Kate's Garden

There are things that Kate just has in her.  I don't know how else to describe it.  But she is drawn to things on a visceral level.  And these are things that she totally did not get from me.  Like she has this strong desire to sew and knit.  I am completely hopeless at both.  She has also always dreamed about a garden.  She loves to look at photos of gardens in magazines and books.  She told me that when she is a grown-up, she will have a beautiful garden with sunflowers and other flowers and vegetables. I love that she has these strong desires for sewing and knitting and gardening.  It has just been hard to follow through with teaching her.

It's HOT in Houston in the summer and it is mosquitoey (yup that's a real word) too.  Dave and I have never been people to enjoy yard work too much.  Maybe it is that we have not had the time.  Anyway, Kate has begged for a garden for years.  And this year, we planted one.  We have a very small yard (we live in the city and the lots are not huge).  But we sectioned off a piece of yard and planted tomatoes, green beans, bell peppers, lettuce, and cucumbers.  And so far our little garden is doing well. We're hoping the critters stay out and it thrives.


I know this is picture overload.  I don't care.  I loved watching Kate and Dave working in the garden.  They are so cute together.  Dave is such an amazing father.  Our children are very blessed to have him.

I know Kate and Dave are not in "gardening clothes" (someone commented on this on FB) but it was after school/work. Kate's schedule is so busy with her gymnastics team (and ballet and violin) that we have to squeeze these things in when we can.

Kate has been doing a GREAT job looking after her garden.  It is growing well.  The lettuces are a bit slow but everything else is looking great.  She checks it everyday and waters it.  Here are some phone snaps of her in the last few weeks tending her garden.

After ballet one day, we noticed tiny lettuce leaves starting to pop through.  She had to take a picture of them for Dave!

And watering another day after school...

I will keep you posted on what we yield in Kate's first garden!

Dave's Party

So my sweet Dave celebrated a pretty big milestone birthday last Saturday.  Dave ALWAYS puts everyone else before him so I really wanted him to have a nice celebration.  I got the taco truck idea a very long time ago and went from there.  Dave is a laid back and casual guy so this suited him well.  And food truck parties are the new hip thing so this seemed like the perfect idea.

Harry helped me set up the table and chairs in our driveway...

We had beautiful weather for a change.  It has still been awfully HOT here in Texas but this day was cool and crisp!!!

The margarita machine was delivered....

And our old vintage cooler was filled with other libations....

{Dave and I got this cooler at Round Top probably 15 years ago and we use it for a lot of outdoor parties.  It is really cool and has legs!}

I had orange lights out front for Halloween and white lights out back...

We set up tables and chairs in the driveway in case people wanted to eat outside.

I tried to get a few photos before the guests arrived but it was getting dark quickly so they are not that good...

Kate sure does LOVE her Daddy-O!

I had to start using my external flash here:(

Once the party started, I did not do that great of a job taking photos.  It is always hard at your own party.  But we have had so many parties in the past that I have no photos of so I tried to get as many as  I could.

Then the Taco Truck pulled up....

And Dave's friends started arriving...

Our good friend Doug (second one in on the left) is being honored tonight at the Houston Parkinson's Association.  He has Parkinson's disease and has raised a lot of money for research.  We are so proud of him and we are going to the fundraiser tonight to honor him!!!  My stepfather also had Parkinson's and we hate seeing what this disease does to people we love.

Some of my besties!

People said the food was fabulous and most went back for seconds.  I also made a few hot spinach artichoke dips and had chips and salsa, cupcakes and tres leches.

more of my besties:)



I baked Dave a tres leches cake and we all sang to him...

Then we gave Dave his gift....a vintage acoustic guitar that he really wanted....

I tried to make a touching toast to the world's best husband, man and father but got pretty choked up.  It is hard to really describe Dave but he is THE best man I have ever known.  He is not perfect as none of us are.  But he is the most giving and caring man.  He takes care of his family like no one I have ever known.  And he is funny too.  Not everyone gets his humor (it is very dry) but he makes me laugh. I feel so blessed every single day that I got to marry this man.  I could not imagine my life without him.

Dave and I actually met exactly 19 years ago at a Halloween Party.  We all raised our glasses/cups/margaritas/bottles to Dave and wished him 50 more years!!!

He played a little more guitar for the crowd.  He is really good and has been playing since he was a kid.

