Baby Shower for Lollipop!

Last weekend I went home to Cypress for the baby shower that my sister, Sarah, Lauren's friend, Katie, and I were throwing for my other sister, Lauren. Lauren grew up obsessed with frogs, so naturally, the shower was frog-themed! The picture above is of the diaper cake my mom and I made for Lauren. It was super easy (much easier to decorate than, say, an actual cake) and she'll get to use absolutely everything on there, minus some of the decorations small enough for a baby to swallow of course! The shower was a success. She raked in a lot of the things she really needs off of her registry. Her gift from Mom, Sarah, and me was a pack n' play. I love going home for events like that because they're exciting and I get to see all of my family and lots of family friends at the same time!

We also celebrated my dad's birthday while we were there. He absolutely loves having all of us home (Travis's absence was noted several times, though) - he beams the whole time! I love my family (and Travis's) and consider myself to be very blessed.

Lauren, Nanny, and Mom made the quilt for the crib.

Some of my favorite nights involve standing around the kitchen counter with the fam!

Our Home Improvement Project

Sorry it's been awhile since I posted last! Travis and I are currently renting a house with quite a large backyard, but we felt like we couldn't enjoy the actual yard much since the only patio was a narrow area next to the house. Our patio table fit, but it was a tight squeeze. We decided we wanted to put in a flagstone patio in the back of the house to add a little more room. The landlord agreed to pay for the flagstone, so we just put in the labor.

After a hectic summer, we finally got around to the project last Sunday. Our friend Nick, whom I work with, was nice enough to come help. We repaid him in the form of burgers, guacamole, and beer.

Before.

 After digging out the very, very hard dirt.

Tada!! After. (That's Nick.)

We're pleased with the results. Finished just in time for....Fall. We haven't had any freak snowstorms or cold fronts yet, so maybe we'll get to use it before Winter really starts.