Riley loves her friends...

Oh goodness does Riley love her friends...always talking about them, always making new ones, and never forgetting old ones!

We got to spend most of Friday with the Habbestads now that they have moved to San Antonio.

It was so fun and despite the torrential downpour and a slight change in plans we had a BLAST!
We started the morning off at Mi Tierra's, a fabulous Mexican restaurant and bakery where we had Mexican hot chocolate, cinnamon rolls, and chiliquiles....yum!

Maddie was a little shy (or sleepy) at first but by the time we ate they were back at it like no time had passed!

She remembered just how fascinated Riley is with chapstick and put some on her...

Then the girls were given balloons and they were ecstatic...the fun continued as we all went to the bathroom and they ran around giggling and hitting each other on the head with their balloons!

We headed to an indoor playplace and they slid down the slides,

chased each other...and rode some pretty cool rides!

After playing with Amanda and Maddie we parted ways and we picked up my mom and headed to Starbucks for an afternoon treat!

Then we went to visit Uncle Jan and Aunt Diane...always a must when we are in San Antonio!

Riley had fun giving Uncle Jan his water...she decided when he needed more and he must have been thirsty because she was constantly giving him water!

Diane found some awesome toys for Riley to play with...hot pink glasses and a hoolah hoop...this girl was in heaven!

It was so great to see them!

After our visit with Jan and Diane we headed to Hacienda de Los Barrios for dinner with the Habbestad fam...Riley didn't want to miss out on seeing John!

The girls sat next to each other and entertained each other the whole night!

Riley even fed Maddie french fries...she politely obliged!

After dinner it was time for some dancing!

Then John took them to check out the play area!

Mom and I

Purcell / Habbestad family...minus Jason..boo

It was so great to see these guys...we miss them so much...hopefully we'll catch up with them again soon on our next trip to Texas!

Oh the fun!

This week in TX has been so much fun!

Riley has napped with JoePa...or at least pretended like she wanted to!

We had a great Mother's Day...complete with a fantastic lunch at Bluebonnet Cafe where I splurged and ate chicken fried steak..yum! We also had a fun and random surprise...we ran into the Hartnett family at lunch and got to meet their cutie pie! Such a small world!

Riley made me a great coffee mug...she knows my love for coffee! Jason sent me a nice bouquet of flowers...but he forgot we weren't going to be home when he ordered them so they were waiting ever so nicely on my doorstep in California. I was bummed to say the least so I called 1-800 flowers and explained the situation and they have agreed to send me a new bouquet once we get home! I hope they are right because I am expecting some flowers!

I told my friend Patti to enjoy the flowers while I was gone since she was checking on our house and watching the pups...at least they won't be wasted and we'll see if my bouquet arrives!

Here's us girls on Mother's Day!

Riley gave me the gift of a 3+ hour nap so I got to catch up on some phone calls and relax for a bit!

The weather hasn't been quite what I had hoped for...warm but overcast and windy much of the time.

We did get out on the boat Sunday afternoon, however, because we had a special trip to make!

This girl just LOVES the boat!
We went to some friend's house to see some puppies that they had...my parents have been talking about getting another lab for awhile so they wanted to check these guys out!Riley was in heaven holding these puppies but we had to be careful because the first time she held one she just threw it down when she was done...obviously thought it was a stuffed animal or something...geez!

They were cute but my parents decided they just aren't ready for a puppy with everything they have going on! They sure were fun to play and cuddle with!

While we were there, JoePa gave Riley a tee-ball lesson!

Riley's also had lots of fun playing with Grammie while I've been working...they go check the mail...

Ride her bike...

and I took her fishing the other night!

Her Daddy is so proud!

Riley also cares for Sally during the day...here she is taking her for a ride on her shoulders...poor Sally!

Tuesday afternoon we took a trip to Sweet Berry Farms and picked some strawberries!

Riley was a bit fussy at first because she caught a glimpse of horses and was more interested in seeing them than picking strawberries...eventually she got the hang of it!

I'm not sure any of the ones she picked made it into the basket...she had to test them out!

Finally we went to see the horses and the donkeys...she wanted to touch them and ride on them!

Unfortunately it was not a petting zoo and when I broke the news that we couldn't ride on them this is the reaction I got...

