Friends, fun, and the outdoors!

This weekend we had the most fun with our best friends Brad and Heidi Hickman and Shane and Brie Brooks. We all loaded up the cars with all three babies and headed out to the Hickman's ranch. We had a wonderful time being outdoors together, riding four wheelers, walking and just hanging out as couple friends. Our babies play so well together and it was fun to watch them interact. Of course the food was fabulous and the guys had just as much fun grilling!

Being a boy...putting dirt in his mouth! :)

Two boys and a lady

Parker, Blair and Jack

Cute mamas!

Heidi and Brie

Me and Brie

Brad before encountering the creek

Brad after the creek...the creek won!

Lunch out on the porch

Afternoon play/relaxation time

Love that boy!!

Easter

This year for Easter we were in Dallas with my family. It's hard to believe that last Easter we stayed home in Amarillo because I was too pregnant to travel! My how time flies! We had a great weekend seeing family, enjoying the pretty weather and of COURSE, more shopping! :) It was fun having James with us this time, we even had two date nights while we were there...thanks mom and dad!!

I didn't take near as many pics this trip home, we were having too much fun to pull the camera out!

We did Easter baskets with Ryan and Carrie on Friday evening since they were not going to be with us on Easter Sunday. Parker and Leah loved their baskets!

Playing with the ribbon

Silly boy!

Silly mommy

Parker got a bubble blower and I was trying it out! ;)

Easter morning

10 months old

Oh my goodness, where is the time going and how did my baby get so big?? Parker, you are TEN months old now and like I say every month, I can't believe it! You are so stinkin fun and cute, I'm not sure how you can get any cuter!! You are pure joy every single day and it's so much fun to watch you learn and grow. You are my little explorer, on the move ALL the time! Crawling has opened up a whole new world for you and it's just precious to watch you on the go.

This month you...

* Are into EVERYTHING!

* Are trying to cut your top two teeth.

* Cry when I put you down for nap or at night, you just don't want to stop exploring for sleep!

* Love to give kisses (this entails sucking on our chin)

* Are still the best eater, you eat anything I give you. Mangoes and yogurt are two new favorites.

* Are trying to pull up on just about anything you can get your hands on, I even caught you in the M&M bowl on the coffee table the other day...you're a man after my own heart, love that chocolate!!

* Seem very aware of faces, you cry when a stranger comes up and talks to us.

* Are still the happiest baby ever and you self entertain so well!

Parker, you are so much fun and such a blessing from God! I'm so grateful daddy and I were chosen to be your parents! We love you and happy 10 months!

Here are some pics of what you've been up to (most of these were taken with my I phone, so the quality isn't that great)...

My ten month old handsome baby!

Still loves going on walks in the jogger!

Enjoying warmer weather outside!

Such a big help in the kitchen!

Pulling up on the window sill

Look what I can do!

I cleared off the bottom shelves of our baker's rack and now it has become a fun climbing toy!

Yikes!!

Spring Break in Dallas!

Once again Parker and I hopped on a Southwest flight and headed down to Dallas to spend Spring break week with my family while sweet James worked and held down the fort in Amarillo! Oh how good it was to see my family and feel those warm temps! Dallas is in full bloom and I love it!!

We were on the go non-stop while we were there. We hit the arboretum, shopped North Park Mall, Grapevine Mills, and shops in Colleyville, had portraits made of Parker, pedicures, haircut, biked White Rock Lake, visited grandparents, ate good food and enjoyed being together!! Needless to say, Parker and I are worn out from our trip, but it's the good kind of exhaustion from too much fun!! Parker came home with tons of cute Spring/Summer clothes, I can't wait to see him in all his new outfits. Thanks mom and dad for such a great time and for spoiling us while we were home!!

On the airplane heading to Dallas!

Aunt Carrie, Leah and Ryan came over to visit us!

Parker and Leah playing together. I think they look alike here!

Arriving at the Arboretum Sunday afternoon.

Toy in hand and ready to go!

First taste of dirt!

Kisses

Aunt Sissy and Parker

Pretty

The waterfall is one of my favorite things out there!

My beautiful sister

Grandad entertaining Parker with the waterfall

Family

Cute boy!

Peekaboo!

Stylin

Grandad and Neesie with Parker

Love that picture!

So Lindsey made my son look like a homeboy in Gymboree, very cool sis! :)

My all time favorite lunch...a delicious salad at La Madeleine in the middle of North Park Mall!

Happy boy! He's a good shopper!

This is one of my favorite portraits we had made!

Visiting Grandad at his office

Going over a set of plans together

Lindsey and I rode around White Rock Lake Wednesday afternoon. It was beautiful and it was one of my very favorite things to do when we lived there!

Visiting Dede in the nursing home. He is still recovering from a stroke there.

Cute cousins...Leah was pulling Parker's hair!

Mema and Papa came over to tell us bye. We were sad to leave as always!

Fresh

I don't know about you, but this time of year when the weather starts warming up and Spring fever hits, I get so ready to ditch my comfort food recipes I've been eating all winter and make something fresh! Lately I've been busting out my spring/summer recipes and cooking them and it has been SO delightful! I am so over eating casseroles and bowls of chili for a while! :)

The recipe I am sharing with you today came from this website: www.epicurious.com. It is called Island Pork Salad and the flavors truly make you feel as if you are eating something tropical. The ingredients are so fresh and work very well together. I encourage you to add this to your menu this spring/summer, it's just too good and healthy to pass up! Of course I can't just follow a recipe exactly, I have to change it a bit! Ha! I only used spinach and didn't add Napa cabbage and I halved it for just the two of us. Those were the only changes.

Here are the main ingredients...pork tenderloin, spinach, avocado, red bell pepper, an orange, golden raisins and a random lime that is used for the dressing.

The only thing I'm not showing you are the ingredients for the dressing (easy) as well as the pork glaze (brown sugar and garlic).

The lighting is bad here, but look at those colors! So inviting and delicious!

I added roasted almonds for another punch of flavor.

In the meantime...

Parker got haircut #5! I assured Junior today that I would not be bringing my camera to Parker's haircuts for the rest of his life! :) As usual, Parker did a great job. He sat there like a pro and let Junior cut away!

Mom, really, stop taking pictures of this!

I think it's funny how you can see James and I watching him in the reflection of the mirror!

Getting brushed off

Home again, home again, jiggity jog!