.seaworld adventures.

.we did it.

.we gave in, and spent A LOT of money on season passes to seaworld.

.why?.

.one reason is because we will live 10 minutes (MAX) from seaworld if we get this house.

.this allows me to go with the kids for a few hours and come back and put them down for naptime. 

.it includes free parking. do you know they charge you 15 dollars for parking EACH TIME. shesh!

.it also includes aquatica (the waterpark) that is very kid friendly and has many different "spots" and places to go with the kids. 

.seaworld+waterpark+10 minutes from the house = happy mommy and happy kids.

.anyways, the day started off late. the kids and andrew got up at 9:30 (i was up at 8:30) and i made breakfast, packed everything up, changed the kids, while andrew did the dishes and took a quick shower. 

.than we headed to walmart for a few last minute things and to fill up the tires on the stroller.

.andrew was a bit of a grump starting the day out. he wasnt feeling too hot (cold, congestion, allergeries) and thought i was FORCING him to go...whatever. lol.

.b's reaction this time around was priceless. seriously, she is such a stinker, but reacts to everything and makes it so fun. she would cover her mouth and go "oh no" when the dolphins were gone and ask "where did they go?" when they would dive under water. she has become a sissy when it comes to go down the slide and such....she was tired too but andrew and i were talking after about how she use to go down with no problem and go underwater, etc...she was just grumpy by the time we got to aquatica...about 4 hours past naptime.

.parker was such a great baby. he would sit on our lap and watch the shows, he LOVED playing in the water....he would stand at this turtle toy forever and just bounce....he also loved crawling in the shallow end, and standing on the edge in the "deep" end (12 inches).

.overall the day went really well, we figured a few things out along the way, and i think i can venture out with the kids on my own....we have some enjoyable fun days ahead of us this summer :)

alright, alright, ill stop writing and post the pictures, and videos. 

.b is getting prettier by the day...i swear. her hair is getting so long too. she looks so much older to me. cannot believe she will be 2 next month.

.(ignore my acne in both pictures please)...okay, i dont usually take pictures of myself, so dont think, wow she is conceded...working out this last week slacked really bad. i did go on walks with the kids, and a short "jog" until the kids decided to fight and so i ended up carrying one and pushing the other....but i HAVE been trying new hair-do's//// this one was brought to you by the one and only, jen m.....its how to curl your hair with your straightener...i have done this 2 times this week and loved both times i have done it...and SO fast. 

.this is a different one...whenever we go to utah my mil braids my hair and i love it...well i figured out who to do it the day you want to wear it. andrew actually liked it, and he NEVER says anything....this picture doesnt do much justice...but again.... pretty fast and different than my normal.

 .b LOVES being right by me when im getting ready...and whenever she finds my headbands she LOVEs to put them on...crazy girl.

 .getting into my makeup drawer.

 .this boy. seriously. those eyes are going to be heartbreaker.

 .this is the day b did NOT feel good. she wanted her blanket everywhere and would just sit (or lay) with her blanket and paci (she usually doesnt have her paci).

 .friday i was going to go to a playgroup with some friends, but decided to go on a lunch date with andrew instead...BOGO blizzards....YUM...this is the ONLY time we buy blizzards...and this will have to do until i get my hands on a burgerville shake in washington this summer.

 .daddy with his babes.

 .love this picture because they are getting along...and because it shows how tall parker is next to b.

 .beginning of our seaworld adventure. she was LOVING the dolphin show.

 .this kid LOVED the water.

 .when she didnt know where the dolphins went, she would get this worried look on her face and say "uh oh!"

.parker at the azul show.

 .she was mad cause i said no paci's at seaworld.

 .we watched a few elmo shows and b LOVED them....it cost to get your picture with elmo (seriously?) but free for everyone else...so here is b and dadd and zoey and cookie monster. b looks mad, but she turned right when i clicked the picture)

 .the the elmo show.

 .caught her at the end of saying elmo.

 .elmo.

 love this picture...she would lean over and smile and laugh and kiss her daddy.

 .she has stunning eyes too. much like her daddy's (a darker blue) but still so pretty.

.excitement for having a fun day.

and.......

.....thats a wrap.

VIDEOS:

.these are some awesome "divers" at the dolphin show....they were pretty sweet.

.b concerned about where the dolphins went.

.b LOVING the azul show.

.tueday night breakdown...AGAIN.

.so tuesday night i had another breakdown.

.poor andrew probably thought, WHAT did i get myself into.

.so the day started off with me and the kids out of the door and ready to go by 10am. success.

.we met up with ladies from my old ward at the park. i LOVE getting together with them.

.it was a BEAUTIFUL day to get out and enjoy adult conversation and let the kids run wild.

