Happy Valentine's Day!!

A day of all things red and pink!! Hearts everywhere!! ...Oh, and roses that are wicked expensive. Minor detail!

I just love my Valentines! My family, the beast, and the boy are spectacular Valentines!!

Plus, who wants flowers that wilt when you get the most precious set of apothecary jars (filled with sweet treats), a pretty blue running top, and a heart rate monitor for the Garmin??!?!?!

Yep, I'm smitten!

But, if you still like the flowers, then here's a stunning yellow long stem rose for Y.O.U!

xoxo
...a wink and a smile...

2010 Recap, Texas Style

I love Texas. There's really no doubt in my mind that this is the best state, and if you don't agree then you're missing out. My first ever flower given to me was a yellow rose, thanks Dad!! I am a yellow rose, through and through. I think the Texas flag is stunning, and I could go on and on about how great this state truly is but I'll save you the paragraphs and paragraphs of typing. So to recap 2010, I'm putting up a few of my favorite pictures I've taken around this great state. Can't wait to see what pictures I snap in 2011!

These boots were made for walkin'...

...a wink and a smile...

ZACHARY COLTON, in action!

Here's Ryan with the big announcement! ZACHARY IS HERE!!!!
Please note: The videos were short because the camera battery was dying. Oops! Also, the crazy filming at the end was me trying to grab my stuff as quick as possible so I could grab every precious second with ZACHARY!!

Next up, here he is!!!! Checking out his family for the first time :)


Enjoy!



...a wink and a smile...

ZACHARY COLTON

HERE HE IS!!!!!!!!!! The sweetest little baby boy...

In his Mommy's arms...
Look at those little feetsies...oh dear heavens I'm in love
Proud Daddy, have you ever seen him happier???
The new Grandmas! This little boy will most certainly be overwhelmed with love!
Introducing Gimmie... and the legend continues :)
Hello happy boy!! Do you know how much I love you???? I've been praying for you for SO, SO, SO long, and I will continue to pray for you little man. You are and will continue to be an absolute blessing in all of our lives! And just wait!! We're going to have so much fun together! I think I should teach you how to play sports, I tend to be better in that area than your daddy, hehe! Just kidding! ;)
Oh my goodness, you're little faces melt my heart....
This is your....hmmm...yet-to-be named grandpa. Oh, but don't call him grandpa, he's not a fan. I think you should call him Pop, or Popples, perhaps PopPop D (like PopPopR, for those who may not have caught on too quickly)....both legends in the family :)
This is your family little man!!! Your mommy and daddy! They will pray for you, love you, put kisses and bandaids on your cuts and scrapes, hug you every day, hurt when you hurt, smile when you smile, and love you with a love that will amaze you for the rest of your life! You can count on them for anything and everything....as well as your aunt Shane! :) Most importantly, they, with the help of everyone else, will introduce you and encourage you to embrace the greatest love of all!!!

The happy family!! The first family picture! :)
Look at that smile! Girl finally got some food, unfortunately vending machine food, but she wasn't complaining!
Little man gets his first checkup! His legs were going absolutely crazy! Definitely need Jared to teach Zachary how to kick a football!

Those feet, they're tiny, I love them, it makes me happy.
Definitely NOT the end! Videos to come...



...a wink and a smile...

BAAAAAABBBYYYYY TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!!!!!!!

That's "Baby Time" for you folks who do not enjoy shouting/singing (ok more shouting) in excitement at the top of your lungs! My favorite brother called me this morning to announce that today was the day. Kellie is at the hospital all ready to go and we are literally now hours away from Wiggles Patrick making his/her debut!!! I'm thrilled beyond belief and can't wait to see this little nugget! I planned to get a lot done today, but I'm sure my excitement will overtake me and I'll be one useless sack of potatoes. I'll just do laundry, try to conquer the cardio module, and sit like a ninja waiting for updates. Yea, I have no idea what it means to sit like a ninja, but it popped in my head and was typed out.

Daydreaming about babies....

Pretty sure Charlie is going to receive an insane amount of lovin' today! He's my baby for now. Since no pictures of baby P just yet, here's B taking a cruise in the fire truck! Look closely, he's waving at you!!Sorry folks, no baby from me for a LOOOOOOONNNGG time. Just means all my lovin' to my nieces and nephews!! Woohooo!!

