Goodbye 20's.....You Were Good to Me

The bad news is I have turned 30. The good news is I was surrounded by loved ones and had a great time! My Aunt Patti and cousin Ashly came all the way from Michigan and spent the week with us. I would like to think they came only because of my birthday, but it also coincided with Ashly's graduation from nursing school (magna cum laud, go Ashly!) and she needed a well deserved vacay before she turns her life over to the PICU.

I had been ridiculously cleaning my house because Aunt Pat is a self-proclaimed germafobe! We had our floors stripped and waxed T-minus 18 hours from their arrival. The guys did a terrible job and left wax all over my house. I was having a minor major meltdown trying to clean up their mess. My brother, Justin, tried to comfort me saying "Gretch, it's okay, Pat will understand. You have two small kids." I took his advice to stop cleaning and enjoyed the day.

Mom and I picked Aunt Pat and Ashly up at the airport, fashionably late, of course. Ashly quickly pointed out that her mom, Pat, disinfected her airplane seat with handi-wipes before she sat down! OMG!! I started to sweat again.

If Pat was bothered by my house she didn't show it. She was a trooper! My aunts and cousins are the sisters I never had. I love them and the time we spend together. They love my kids and make them feel special. If only we all lived closer. *sigh*

My birthday dinner was fish tacos, sushi, chips with queso and Sprinkle cupcakes for dessert! We quatered the cupcakes so we could try all the different flavors. My favorite is a toss between strawberry and coconut. Yummy!


Steve surprised me with a big family trip to Mexico and a beautiful smokey quartz ring. I love that guy!

Fort Worth Zoo

↑ I told Harrison we were heading to the zoo. He came out in this outfit calling it his 'zoo outfit' and told me he was ready to go! (Note the Spiderman slippers. And, yes, those are Gavin's pants!)

↑ Harrison loves his Godmother, Ashly! She took him to feed the birds! Mean 'ol Mom never does that! This is about the only picture he would take and he had to be bribed with feeding the birds to do it.

↑ Thank goodness Steve wasn't here for this trip, he would have died that we bothered a stranger to take the picture. From left: Aunt Pat, Mom, Justin, Dixie, Me, Ashly, Harrison and Gavin

Harrison's T-ball: Traded and Retired in 1 Week

This is how Steve and I envisioned Harrison playing t-ball. Getting to be parents on the sideline hearing all the other parents talk about how great of a ball player that Bergman boy is. As with most things in life reality is a little less sweet, but a lot more funny.

This is more how our t-ball experience went. With Harrison bucking whenever he didn't get to do whatever it was he wanted at that moment. Including swimming in the swimming pool right next to the baseball field. He takes stubbornness to a level I didn't think possible.

T-ball started off a little rocky before it ended a painful death. We ended up on two rosters, the Yankees and the Astros. After two practices with the Yankees we were called by the Astros coach and told we were really needed to make a complete team. Steve thought this was cool, his boy being "traded" already! Steve took him to his first and final practice with the Astros. Harrison actually made contact with a coach-pitched ball, but when he was told to drop the bat and run to first base he literally fell to the ground and refused! Steve came home and said, "Gretch, we have that kid! The kid that all the other parents are so thankful isn't theirs!" He said, "and the other kids are good! I mean, they play like 4 1/2 year olds!" Steve told the coach we wouldn't be back...until next year.

Mother's Day

Steve did a good job this year with Mother's Day gifts. Once he buys something he has a hard time waiting so I've been 'peppered' (as he puts it) with presents for about a week. It all started with the amazing homemade candle from Dixie. She finds vintage jars and glasses and fills them with soy candles. This one smells like cherries--only kidding, apple blossom of course!

Then a much needed subscription to People. I gotta stay in touch with my peeps.

Then this mystery present....this one actually was opened on Mother's Day. What's inside??

Mary Kay cleanser. A little odd considering I don't use Mary Kay. Me: "What made you think of soap?" Steve: "Well, I notice you like to wash your face." Me: (after a long moment of silence with a perplexed look on my face) "Just twice a day, Steve, no more than most people."

I also took a trip to the mall. All by myself. Priceless. All in all a good Mother's Day.

Dallas World Aquarium

↑ This is the shark tank you walk through. Harrison was scared!

↑ Couldn't talk Harrison into this picture, again scared. Man...big sissy!

↑ Steve is standing on the other side of the aquarium looking through the tank. Pretty cool, huh?

Instead of having a big party for Gavin we decided to have a family outing to the Dallas World Aquarium. We didn't have a chance to take too many pictures as it was a lot of work keeping up with the boys. Steve is a bit of a 'Nervous Nelly' when we're out as a family, always worried about accidents. I think this plays into a much larger fear of, God forbid, his kids causing a scene and drawing attention. I will admit this place had lots of accidents waiting to happen. They take 'being one with nature' quite seriously. Nature can come right up and bite you in many cases or you could enter their habitat with as little as a rope to step over. Overall we had a good time and we were able to build another memorable family experience.

Tryin' My Hand at Picasa

I firmly believe that you can take almost any picture and with some heavy duty photo shop you can make it presentable. I should have saved the original to show the difference. But I cropped out a chewed up crumpled Dixie cup in Gavin's other hand, the dog, and lots of toys. After some sharpening, warmifying, auto-contrasting *voila* you're left with a beautiful boy!

Mr. Fashionista

"Look Mom! I picked out my outfit"

"And I got dressed all by myself"

"You sure did, baby."