Sunshine Through the Rain

We have now had a couple of rainstorms here and they have come on so suddenly. The weirdest one was the 30 minute downpour we had with the sun still shining. I took some pictures since it was just really strange looking. Everything was a gold-ish color while it rained.

I don't know if these pictures truly captured it or not, but if you look really close, you can see the pouring rain....

My Puter...

Lilly calls my computer "My Puter!" She says it with so much emphasis too. It's pretty funny. So the other afternoon they were getting into too much trouble in our tiny place and it was crazy hot outside.

I got out my laptop and let them play some interactive games on pbskids.org...great website, by the way! I thought they were just too cute like this! And no, Lexi is not that much taller than Lilly. I think Lilly is maybe 1/4 of an inch taller than Lexi, but it must have been the angle.

Gotta love a mac and my girls!!

So Much Better

I was seriously beginning to wonder if I would ever see this smile again...what a sweet smile, Lilly!

This is their favorite place in the apartment and I SOOOOOOOOOOOOO wish they had a closet like this at our house. :) We put all their toys in there and are calling it the play closet.
The "Cheese!" smiles...both at the same time!
Lexi showing off how cute she is!
Every day is a little bit better down here!!

Fire Museum of Beaumont

Are the girls getting a bit more settled in? Are they throwing less crazy fits and starting to act more like their happy selves? YES!!!! Praise God!! Otherwise, Mommy and Daddy were going to lose their minds. Here's just a little proof for you too...

Lilly-Bug hanging out before grocery shopping...

Lexi showing me her "cheese" smile!!
Yesterday we went to the Fire Museum in Beaumont. It was really cool, and way more kid friendly than we had thought it would be...if you're ever in the area, go check it out! They have a GIANT fire hydrant out front that is painted like a dalmation....see! The girls loved it!
Inside, they had kid-sized fireman uniforms with a fire truck simulator you could climb in and play on. The girls were SO excited about their uniforms for about 10 seconds BUT then they saw...a goldfish!!
Their favorite part of the whole museum...the fish!

Too cute!
Lexi driving a fire truck...
Lilly wanted to help out!
Some of the museum...


The playhouse for the kids...They could read all about how to keep your house safe and minimize fire risks. They also learned how to stop, drop, and roll!

I like this one...it looks like Eric is keeping Smokey the Bear from getting Lexi. :)What a good Daddy!

I think they had fun. What do you think? :)

Life Lately...

Well we arrived! I am currently sitting on our new couch in the tiny living room in Beaumont. It has been super rough so far...you know, something about toddlers not napping OR sleeping at night, plus all the teething and tantrums. But I want to remember the happy stuff more than the grumpy moments, so here are some...

Before we left, the girls spent a lot of time reading books with Daddy so I could clean and pack.

Then there were the balloon head rubs...we all loved this!
Lexi..

Now for the Beaumont/Nederland part of this post. We got here Thursday evening, after a LONG drive with a barfy dog and bored babies. Poor Sneezy was even on a sedative for nerves and still got car sick. :(

We got dinner out and a few groceries. Then after 2 hours fighting with the kiddos, they finally crashed. They didn't understand why they were sleeping a weird place on an air mattress. Then they would have excited moments where all they would scream is "Mommy, our NEW apartment!" It was just so much new stuff and they were excited and cranky at the same time.

Eric and I were woken up at 5:54 am the next morning by two giggly girls ready for the day. :( I was not at all ready to get up! So here we were on a Friday morning, awake with tons to do. We shared some muffins and milk, then headed out to Wal-Mart for all our needed items.

The girls were good...mostly cause they fell asleep in their stroller. After coming home, we played for a while and tried to get things organized and cleaned up a little more. I started the laundry. Then we made a quick lunch and headed out for some exploring. The girls fell asleep again in the car, so we just drove for a couple of hours. Eric ran into the visitor's center to get brochures on all the cool things we could do this summer.

The girls didn't go to sleep any easier that second night, but we started trying earlier this time, so they were out by 9:30 instead of 11 pm. That helped a little when they got up on Saturday at 6:30 am!

On Saturday, we met up with my friend Kristin, who's parents live in the area. She comes to visit them a lot with her little boy, Garrett. This is wonderful cause I have been wanting to hang out more with her anyway in Killeen, and the girls LOVE Garrett! We met them at a mall play center across from our apartment complex.

This sweet, sweet older man bought us both bags of cookies for our kids. It was such a precious and kind gesture. He was one of the grandpa mall walkers and the Great Cookie Company has discounted cookies for sale in the mornings. Oh my, they were soooooo good! What a wonderful treat.

Afterwards, we went to the Beaumont Botanical Gardens to look around and enjoy some outdoor time. It was SUPER hot for 10 in the morning. The girls got grumpy in the heat and Lilly was sobbing when we left because she couldn't find any ladybugs...what was that about? :)

We did manage to take some cute pictures at the botanical gardens. Lilly even posed for me!

Lexi wanted Daddy to hold her...
Looking at a waterfall...
They only managed to pick a couple of little blossoms...

They have been looking so big to me lately...
Lilly was about half a second away from realizing that roses have thorns in this picture...
Turns out the deer statue was fairly warm to the touch...Lexi was not pleased with me!
Two of my favorite little bottoms. :)
Now for a couple of pictures I took of the summer place. Keep in mind that we are still straightening up, so things are a little messy.

The kitchen with laundry room doors at the back...
Our living room with the tired residents in it....the toddlers and their Daddy!
The little dining room...
And if you are wondering how the dogs are liking it, just see the pictures below. I believe they are pretty comfortable. Although they are barking too much and hate walking on a leash. They will get used to it by the time we move back home.

And after 2 nights of upset toddlers not understanding why they were sleeping in the living room, we bought some bed rails and moved them into the bedroom. Eric and I REALLY need our sleep and would rather us sleep on an air mattress all summer, than fight with the grumpy girls. So here they were on their first night having the master bedroom. They were pretty comfortable, but still took about 2-3 hours to get tired enough to crash. I am just thankful that Eric doesn't start school until Thursday. I really need his help with all the drama. And poor Lexi is now getting her 2 year molars. Ahhhh! Mommy is going to need a vacation after this summer, that's for sure!