Move Over Bob...

(the stroller)

Burley is back in town, and better than ever! And it's a good thing, because my backside is about to become Texas-sized from all the ice-cream and brownies we’ve been eating.

When we first moved here I was a little worried about rekindling my relationship with my bike, b/c I swear, there are no sidewalks in this state. But, If there is a will, there is a way...or at least a bikers right-of-way:)...

We’ve done a lot of exploring the last couple weeks and we’ve found some awesome mountain biking trails down the street, a great way to the grocery store (to reload on brownie mix), and a path to the park. I almost feel like we never left home (except we really miss riding down to Nana’s in the morning).

"Post It" Notes...

Dear Kimme: 17 days until you, Chris, and the kiddos cross the cold Canadian border for the state of bigger, better....and Beyonce;) I can’t wait for our two week long play-date!!!!!!!!

Dear Mom and Dad: Thanks for the surprise package. As you can see, James was tickled to stripes to have a new tiger “t”-(what he calls his blanky:)

Dear Erin: Thanks for going on a mommies date with me to the Cheesecake FactoryJ It was so nice to leave our kiddos with the hubbies, wear high heels, and have a night out on the town. Who knew tasty Thia Chicken, girl talk, and a trip to Forever 21 could make me feel like I was... well...21J

Dear Aunt Cheryl: Just thinking about you and hoping you are having a very Happy Hawaiian Birthday. Please wave to the waves for me, since I am going through serious trade wind withdrawals right now.

Dear Grandma and Grandpa Gregory: We are excited to see you soon too. We just got another guest bed so we will have plenty of room to relax with you and the twins. Oh, and thanks for having James’s daddy...It's been six years since we met, and I am still head over heels for the guy:)

Dear Katelyn: James is sending his love, and a vlog your way.

XOXO, Jessica

7:00 a.m. the usual morning line up...

We were watching Tangled with James awhile ago when John asked me if I feel like Rapunzel in this song. Mostly b/c I have lots of tangled hair to brush, the fact I make friends with chameleons (see previous post;), I can keep busy with random activities, and I was feeling a little restless that particular day.

I must admit, occasionally I get the “waiting for my life to begin feeling.” I am anxious to meet more mommies, my friends and family to come visit, and to have more babies come our way. But besides that, give me a few pots and pans, a paint brush, and my little man, and I am pretty much content at my casa...for now anyway. It helps I've already found my Flynn Rider:)

7:00 a.m. the usual morning line up

Make breakfast with lots of butter and ice-cream

Water the grass and flowers until they all perk up

Change James and by then it's like 7:15...

So we'll draw with chalk,

Watch Regis and Kelly

Sit and play games in the nursery

I'll cook, and dust,

clean and do laundry

Loving life with my little man...

Then after lunch it's errands, and naps, and bowling

Wallpaper removal and then to story time

Photography, call Kimme, and biking

Blog, maybe jog, begin this silly rhyme...

Then I’ll check facebook
if I have time to spare
I’ll wallpaper some more
There is so much to tear

And before John gets home

I'll hurry and brush my hair

Enjoying life with this little man:)

Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma Chameleon...

Despite my dislike for cockroaches encroaching in my kitchen... I find chameleons quite congenial (you can't be too picky for playdate pals when you're new in town:). So when we saw this little guy on our patio, we invited him to stay a while...

Dear little brothers, thank you for teaching me the art of catching reptiles:) I never knew how handy that would be until I saw how happy it made my little man.

Our new lizard friend gave us a wonderful demonstration on how he uses hue to hide. If only I could color my skin so effortlessly... I would save loads not having to buy my NARS bronzer:)

A little later we thanked him for the play-date and let him go his way, but not before we gave him a rub on his back... for good Chameleon karma:)

Bugged!

I can handle Houston's heat...my hair has adapted to the humidity (thanks to headbands)...and the horrible traffic can be avoided by taking toll roads. But cockroaches the size of a kumquat?!...I’m not so sure I will ever stop shuttering at the sight of these creepy crawling things!

Shhhh, It's a Secret...

Remember James and my secret spot we had in South Mountain? It was surrounded by a golf course, it had a view of the temple, and we always seemed to see wildlife. It was a place of solitude and peace and within walking distance of our house. I could go for a quick forty-five minute break, watch James play, and see the sun’s rising and setting rays.

Ever since we’ve moved I've been in search of our second secret spot, and over the weekend we found it. It is so similar to the first, when we came upon it my eyes began to water. Since sunshine does for my soul what herbal essence does for the hair (in the commercial anyway;) here is our Sunday walk in snapshot retrospect...

Here are the mossy oak trees that I love here in the South. They remind me of Gone with the Wind.

This place used to be a golf course that was about to be turned into condos. Then the city took a stand and seized it for open space. Praise the neighbors and the people at the parks and rec for giving my little man a place to play.

I love having Moroni as a next door neighbor again:)

This friendly critter looks like a fellow cougars fan. Sort of ironic since we sorta stunk against the Longhorns:)

Secret spot...check. Now if I could just find a hair stylist:)

Three Rounds of Company...

Lucky for us, all pains of homesickness have been thwarted by having a full house. James is getting so used to having visitors, that the first thing he does when he wakes up is charge into the guest room in search of a new friend. Lately, he loves looking at the blog too, so even though I haven’t been the best at taking pictures of all our fun, here is a little post to jog James’s memory of some familiar family faces...

John's Uncle Terry and Aunt Lidia came to stay from Dallas.

Lidia gave me my second course in cooking like a Texanista.

Echiladas, beans, and rice will now be a staple for all visitors to the Gregory hacienda.

And french toast, for a little Down family flare:)

My mom and dad spontaneously came out for dinner and an overnighter. It was fabulous to show them our new house. It was short, but ahh so sweet!

John's brother, Tim, and wife Catie came out too. John made Tim earn his keep by having him pump 20 bags of insulation in our attic in 107 degree weather...B/c, what else are little brothers for? J/k... A big THANKS to Tim for helping make our HVAC bills loads lighter.

My hubby hard at work. This is when I am more than happy to be making enchiladas for the men in a cool kitchen.

Catie is carrying James's next cousin. Maddy will make her debut in less than two months!

Don't worry, it wasn't all work while they were here. We showed them a good time at the zoo too.

We'll that's a wrap on what we've been up too. That and decorating...and redecorating...and of course trying to stay cool:)

I went for the less cluttered version, in-case you care;)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. XOXO, Jess