It was a really nice and fun party.  For us, the best part was at the very end when our closet friends were gathered around the kitchen table inside and we laughed and talked and Dave opened his humorous cards and gifts.  We are so blessed to be surrounded by a loving community of friends here who have the same values as we do.  In fact, we sat with some of them at church the next morning:)

Side notes: Thank you to my friend Amy for taking some of these shots for me!
And because people always ask.... My skirt is from  here and I love it.  It is well made, comfortable, has a cute color and cut.  However, while I thought it looked cute in person (and many people complimented it) I notice it does not seem flatter my figure at all in these photos.  I am not skinny but I am on the thin side (it is a size 2).  I think the reflections make me look like I have a gut here and I don't think I do in real life. Maybe it was the way I wore it with this shirt tied, who knows?  Or maybe I had too many tacos:) Just kidding...I barely ate that night;) Maybe, I am just too paranoid. Just be careful if you buy a light colored sequin skirt this year.  I bought a black one at TJ Maxx (DKNY) and I think it is more flattering. In fact, I think I am going to wear it to the Parkinson's fundraiser tonight.  And my boots are from here and I LOVE them.  They are gorgeous, comfortable and reasonably priced.


Make sure to check back tomorrow.  I am partnering with one of my favorite companies for a VERY exciting and generous giveaway for Christmas or holiday cards.  So, if you have not ordered yours yet, be sure to enter tomorrow.

Daddy's little girl

We have a little rain this morning so I have time to upload a photo.  There are so many favorites from this week but I just LOVE this one of Dave and Kate from last night.  Kate adores her Daddy (she still calls him Dada) and he adores her.

Okay, I am off to enjoy our last day of vacation rain or shine:)

I am adding this to Lisa's Favorite Friday Photos

UPDTAED: A few people commented on and asked about Kate's dress in this post and the one form the other day.  I got it at Zulily and the brand is Moo's Boo's.  They have a handful of dresses like this on sale for $15 right now!

What a weekend...

We had such a busy weekend!  We had dinner with friends on Friday night.  There was a Mom's orientation coffee/meeting for me at Will's new high school on Saturday morning.  I had to rush out of that early to get home and get Miss Kate all ready for her big recital.  Then it was off to her performance.  And then Saturday night was the Father-Daughter dance at school!  This was a first for Kate and Dave and it was SO sweet!  Finally, we had a lovely Mother's Day yesterday.

Let's start with the recital.  We were so rushed going from one thing to the next that I did not have time to get many photos .... but here it is (again since I did post rehearsal pics too)

Kate just loves the performance.  She has so much fun on stage.
The boys were very good sports about sitting through the performance. The good Lord knows Kate sat through enough sporting events for them!

{Kate is center stage, second row below}

Kate and some of her friends after the show.  A little boy in her class also brought her flowers:)

After the recital, Kate did a little resting and a little swimming and then it was off to the Father-Daughter Dance!

I totally let Kate pick her outfit for the dance.  She has worn this dress a lot but she loves it.  Her godmother, Aunt Stacy sent it to her and it is so beautiful.

Kate got her Daddy a boutonniere... she was so cute:)

And Dave gave Kate her first wrist corsage.  She was very excited!  She did not know about such things!

I will admit that Will and I went and peeked in the windows of the dance.  I just HAD to see Kate and Dave dancing.  Then, my good friend called me right at the end of the dance and said she was crashing and did I want to meet her there?  So, I popped in for a few minutes. It really was about the cutest thing I have ever seen.  Kate was having SO much fun!!!

 My friend took these photos...


Apparently, there was a dress-up "photo-booth" type thing (and Dave got cute photos on a strip but I have no idea where they are)

The big dip!

I look at these photos and I get all teary and emotional.  I really do.  My kids are so blessed to have Dave as their father.  He is incredible. I have never really blogged about it before but I have no relationship with my Dad.  He has not been a good father to me and he does not even know my children.  It is quite sad. I feel sorry for him because he is missing out on so much.  I cannot imagine not wanting to be a part of my children's or grandchildren's lives.  BUT,  I feel so incredibly blessed that my children have the world's most amazing Dad.  He is fun and loving (but strict too) and he doesn't miss anything with them.  He is so involved in all of the kids lives.


I will post about Mother's Day next:)

I hope you all had a GREAT Mother's Day!