Once Around the Sun.

Ezra is celebrating his first birthday today.

Happy birthday little man!

You certainly have changed since the day you were born.

You are such a handsome little boy.

I plan to write you a birthday letter every year on my blog.

So here goes:

October 18, 2013

My dear, little Ezra Emerson,

Happy 1st birthday! The day you were born my life changed - I felt such joy.

Joy I haven't felt since the days my children were born. (Aunt Alexandra, Uncle Joshua and, of course, your father, David) 

There are so many reasons I love you.

I love the way you "knock" on my bedroom door when you want to see me and play in my room.

I love the way you dance like a little robot when you hear music.

I love the way you think it's funny when people sneeze!

I love the way you put everything you can on your head like a hat.

I love the way you fuss for me when I leave the room -even though I'm sure it makes your parents crazy!

I love watching you learn - you're such a little sponge.

Those are just a few reasons. There are so many more Ezra!

As you get older remember that I will always be there for you.

No matter what.

Love always,

Mimi

So Busted.

I neglected to write about my run-in with the law.

 The fuzz.

 The coppers.

I got a warning ticket for speeding on my way to Dallas in September.

Going 70 mph in a 60 mph zone.

Yep. Apparently I'm a speed demon.

A real law breaker.

Trouble with a capital T.

The sheriff that pulled me over was very nice. He explained to me the speed limit changes that would take place on the rest of Highway 67 so I wouldn't have another encounter with law enforcement.

Guess he caught a glimpse at my lead foot.

But apparently my criminal behavior must make me look shady because my suitcase was inspected at the DFW airport.

Here is the undeniable proof that TSA inspected my bag.

Guess they have to tell you if they riffle through your underwear and socks.

Knot Tying.

David and Kelsey got married before the justice of the peace on August 9th.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. David De Los Santos!

Family.

I took photos of the family while I was in Minnesota.

Mom and Uncle Ralph.

Mom and Aunt Mary Jane.

Mom and Aunt Joady.

What would we do without family?

Punkin' Head.

 Ezra loves to put things on his head.

Of course he loves to put hats on his head.

But he's also been known to put other things on his noggin like a stuffed animal, a book, a  paper or even a small pot.

In the true spirit of Halloween Ezra decided to wear a pumpkin bucket on his head.

Nope, he can't see anything.

 But that's okay because he's got a pumpkin bucket on his head and that's how Ezra rolls.

Punkin head Ezra.

Funyons are Awesome.

The television series Breaking Bad came to an end a few weeks ago. I invited my friends Mary and Jason over to watch the final episode with me.

We drank blue margaritas.

And ate "Los Pollos Hermanos" fried chicken.

Mary made blue cupcakes with Breaking Bad logos.

We also ate Funyons because in the words of Jesse Pinkman "Funyons are awesome!"

And we gobbled up blue Oreos for good measure.

I wore my Heisenberg t-shirt and we had a fantastic Breaking Bad party.

I realize if you are reading this and you're not a Breaking Bad fan that none of this will make any sense at all.

Trust me. 

It's awesome.

Old Shutter on My Wall.

I found an old, wooden shutter at the thrift store several months ago and decided it would be a great mantel decor piece.

I took it home,roughed it up a bit and tried it on the mantel.

Not feeling it there. 

So it ended up in my bedroom where I hung it on the wall.

It's kind of beach-y and shabby chic-y.

Thoughts?

Going to the Chapel...

Meredith and Zane got engaged last weekend.

Nancy sent this photo of Meredith's bling-i-fied hand.

I don't have any of the nuptial details, but I'm pretty sure the reception will have a rustic country vibe going on - yee-haw!

Congratulations Meredith! Happy wedding planning!

Travels with My Peanut.

It's been over a month since the family convened in Minneapolis for Jim's wedding. I'm just now getting to the point where I have some time to do a few posts about my travels to and from Minnesota.

 I want to look back at this blog one day and remember the crazy trip Alex and I took. Not to torture myself, but rather to help me remember that things are so insignificant when you look at the grand scheme of life. We survived. No one died. The trip was still fun.

Alex and I arrived at the DFW airport at about 5:50 a.m. only to wait in line for so long to check-in our suitcase that we actually missed our flight on Spirit Airlines. Never heard of Spirit Airlines? Neither had we until we booked the tickets. Bad move.

So my resourceful daughter quickly booked a flight for us on Southwest Airlines...at 8:30 a.m....at the other airport in Dallas.

Yes, we had to wait for the shuttle to drive us back the parking lot where we left my car and drive across town to get to Love Field - about 20 miles from the DFW Airport. Factor in traffic and we were a bit nervous we would miss the Southwest flight too!

Crazy? Yes indeed.

But we made it and even had time to get some yummy coffee before we boarded our plane.

You never met two more giddy travelers! We were thrilled that we would get to Minnesota only a couple hours later than planned.

Sure it cost us a mere $1200 to book another flight, but we were on our way! 

In the sky. Eating peanuts and pretzels and enjoying each other's company.

Yes, they gave us peanuts and pretzels. I haven't gotten complimentary peanuts on a flight in years! Why didn't we book our flight with Southwest instead of Spirit You'll Never Get Where You're Going Airlines?

 My sweet traveling companion.

My Peanut with her peanuts!

Once we had our complimentary beverages and snacks and were settled into our seats, I saw this magazine stuffed in the pocket in front of me.

What the heck? Was Spirit Airlines mocking us? Tormenting us? Following us on our flight?

Weird, huh?

Of course we landed on time and all was well. 

Our return trip was uneventful as well.

We had time to take some photos in the airport before heading home to the big D.

This is a diaper bag vending machine. Loaded with pacifiers, sippy cups, diapers, baby food and toddler snacks. 

I mean how smart is that? Alex and I thought it was pretty awesome.

At one point I dumped my purse out to look for something and was amazed at all the stuff inside. I think I had four pair of glasses in my purse!

So, of course I took some photos.

Because that's what I do. I document the ordinary, everyday stuff that is my life with my camera.

And somehow it is makes my life not so ordinary.

A Day at the Park

David and I took little Ezra to the park the other night. I captured these images of Ezra walking.

There's nothing cuter.