{He said what? V13}

August edition of Things Mason says...

{8/12} Driving home from school - 

"Mama, I didn't have a bad day and I wasn't busy today"

...

{8/12} In the bath and Mason hears the TV in the living room - 

"Mama, hurry and get me out...Duck Dynasty is on"

...

{8/16} Coming in from playing outside

"Freakin Dad!"

(no clue where he's heard this...not a phrase we use around him!)

...

{8/17} After being out of school for a long weekend -

"I need to go back to school and play with my friends. I bet they miss me"

...

{8/19} Riding home from school - 

"Mom you talk to dad. I'm tired of talking. I was busy at school today."

...

{8/20} The sun was just coming up and we could only see half of it -

"Why is Mr Sun going down?" - Mason

"It's not baby, it's coming up" - Me

"Oh, it's uploading?" - Mason

...

{8/20} 

"My favorite colors are yellow, red and blue and your favorite color is pink" - Mason

"Is that right?" - Me

"Yep, let me see your fingernails" - Mason

I show him...

"See, I told you. Pink" - Mason

...

{8/22} Driving to school Mason kept saying "yeah" so I kindly reminded him about his manners and that "yes ma'am" was more polite...he says - 

"Well Mama, I forget those words sometimes"

...

{8/22} I was telling Mason that Daddy was going to pick him up early from school -

"But I want you to pick me up because you're my favorite" - Mason

"Why is Mommy your favorite?" - Me

"Well, because you're cuter" - Mason

...

{8/23} Getting donuts before school -

"Mama, I like to hangout with you"

...

{8/25} After being away from him Saturday night I was telling him how I missed him and missed cuddling with him -

"Mason did you cuddle with Nana?" - Me

"No, my Nana doesn't cuddle. Only you Mom. Only you cuddle me because you're special" - Mason

To see more posts of things Mason says click here

{Anniversary weekend to Gruene, TX}

This past weekend Nathan and I got away for a couple days to celebrate 7 years of marriage! His work schedule has been crazy lately allowing very little weekend time. We were long over due for some alone time. 

We went to one of our favorite little towns, Gruene TX. And like always, it did not disappoint. 

On the way there we stopped at the South Austin Trailer Park & Eatery. We ate at Torchy's tacos and just like everyone said, it was pretty awesome. And the atmosphere is just fun.

After a delicious lunch we headed straight to Gruene. We visited the shops, Gruene Hall, and walked to the River.  Every time I visit Gruene I am reminded of just how much I love it. It's hands down one of my favorite places ever!

When we were done walking around Gruene we headed to check into our hotel and re-fresh. Our hotel was in San Antonio, about 20 miles from Gruene. We got an awesome deal through hotels {dot} com and the hotel was super nice. I only got one picture of the hotel room...

We decided to head to the Riverwalk since we were already in San Antonio. We were so disappointed in the downtown area. We hadn't been in years and were really looking forward to it. I am not sure if we weren't in the right area or what, but it was a little sketchy. We didn't stay long there!

We headed back to Gruene because there was a bag I wanted to buy before the shop closed. And we were going to have dinner at the Gristmill. We originally wanted to eat at the Gristmill later so that it would be cooler and we could hear the music from Gruene Hall. It was 6ish and there were tons of people waiting already. We figured it'd be at least an hour wait, so we went ahead and put our name down. They called us up in less than 20 minutes! Seriously!  Dinner was even more delicious than we remembered. 

We headed to San Marcos and hit up the outlets for a bit. We only had an hour or so until the outlets closed, so we didn't get to go to a fraction of the stores. Then we drove back by Gruene to see the town with the lights on.

Sunday we slept in until 9 and then got ready to head out. We took the long way home - through the Hill Country and it was so peaceful and relaxing!

We had such a nice weekend! But we were ready to get back to our boy!

Have you ever been to Gruene?

{Texas Tuesday - a picture from Gruene}

Hey y'all!! Happy Texas Tuesday!!

