What a fish story!

Well, as some of you know, back in Texas we had a tank full of fish. Unfortunately, with our move, we couldn't possibly keep them. After trying to give them away (ugh, Leann & Carrie) we decided to give them back to Polly's Pet Shop.

Well now that we are in our new home we decided to set up the tank again and get some new fish. Last week, we went out to Petsmart. They had a large selection of fish and we decided on 6 new ones.

We brought them home and went through all the set up like we've done in the past. Little did we know that within an hour two had already bit the dust! What??? Yep, they were goners!

By morning three more had passed onto fish heaven!

We couldn't believe it! This hadn't happend to us before. One lone survivor was left.

I took the fish back (while Abby was at "school") and was offered a full refund. I picked some other fish and prayed for the best.

Abby noticed her fish were missing and that these were new ones. She is very observant about things and I told her they were "sick" and I had to take them back to the store.

Later that night, during her nightly prayers, Abby said an extra prayer for her fish. I think it worked..they are still alive!!!

The "original" six...gotta look hard but they are there!

SNOW

Snow! Yep that's right...we had a winter wonderland right in our neighborhood! Abby and I woke up to a beautiful snowfall and immediately went out to play. This is what it looked like when I went out first thing.

View from Abby's room!

So beautiful!

Abby and I proceed to go outside after getting all bundled up! I figured more kids would be out but it was only us for quite some time. Abby didn't know what to do at first but she made her first snowball!

Then she wanted to make a snowman so we started building. We had quite a bit of snow and I was amazed at how pretty it was. I hadn't seen snow myself since I was about 11 years old. This was as much fun for me as it was for Abby!

Of course Abby wanted to "taste" the snow! She couldn't get enough of it and kept saying, "yummy in my tummy!" She had me taste it too and hey, it was like shaved ice..just wanted to add my favorite flavor!

After tasting the snow we decided it would be fun to make snow angels. Abby knew what those were and immediately laid down in the snow. It was so cute seeing her make her snow angels! She was having a blast and so was I. I laid down next to her and started making my own angels. What a fun and sweet moment we shared!

Hi!


After going back and forth between making snow angels and building our snowman he was finally complete. We had to make some adjustments to his facial features but in all he turned out quite cute!

Abby and her snowman



After our snowman adventure we started making some more snowballs. This was a GIANT one that Abby wanted me to make! It's about as big as her head!

Super girl!

Catching her in the moment...a fave pic of the bunch!

Our little snow angel!

A video of Abby experiencing the snow after I picked her up from MDO!

Here is Abby making her "snow angel"...I so love this video!

More fun playing in the snow before we head back inside...an hour later!

Valentine's Day

Abby was ready for her Valentine's party last week. At first, we weren't sure if she was going to go to school since the snow was starting to fall but she made it! She was very excited and we spent the previous evening making her valentine goodies for her classmates.

Of course she then came home with all this candy that she will never eat. That's why when we made her goodies bags we included fruit snacks, teddy grahams, and a mini play-doh jar. I still get that weird look from some friends/moms when I tell them that Abby doesn't eat any candy.

Anyways, it was a fun day for her and she especially loved seeing the snow fall when I went to pick her up. :)

In case you were wondering what Dan and I did for Valentine's day....stayed in! We grilled some ribeyes, had baked potatoes and a salad. It was yummy and it was nice having a family dinner at home!

Our little love bug!

Getting ready for her party!

Kids say the darnest things...

I posted this on our playgroup's website and I just have to post it here too!

Our question of the day was:

Tell a funny story about yourself/child that will make everyone laugh. We all need laughter in our lives! :)

One time while Abby and I were out shopping at the mall I had to go to the restroom. We both went into the restroom stall and a lady went into the one next to us. The next thing I knew the lady had bad gas and must of had a stomach bug. Abby yelled, "that's a lot of toots Mommy!" then she proceeded with, "ewwww, what's that smell!" LOL, I about died but had to hold in my laughter. I know the lady next door heard her and probably everyone else who was in there! We washed up and quickly got out of there. I busted out laughing as soon as I opened the door. Kids do say the darnest things! :)

Elmo Live

Last week, Abby and I enjoyed a fun morning with Elmo and friends at the CenturyTel Center. This was a new show...1-2-3 Imagine! Abby has seen Elmo Live before but it's been awhile and this time she was extremely excited.

