country gone bad...really bad

my friend cassie turned 30 today...we celebrated last night @ blanco's dressed in "retro country" attire. all of the guests were supposed to dress the part...but some of the party goers took it to an extreme...and i was for sure one of them! as of friday at noon, i had nothing to wear. my mom kept the kids while brandon and i were off to some resale shops (goodwill & H.A.M.M.) and a consignment shop i knew of. goodwill was a bust...but i found a little ditty @ the consignment shop...a fully sequined cropped western jacket w/ black suede fringe...for $6!!! i'll take it. now i only needed accessories. no better place to go than my mom's closet. need something gaudy? she will have what you are looking for. brandon found a really worn in pair of wranglers for $3...they are a perfect fit...he loves them and says they will be his new game day jeans. it's the little things in life right? we had a hard time finding him a shirt so we ended up on the clearance rack @ cavenders...just as bad as anything you could find elsewhere really.

here are the earrings...i was debating btwn 3 pair...one had boots, hats, etc dangling down...i was afraid i would lose one of those...















the boots...also from bebe's closet. yes. those are gold sequins.




















the piece de resistance...all i can say is wow. they don't come any uglier.




















want to make sure you can see the fine detail...and intricate bead work














my mom also had an old bolo of my dad's...do you remember those?? brandon refused :(




















mullet wig!





















another western trend was the cut out shirt...HI-larious




















she is so damn funny...















lauren was SUPPOSED to wear this cut out shirt...love it





















but instead managed to look cute...by the way- there were 50 people at this party...not just the 6 of us!!

the birthday girl and her new fiance!!! i wish i had a picture of cassie's hair close up...she had indian feathers in the back...beautiful.

he done good. real good! they got engaged earlier that day. SO FUN!

thanks for such a good time cassie!! dress up parties are the most fun :)

girls just wanna have fun!

acting silly...

on the way to rent skis!!

walking in w/ the dads...

getting measured...

all signed up and ready for tomorrow!

had to ride home w/ the new helmets!

about to walk into ski school...all gear is on...hope nobody needs to tinkle!

being picked up after ski school...looks like she has been to hell and back. when brandon asks her if she had fun, she says "no...but maybe i will love it tomorrow!"

hot tubbin' w/ the dads...toys and cocktails

snuggled watching movies...one loves dora, one loves hello kitty, and one loves my little pony...

dance parties...they take after their mothers!

checking out the competition...

and finally, with her biggest fans :)

a look back

going through all of my pictures from colorado got me reminiscing about the first trip we took there with ellis...she was just 9 months old. i looked back @ the pictures on the computer and they are just too cute not to post a few:) and there are actually a couple that avery is in...the leamans happened to be there @ the same time as us 2 years ago- and we had a playdate!

fun times...they grow up so fast! i know... everybody says that!

snowbunnies

ellis is a lucky girl. two of her best friends, morgan and avery, have a vacation home in the mountains...we happen to be friends w/ their parents (rachel & will)...so that makes us lucky too!! when they called in january to ask us if we would be interested in a long weekend there, it took me about 1 second to say COUNT US IN...yes, before even mentioning to brandon :) the house is in vail...brandon's family has always gone to vail...which means i started going there about 12 years ago myself...so we already knew it was going to be fabulous :) such a great little town...and even more enjoyable when you stay @ someone's amazingly wonderful house...we seriously can't thank them enough!!!

ellis has been friends w/ m & a all of her short life :) morgan was 18 months old when ellis was born...and avery was born 5 short weeks after ellis. they have SO MUCH FUN when they are together...it is hilarious to see the three of them. ellis just lights up...they are giggly, cute, and crazy...and they all try to show off. they do have some arguments...like all little girls...the first one that comes to mind was a little battle over whether cinderella wears blue or pink...oh the drama! it was like a 4 day long playdate...with lots of cocktails for the people in charge :) ...that would be us! sound miserable? not so much...we had help!

we got there thursday and went into town to get the girls their skis, boots, and helmets. you see, they were headed to ski school the next day!!! as they were getting measured for all their gear, i could tell ellis was thinking "what the hell is going on here?" but she went with it. they are supposed to be 3 for ski school...ellis and avery are very close to 3...and both are potty trained so they were good to go. ski school @ this age is kinda like babysitting...expensive babysitting. we dropped them off @ 8:30 both mornings (ok...maybe they were there a little late on saturday due to hangovers)...and you don't pick them up till 3!!! ellis' mothers day out isn't even that long. sweet.

and in the evenings, we had a sitter come to the house so we could go have a little fun while the kids slept :) or...on a certain night...a lot of fun...too much fun! 3 limoncellos, a little chicken-like mozzarella, and a few spins on the ice rink later, we were home. sorry to all of those who received late night phone calls! we had a dance party that lasted until the wee hours of the morning...the evidence points to a bedtime after 4:30 a.m. (facebook posting)...we had kidnapped another couple (tory and felo) the four of us met for dinner and brought them back to the house for late night. the time difference worked against us...meaning, our kids woke up an hour earlier than they were supposed to...i guess we should have hired a sitter for the mornings too...note to self :) or, just bring bebe along next time...she loves the mornings!

