Birthday Bounce House Fun

A couple days after her birthday...and just in time for my arrival to the Valley, we celebrated Miss Addison's 3rd birthday with a trip to Bounce in McAllen.  Although fully acclimated to her very own Bounce Castle...it took her...ohhhhhhh...about a MINUTE to weeny out of playing with the other kids at her very own party.  :)  We call it Stage Fright.  ;)  We had fun nonetheless and she seemed to come around right around pizza time.  :)

Seemingly ok upon arrival..

Starting to look a little worried as more and more people arrived... :)

Maybe just a little fun with Dad and Aunt Yvette...

Or maybe not.. lol..

Super sad face with Grandpa...

Hanging out with her pinata Dora...

(Sorry Dora but you have NO IDEA what's coming your way later on...)

The kiddos watching the ADULTS have a little Bounce fun.  :)

Velcro Suits?  Check!

Matt and Norma seeing who can go higher! 

Having some issues Norma?? 

That face says it all!

Next up?

Norma trying it again... lol

Matt and Marissa's sweet daughter Gabby

Now how the hell do you get down?!

I think the adults had more fun than the kids did..

My sweet pops.  :)

My brother getting in on the action

Edgar flying HIGH!

Pizza time

Nooooooowwww we're happy again :)

About to sing Happy Birthday to Miss Addison

Family Smiles..

She did surprisingly well considering she cried the ENTIRE time they sang to her last year.. 

Poor Dora...

Addie taking her swings at the pinata. 

See Dora... you should've known something was up when you came with a STICK!

hahahaha.. Nooooo Addie didn't do this herself.. :)

Addie's up again... Why aren't kids traumatized by this?!

Maybe it's the candy that overshadows the fact that their beloved Dora just got WHACKED!

Filling her cup with Papo, Christi's dad

What's left after the vultures attacked. ;)

Scavenging for goods..

Miranda and Bella

Happy Birthday Little One!

Next Round 'O Fun:  Trial Runs...Boys vs. Girls!

Edgars time??  Tooo Slow!

Omar's next..

Photo Finish!

Showing off his battle scars ;)

This old man can't hang with the young kids anymore..

Addie and her mama Christi. 

Girls are next..

Don't even remember who won... lol..

After all was said and done at Bounce... we headed to my brothers house to open presents!

Aunt Yvette's and Uncle Chad's present first!

Ni Hao Kailan

Excited about Dora

and Rapunzel...who she hasn't stopped talking about

Pointing out all the Tinkerbell Characters

Gabby and Sophia come to join in on the Bounce Castle fun

Getting the hang of it..

Awww.. all the girls playing together..

Matt and Marissa trying to get Sophia to come to them... Super CUTE!

Weekend in the Valley - Part II

Aside from the usual "making-our-way-around-town" activities that usually come with my visits to the valley... for groceries...to visit my grandmother...to run the necessary errands for whatever particular event we are having that weekend... (in this case prepping for Addie's Bday Bash the following day).. it was a calm day.  The only major accomplishment we crossed off our list was getting Addie used to her new bounce castle (which my brother conveniently put INSIDE the house)!  Awesome that we didn't have to be outside in the crazy Valley heat... Bad for being the LOUDEST thing you could put inside a house without causing permanent hearing damage.  :)  Nevertheless, we all survived and Addie had a blast.  :)  Success!

Weekend in the Valley - Part I

I have to admit that everytime I get ready for a trip to the Valley to see the family... I'm happy, yet sad.  Most often, Chad doesn't get to go home with me and most often, I try to make my trip down there count...taking as much time off of work as I possibly can (thank goodness for our usual half day Fridays!).  This time, not really thinking and probably due to the price of the flight, I scheduled myself to leave bright and early Thursday morning... not remembering that this was Chad's usual Thursday off.  What theeee...?!  Wa-wa-waaaaaaa....

With the schedule set in stone, I quickly realized that just meant that I'd get MORE time with the little one once I got home...who come to think of it, isn't so little anymore :)

Dallas to Harlingen - 10am

After a pretty uneventful plane ride (thank you sweet baby Jesus!) I was rewarded with THIS sweet face who told me the name of the plane I had come to visit her in! (Note to self:  I still haven't figured out this whole YouTube thing so this video is unedited...)

Sweet Addison Grace

Happy 3rd Birthday Miss Addison Grace

I can't believe it's been THREE years since this little one came into the world.  She's not even MINE and I can still remember every single detail about that day.  She's growing up to be such a spit-fire...every day reaching milestones and every day making me miss her more and more.  Thankfully, Christi (her mom and my sister-in-law) does a great job about keeping me in the loop with her life in the valley. 