I bought our tickets back in December and managed to get some awesome seats at the floor level. It pays to sit up close and see all the characters dance around you. Abby was so happy that Grover and Grundgetta (Oscar's female friend) came up to her and patted her head.

We snacked on popcorn and cotton candy (for me mainly!) and I gave in to buying her a $10 balloon. I thought her program would be enough...little did I know.

After a nearly two hour show, Abby was still mesmerized by all the songs, dancing and colorful scenes. She kept asking me, "What was your favorite part of the Elmo show?" I had a blast as well and look forward to our next Elmo show!

getting ready for Elmo!

Abby & Mommy are ready!

Posing with her $4 cotton candy and $8 program!

She's all set for the show!

The view from our seats.

Look, it's Big Bird!

mesmerized....

yep, that ELMO!

Sam, the mail carrier, asked everyone to close their eyes and imagine...too cute!

One of our fave scenes...Bert going on an underwater voyage!

those balloons were going for $10 a pop....and yes, I bought one. :)

Snack time!

Sam & Big Bird

Cute song with Abby & Elmo

A short clip of the "African Jungle" scene!

Mardi Gras

Last Saturday, we were able to experience our first Mardi Gras parade. Well, it was a first for Abby and I! We lucked out and were able to get a reserved parking spot along the parade route. What a relief that was because people were already lining up at 7am that morning! And the parade wasn't until 4:30pm!

Since we were closer to the end of the parade we knew it would be a while till it got to us. So we headed out about 2pm and set up "camp." We tailgated with some friends of ours and enjoyed listening to music and people-watched. We had boudin, shrimp, sausage, brats, chips, dips, jerkey, and of course the famous "KING CAKE" to name a few.

The weather was cold and breezy but we made the most of it and came prepared. Lots of blankets and all our cold weather gear!

Finally, around 7:30ish the parade starts making it's way down our way. Abby had napped prior to it so she was ready! I think she was in shock at first then warmed up to it. All the music and people throwing things at you was new to her!

The Krewe of Centaur Parade was something else. What fun we had and came home with more beads, cups and stuffed animals that you would of believed!

We look forward to making this an annual tradition in the Aldrich family!

"Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez"...Let the Good Times Roll!

Mardi Gras 2010

Ready for a tailgate??

Abby & M0mmy trying to stay warm!

Snacks, movies, warm blankets...she's all set!

Our "camp site" for the day!

Abby took this pic of me...she loves my camera now!

She even took this pic of Dan!

Abby and her friend, Sydney, waiting for the parade.

We loved the "moo dat" float!

Daddy's little girl!

The "Build-A-Bear" float was actually tossing out their bears to the little ones...too bad we didn't catch one of those!

Our friends, The Morris Family!

Abby caught a teddy bear during the parade and it was the highlight of the night! She named him Honey Bear. :)

Our "loot" from the parade!!

Jumpin' for Joy

Since we have moved into our new home we were now able to assemble Abby's trampoline that she got for Christmas. This is a much smaller version, which we love, and have been waiting to put it together.

Abby was of course extremely excited when she saw the box. It had been in our storage unit since Christmas so she forgot about it. Well, her eyes lit it up with excitement and she immediately wanted to "help" put it together.

Abby "helped" her daddy and Daddy Bob assemble her trampoline. She was really good at telling them what to do! :)

Once it was all done she was ready to give it a try!

She absolutely LOVES it and it's a good way for her to let out some energy!

Just look at that angelic face!

"Helping" put the trampoline together!

"Daddy Bob, let me show you how to do it!" (haha)

Yay!!!

This kept her entertained for quite some time!

New Years Eve Train

Getting ready to ride the train!

the 1st class car! NICE!

Finally getting Abby to put on her NYE hat!

Waiting to take off!

Abby & Mommy

The "alright Mom, please stop taking pictures!" look

Okay, so I know it's February already but, I forgot to write about our NYE trip to Jefferson, Texas. We headed down to Jefferson to ride the New Years Eve train and spend some family time together. It was cold and rainy, so not the perfect weather, but we had a fun time and we even got a free dinner meal at Swampy's cafe downtown!

When I booked our train ride I decided we would ride in the 1st class car. Thank goodness I did that...with it being rainy and cold, the other cars were all open! Yikes!

We had heat and nice velvety cushioned seats~way better than the open cars! And we were given noise makers, hats, and leis to go with our ride.

We did have a wonderful time and even ended our train ride with fireworks!