And that's the way the cookie crumbles! (Name that movie)



...a wink and a smile...

Lovin' the Lake

About time for an update, why not Memorial Day weekend! It was a phenomenal weekend at the lake. Mom had a good weekend relaxing to the absolute max, if you currently know what's going on then you'll know what I mean. Dad actually had part of a weekend to take a break from his insane schedule. Me, well I took a break from school and enjoyed the grass between my toes, the amazing rain showers, and fishing! Look at this view... Just gorgeous! It really was a lovely weekend, and I can't wait to get back up there! Next time we may be packing it up. Now that will be interesting, and quite a task. Oh dear. We'd need a garage sale on steroids for that house. Oh and welcome to hurricane season friends! Can't mention the lake without thinking about hurricane season. Hunker down!!! Ha! I'm so sorry but if you were here in Houston during the last hurricane season then you should be laughing with me right now. That's pretty much the only advice they had for us, HUNKER DOWN! If I told you who used that phrase over and over and over again, I might get lost on a different topic, so I'll refrain.

Next up, fishing. How I have loved this pastime/sport. Actually, it may have been before then. I was such a little boy growing up. With a name like Shane I guess it was inevitable. I loved playing in the dirt, collecting little frogs in the ditch behind the baseball fields, I cried when they told me I couldn't play baseball with the boys, I loved summer trips to Alabama and roughing it outside with my two cousins (both boys), and of course, fishing. Fishing will always have great memories attached to it. I fished with Pop and can remember begging him go out with me. We'd sit out on the bridge or anywhere, and the world as I knew it was absolutely perfect. Also, fishing trips with Gimmie pretty much every weekend we could make a run down to Galveston. That was probably the only time I didn't mind waking up early. [Not to brag or anything, (knock on wood) but I've never been seasick in my life. Gim was pretty good about that as well but one time I can remember it was me and three other people at the front of the boat, hanging on as the boat would rise up and then crash back down, while everyone else was inside laying on the floor and in the bathroom. And let's just say, they weren't enjoying themselves.] Anyway, fishing contests, trips, lakes, whatever it was all fun!! This was me in my happy place over the holiday weekend. Oh it wasn't just me fishing! There might have been an audience as well... notice the little guy too, it's like Where's Waldo. A lovely weekend and a perfect way to welcome summer 2010! Next post, food! I've tried a TON of new recipes but keep forgetting to take pictures and type up some updates. Hopefully I'll get better!


...a wink and a smile...

Birthdays and Business

Fancy meeting you on here!

Time for an update, but first I must apologize on the food promise. Here's the funny thing, I've been trying out a TON of new recipes but I always forget to take a picture. I'd like to blame it on my taste-tester. For him, when food is ready, it must be eaten, no time for pictures. I'm going to work on being better at the picture part, but the new recipe challenge has been a blast. Back to updates, Dad celebrated a big birthday where mom and I so cleverly decorated it black and yellow and stuck with a corvette theme. Dad longingly dreams of owning a corvette one day, and after his birthday he will still have to continue to dream. Sorry Dad! He did get a yellow corvette cake though! If you didn't hear about our cake fiasco, well then consider yourself lucky. What an ordeal for that cake, but it was very much worth it! An absolutely wonderful day with family and friends to celebrate DAD! Here's a picture of Gig helping with the decorations, she was crucial to the entire process and I couldn't resist snapping a picture of her in action. Don't you love the decorations?? I personally feel Sandra Lee from Semi-Homemade would love my tablescape :) Next up, trip to NYC for Dad's interview on the Huckabee show! Who so graciously offered to accompany him on his trip, ME! It was an unforgettable father-daughter trip, and I will treasure those memories forever! We packed so much into the trip including a Yankees game, yummy deli food, trip to the top of the Empire state building, a nice dinner before our Broadway play, and of course the Huckabee show! I hope you all were able to see the interview. I was so proud of Dad, he really knocked this one out of the park! Not that I doubted it for one second! If you want to check out what Dad's been up to lately, click here! Love you all!


...a wink and a smile...