Audra's Wonderland!

So you know the saying that children grow up in a flash? We it is true. I feel like Audra is growing up way to fast. She will be FOUR in less than 2 months. It seems like yesterday, she was just learning to walk.... but enough about my whining. Audra has had a lot of exciting things happen lately, and I thought it would fun every once in awhile give a glimpse into her world. She is the most amazing little girl and cracks me up on a daily basis! 

Audra loves to try new things. We thought it would be fun to put her in a some type of league and of course Ryan wanted her to try soccer. Audra was excited about the concept of soccer. It was fun to watch her progress throughout the season. She went from being the goalie (read as: playing in net and dirt) to actually wanting to run after the ball. She never scored a goal, but by the end of the season she stayed with the herd and ran towards the ball.  Maybe we will wait a couple more years before we sign her up again. 

Favorite highlight of the season was the last game. I told Audra to make sure to give her coach a hug and tell him thank you because we may not see him again.  She walked over and gave him the biggest puppy dog eyes and with the most layered dramatic voice said, " I just thought you should know we will never see each other again, goodbye..." and walked away. Oh boy, I wonder where she got her drama queen attitude.

Her coach!

Whether she was the best or not, She was definitely the CUTEST! 

Oh yeah, She did stop playing in the dirt to pose for pictures! :)

Audra finished her first year of preschool. She had a fabulous teacher! She learned to write her name, letters, and recognize some spanish. 

This year we are going to start homeschooling. I am very excited! 

Audra got her first BFF necklace. Our friends came up from San Antonio and brought her a set of, get this, soccer BFF necklaces. They made Audra promise to give it to one of her BESTEST, BESTEST friends. She choose to give it to her little friend Abagail. They were so cute and happy wearing them.

(that yellow stuff is gum, not a massive cap or something)

Last major thing going on in her life is she started Ballet. It is right up her ally and she fit right in her first class. She loved it and has been begging me to take her every day. The other night as we were saying our nightly prayers she said, "God, I just pray that you will help miss Stacy teach me all she knows. Help me learn tap and ballet and be able to dance forever". How precious is that.

Could only take a picture through crack in the window and curtain

After her first class she showed me her own moves. 

Lastly, I just wanted to share the cutest story. Audra is so excited about her new baby brother Adiah. She will sit on my lap and talk to him at least once a day. One night she was talking to him, and called him bubbie. She looked at me embarrassed and I told her it was ok and asked if that was what she wanted to nickname her brother. She shook her head yes. 

Me- "Well if he is bubbie, what will he call you?" 

Audra (thinking hard)- "He will call me Star."

Me (surprised) - "Oh, Don't you want to be called sis, sissy, or sister. Something like that"

Audra (very a matter a factly)- "No, Just starlet. He will like to call me that"

So that past few weeks she has told everyone she will be called starlet. How funny. Sometimes I wonder how she comes up with this stuff. 

 I hope everyone is having a great summer. I know I have been enjoying Ryan's small break. This week should be extra busy and fun. We are heading over to New Orleans and I am so excited.  Family Vacation 2011, here we come! :)

Special Moment and a Surprise!!!

I am so thankful to have my Hubby back! It has been an awesome past few days. It is funny how quickly it seems to be weeks ago I was going to bed alone or hardly seeing Ryan. We kicked off our summer by going to Belton Lake with Ryan's family. We do it every year and it is always fun. 

We got back yesterday and quickly did the unpacking and normal clean up that goes with leaving out of town. Ryan decided to wash the truck and asked Audra to come help, of course anything having to do with swimsuit and water Audra is completely ready and does not even think twice. So I quickly helped her into her swim suit and sent her out the door. Then I grabbed my camera and went outside to witness the sweetest of moments. 

Some people may not think washing the car is all that special, but I have some of the fondest memories washing cars with my Dad. I will always hold them dear and I am sure Audra will do the same. First off, when a dad asks their little daughter to help they KNOW it will not be as quick, efficient, or easy as if they just did it by themselves. Ryan had to spray over areas three to four times because Audra decided she "needed" to wash it again after they had moved on, but Ryan did it to spend time with her. Most importantly make memories. I was just happy to be able to watch and laugh at the experience! 

Here are a few of the pictures I got!

Of course what is washing the car without spraying daddy! 

And of course there was retaliation. Audra kept running back to get sprayed again. 

Also, I would like to say a quick Father's Day to my wonderful husband! He is amazing and I admire him so much! We took a picture this morning before we went to church!

