happy birthday baby ava!

new york state of mind

Yummy dinner at Joseph Leonard!

Can't go to NYC with going to Magnolia Bakery!

Ask for a price list before you order a bellini at Cipriani's!

They are delicious, but liquid gold! :)

All the little nail salons do chair massages too!! ahhh

a late night with Hugh Grant can make a girl sleepy...

off to brunch at Bubby's (with Natalie Portman)!

Shopping in Soho!

Hogs & Heifers!

a charming little street in the meatpacking district

adorable, yummy coffee shop in greenwich village

i love nyc. what an energizing (and exhausting) place! there is so much to see and do and eat :)...4 days just wasn't enough! my friend, natalie, used to live in nyc so she was the perfect travel guide! we had such a fun time...we strolled street by street....shopping and eating our way through the big apple. we walked for 4 days straight....greenwich village, soho, nolita, the meatpacking district, midtown, and everywhere in between! it was rainy and cold the majority of the time, but that didn't stop us....the city that never sleeps treated us well....hope to see you again soon, nyc.

my, how the time flies....

i'm feeling quite sentimental today. my baby boy is 4! someone once told me that the days will be long, but the years will be short and i feel that already. anyone with toddlers knows that 9 am everyday feels like 4 pm, but i'm beginning to understand how fast this is gonna all go by. i'm trying to turn over a new leaf...a little less facebook, a little less playing around on the computer...and more sitting in the floor doing whatever my kiddos want to do...building with blocks, keeping a balloon in the air so the sharks don't get it, feeding a babydoll... i seriously doubt that in 10 years I'll look back and wish i had more "me" time...more leave mom alone so i can veg out time... i do, however, think i'll look back and wish i set in the floor and had more tea parties, more superhero action time, more of anything that would give me some extra time with my precious kiddos. i'm trying to remind myself of that everyday...even right now as will is asking me "can we play right now or not yet??" whew...i'm tired...but i'm thankful. thanks for all the joy you've added to my life will. happy birthday.

make new friends but keep the old...

there's something so dear about an "old" friend. one who you've known for 17 years and still can't get enough time with. one with whom you can sit in silence or laugh til you cry or have a heart to heart with. for me, that is jan. she's such a dear friend. she's such an easy friend. we can go months without talking and still pick up right where we left off. I love that. In June, she came to Austin for a visit and it was such a fun time! we went to fun diners, had great talks, shopped, laughed a lot, watched movies while eating freshly baked and delivered to your door cookies! (i love you, cookie lounge!). I love all the memories we share, old and new....and I love seeing where God has brought both of us over the years. Thanks for being such a constant friend, Jan! Love you!

back together again

several years after greg and i got married we met rob and kim truss and baird and monica smith in a newlywed community group at our church in fayetteville, ar. we instantly became great friends. in 2004, the truss' moved to austin for rob's job. who knew that 4 years later we would be in the same city! and, to top it all off, baird and monica moved here several weeks ago. it's funny how God has a way of bringing old friends back together. feels like a little piece of home here in texas. i love it.

Colorful Cinque Terre!

If you want to do nothing but relax on your vacation then go to Cinque Terre! It is composed of 5 towns and if you get the urge to exercise then you can hike from town to town. Greg and I hiked from Vernazza to Monterosso and it was beautiful. The views were amazing. The towns are so colorful, and in the summer months you can head to the beach. It's the perfect place to sit at an outdoor cafe...have some wine or coffee and read a good book. We loooved Cinque Terre!

Italy is full of hidden little narrow streets...so cute!

On our hike...looking down at the town of Monterosso

Looking back at Vernazza

Vernazza is so colorful! Feels like a little fairy tale village!

the main street through Vernazza. After you shop this one little street, there's not a whole lot left to do other than relax!

The best little breakfast place in Vernazza!

Vernazza is a town of steps!! You climb and climb and climb. These are the steps leading to our Inn.

under the tuscan clouds

well, we made it past the 7 year itch! on april 21st, greg and i celebrated our 8th anniversary! a lot has happened since the year 2001! we've lived in 6 residences, changed jobs, struggled through infertility, been blessed with 2 kids, said goodbye to friends and family, moved to austin, made new friends and learned a multitude of lessons along the way! i'm thankful when i look back and see where God has brought us. We have learned a lot and i can't imagine all that we have left to learn!

Greg and I went to Italy to celebrate the past 8 years and we had a great time...we relaxed, read books, sipped wine at cafe's, toured the sights, dodged the rain, spent time with friends who came over from Tunisia, Africa, ate a lot of gelato, and slept late....something we haven't done in a long time! Here are some pics from the trip. it's hard to sum up, on paper, 8 days in italy...so i'll let the pictures do the talking.

Siena's main square....Il Campo

a quaint street in Siena

Greg and I went to dinner at 6:45 pm on our 1st night in Italy...I kid you not, this is what the restaurant looked like! So, we had dinner at one table while the restaurant staff dined at another. don't go to dinner before 8 pm! unless you want the whole place to yourself


The Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence. Apparently, this was the only bridge in Florence left standing by Hitler. He supposedly liked to see the sunset from it.

A Razorback in Italy!??! I couldn't resist!


Greg and I did a 13 mile bicycle tour through Tuscany. Despite the rain in our faces, it was a fun time and the scenery could not have been more beautiful. We visited a castle winery...Castello di Pappiano. Great olive oil and wines! The count and contessa still live in the castle and this is their own personal church!

Some of the barrels used to "age" the wines

translation: you can plant and you can irrigate, but without the presence of God nothing is possible.


Relaxing at a cafe on the day we arrived.

An Italian sized cup of coffee. So disappointing on a cold rainy day to want to wrap your fingers around a warm cup of joe and get handed this!! And they look at you really funny when you order 3 of them!


Beautiful Tuscany...
I thought Tuscany was supposed to be sunny, but we dodged rain for about 6 out of our 8 days in Italy!


Greg getting "artsy" with the camera!

some yummy tuscan food! caprese salad and bruchetta