A great surprise!

While I was running errands one day, my mom was being sneaky at the airport, picking up my friend Cassie (and her son Liam) who came to surprise us!  We hadn't seen them since they left Busan two months prior, and we honestly thought it would be a while, at least a year, before we'd see them again.

As I was cleaning up at the house, Talton came upstairs and said my mom needed my help with something downstairs.  Here is the sequence of pictures that shows me seeing Cassie for the first time...standing in my mom's kitchen IN TEXAS!

When I rounded the corner, I saw my mom standing there with a camera, so I started looking around as to why she would be taking a picture when I thought I was suppose to be helping her with something.  That's when I saw Cassie!

complete...

...and utter shock...

...to see her face!

I was so shocked I couldn't even move.  I just stood there covering my mouth with huge eyes and a smile to match.  :)

I cried because I was so happy to see her.  I really and truly thought it was going to be a long while before I saw her again. 

"How did you do this?  How long have you had it planned?  When we talked the other day and you asked what I was doing this weekend, I didn't have a clue!"

Poor Liam was sleepy from traveling across the country to come see us.

But it didn't take too much convincing to get them all in swim suits and outside to play!

While Cassie was in Houston with us, we did quite a bit of stuff to show her around our city and home.  Aside from finding a real cowboy to take a picture with  :) , we did our best to show Cassie a good time.

We also introduced her to the "kolache".  :)

And there was no way I was letting her leave without having Shipley's Donuts.  :)

Of course we had to take her for real BBQ.

And then there's Mexican food.  We had that TWICE.  :)  (We were so hungry and it was so good that I don't even have pictures from Pappasitos!)

 We took the kids to play at our house in the backyard.  Man, every time I go to our house, I miss it.  It is seriously the number one thing I miss the most in Houston.  I can't wait to get back there and live in it again.  There's no place like home, right?  :)

We also made a trip to Monkey Joe's to let the kids get some play time and get some of that tornado-like energy out.

This video of Connar still cracks me up:

And when it was time for Cassie and Liam to go back to Virginia, we tried to take a group shot for memory's sake.  You see how well that went...  :)

Us looking at each other while saying, "This is about right."  :)  For all the moms out there, doesn't this look familiar...The mommies holding a conversation, and even smiling!, while the kids go crazy around you?  Tis the life, I guess.  So funny!

Thank you, Cassie, for taking time out of your life and away from your sweet Greenlee (who I missed seeing but understand she had way more fun spending so much time with her cousin) to come see us in the good ole state of Texas.  We loved having you, seeing you, laughing with you, having you around our family, and making new memories with you.  My family now understands how I was so blessed that we were in Busan at the same time, and I'm so happy that you loved my crazy, wonderful family too.  Until next time, see you later (never goodbye)... xoxo
 

their 1st movie in a theater!

We took the boys to see their very first movie in a theater!

We figured Connar could sit through a movie, but weren't so sure about Parker.  We decided to give it a shot anyway, because you never know until you try, right?  :)

A few days leading up to this, I tried to prep Connar for what you do at the movies: pick a movie, get candy/drinks/popcorn, and sit in a big room with a really big TV screen to watch the movie.

We decided on "Despicable Me 2" since we all loved the first movie and Parker gets a kick out of those little minions' silly voices and antics (hoping they would keep him entertained)!

Next up on "what you do at the movies" to do list was get candy/drinks/popcorn.  :)

 He loved being able to pick out his own candy.  :)  Sour Skittles it was.

We got there not too long before the previews began.  Parker tuned out during the first preview because it wasn't kid related so they lost him there.  To keep him in his chair, I had to pull out my secret weapon, the iPad, to keep him seated.  I turned the brightness wayyyyy down, along with the volume, and let him watch Thomas the Train until he was interested enough in the actual movie where I could reach over and turn it off.

 After the movie was over, there was no sneaking by the video games, so we gave the boys a few minutes to explore.

 

 

Although Parker did a pretty good job (he did sit in his chair for the entire movie, people!), I think we'll wait a little bit longer before taking him back for another movie theater experience.  Connar, on the other hand, will be making another appearance at the theater on the sooner side.  :)

I was so happy that Talton was able to join the boys for their first movie in the theater.  Love when we get to experience things as a family and make memories together!  :)

P.S. - Thank you to my awesome mom who accompanied us on this venture (and many others, such as the recent zoo trip) and took pictures for me.  It's nice to be in the pictures every once in a while...it makes it look like I'm actually there.  ;)

I love the zoo!

I seriously love the zoo.  I don't know what it is about the zoo that makes me love it so, but I really do enjoy going there.  Most of the time it's really hot (and really stinky from the animals), but I don't care.  Now that my boys enjoy the zoo too, I look forward to getting zoo memberships when we move back to Houston.

It was at about this point when Parker started to lose his cool.  I think he just wasn't feeling well that day, but it never showed until this point when we were already at the zoo.  For most of the remainder of our zoo visit, this is where he was...on my shoulder.

Connar was making sure there was glass between us and the crocodile before turning around to smile for a picture.

Connar sat on the snake on the carousel, because we just bought him a long, plastic snake from the gift shop.  :)

So I convinced Parker to sit on the carousel, but that didn't last too long.

Soon he was leaning onto me and...

 ...then he was in my arms again in no time.

 :)

The sky was about to open up on us, so we decided to call it a day....but not before grabbing Connar some promised cotton candy.  :)

We can't wait to go back to the zoo!!