Perfect Ending

Our last night in Canada was perfect.  Longhorns on TV (yes, they showed the longhorns... in Canada!), champagne, delicious pizza and hot dog picnic and this view:

The perfect ending to a really wonderful trip!

I'm so proud of Walker and Everly.  They are excellent little travelers and I'm excited for many more adventures!

Christmas Card Worthy

I've got to say... I'm pretty proud of myself for this one.... I took the kids Christmas outfits on our trip.  I thought, "hey, if I happen to get good pictures with an amazing backdrop, Christmas cards will be done!"

And, I was SUCCESSFUL!  Cards are already ordered.  In an effort to keep WoodWords readers surprised, I'm not including the actual picture I chose, but here are lots of fun ones!

(oh my, I love this!  You can't see their faces, but you know they're excited)

Who knew there would be AMAZING flowers in Canada????  Everywhere we went there were more beautiful flowers than the last place.  Great for more pictures!

I have lots more "flower" pictures, but I didn't want to bore you.

And, I have to share this little story.  We were running around the lake, taking lots and lots of pictures, when this man came up to Clark and said, "Can I take a picture with your baby?" and pointed to Everly.  Clark thought he wanted us to take his picture, and he said, "no, I want a picture WITH your baby."  I, of course, said, "WHY?".  His response was because she was just so cute.  So, with some hesitation we let him stand near her and his friend took a picture.  So bizarre, but I don't blame him.  She is pretty cute!

And, one more story from our outing.... Walker has turned into all BOY:

If there was a puddle, he was in it.  And, not just walking through it... JUMPING in!  His shoes and pants were soaking wet, but it was adorable!

Afternoon Tea

So, this mama is lucky.  Not only did Bunny keep the kids so I could have a date night with my man, my man kept the kids so I could have afternoon tea with my mama!

It was so great.  Yummy tea, sandwiches, scones and sweet treats and an even better view!!!

It was wonderful to continue our "tea" tradition in such a beautiful spot!

Lake Louise

I've always heard that Lake Louise is amazing.  And, with Clark having to go to Calgary a few times a year, I was very hopeful that I would someday get to see it.  Oh my, did it live up to the hype!!

Our honeymoon had some amazing spots, but Clark and I have always said that Santorini, Greece was our favorite.  It is truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.  Lake Louise is right up there with Santorini.  Seriously... check out this beauty:

 (the pictures don't even do it justice!)

(Everly couldn't wait to touch the ice cold water)

I love these pictures, because we had just gotten there and we were so blown away by the beauty!  I could sit there and look at the view for days!  Wish we would have been able to!

Another Mountain

After a wonderful time in Banff, we took off for Lake Louise.  I was so very excited, because I've always heard how amazing it is.... And, the kids were thrilled, because it meant another gondola ride!

While I like both views, I think I liked this second one better.  The mountains seemed grander and you could see the lake... amazing.

I am cracking up at the excitement in this picture:

How beautiful is that!  Such cute babes.

Here's another pic of me and mom....

 (if you look closely, you can see the lake!)

Wow, the kids got real sick of pictures at this point.  This is the best one of the four of us on this mountain:

Thankfully, Clark and I got some cute ones!

So, the trip down was fun.... Bunny took the kids in a gondola and let Clark and I ride an open air chair.  You can't tell this, but those are our sweet babes waving at us!

And, this is me and Clark with the wind in our hair!

Beautiful scenery and a fantastic outing on another mountain!

Bunny = Date Night

Another wonderful reason to have Bunny tag along.... we got a date night!

We had an awesome meal, drank some canadian wine and enjoyed our little break.  It was great.

And, just because this is too cute, I'm including this picture:

Everly had to be in a picture.... with ME.  There's something about traveling and Everly.  She transforms into the biggest mama's girl ever.  She only wanted me the whole trip.  She had to hold mommy's hand, sit by mommy and all around be with mommy.  It's sweet, but exhausting.  But, I learned to embrace it.  I'm sure there'll be a time in the not so distant future when she'll want nothing to do with me.

The good news, after this picture, she gave me a big hug and kiss and off we went!

Up the Mountain

The best part about Banff.... riding the gondola to the top of the mountain!