Lastly, we got a great surprise on Thursday. We got to see our little Incledon again. We got the best present and Father's Day gift by seeing Baby and....

We are having a BOY! YAY! Meet baby Adaiah Allen Incledon!
 (Pronounced A-dye-ah: hebrew meaning adornment of God)

That is all I have for now, but I hope everyone is having a restful Sunday and Father's Day! 

Admiration

Admiration, Esteem, Respect.... all of these words describe my feelings towards Ryan today. He is on his way to take his second Medical Comlex Board test and I cannot explain how proud I feel as his wife. He has worked and studied hard for hours upon hours. He left this morning ready to be done with this season, and I would be lying if I didn't admit I am excited and ready to be over with it too.

 It wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be though. Ryan did make more time then I had hoped for us during these past few months, which was a bonus. How he balanced studying and family so well; I am not exactly positive other than the circles under his eyes pretty much explain it all.

If I could go back to when Ryan was accepted into medical school two years ago; I would definitely not have worried or been anxious about the situation. Looking back at how much we have grown as a couple and family is amazing. It is funny how God has the most perfect plan for our lives and we worry (or at least I do). God put us exactly where we need to be and it has been proven time after time again. I am so happy that God doesn't give us what we want all the time. HE is patient with us so that we are able to catch glimpses of what his purpose and plan is for us.

 I just want all our friends and family to know how much it has meant to us to have your prayers, encouraging words, and invitations to just come for a quick meal and relax a couple hours. Those days when I was seriously tired of being by myself in the house and you called or texted for Audra and I to hang out meant more then you will know. All of you guys made this journey and season so much easier. We love you all!

Today, Ryan left a second year medical student, and he is going to come home a third year medical student. Praise the Lord! I am excited for this new chapter and all he has worked and accomplished these past two years. Tonight we are for SURE partying!

Burgers Lake! (No, it is not a lake full of burgers)

So yesterday my husband took his first Step One Medical Board test (he still has one more next wednesday). Which in other words translates into: I have seen him only at glances and mainly in bed snoring the past two months. As a break and reward for finishing his 8 hour long, most important test of his life he decided to take today off. 

Now as medical students, believe me, we are for sure not rolling in the dough.... we are rolling in student loans and interest so our "fun" is limited to cheap or free. So I was the one put to the task to come up with something for us to do as a family. 

I found this little spring fed lake literally only few miles away from our house. How have we lived here for two years and not even heard about this place. It looked amazing on the website and Ryan was

excited to go check it out. Our neighbor/ med school buddies were free and glad to come check it out with us. 

We packed an ice cooler of drinks and food and headed on down to Burger's Lake! When we got there we were not disappointed. There was sand, diving boards, water slides, a trapeze, and water mushrooms/squirters everywhere. We are going to definitely keep it on our to do list for the future. The best part though was getting to spend time with friends and my husband.  

Here are some pictures of the day!

My Hubby!

My girl!

Burried Alive

Me and My Friend Tiffany

The Hilton twins. They were perfect and LOVED the water!

Daddy's girls!



All of their faces are priceless!



My Hott Hubby Showing Off!

The girls having a blast!


I hope everyone is having a great Friday and getting to kick off their weekend with fun!  I know I did! 

My Garden!

This year I decided to try something new... Gardening! I knew this year would be a trial year and mainly for fun. I am pleasantly surprised and excited to say that I think my garden is a success! 

The hard part was tilling the area I wanted to plant and coming up with a barrier between the plants and our dogs. The barrier was easy to come up with and Ryan built a wood box around the outside of the fence to help keep the grass out. The tilling... NOT so much. I decided to hand till it with a little metal twisty thing. It was a small enough area and should be easy, right? Yeah, If getting honey from a nest of killer bees is easy. Who knew that Texas ground was a centimeter dirt and a thousand inches pure rock? It was crazy. We dumped over 5 buckets full of rocks and that was only doing about 4 to 5 inches into the ground.... talk about hard labor. 

The fun part was coming up with what I wanted to plant. I decided to plant snap peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers. I started a small herb garden as well. I planted about 6 different kinds, but  only three that have came up and grew were cilantro, green onions, and basil. So far I have got almost two baskets full of tomatoes and a complete season of snap peas. My cucumbers and bell peppers are almost ready to be picked. I am very proud of my little, first time garden! Hopefully each year it will get better! 

Some pictures of the garden! 

My big helper!

Area staked out!

My helper doing what she liked, finding worms!

Red bell pepper almost changed color completely!

tomatoes!

My huge cucumber!