Cousin Time

We got to see both sets of cousins in the last few days, and of course I had to take pictures! My parents kept 5 of #theSwopeSeven Friday night, and we got together Saturday afternoon with all 7 grands to enjoy dinner and family time together.

Drew LOVES Sawyer!!!

Trent was real worried about spit-up {grin}

I think I held Sawyer 75% of the time we were together per usual, and I was in heaven. We had a great time!

Branden, Brent's nephew, bought Girl Scout cookies from us months ago, and we just got together to deliver them. He is the Assistant Manager of a local Marco's Pizza and let the kids make their own pizzas. They had a great time, and we enjoyed a yummy dinner.

Aproned up and ready to go

Branden is always so patient with my kids!

Loved watching him help Paige with her pizza.

Spreading the sauce

Getting it ready!

Lots of cheese required!

Ready to eat, ha!

I am beyond thankful that all our immediate family is close by, love seeing our kids make memories with their cousins.

Houston Natural Science Museum

Brent's nephew had a great idea in the summer to go to the Houston Natural Science Museum. He remembered going with Brent's parents when he was a kid {reminder - he's 28!} and thought our kids might enjoy it. And they did! We had a great little trip Saturday-Sunday before Labor Day.

We went up Saturday mid-day and spent the late afternoon swimming at the hotel pool, had dinner in the hotel, and had a relatively low-key evening. Trent and Branden shared a hotel room and played YuGiOh for hours! I love that these cousins have bonded over this game!

Sunday morning after a delicious breakfast at Starbucks we headed to the museum. We knew that there were a few extra exhibits happening right now {including a Shark exhibit, and Paige is OBSESSED with sharks}, so we planned to enjoy the main museum but knew we needed time for a few of the extras.

Smile! {sigh}

Drew had to go visit Zoltar, but we told her to 'not get Big'. Ha!

We started out going to see the dinosaurs. This was Branden's favorite, and I think he would have stayed her a lot longer if the others hadn't been more impatient.

A sloth for our sloth-loving girl!

We paid extra money for the shark exhibit, and honestly, it was disappointing. I don't think it was worth the extra money.

Although it was worth getting these shark earrings for Paige!

There was a station at the end with sea creatures we could touch, including some small sharks. The little kids found this neat, and we did have to drag them away.

Touching some starfish

We also paid extra for the butterfly exhibit, and this was a hit for everyone! There was a whole room of insect displays before we even got to the butterflies, very cool.

Look at this cool electric blue frog!

The kids had so much fun forcing me to look at cockroaches.

Nana with her grands

Got them to pose with me, yay!

The last exhibit we went to was the Egyptian exhibit. They had a special {meaning more money} exhibit about King Tut, but we didn't have a lot of time left, so we focused on the main exhibit.

A REAL MUMMY!!!!!

Running out of steam here...

A cool sarcophagus!

If we had planned a little better, there were some movies we could have seen - and there was one about sharks I wish we'd made time for. BUT we bought a membership {cheaper tickets, cheaper parking, discount on the gift shop/food}, so we might have to go back to see all the things we missed.

It was a great trip, and I think everyone had an awesome time!

Spring Break Fun

We just finished up our Spring Break! Marching along towards summer - I CAN'T believe it! We have just a little more than 2 months to go and then my firstborn baby is in HIGH SCHOOL. Hold me.

Finally hung this up in Paige's room - she got it for her 5th birthday ha!

It promptly fell down that night and is now on her floor...so...

I need to get it up again. But still, I did it once!

Monday we went on a nature walk and then had lunch with some of our besties! We had 5 girls and they had a great time!

Paige, Drew, Keaton, Brently, and Brinley

Me and Rhonda

SO CUTE!

Tuesday we met some of our school friends who moved in the fall. We miss these girls a lot and had a great time playing at the park.

Maya, Drew, Paige, Raina, and Aayana

Brent got extra responsibility with the family whose dogs he walks. The family was away for the weekend so Trent took care of one of the dogs. He did a great job!

The kids spent Wednesday - Friday with my parents - they hosted 'Cousin Camp' and had all 6 grandkids. Best grandparents ever!! {Well, tied with Brent's parents - we definitely hit the lottery!}

Had to share my favorite flower - nature is doing her thing and Texas is GORGEOUS.

When I got the kids back on Friday, we picked up Drew's bestie for a sleepover and went shopping!

Where did my baby go? She looks so grown here!

Drew and Zara bought matching outfits to 'twin'. Can you tell them apart?

Little Bit got a sleepover in our bed. Is there room for me?

And we ended our break with some backbend practice ha!

We had a good spring break and are ready for it to truly feel like spring - it's been COLD the last few days! Also I promise Brent and Trent were around the whole break, ha!

Life Lately

There are just lots of little things happening around these parts lately. I figure as the kids continue to get older there will be less crazy milestones, but I love this little normal, regular, every day life of ours.

We had our last Christmas back in January with my mom's extended family. Took basically no pictures, but the fun part was it was in our town so my sister and her family spent the night with us. It was great hanging out just the 10 of us.

 Miles and Trent being big old teenagers!  Paige and Mayer have such a sweet bond

Just love this picture of Paige and Tanner

Deloitte had its holiday party in January. I really appreciated that given how busy December gets! It was at the Austin FC arena and was a fun night. We want to take the kids to a game there this season!

Trent has started walking dogs in our neighborhood! He is having a blast. He has 2 dogs he walks twice a week, and it's about to be 3. He'd like to walk for 1 more family, but he's in a good little rhythm right now. I love that he's getting fresh air, sunshine, and exercise out of the deal. And he's SO good with these pups.

We got to babysit for our favorite little neighbor! This was technically Drew's first babysitting job, I was there just to make sure everyone stayed alive, ha. She had a blast and can't wait to be a little older and do this for real!

The girls have also continued with their horseback riding! We even did a trail ride that I went on too! I haven't been on a horse in over 30 years, and it was really a great experience.

And of course, LOTS of Girl Scout cookie selling!

So that's a little peak at what's been happening in the Gurley household lately!