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What is Texas Tuesday? A chance for you to show off the awesomeness that is TEXAS!! You can blog about anything; restaurants, vacation spots, venues, concerts, your hometown, shops, fashion, sports, etc. The linkup is not limited to Texans, we just ask that the post is about Texas. 

We don't make following any of the hosts a requirement, but we do ask that you include our button and at least post about a Texas related topic. Any links that are not related to the link up will be deleted. (button code is in grab box below the image above)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Gruene, TX
8/24/13

{Happy Anniversary My Love}

7 years married

17 years of love

   a lifetime to go...

Nathan Cye. I love you with my whole heart. 

You are the love of my life, my best friend, my soul mate and my lobster.
 I couldn't imagine doing life without you. 

You fill my soul with more love than I deserve.
Thank you for loving me unconditionally and so fiercly.

Happy Anniversary my handsome man!

{Mason's first skinned knee}

Mason fell down and got his first {real} skinned knee last night {8/22/13}.

And? You'd thought he cut off that darn leg.

He cried and screamed for a good 30 minutes and wouldn't walk on it. 

It took some good convincin' for him to finally put a bandaid on it.

He fell asleep in his bed and I, of course, couldn't sleep. 

 So I went to his bed, scooped him up and brought him to my bed!!

Even in his sleep he was cautious of his knee.

And this morning when we were getting ready for school he still wouldn't walk on it and made me carry him.

By some miracle he let me put another bandaid on the bottom part of his 'ouchie'.

He told the guy at the gas station that he fell and broke his leg 'esterday!

Eventually he started putting a little weight on it, but with a limp.

And then he raced me to the cafeteria!

 

Oh how I wish I could take every single 'ouchie' for him!   

{Five on Friday - iPhone, Instagram, Gruene, TX}

{One}

Happy Friday friends! Our week has been fairly uneventful. It seems like the week has flown by, really. We have spent a lot of time playing outside in the evenings. It hasn't been miserably hot. I'll take 95 over 105 any day. I am so ready for Fall I can't even stand it. Monday Nate texted me and said that he wanted to take a little 'getaway' trip this weekend for our anniversary. So...

{Two}

We are going to Gruene, TX!!!!! We tossed up Jefferson, Luckenbach, Fredericksburg, and Gruene. We went with Gruene since it will be a quick trip. We plan to visit Gruene Hall {of course}, visit all of the little shops in Gruene, eat at the Gristmill and maybe find a patio on the river. You can bet I will take a million pictures of the 'Hall' on Gruene Hall. I want to get a good one to blow up on canvas and hang in our house {our last name}!

{source}

{Three}

I finally got an iPhone 5!!!! We've been with T-mobile for 11 years and have been pretty happy with them. I just hated that they never carried the iPhone. Back in March of this year Nathan and I upgraded our phones to the Note II. And what do you know...less than 2 months later Tmobile announces that they now have the iPhone 5. I was so disappointed. The Note is definitely a great phone...I am just more of an Apple person! I like the camera and photo apps better. And Lord knows I take a lot of pictures! I've had my phone for 5 1/2 days and I have 380 pictures in my camera roll and I've already deleted 4-500! ha. Is that normal? I've downloaded the apps below....any other musthaves? Share! OH and I am trying to keep myself from downloading Candy Crush again!

{Four}

Speaking of Instagram...here is my public apology for 'overgramming'. I just can't stop! And I am totally loving making these little slideshows, too. So much fun.

{Five}

We've had some amazing skies this week! I probably have about 50 pictures on my phone from just this week of the sky. The moon...the sunrise...the sunsets....so beautiful! God's Handy work sure amazes me.

How was your week? Any plans for the weekend?

{Texas Tuesday // Mason standing on Texas}

Hey y'all!! Happy Texas Tuesday!!