Walker and Everly thought this was great fun.  They couldn't wait to get to the top.  And, yes, there was snow up there!

 Do you know how hard it is to get a good picture of all four of us?

(This one is actually pretty good!)

And, I love this one of me and mom.  That background looks fake!

So, this picture makes me laugh.... nobody is looking at the camera, but you get to see what our lunch was like.....

A picture perfect day... again, not a bad view!

Oh, Canada!

Wow, we had an amazing trip to Canada.  Clark had some meetings in Calgary, so we turned it into a mini family vacation!

Clark went up early, so Bunny came with us to help me with the kids on the flight.  I was thrilled that she was there, but the kids were fantastic.... I think I could have done it by myself!  Have I mentioned that we don't have babies anymore?

Calgary is a great city.... it kind of reminds me of Fort Worth.  Big city, but feels smaller.

I have a sweet friend who lives there, so she came to meet us on Thursday morning.  It was great, because she introduced us to a fun playground!

After airplanes and hotel rooms, this was a great way to run around and burn off some energy.

Clark had meetings until three, then we hopped in our mini van and took off for the mountains!  Banff is beautiful and quaint and fun!

How's this view from our balcony??

Pretty and cool mountain air!  What else can you ask for?

Okay, I have a ridiculous amount of pictures, so I'll break the blog posts up.... more to come!

Donuts with Dad

I love our new school.  Little things make a huge difference.

Can I tell you how proud Walker was to take his Daddy to school this morning?!?!?  He LOVED it!

And, I am so very proud of Daddy for getting a picture:

My cute guys!  And, this is the most precious thing... what Walker thinks of Daddy right now:

(hopefully you can read it!)

Walker couldn't stop talking about Daddy being at school.  He was SO disappointed that Mommy picked him up!  I love these special little things that are making big memories!

Go Texans!

Is this shocking or what.... I've never been to a NFL game.  Seriously.  I've been to a preseason Cowboys game, but not a REAL game.  So, I was thrilled when Clark got offered some Texans tickets!

What a great place to watch a game.  Fun fans and a fun team.  It was a very exciting game and I'm glad the Texans came out on top!

It was a white out game, so Clark and I dressed for the occasion!

And, Bunny and RayRay kept the munchkins.... they are the cutest Texans fans around!

What a great weekend.  Soccer and football!

Breakaway

The day has arrived!  We have a soccer player.  Now, don't get me wrong, I know nothing about soccer and when I think about Walker in high school I picture him playing baseball and golf.  BUT, I'm so excited that we have a soccer player!

We had a bit of a delay because we didn't have a coach, so our boys only had one practice.  Clark took Walker and agreed to help on game days.  I think W loved having Daddy on the field!

This league is on a tiny field, with small nets and they play three on three.  It is perfect for four year olds!

Oh my goodness... I love this picture:

This was right after Walker scored his first goal!  He was so excited!!

He didn't exactly fight for the ball in the middle, but he certainly didn't shy away either.  But, there's no doubt, this boy is good in a breakaway!

 He got the ball on one end of the field, got some distance from the pack and took it all the way to  the goal!

(I have about five more pictures of this breakaway, but I'm guessing you get the idea.)

GOAL! Wow, it was exciting.  Here's Walker with his team:

We're very excited about the season.  All of these boys played really well for having only one practice. It's going to be fun to see how well they do as they continue to play!

Miss E's Turn

I seriously think Walker going to school without his sister on the first day was the best scenario ever!  Everly didn't understand why she didn't get to take her backpack or get her picture made or even stay at school.  It made the next day fabulous, because she was sooooo excited!

All smiles!

Ready to show off her backpack and lunchbox.  I love her little poses:

The official sign picture:

This is her teacher, Ms. Sarah:

Lots of smiles!  Everly is a drama queen, we all know that.  So, she usually cries when we drop her off anywhere.  Like at church, even though she goes all the time!  But, her first day of school was a breeze.  She gave me a hug and a kiss and said "Bye Mommy!" I was so thrilled.  She'll go three days a week and on Wednesday mornings, we'll have girl time while W is in school.  

I'm excited about our new school and our new routine!