Spring Break in Tomball

Fair warning: I had very little luck downselecting pictures for this post, so this is a long one...

We spent Spring Break at my parents' house in Tomball this year (as usual!). Amazing how different this year was from last...Kate was such a "big girl", and able to keep up with the other girls pretty well--including sitting at the princess table!


Riding the four-wheeler with Bucko. No matter how many times they do this, it still completely stresses me out...hold on TIGHT!!

We had such a good time at the rodeo for Anna's birthday that we headed back with the cousins. As it was the first time, Fun on the Farm was the hit of the day!

Enjoying a wonderful day with Grammie and Bucko...

Watering their seeds...

Two generations of "Ramsey" ladies...

How many tots does it take to milk a (pretend) cow?

"I bet if we put our heads together, we can figure out how to make this thing go..."

Again, PLEASE HOLD ON TIGHT!!

Little farmers...

Enjoying a little time with Miss Moo...

Apparently the theme of this week was to panic Mama...Anna went down this outrageously huge slide all by herself!!

Anna's Tangled Party

You know, there are few things in life better than amazing friends. Well, except for amazing friends who also happen to be seriously amazing photographers. A PHENOMENALLY HUGE thank you to the wonderful Whitney and Melanie for taking such fantastic photos of Anna's birthday party!

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Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Anna's Candyland party at school

And, the celebrations continue. I made the decision (mistake?) to tell Anna she could pick a different theme for her school celebration and her "real" party. Her choice for the school party? Candyland!

The cupcakes with the Candyland characters she had selected...

Getting her birthday "spankings" from her teacher, Ms. Ricki...

First "real" pedi

After a long day at the rodeo, Anna had her first "real" pedicure. She had gone with me once before and had her toenails painted, but this was the real deal--including itty bitty bunny massage chair and OJ in a fancy glass!

Sitting and playing your new leapster while being massaged, having your toenails done, and being fed OJ? Yeah...that's pampered...

Birthday outing - the rodeo!

What better way to spend your birthday than at the rodeo? That was Anna's chosen activity for the day, so we of course we complied (not that we were complaining!).

Kate wasn't quite up for the ponies--maybe next year?

I think Anna was attempting to enter her sister into the livestock show. Don't be offended dear Kate...Anna regularly tells us how cute you are!

Ready to head into Fun on the Farm--one of the biggest hits of the livestock show!

Gathering "eggs"...

Practicing milking a cow (not to worry--a wooden cow...)

She loved riding on the tractor--like Bucko's!

Ready to sell all of the things they harvested at the "market"...

So proud of their "earnings"--now its time to go buy a snack at the "store" with their profits! What a cool set up this is for kids to learn about the full lifecycle of farming/ranching...

Anna's Birthday - let the celebrations begin!

So, its only 3 months after Anna's birthday--that's still totally in legal blogging range, right?? Good, good...

Well, the celebrations started early with some wonderful gifts from Anna's grandparents...

Having the girls wake up to a big setup of gifts and celebrations on their birthday is so important to me--have to make the WHOLE day special!!

One of Anna's all-time favorite gifts--cash! :-) Can you really blame her? You get exactly what you want AND get to shop! Its like two gifts in one!

Opening her "big" gift--her first gaming system! She's had some serious fun with this Leapster Explorer...

Ok, let's be honest. I may have bought this one a little for myself too. Fashion plates?? The BEST! Oh, and she likes them too...:-)

We had a busy day running around at the rodeo and getting a pedicure (pics to follow soon!), and just decided we were going to be "caked out" over the next few days with her party at school, birthday party, etc. So, she opted for a candle in a bowl of fruit...that's my girl...

Celebrating Grannie

On February 28th, we very sadly said goodbye to my sweet Grannie (the girls' great-Grannie). It was a huge loss for all of us, but she had lived a long and blessed life, and we know she's in a better place now. My mom and her siblings did such a nice job of making her funeral, and the surrounding events, truly a celebration of Grannie's life, rather than a mournful event.

We followed up the funeral and burial with a nice lunch at the local Baptist church, and then an afternoon/evening of family time at my Uncle Jim and Aunt Linda's place in the country, also known as "The Pond". The girls had a great time hanging out with their cousins, meeting family they've never had a chance to meet before, and just being kids in the country...

Bucko teaching the girls how to skip rocks. For as many times as he taught me growing up, I still can't hold a candle to his rock-skipping...

Loving the country...

Grammie and Kate walking down to the tank together...

Grannie and me walking on the same land (all part of the Bar K Ranch--where my mom grew up), in February 1981.

Simple things

For whatever reason, one of Kate's favorite things to do is to take this squirt bottle and spray water all over the shower door. It does tend to keep her occupied while I'm getting dressed, so I'm not complaining too much.

Anna showed her how she could change the angle and actually shoot water OVER the shower door. I think this changed her life. Oh, the simple things...