Happy Birthday Shawn!

Happy birthday to my favorite person in the whole world!  Just in case anyone was wondering why Shawn is so great here are a few reasons.
1. He can fix just about anything, and I mean anything, its awesome.
2. He can't wait to build things with our boys.
3. He is a huge nerd, and therefore really smart.
4. He'd rather stay home with me than do anything else.
5. He can get our kids to do things 10x faster than me.
6. He loves the food I make.
7. He can't wait for me to go to culinary school.
8. He's really cute.
9. He gave our boys dimples.
10.He works harder than anyone I know.
We are so happy to have Shawn in our family and are excited to celebrate with him!

Guess Who is the Best Big Brother?

That title would have to go to Devin.  You really need to see this kid in action to get an idea of how sweet he is.  Yesterday when we were playing outside I told the kids we needed to go inside because Graham was getting too cold.  Devin was wearing one of his mittens and said, "He can have my globes."  Then gave his little brother his glove.  Seeing that Graham still had a hand without a glove Devin ran throughout the house until he found the other one.  Sometimes that kid makes me want to scream but definitely not yesterday.  I love that little boy, sorry he would correct me, he's a big boy.

New Treats, Glasses, and Friends

New Treats
  I haven't made anything, or done anything fun in a long time so I this week I broke down and made up some new recipes.  The first one is really simple but it was by far my favorite.  Caramel and chocolate dipped pretzel rods.  Simply dipping pretzels in chocolate just isn't enough but dip them in caramel then chocolate and you get something that tastes a little bit like a twix, yum!  They are great and I'll be making a bunch more. Now on to recipe #2 pumpkin mousse pie.  Considering I made this one up on my own with out directions it turned out pretty good.  I liked the flavor but the pumpkin got weepy and soaked into the pie crust.  Overall not bad for my first attempt.
Glasses
After med school Shawn's eyes just aren't what they used to be and he was straining to see during conferences so he got glasses so now we are a big, nerdy, glasses wearing family.  I think he just felt left out but its ok, because I think he looks pretty handsome in them.  I'll try and post pictures later.
Friends
We were so excited to see some of our Houston friends yesterday.  My friends hubby is interviewing for residency at Vanderbilt we got to hang out with her and the kids.  Of course we went to Cheekwood and let the kids run around, and then we came back and ate lunch and talked and played.  It made me really miss Houston and I would be ecstatic if they ended up here for residency or any other Houston family for that matter!  It was the highlight of our week!  And for some weird reason I can't get the pictures to load up so I'll do a make up picture post later.

Relax its the weekend!

That is exactly what we did this weekend; relax.  It was our first weekend in a while that we didn't have a soccer game or anything else going on and Shawn was home for most of it so we did nothing, and it was pretty amazing.  Well we did do a few fun things.  Caroline had a end of season soccer party on Friday that we attended.  She got her first of many pointless trophies and was so excited about it.  She's pretty sad that soccer is over but we already signed up for next season with all the same girls, so she can't wait for spring to come.  I on the other hand am enjoying the time off.  It also got pretty cold this weekend so we broke down and bought real coats for the kids because they spend every waking second they can outside.  So no more fleece hoodies for us, now its nice warm thick jackets.  Caroline is prepping for the primary program at church and is so excited about getting to talk in front of everyone.  While talking to her today I told her that I also did a primary program when I was little but I used to get really nervous.  And then she said, "Were you nervous you wouldn't get a turn?"  Sometimes I wonder how she came from me.  My child would understand that standing in front of 200 plus people is terrifying but to Caroline its the highlight of her life!  I love that girl.  And Graham is now trying to walk everywhere, starting today.  Its adorable seeing that little boy trotting around.  We still love Devin but until he stops making me change his pants no blog posts.  Just kidding, he's as sweet as ever just had a quiet week.    All in all great weekend!

Radnor Lake

Everyone is probably tired of me talking about how much I love it here.  If you're one of those people you may want to skip this post because I'm about to drone on and on about anther reason I love Tennessee.  Today its because of Radnor Lake.  We had playgroup there today and even though we hiked instead of played on a playground it was wonderful.  It only takes about 20 minutes to get there which is yet another reason I love it.  We hiked for over an hour and the whole time I kept oohing and ahhing at everything.  I think the other people that came thought I was crazy but oh well.  The weather was perfect in the mid 50's so all we needed was a jacket.  I was in heaven!  We'll definitely be taking any visitors there in the future.  Caroline and Devin even had a good time hiking around.  Enjoy the pictures, trust me its ten times better in person.  

Caroline conquering the pile of leaves.

And the actual lake.  I love this place.  If anyone is considering moving to Nashville, pack your bags because its great!

My Mothers Daughter

I did something today that would make my mother proud.  Nothing of real importance but still it made me realize I'm totally my mother's daughter.  While at the store today I ran upon the BEST candy sale of my life.  Seriously, they had 6 packs of full sized Reese's for $1!  I know amazing right?  So naturally I bought 4 packs of those, two bags of Snickers (75 cents), Butterfingers, and a few others that I won't tell you about because I'm a little embarrased about the amount of candy I now have in my house.  In my defense half of it will be used for Devin's birthday party (its already hidden) and I only bought the other things I could use in baked goods.  I just can't pass up a good candy sale, its in the blood!