Mommy and son day at the Zoo.

Even though it was a mid 50 degree day (which is a little chilly by TX standards), I decided to take Mason to the zoo to do something different for the day. It was perfect. We got there at 9:30 and there was absolutely no one there. We had the whole place to ourselves for almost 2 hours before other people showed up. Mason had such a good time checking out all the animals and having free reign to run around. His favorite parts were the giraffes, elephants and sitting on all of the statues. One giraffe got so close to him and Mason thought that was hilarious. His least favorite was the goats. Who knew that a "baaa" could be so scary! I thought the thing had bitten Mason from the way he was screaming but alas it was just saying hi :). My baby has gotten to be such a big boy that we didn't even need to take the stroller this time around. He had his backpack though which still allowed me to have some control over my little man :). Mason and I had such a fun time that I cannot wait to go back!!

Where have I been?

I'm not sure who reads this thing but I have so much to blog about. Unfortunatly I have a busted laptop and a missing memory card reader, and other pictures that I cannot get to because of techical issues that I won't even pretend to understand so I cannot upload my anything to the blog. Anyway, someday soon you will see pictures from Mason and my trip to the zoo, Valentine's day parties, and an incredible Lady Antebellum concert. Hope everyone is having a wonderful Feburary!

70's in February?

This time last February we had a huge ice storm that closed everything here in TX for a week. This year we are enjoying 70 degree temps and waiting for the day that winter finally hits. It's been great being able to let the kids run outside instead of being kept inside and getting frustrated with each other. Mason loves riding his bike and the girls still love their scooters and playing games. Even our little neighbor, Molly, has been coming outside to play. It is so cute seeing them all play together! Now lets just hope that this beautiful winter weather doesn't lead to a horribly hot summer.

More History

The Saturday that we were up in Kansas, Ryan and his dad took a day trip to Missouri to find some Everhart gravestones that Mike had found.

All, Ryan and I made a trip yesterday to a small cemetery in St. Clair County, Missouri. It is called the "Good Cemetery" after one of the families buried there, possibly the original land owners. There are only fifteen graves recorded there, but the place was supposedly an Indian burial ground, too (Chucks of limestone for markers),

It sits on a small hill overlooking a creek... An ideal location, perhaps, but it has been abandoned, and is becoming overgrown with trees and vines, most of which have thorns... another couple of years and it will be inaccessible.

We located the headstone that was apparently used for three Everhart graves, gg-grandmother Anna (d. 1875), her daughter Hilla (d. 1871), and eldest son, John (d. 1883).

The family appears to have been in St Clair County for 10+ years, but I'm uncertain when gg-grandfather Jacob Everhart left or where he went or where he is buried.


-Mike- And just for kicks, here is a picture of Ryan and his dad from the mid 90's. I'm sure Ryan will love me for posting this :).

Trip to Kansas

With Christmas gifts still left to be handed out, we headed back to Kansas last weekend for a short, short trip. We only had Saturday and a little bit of time on Sunday to see everyone but it worked out and we were able to spend quality time with each family. Our first stop on Saturday morning was to see Gma and Grammie Deane. Reese and Grammie Deane had such fun with the cinnamon sticks which you will see below :).

We spent the rest of the day with my family where Nana and Mason, Ellie and Reese, and Asher and Mason had fun playing and playing.

Saturday morning we headed over to Ryan's dad's house for some yummy breakfast and to have our Christmas with them.
Overall we had a busy but really great weekend. Ryan's day trip with his dad to MO is coming up next!

Better Late than Never

Since Mason didn't want to eat on his birthday or at his party he never got to indulge in the yummy goodness that is cupcakes :). A few days later however, he wanted one so I obliged. I think you can see from the pictures how much he loved it.
And here is a few pictures that I took of my silly 2 year old. It's a little difficult getting him to stand still but I think these pictures definitely show his awesome personality so they are perfect!

Guest Bath Redo

Most people that know me know how much I love to paint. However, I think painting one bathroom 4 times and never being happy is a little ridiculous. Our guest bath a been a pain in my side for over 7 years now. When we moved in I saw past the yellow and white striped wallpaper with floral border and the most awful yellow laminate floor and knew I could do something with it. Even though I have painted it several times I just still hated being in that room. On New Year Eve I finally had had enough. I had a vision and I went with it. Ryan was outside doing some yard work and I dragged my sick self out there to ask him if he wanted to head to the Home Depot and pick up some floor tile for the bathroom. Nothing should stop a woman with a design vision...even the flu! Surprisingly he looked up and said ok. He usually looks at me like I'm a mad woman for wanting to redo another room. I said I didn't care what he picked out as long as wasn't as bad as what we had. Who have I become to not care what kind of floor he would pick out. Seriously, the floor was THAT bad and anything would have been better. Thankfully he picked out some really pretty tile and we got started. It took a day of laying the tile and grouting but it was so worth it. The end result is just beautiful. The next few days were full of caulking around the tile, painting the walls, buying accessories, and doing some crafty stuff. I also painted the baseboards and doors since they had that ugly yellow glaze on them. I must add here...please do not put a yellow glaze on your baseboards and doors!! The homeowner after you will hate you! I still have some extra things to do such as new faucets, lighting and framing the huge builders mirror but overall it is done. My goal of the room was a relaxing, modern, yet child friendly. I think I finally have a bathroom that I really enjoy. Ryan told me that this gave him confidence to keep doing more projects so master bath, you are next!! In a way I am sorry I don't have a picture of the old bath to show but I really did not want any memory of it.Small spaces are really hard to photograph.Above the toiletI found these saying that I wanted to frame. I loved the little inspirational words for the kids. New towels with pictures of the kids above their individual towels. Plus one for a guest.A Pinterest idea. Found the wooden plaques at Hobby Lobby, painted them and Mod Podged the pictures onto them. Absolutely LOVE them! The best part is the new floor!! Bye bye ugly yellow laminate! Had to pull out the little camera to get the full view. Hmmmm countertops might be in the future as well :).