.my good friend Morgan asked me how the house process was going and i explained that its a short sale, so its still a waiting game. she asked if i was still looking at other houses during the waiting process....TOTALLY. im not dead set on this house. it has a lot of work to do on it, we are hoping we do some upgrading and remodeling on our own, and get our money and than some in return. 

.she than proceeded to tell me that a house in her neighborhood was going to go up on the market soon....when i asked what house, she said, "mine!" surprise. she was moving to washington and putting her house up on the market. 

.i was THRILLED. this would be a shorter commute for andrew. in the boundaries of my old ward, WHOM I LOVE, and the house was really pretty and backyard was HUGE. i was sooooo excited, and called andrew up after the park to say we needed to meet for lunch to i could talk to him about something. when i told him, he said, well get more information and we can definitely look into it.

.it was the same size house. upgraded kitchen already. great neighborhood. shorter commute for andrew. 4 bedroom and 2.5 bath (the one we put an offer in on is 3 bathroom...) and large gameroom (like the house we put an offer in on).....but they were listing it for 10-30 thousand dollars more than our TOP affordable price.....agh.

.i ventured out to the pool alone with both kids. it sure was an adventure, but something i CAN do. it was much easier once i got parker to fall asleep in the stroller. :)

.i was so upset, and really put me in a bad mood. so after dinner, and me telling andrew about it, i decided i needed out....a walk. so i loaded up the kids and off i went.....andrew ended up catching up with me and coming along.

.once we got home, we got the kids bathed, and put to bed. i took a shower and headed to bed. i laid there and messed around on my ipod thinking....agh, i was so grumpy.

.andrew came to bed and tried to talk to me, but i was in no mood to talk. than he said something, and i totally LOST it. i turned my back to him and started to cry.

.finally after about 20 minutes of andrew hugging me and guessing what was wrong, i told him.

.the house- i feel like we can be happy in the house we made on offer on, im just SCARED of resale, im scared of andrew HATING the commute everyday. im scared of not having time/money to do the upgrading we want to do (in time)....andrew is starting is masters probably in the next year or so since the company will pay for it.

.brooklynn- i have been REALLY bad about comparing my children's growth to other kids. and i blame myself that brooklynn doesnt talk as much as another kid, or that she doesnt know the sounds of all the animals. etc. i blame myself. i feel like maybe its because of me.....let me tell you its HARD to give your child so much attention when you have another....and  its hard to give b attention when she is SOOOOOOO active. having her sit still to do a puzzle is about as good as it gets for her to sit and pay attention. its hard. ...andrew insured me that brooklynn is progressing just fine....its still hard.

.my body/face- this stress brings acne....i am breaking out like im in high school again. its SO embarrassing. i am embarrassed about my body and how i look. i try to work out, and watch what i eat (kinda...if i want chocolate or ice cream...DANG IT im totally going to eat it)....i feel like you can workout all you want but getting rid of access SKIN from being pregnant is impossible. it BUGS me.

.the move- has been HARD. its hard not having family, i have been trying to be positive and know its just temporary (i told andrew 6 years and we are moving again unless something AMAZING happens).

.anyways, so i spill my guts out, and poor andrew. my eyes were so swollen from crying. andrew gave me a blessing, and i felt the love of my husband and the love of my Savior. it was a tender moment for me. afterwards i literally threw my arms around andrew and say, "thank you" and cried. 

.anyways, i wrote this not for everyone to comment and say,"oh tasha, your awesome" i wrote this for me, so i can look back and see that i have grown. so to end this LONG blog post....here are some pictures. 

 .tuesday at playgroup.

 .wednesday we met up with daddy after work and i went one way, and daddy went another to see each way was faster to our potential home....they were only minutes apart...but still a 45 minute commute. this is b waiting for daddy.

  .so my awesome friend jen posted a tutorial on curling hair....i did it and LOVE it....this is a different tutorial i tired and it turned out awesome too (all with my straightener!)

 .kids making a mess in the morning, but playing together, so i let them.

 .parker on our tuesday walk.

 .kiddos on our walk.

 .b and daddy on the walk.

 .b girl with her daddy.

 .another mess, but again, getting along.

 .b got this NASTY cold, running nose and had a slight fever...she FINALLY fell sleep after a LONG night.

.b again at playgroup. LOVE her hair pulled back out of her face :)

 .parker's pretty blue eyes...poolside.

 .b girl enjoying her fudgesicle.

 .parker chillin in the stroller...he is getting mad, can you tell.

 .b drinking some h2o.

 .this is before we went to the pool. b would stand out there and stare...made me sad to watch.

 .best buddies.

 .love her arm around him. so cute.

.another, arm around her brother.

VIDEOS:

.it was very easy to see B was feeling back to her normal self, when she continued to make her brother cry by telling him no, parker is such a soft person and b knows this...she knows that to make him cry, all she has to do is look at him and say, "no"....when she did this yesterday morning, i knew she was feeling a lot better. stinker.

.b is baaaacccckkkkk.