here is ellis in her ski gear...

up the "mountain"...that is ellis bringing up the rear

and down the "mountain"

loving every minute!

i will do another post tomorrow on how the girls spent their time...they had a BLAST!!!

an urban cowboy and his sissy

took the kiddos to the rodeo today...not the real rodeo...just the carnival and "AGventure"...but i still call it the rodeo :) we took ellis last year...she was almost 2 so she totally knew what was going on...this was beckett's first year (obviously)...totally clueless...though he did take an interest in the animals and watching his sista on the pony. he just wanted to be OUT OF THE STROLLER...and every time i obliged, i turned around to find him licking an animals cage, eating sawdust, etc...things of that nature. e-coli should be setting in at any moment.

i got him that terrible red hat at walmart for $4...gotta love it. of course, he wouldn't keep it on for more than a second. i figured at least this way...when ellis plays dress up with him, she can put a red cowboy hat on him instead of a pink tiara. ellis loves her pink hat...from purple mango...more than $4 of course :) and the boots...oh the boots.

i took ellis to cavender's to pick out a new pair of cowgirl boots. i should have known better. i ask where little girl boots are...back of the store. we get to the back and there is a SEA of pink cowgirl boots. why? why did i do this to myself? i knew a "situation" was about to go down. it wasn't pretty...but i was determined to win this one. "ellis, look at the brown ones...just like mommy's boots" NO. i call brandon...

me: what would you think about pink boots for ellis?

brandon: absolutley not.

me: are you sure? she really really really wants pink.

brandon: she isn't wearing pink cowgirl boots.

me: ellis...if you get the brown ones i will give you a pink popsicle when we get home

ellis: ok

it was actually a lot worse than that but the popsicle is what finally did it. normally, i do let her pick what she wants...within reason...but i had to put my foot down on the boots. they were like $80...i wasn't going to pay for 2 pair (one brown and one pink)...and she is going to wear them for UT football season...pink and burnt orange are a questionable combination. PLUS...i now have a son who will wear them one day...i KNOW he won't be allowed to wear pink boots...brown is a win-win for everyone...except ellis.

so back to the rodeo...it was fun...we did the pony ride, walked thru the carnival, saw a baby calf being delivered (cool and gross), etc. we are also going to the REAL rodeo in a couple weeks...minus beckett. ellis is CRAZY OBSESSED with taylor swift...she literally knows all of the words to 5 of her songs minimum. she can't wait to see the "real priness". i think she calls taylor that because of love story (one of her songs)...should be fun :)

first up, hanging out @ the carnival...which wasn't ACTUALLY even open!

beckett on the pony...he is happy doing anything really...hmmm...i take that back- hates diaper changes!

oh yes...you noticed she had a costume change...a lady doesn't ride a pony in a skirt!

he looks like he is in a cage...i wish!

here he is watching sissy on the pony. he idolizes her :) his outfit reminds me of something one would wear to a fraternity "trashy country" theme party...

of course ellis wore her super cute belt that bebe got from angola...one of the prisoners there made it for her with love :)

a fun day for sure...love those pearl snap shirts!

houston...we have a tooth!

what i see is actually a teeny, tiny speck of white...but it has to mean a tooth is on its way up! and more importantly, that white speck explains my son's nasty attitude as of late. little miss perfect never EVER let me know her teeth were coming in. beckett is such a wuss! i thought he was going to be 1 and toothless. there is no way you could see it in a picture so i will just post a couple pics from this week...took the kids to the zoo...not beckett's first time there but the first time he actually knew what was going on around him. and ballet...still hilarious. this week they did a number where they danced while holding a teacup and saucer. oh...one more thing- went to a shrimp and grits party...not the food :) they sell children's smocked clothing at pretty reasonable prices. got the both of the kids seersucker swimsuits. so damn cute!! here is the link: http://www.shrimpandgritskids.com/

it is REALLY hard to get beckett to stay still for a picture now that he is on the move!

ellis thinks she is his babysitter...

ellis' favorite part of the day- rufus, one of the animals, had a birthday party in his cage...this was a first for me!!! ellis thought it was FABULOUS!

you know i love for them to have coordinating outfits!!! these are the softest shirts...and they are "green"...beckett wore a lot of stuff from here when he was tiny... http://www.babysoyusa.com/

and a couple of ballet pics...i just realized her hair is long enough for pig tails!! except, i have to call them pony tails (she is crazy for my little pony)...

here are ellis and ainsley patiently waiting for the class before theirs to end...how cute are those leg warmers?

i have a girls night tonight @ my friends ranch...should be fun...and next week the rodeo starts!! ellis LOVED it last year so i know this year will be even better :)