Dallas World Aquarium

First, let me say that I know I should probably win “the most inconsistent blogger” award, but July has been SO busy, y’all! And I’ve been loving every crazy minute. Work’s been a little tough lately, which means I want nothing to do with the computer when I come home!

Stella has been growing like a weed. It just amazes me how smart she is. She picks up on things so quickly and I just love watching her as she sees and experiences new things. She’s just a breath of fresh air every time I have a bad day. And it’s on those days that it hits me most that I will never get this day back in her life and so I try and cherish every single moment. I just love being Stella’s mommy!

I’d been wanting to take Stella to an aquarium for a while. She LOVES the fish tank at the doctor’s office so I thought she might really enjoy the aquarium. We have plans of taking her to the zoo, but it’s just too hot right now for us and the animals! My most recent aquarium experience was in Atlanta {most of my family lives in Georgia} and we went a few years ago when their new aquarium opened {and the rest of the UGA football was there – Go Bulldogs!}. However, since that is the largest indoor aquarium, my hopes were a little dashed once we were in the Dallas World Aquarium.

We really did have a great time despite how crowded it was {which, duh, I should have known it would be crazy on a Saturday afternoon}. We went with Sheli and Steve, my precious in-laws, and I enjoyed seeing all the creatures. So many of the animals were sort of camouflaged into their surroundings that I think it was hard for Stella to actually see that there was something there. She definitely was intrigued by the fish though…but I’m a party-pooper and I do NOT want a fish tank in my house. So, she’ll have to love them from afar!

{The big turtle - the concept of the "glass" was new at first! Stella couldn't figure out why she was having trouble actually touching the turtle}

{Sweetest Grammy ever - Stella sure loves her Grammy!}

{Loved this guy - so did everyone else so I couldn't get a good shot}

{Polka-Dot Sting Rays}

{Huge alligator - well, I guess he could have been a crocodile for all I know}

{by far my favorite - Mr. Sloth}

{Ant-eater type thing, but they're hard to see with the glare of the glass}

{this guy gives a whole new meaning to "crabbing" on the beach at night - he was HUGE}

South Padre

I’m baaaack! I took a bit of a hiatus from blogging during our trip to South Padre Island and after we got back home. We’re now in the swing of things getting back to school and work, blah!

But, we had a WONDERFUL time on our vacation to South Padre. Stella absolutely loved the sand and water. I have never seen a kid take to the beach like she did. I can tell you – I did not feel the same way about the beach when I was her age. My family still laughs about how I hated the sand in between my toes and I would not sit down in the sand for fear of getting “dirty” {which, I may or may not still hate sitting in the sand!}.

We decided to leave for Padre at midnight so that Stella could sleep most of the 9-hour drive. Blake’s dad rode with us and the drive felt so fast {I’m sure Blake feels otherwise}! We stayed in a condo with Ryan and Micah {Blake’s sister and her husband} and Greg, Blake’s dad. The condo was perfect for our needs and it was beachfront, so we could just sit on the balcony and see the ocean.

We ate the best seafood – in fact, we liked one restaurant {shout out to Dirty Al’s} so much that we ate there two nights in a row! The shrimp are to die for!

All in all, we had such a special time with Blake’s family and getting to see our little sweetheart enjoy the beach! Here are some {and by “some” I mean “a lot”} of my favorite pics from that week!

{I adore this picture of Blake and Stella feeding the seagulls}

{PURE JOY}

{The view from our condo}

{Biker babe...in a diaper}

{I am so glad she does not take after me - she LOVES the sand. So much so that she was eating it!}

{Someone had a messy diaper...so Blake's aunt helped us do a diaper change with a pail of water. Then, I had to be redneck and let Stella run around in her birthday suit!}

{This girl caught on real fast with how to use a shovel and pail}

{My love}

{Dressed for dinner - in her TOMS}

{Festive with her red, white, and blue bikini}

{Melt.my.heart.}

{More playing in the sand}

{Please don't judge me for this hair...it was WINDY!}

{The little mermaid}

{The little pirate}

{Being goofy}

{She'll be a natural boogie boarder one day}

{Her favorite spot in the condo...in a cabinet in the bathroom}

{About to go night fishing}

{My beautiful sister-in-law...heading to watch our hubbies fish...BORING!}

{Blake kept catching these things, dont know their names, but apparently they'll make you REALLY sick if you touch them}

{Running around the beach}

{At Dirty Al's eating shrimp...these boys LOVED their New Orleans style boiled shrimp}

{So happy with her sand}

{my little family - can't say I was having a great hair day here, either}

{Micah, Ryan, Greg, Stella, Me, and Blake}

{More of the family!}

{I may or may not have sat here almost the whole day - I'm kind of big on the shade}

{Playing in the waves}

{Photo Op at the Souvenier Shop - I'm a rhymer ;)}

{My souvenier - a photo album!}

{The beach was PACKED on July 4th}

{Abbott gals}

{Her 4th of July outfit}

{Ka-Boom! We had the best view from the balcony}

{Luckily, she did this most of the drive home}

{We made a little stop in Gruene on our way home - I absolutely love this little town}

{My favorite wine store in Gruene - lots of great memories here while Blake and I were dating}

{Blake's cousin, Madeline, rode home with us, so we drove her around the Texas State campus to try and persuade her this was the best school! I LOVE this place!}

Laser Tag

Yesterday, we had a team building function at work for all the Account Managers. We went to Main Event in Frisco and had a blast. I had never played laser tag before and was pretty indifferent about it before we started...but, boy was it fun!! Put a fake gun in my hand and throw me in a dark room and I turn into James Bond! However, what I didn't realize was that we would be under blacklight.



{And of course I had to have on neon pink flip flops too!}



The night before I had gone to get my nails and toes done for our upcoming trip to the beach. I picked out a bright pink color {which this was my first time EVER to have my nails and toes painted pink from a salon}. Needless to say, I kind of stood out! Everyone joked about not wanting me on their team, ha! But I'm happy to report that my team WON!!



{I pretty much stuck out like a sore thumb}

See, I promise the color looks pretty normal in regular lighting!

Monday

So, just to let ya’ll know, my Monday didn’t turn out to be as disappointing as I had first thought.

I was driving to work and my “check engine” light came on. About 2 minutes later, I started losing acceleration and was able to pull off to a side street and get out of traffic. Thankfully, there was a cop right there and he said it sounded like my transmission. THUD! {that was my jaw hitting the ground} My car is a 2007 and I would not think I should be having transmission issues at this point.

So, I was able to get roadside assistance to tow me to the Lincoln dealership. They did a diagnostic test on it and it was a couple of sensors in the car’s computer that were malfunctioning. Those were covered under my powertrain warranty, so that was FREE!

And I was back in business with my car on Tuesday – woo hoo!

Thankfully this cutie wasn't with me for all the drama!