Aunt Yvette and Uncle Chad love you Sweet Pea :)

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Easter 2011 - Beauty & the Beast at the Bass

I love that the time that Chad and I have together... we actually SPEND together.  Especially Sundays.  No distractions.  No television.  No time with separate friends.  No individual sports watching.  No "you do this and I'll do that, and I'll see you later tonight"- type thing.I'm sure that seems odd to some people... hell, it probably sounds odd to MOST people out there....but with Chad's crazy restaurant schedule, Sunday is OUR day.  Our day to explore the city, take in an event, hang out with our mutual friends, eat a nice dinner or just be alone together.  We obviously have the luxury of minimal distractions without kids right now... but I'm sure that even when our bambinos come along, this will still be Kelley Family Day ;).  This Easter Sunday was no exception.  With a visit to the valley in the works for this next weekend, for Addie's 3rd birthday (I STILL can't believe how fast that little one is growing up!), Chad and I planned our own little Easter celebration in Dallas.. Well actually, Ft. Worth to see Beauty and the Beast at the Bass Performance Hall.  It was AWESOME! 

View of Bass Hall from the parking garage. 

Instagram photo application at it again.  I love how simple Iphone pictures can be transformed so quickly and easily into something cool.  I'm gonna have to stop relying on my phone though and remind myself of our pretty awesome Canon handheld thats ALWAYS in my purse.  ;) 

An early dinner at Reata before the show.  :)

Reata - Ft. Worth Restaurant

Specializing in Southwestern cuisine, located in Sundance Square

A little vino to start things off..

Treana - Marsanne Viognier (one of my new favorites)

Just a teaser picture of all the incredible food we had.

The portions were ridiculous and we left there barely able to move..but soooo worth every yummy bite! ;)

Bass Hall Exterior

Bass Interior Dome above our seats..

Beauty and the Beast - Program

Perks of a Chef's Wife :)

So... it goes without saying that I'm one hell of a lucky wife being married to a bonafide chef.  Not many people can eat the delicious food that I eat as often as I get to eat it.  And for that, I'm blessed.  This whole-y body is blessed and I'm perfectly content (read: SMELLING food makes me gain weight) with having to workout like hell everyday (read: it does NOTHING, I'm still gaining weight because my metabolism SUCKS!!) for the rest of my life to keep eating the things I do.  ;)  it's a perk you see...and I'm willing to embrace it.  ;)

Tonight some of the ladies in my office joined me to do a first run of the newest Spring and Summer items on The Moth menu .  :)  It was a treat to not only get the best seat in the house (overlooking the kitchen and my hottie husband doing his thing) but to be amongst a fabulous group of women.  Fabulous food, fabulous atmosphere and fabulous company.  What could be better?! 

A little beer bubbly to start the night off...

Yup that's right.. a BEER CHAMPAGNE... who knew?!

Fabulous Instagram Application Fun :)

Here's my newest Iphone application in use to document some of the tasty treats we had.  (I've added a few "normal" photo versions of some of the dishes for those not into the Instagram thing.. ) 

Shrimp and Grits with Jalepeno gravy...

Not a new item...just a MUST item for the newbie at the table. 

Always a HIT amongst the crowd.  :)

Carribbean Spiced Chicken with a Banana Ketchup

Heirloom tomato stuffed with a tasty crab salad on top of Israeli couscous

Creamy Risotto with sliced asparagus, peas and preserved lemon

Green beans, carrots and asparagus veggies topped with a garlic like viniagrette

Mexicali creamed style corn topped with a cotija cheese crust

Sweet Texas Skies.. :)

I'm not exactly sure why...but over the course of this last year, I've noticed an INCREDIBLE amount of truly breath-taking sunrises and sunsets.  Like, almost an UNUSUAL amount of beautiful sunrises and sunsets.  Have I really been missing out on these magical events these past 30 years!?  It is LOVE in the air that has made the skies bluer and the sunsets just spectacular??  CHEESE and super salty crackers, I know!!..  Sorry Chad, I HAVE, in fact, discovered a new lease on life since meeting you..but surely that's not why all of a sudden I'm noticing the most glorious skies I've ever seen !  Surely I've just been living in a hole or something... lol.  Regardless, I'm thankful for seeing them now and doubly thankful for having an incredible phone camera to capture it all on my walks with Macie or while driving to work each morning.  (Ssssshhhh... I'm a safe driver...I promise, I only snap pictures when stopped at red lights.. ;) 

And a shout out to my sweet friend Lori Wilson for her own love of beautiful Texas sunsets!  Lori Wilson's Blog - Why I love Texas


Just a few more reasons to love Texas.