. 

Yes he is actually licking the cake.

Present time.

Brody in his snoopy shirt.

I think Brody did most of the unwrapping but Connor appreciated the help :)

Thank you goodies for all of our guests!