Hello there!

Is this thing on?!?

I'm not going to make excuses for my absence.

Actually, I am. There have been bouts with illness, wedding cakes, cake classes, weight loss (more on that in a second), hospital visits, and many other things that have prevented me from updating in a proper manner!

Rylee was super sick, I was super sick (still recovering from a terrible sinus infection that just will not go away), we've had multiple cake and cutter orders every week, I've been teaching the cake class here at the house every week for a month and a half, my FIL had a heart attack and he was in the hospital for a while (he's better now)... it's been crazy around here!

Anyway, things seem like they are slowing a tad at the moment. This week is pretty calm but next week starts the beginning of another crazy month and a half.

In some really good news - I've lost about 25 pounds! It feels pretty good and I'm finally back to where I was before Rylee was born. ( I did get there right after she was born but then I started baking cakes). Anyway, I'm on a mission to lose more so wish me luck!

This week was Rylee's last week of the summer ballet session. Since it was the last week, we were allowed to come in, observe the class and take pictures. She starts back up for the year next week. We're probably going to try a more structured gymnastics class pretty soon too. We did My Gym for a while earlier this year. She really loved it but it was more like an hour of playtime vs. an hour learning something.

Here are some pictures that I took yesterday of Rylee as a ballerina:

Returning home

Wow. We had a great time in south Texas! I can't believe I'm already back here typing this out!

Schlitterbahn was great on both days that we went. We got there early enough each day that we were able to pick a prime spot to set up camp, get changed/ slathered in sunscreen and catch two or three of the biggest tube rides with no wait at all. I really, really love that park. There's something so great about it - I'm not sure if it's because it's nestled (nestled makes it sound small, this place is HUGE) in trees and hills or if it's because it's powered by natural water (well, west is anyway) or if it's because the tube shoots and rides there are seriously some of the most fun you will have in your life. We took two rolls of film on our waterproof cameras and I can't wait to get them back!

The first day we went we took Rylee. She loved it. She didn't want to leave at all and I totally understood. She rode some of the big rides - there are 4 that she is not able to ride just yet - but she rode the bigger tube rides and she was totally fine. We got there early enough that we were able to get her one of those tubes designed especially for little kids and it was perfect.

The second day we went without her and the boys were wrestling around and causing havoc on every ride. I fell out of my tube just before a slide on Hillside and went down the slide on my bottom. Luckily there was a lifeguard there to catch me, my sunglasses and one of my flip flops. I fell out in front of a ton of people waiting in line, it was incredibly embarrassing. Oh well, I think we all fell out one or two times actually.

Austin was also nice. We got to eat at all of my favorite places. Kerbey Lane, Catfish Parlour, Texana...it was all so good! It was Clifford and Matthew's first time to Kerbey Lane and I think they enjoyed it. I already miss the white queso!

One thing that never changes about our trips to Austin is that we always come back with so much more than we left with.

Woo!



We also came back with a pretty neat ice chest actually. It looks like this but ours is red and black. I kind of like it.



And an icecream maker. I do not have a photo.

Today was Rylee's first ballet/tap/tumbling class. She looked so cute this morning I could have melted right there. She did so well too. They had us all go in there for a few minutes and look around and then off we went. There were a few girls that cried but Rylee didn't and from what very little I could see, it looked as if she was doing as she was told.

This had come in the mail for me while I was gone! I love it! It's exactly what I wanted when I set out to find a ballet bag!



I got it off of an etsy site called tinygreenapples.

Hope everyone had a lovely fathers day!