.thank you UNCLE TYLER for getting b hooked on this youtube video....okay, i cant complain, its just the abc song (could be worse right?) and she LOVES watching it and attempting to sing to it...she also loves all nursery rhymes youtube videos. pathetic i know, but i have to do what i can that she will actually listen and enjoy...and b LOVES music....so music it is. (excuse her bed head).

.b and the abc youtube video.

.weekend walks.playgrounds.swim.

.this weekend was very easy-going.

.and its starting to really heat up here in texas. 

.this weekend it was 85, yesterday it was 90 and today its suppose to be 95.

i SO wish we had a backyard to enjoy this sun. 

.last summer, brooklynn and i would venture out to the pool....but now with 2 kids that both dont swim...it's not such a luxury. so andrew and i talked about getting season passes to seaworld/aquatica (seaworld's waterpark) for the year because the house is 10 minutes away and i could do day trips to seaworld with the kids and get out moneys worth.....also b is still under 3 and FREE...might as well take advantage of that right?

.anyways so friday, andrew got off work early, and we went on a walk to the yogurt/custard place behind us....however to get there you have to go 2 different way....along the highway or behind us through the neighborhood and up....obviously highway was out of the picture...so through the neighborhood and around was it. it was a MUCH longer way, but the day was perfect and so enjoyable. once we got there, we all shared an ice cream and walked back home. 

.b has been BEGGING (literally) all week to go to "the pool." it was spring break here last week, so kids were in the pool all day, every day, and b would just watch from her window and say "a pool!" it was adorable. i told her to tell her daddy she wanted to come when he got home from work...this girl doesnt have to convince her daddy...wrapped around her finger....so off to the pool we went.

.okay, funny thing. the pool here is FREEZING even with it being 80 degrees out...however the hot tub is much more like bath water...not HOT...so we went there. b did venture to the pool a couple times, just to come running back after she felt how fold the water was. 

.saturday i went grocery shopping, and we went out to lunch to subway (thanks chewy for the birthday present...dont worry we got cookies too....just not 2 dozen :)...and headed to a park just minutes from our apartment. its still TOO long to walk, but its a short trip i could take the kids...the playground is pretty pathetic, but b thought it was awesome, and kept her entertained...so thats all that matters.

.sunday we went to church, b did awesome in nursery. we came home and put the kids down for a nap, and just hung out the remainder of the day. we skyped with my 2 sisters (kris and natalie) and their kids, and with my parents, as well as andrew's. i have to say, every time we skype with family, it seems we find ourselves saying "we are thankful for technology to allow us to see family and allow us to stay connected and watch out kids grow as we are far away" (or something close to this) sneak up in our family prayers the evening we skype! SO thankful.

anyways. here are some videos and pictures from our week. enjoy.

 .parker has been fighting rsv this past week...he fell asleep in my arms TWICE...he NEVER does that. 

 .doesnt he look so cute in his little swim trunks.

 .b girl- this girl is changing every day.

 .parker boy.

 .parker boy.

 .b girl.

 .she LOVES swimming.

 .this girl put a wash rag on her head and walked around like it was nothing....weirdo.

 .another swimming day...he is just wearing his normal clothes cause i couldnt remember where i out his swim trunks.

 .brooklynn LOVING swimmin.

 .can you see brooklynn.

 .walking along the edge.

 .splashing.

 .this boy is a geek like his dad...LOVES the laptop.

 .happy st patty day...after church.

 .playground...parker trying out the slide.

 .one of parker's new onesies. its a baseball...its SO cute.

 .can you tell who dresses brooklynn last....andrew has her shorts on backwards with a bow on her butt.

 .sometimes you have to make the siblings love each other by squeezing them into a single jogging stroller.

 .brooklynn.

 .off on our walk.

 .parker boy LOVED kicking and splashing.

.this is his new thing (he gets it from me) he squishes his noise and breaths really hard. its adorable.

VIDEOS: (i just realized most of these videos are of parker...ops!)

.brooklynn was barking the other day and parker was trying to do it too. 

.parker trying to bark.

.this is the terrible 2 i am dealing with....b was MAD that andrew's toe was on her blanket and would yell "NO!" ...i also made her say "no andrew" just so you guys can hear her say it.....she also yells "no!" to parker and parker is such a sweet little guy, he cries. he doesnt like it.

.b telling everyone no.

.parker loves when you say "boo" to him...he thinks its funny.

.saying boo to parker.

.parker kicking his feet in the pool.

.when b was younger her FIRST swim she got dunked...my mil showed me how to do it, to make them hold their breath while you dunk them...so i did it with parker...so parker too got dunked on his very first swim.

.parker getting dunked.

.last night b accidently dropped one of her soft toys so i say "oh!" and parker thought it was HILARIOUS. so here is the end of the fun we had with them last night.

.b and parker laughing about dropping toy.