The Chocolate Bar to Celebrate!

This year I thought it would be fun to celebrate my birthday at The Chocolate Bar! I heard about this place from a friend but had never been.  I knew the kids would especially enjoy Mom's birthday if they were surrounded by chocolate! So after church Monica, Roger, the kids, me and Darrell drove to Rice Village for a chocolate treat.

We had all kinds of chocolate!  Chocolate covered bananas, strawberries, and apples were my favorite.  The kids loved the chocolate Oreos, cereal, peanut butter chocolate, and even chocolate pizza.  You could make your own chocolate bar with whatever fixings inside it, but we were so full of chocolate already so we didn't try it. 

Then Roger saw the Pop Rocks!!!  Oh boy, were they fun!  James' first experience with the candy I grew up with.  He took a whole hand full and crammed them in his mouth.  At first he wasn't sure about the popping sensation, but soon wanted everyone to play with his new found fun!

And to top off the evening, Darrell surprised Moe and me with the best... yep, you guessed it! Chocolate Coffee!  Truly one of the best bdays in a long time!  I was sick for days...

A couple days later my Higgins family took me out to Barcena's, our favorite Mexican restaurant.  It's always a ton of fun getting together.  The kids are so close in age and are always excited to see each other. I am blessed to have such wonderful in-laws.  I just wish we could hang out more often!

Best Zoo Trip Yet!

Every year I purchase a family membership at the Houston Zoo.  It pays for itself after two trips, so it's worth it for our fam.  This year our Spring trip to the zoo turned out to be the best one yet.  The new African Safari area was finally open and the giraffes were a huge hit!  Sydney, James and I were very impressed!

The first thing we saw was a baby giraffe sitting in the middle that was absolutely adorable.  We could see people on top of a fenced in area that looked like they were petting the giraffes so we decided to get a little closer.

We saw a line leading up to the petting place (so I thought) but after asking the zoo keeper what everyone was doing she said that they were FEEDING the giraffes!!!  Well we HAD to try that out.  So $5 later we were standing in the line waiting our turn.

Finally, Sydney turn... She held out her piece of lettuce like a pro!  The giraffes walking right up to get a bite. How exciting to see such a beautiful animal God had made so close up! 

Then James' turn... The giraffe was ready and waiting.  James stood back half reaching out with the piece of lettuce not sure about the long, dark purple tongue sticking out (eye level) of this creatures mouth.  It took a little coaxing from big sister Sydney before he stretched his arm far enough for the giraffe to get a hold of it.

I absolutely love hanging out with my kids at the zoo... especially when the weather is nice.  I praise God that we have such a beautiful place to explore and hang out with all the interesting animals that He created...  including MY little monkeys!!!

Happy 13th Birthday... My Favorite Teenager, Ashlee!

This past February 24th we experienced our first teenager birth in the Higgins household.  Ashlee turned 13!!! 

Celebrating with her closest friends, she decided to have a slumber party that went into a day of swimming at the indoor pool in Angleton. We ordered pizza, ate strawberry cake and opened presents. The biggest box was from her bestie Tori. After much effort she opened it to find a huge teddy bear dressed up in summer swimming gear! 

Ashlee's favorite flavor is strawberry so I made her a strawberry birthday cake and threw in a cup of mini chocolate chips. It was a hit!  Make a wish!

Being born in February, Ashlee has never been able to have a pool party.  The weather is always too cold, but not this time.  It didn't matter how cold it was outside because the Angleton Rec Center has the best indoor pool, with a lazy river, hot tub, and a curly slide. It even has a play area for toddlers complete with a beach, toys and a baby slide.

Ashlee and I have been through a lot in the past 13 years and I am so proud of who she has become.  She is a smart, sensitive, compassionate, Christian young lady... full of life.  I love being her Mom!

My Sweet Valentine!

Love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person. Love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of.  Love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you.  Happy Valentine's Day to the man of my dreams.  I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you!

We celebrated the special occasion together with our friends at our church dinner and play.  Johnny Carino's catered our delicious meal while we watched a hilarious musical highlighting "Love Through the Ages"  I could not stop laughing at the cavemen, Renaissance people, Flapper's, and even ELVIS!  Even Darrell tapped his foot through most of it.  All the actors/actresses were volunteers from Second Baptist.  Impressive! 

 

Dear Love of my life,

You are more beautiful than a hill full of spring time bluebonnets in central Texas.

You're personality is sweeter than a favorite jelly bean.

You have given your heart to God and you lean on Him for He can give you things that I can't.

But still I am more blessed than many men.

Our beautiful and wonderful family is worth more than anything we could ever pursue in this life.

Let's go stronger as we pursue God and all that comes with His masterful plan.

I Love You my wonderful jewel.

Darrell

Woo hoo Ashlee!

This past month Ashlee has worked diligently on perfecting her trumpet solo as well as an ensemble piece.  She experienced her first solo/ensemble contest through her band class.  She practiced before school with her ensemble, after school with her piano accompanist, and in between with her private lesson teacher on her solo.   We are very proud of Ashlee for working so hard.  She walked in cool, calm and collected.  Confidently earning straight ONES and taking homes 2 medals!!!  Woo hoo Ashlee!

Snow Day... NO SCHOOL!

What does the Higgins' family do when we get the day off of work and school for a "Snow Day" ??  PLAY!!!  What a fun day hanging out together... just the 5 of us!  And did I mention... it never snowed!!! Ha!

Sydney performing for her audience of Barbie's

Ashlee, our token teen... barely got out of bed!

James and Dad wrestling all day!

James' Big Boy Room

James is a big boy now... 3 1/2 years old!  He is too big for his baby jungle themed room decor.  So when I found out that Mrs. Christie (James' teacher) was going to have a baby, I thought  of how nice it would be to hammy James' sweet things down to her AND perfect opportunity to upgrade to a big boy room for James.  

James' perference was blue and orange.  I thought at first that I would do blue curtains and bedding with orange, blue, green dinosaurs painted on his wall.  However, after I started looking around I came across this fun blue/orange sports comforter.  James loves sports and balls.  Perfect! Everything else just fell into place.  He has a brown wood ceiling fan, wood curtain rod and curtains to match his wood head board and trash can. 

I picked up a couple of pillow balls to finish it off.  James fell in love with it as soon as he saw it!  I was a little nervous about taking the side rail off, but James was ready.  He hasn't fallen out yet (going on day 4) and he feels like such a big boy... excited to climb into his bed!  Bedtime is a little easier these days. :)