She overcame the devastation and agreed to move on with the lure of a strawberry popsicle!

Here's me and my strawberry covered girl!

I just love this pic...the wind was blowing and her hair is super curly due to the humidity...she is very into the popsicle!

She managed to eat the entire thing and not let much fall to the ground...she was one sticky mess!

While she ate her popsicle my parents and I ate homemade strawberry ice cream and we came home with TONS of strawberries and have been eating them ever since!

After we got home we put on our bathing suits and pretended the sun was out and the water was warm!

We blew bubbles...

Relaxed on the floats...

and let Grammie sprinkle her with cold lake water!

This is one of my favorite things about summer...cute little wedgies!

Riley even braved the water with JoePa and got her feet wet...then she gave him a big wet one!

Wednesday Riley and my mom joined me for a day trip to San Angelo so I could check up on The Virtual Eyewear Store that we launched several months ago...Riley even checked it out and tried on some eyewear!

She and my mom did a little shopping while I took care of work stuff and then we ate lunch at Miss Hattie's, a downtown restaurant that used to be a brothel back in the day. We checked out a few stores and I got a cute dress!

While I was trying on my dress Riley met the owners grandaughter who was 2 and named Miley...Riley and Miley...they had a ball!

Riley even pulled this wig off a manikin and tried it on...it was the funniest thing I've ever seen!

After checking out downtown San Angelo we went to the DMV and I officially became a TEXAS resident again...woohoo! Thanks to a new law I no longer have to change my residency when we move and can claim my voting rights back...and no longer pay taxes to any other state! So liberating!

When we got home and got Riley fed, Grammie had a special surprise for her...a chocolate ice cream cone!

We planned well and stripped her down and had her eat it outside...such a good idea because this girl was a mess!

Loving her chocolate and I'm loving her curls...she totally has my hair...I'll have to post some pics of me at this age to prove it since no one believes I have curly hair!

Grammie and Riley!

It didn't take long for the sugar rush to kick in...she was a dancing fool when she was all done and she was covered in chocolate...the life!

Today Riley went on a lunch date with her JoePa to McDonald's and they had a great time!

Tonight we ate some great Mexican food and called it a day!

Tomorrow is a fun day in San Antonio catching up with friends and family and eating, eating, eating!!!

Who Dat?

Well you'd never believe it but JoePa turned 60 and boy did we celebrate!

I am so glad Riley and I were able to make it in for the festivities...love you Dad and here's to many more birthdays!

My mom and her partner in crime, Patrice, put a lot of work into his party and decided to go with a New Orleans theme!

The birthday boy...

There was even a special little girl who handed out beads...

And a little bit of roasting...my mom and Patrice used this picture for the Evite and even had a poster made for everyone to sign..haha!

And some new business cards for my dad as well...

Here's Grammie and Riley...pretend the binky is not in her mouth :)

Doug, one of my dad's friends who decided to show up with the same hairdo my dad had in the invite pic!

There were lots of people and lots of food...the best kind of party!

Part of the reason that everyone had such a good time was that my dad made 2 gallons of Hurricanes, a New Orleans drink favorite!

There was gumbo, jambalaya, fried chicken, shrimp, bread pudding, and much more!

Whitney and I had fun catching up and hanging with the crowd...we both admitted we can only hope we have this much fun when we turn 60!

Family Pic...sure wish Jason could have been here!

At first Riley was a little overwhelmed with all the people and all the noise...which surprised me. We're talking about a girl that talks to ANY and EVERY person she sees. I soon realized, however, that this party was a little different since she was the only kiddo! She was also catching up on the jet lag since we had arrived in the wee hours of the morning!

She quickly warmed up and made friends with everyone and I feel like a bad parent for admitting this but she stayed up past midnight with the rest of the gang!

She learned how to smoke cigars from Sam...

She learned how fun straws are to play with from Patrice and Whitney...

and the beads...well she just loved them too!

It was a great night and I know it meant the world to my dad to have so many of his friends celebrate his birthday with him!

Happy Birthday JoePa!

Since the party we've been having lots of fun...but since my child doesn't go to bed before 9 because of all this fun I just can't stay awake to blog! I'll get to it soon!