Palm Springs work retreat trip

I spent four days last week in Palm Springs, California for my law firm's executive women's retreat.  I was a little hesitant to go, but I am SO GLAD that I did.  It was amazing!  Palm Springs is gorgeous.  It is a valley in the middle of mountains, and I really found the whole town to be romantic and beautiful.  It remind me a little bit of Santa Fe.  Our group of 209 women - all either attorneys at my firm or executives working for our clients - took up almost the entire Ritz Carlton Rancho Mirage hotel.  We were treated to elaborate, amazing meals, two wonderful speakers (Arianna Huffington and Judy Smith), cool activities, and crazy surprises at every step of the way.  The entire trip was luxurious and relaxing.  For example, for our Saturday night dinner we went to the Coachella valley and were surprised to see that we were able to go up in hot air balloons!  I also got to go mountain climbing at Joshua Tree National Park one day - which was both scary and exhilarating.  I did not make it all the way to the top, but I got super close and I was the best in my group.  It was exhausting to be "on" all weekend, and to have to spend so much time talking to people I don't know.  But, I met a lot of very interesting, inspiring women, and I am so honored to have been invited and included in this wonderful event.  While I was gone, I found out that I received a pretty prestigious award.  For the first time in my life, I feel like I am really thriving in my career, and I know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.  I feel so blessed.  Here are some pictures from my trip:

Liliana update

Little miss Lily is so cute right now - I have been trying to make a better effort to capture her on video lately.  She is a chatterbox, constantly talking, and learning new words and phrases all the time.  Some of her cutest/most common expressions include: "Come on, guys!" "I want to try"and "Let me see."  She says her prayers, counts to 20, knows all of her colors, and sings a lot of songs.  Her absolute favorite song is the finger family song, which is on you tube in about a million different variations.  She loves to put different random objects on her fingers and sing that song.  Lily adores her Daddy, loves playing all sports, loves playing outside and likes to get dirty, and always wants to be around her Bubba.  She likes cars, trucks, trains, blocks, and her baby dolls and friends.  She loves reading and singing songs, and she loves to swim.  Her favorite activity is swinging, and her favorite place to go is the jump house place.  She loves to run, jump, and chase.  She is still mostly good natured, always smiling, and generally compliant and "easy."  One of her favorite words is still "up," and she still loves to be carried, especially by Mommy.

Lily is truly beautiful, and she also has a sort of glint in her eye that makes her look like she is going to be mischievous.  I think we are going to be in big trouble when she is a teenager.

***As I was writing this, Lily started screaming and crying upstairs.  After five minutes, I went up to check on her, and she immediately stopped crying when I opened the door.  I asked her why she was crying, and she said "because."  She asked if I would sing her "Baa Baa Black Sheep," and of course I did, so I could enjoy a little more cuddle time with my sweet girl.  I know soon enough she will no longer want me to cuddle and sing to her.

Rangers game, top dog, new park, baseball and trip to Nana's house

I was going through my phone earlier today, and I realized there are several pictures from the last month that I have neglected to post on here.  A few weeks ago, while Frank and my Dad were in Vegas, my sister and I drove all the kids down to Houston to stay with Nana.  It was quite the adventure!  Lily was sick and she threw up on the way down there … and the trip only got crazier from there.  Frankie was a MESS that weekend.  I am not sure what happened, but his behavior was absolutely horrible.  It was rough trying to deal with a sick toddler and a maniac 4-year-old.  Thankfully, my Mom and sister were a big help, and they even watched the kids so I could go get a pedicure one day!

A week later, Frankie was awarded "top dog" at school for his wonderful behavior!  I don't understand why he is so good at school but so "spirited" and "strong-willed" at home.  That is the nice way to describe his behavior these days.

An awesome new park opened up across the street from our neighborhood, and we have already been there several times in the last two weeks, because the kids LOVE it!  I am so thankful we have such an awesome place to go so close to our house.  It will be even better once the weather cools down for good this fall.

Last weekend we took the kids to a Rangers baseball game.  We took them last year, and it was pretty miserable.  We were in the sun and the kids were hot and restless.  It is amazing what a difference a year makes!  The kids loved it.  As long as we kept feeding them, they were good.  Lily actually really likes baseball, and she loved watching the game.  Frankie is not as interested, but he liked being there and enjoying the game with his family.

We have been enjoying our pool a lot the last few weeks, trying to soak up as much summer as possible before it gets too cold to swim anymore.  Both of our kids absolutely love to swim, and Frank has gotten so good at it this year.  Brooke and Bennett and Audrey came down a few weekends ago to stay with us, and we really enjoyed having them here.  The kids played together so well, and I really enjoyed getting to catch up with Brooke.

Finally, Frankie is playing baseball this year!  He is on the Silver Dragons, and his first game is on Saturday.  Mommy is SO EXCITED that he is playing baseball, but he is not that into it.  He likes practicing at home, but it is hard to keep him focused during practices.  Lily, on the other hand, grabs his glove at least one time every day and tells me to get my glove to play catch with her.  She loves it!  I think she is going to be our baseball player, but I love that Frank is trying, and I can't wait to watch the Silver Dragons in action this weekend.

Frank's 40th Birthday!

Frank turned the big 4-0 this week!  He has been talking about this birthday forever, and he decided for his big celebration he wanted to do a guys' trip to Vegas.  At first, I was a little hurt that he wanted to celebrate his birthday without me.  But, I realized that this was the kind of trip he needed, for whatever reason, and I had to let him do it.  A bunch of his friends, including my Dad and his brother, joined him in Vegas earlier this month, and I think they had a great time, although Frank said he has no interest in taking another trip like that anytime soon.  Let's just say it took him an entire week to recover!

He has been pretty apprehensive about this big birthday, and I really wanted to think outside the box to do something special for him.  For his gift, I bought him a really cool vintage map with push pins to document where we have been and where we want to go.  Traveling has always been a really important part of our relationship, and I wanted to emphasize to him that our adventures are just beginning.  On his birthday, I chartered a sail boat on lake grapevine, and the two of us enjoyed a wonderful italian dinner and wine/sparkling water during a three-hour sunset cruise around the lake.  The weather was perfect, and Frank was truly surprised by the gift.  He was sure I had planned an event with a bunch of other people, and I know he really enjoyed the night just the two of us.  It was very relaxing and romantic, and I treasured our night together.  Happy 40th Birthday Frank!!!

Family pictures

A few weeks ago we had an extended family photo session with Sunny Mays.  My parents and Tyler were in town to celebrate Rylie's first birthday, and we did the photo session later that night.  My parents especially wanted some good pictures of the grandkids together and themselves with the grandkids.  I think the pictures turned out so beautifully!  I highly recommend Sunny Mays for pictures in the DFW area.

Frank's First Day of Preschool - 4's

Last week Frankie started preschool in the 4s class at Chapel Hill.  His teachers this year are Miss Kim and Miss Debbie.  His best buddy Sebastian is in his class, and I know that will help make this an easy transition for him.  He was actually pretty excited to start school this year - what a difference a year makes!  I truly hope that Frank continues to blossom and flourish at this school.  I cannot believe he only has one more year until kindergarten.