<div align="center"> <a href="http://www.masonsmama.com/" title="Masons Mama"><img src="http://i45.tinypic.com/709jsy.jpg" alt="Masons Mama" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

What is Texas Tuesday? A chance for you to show off the awesomeness that is TEXAS!! You can blog about anything; restaurants, vacation spots, venues, concerts, your hometown, shops, fashion, sports, etc. The linkup is not limited to Texans, we just ask that the post is about Texas. 

We don't make following any of the hosts a requirement, but we do ask that you include our button and at least post about a Texas related topic. Any links that are not related to the link up will be deleted. (button code is in grab box below the image above)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

At a park near our house

{Weekend Wrapup // That Country Life}

Happy Monday, friends!!! 

We had a pretty quiet/low key weekend. Nate was actually off all weekend, so we just hung out. Lots of family time...which I adore. We were soaking up our time with Daddy!!

1// Feeding the chickens

2// Climbing up the pool ladder

3// Hanging out while Daddy takes care of the animals

4// Again

5// Mommy/Daddy movie night while Mason was asleep

6// Hanging out on the porch in the morning

7// mmm my hunky husband

8// I love my sweet boy so much!

9// Mama, take a picture of Woody

10// Park time smiles

11// Climbing all by himself

12// Sway boat @ the Park

13// Selfie while my boys play chase at the park

14// The Halls

15// Redneck Christmas light removal (yes that is a fishing pole)

16// Mason and his best girlfriend

Most of these were posted on IG. Do you follow me there?

How was your weekend? What did you do?

{My hunks}

8.16.13

A few things about this picture - 

- My boys came up to have lunch with me! 

- We went to one of our favorite places, Hunkys.

- They are matching and I love it

- This picture describes Mason's personality perfectly. 

- Mason told me that these shoes do not hurt him anymore because he is a big boy. They only hurt when he was little.

- They're pretty "Hunky"

{Five on Friday // Bribing for pictures // Park Dates // Best Friends}

{One}

I have to bribe my son to take pictures. Seriously. Otherwise he wants absolutely nothing to do with the camera. Not good for a photo-takin'-lovin'-mama.  

For this one?

Had to agree to run around actin' a fool so that he could "arrest me" while playing cops and bad guys! And? I didn't even get a smile out of it. Still cute, though,

For this one?

I had to pretend that I was a bad guy and that my camera was a gun.

He's so much fun!

{Two}

I've talked on my blog before about Nate having to work 7 days a week for the last several months, but I've never went into depth why. Nate works for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control and they've been working on a tactical vehicle prototype to repalce the humvee. They are 1 of 3 companies going after the bid from the government. This would be HUGE for his company! Anyhow, I can talk about it more now...I mean since it was on the news and all this week!!!!!!

{Three}

Nate, Mason and I went to dinner last night and then to the park. I absolutely love Getzendaner Park. It's so big and nice and completely shaded with trees. It was hot and humid, but we had such a great time. And, it made me a little more ready for Fall!!! I see more trips to the park once it cools down some here.

And we ended the evening with the most glorious sunset!!

{Four}

September 13 - I cannot wait for you! My best friend and I are heading to see Miranda Lambert!!!!!!!! Counting down the days! We also really want to go to her store, the Pink Pistol. Have you ever been?

{Five}

Happy Friday friends! Any plans for the weekend?

{Getting to Know You - Texas Women Bloggers Linkup}

1. What part of Texas do you call home?

We live in Rockett TX. Ever heard of it?

2. How long have you been blogging?

4 years on 9/28. You can find my first post here.
 
3. Why did you start blogging?

I was trying to think of a way to tell my {huge} family all at once that we were pregnant...so I started the blog and emailed them all the link at the same time! Then it became my pregnancy journal, and now it's our family scrapbook!

4. When we visit your blog, what can we expect to discover?

Lots and lots of pictures, for sure! Along with our family adventures, things my crazy kid says, motherhood, toddlerhood, marriage, stuff about Texas, Texas Rangers, travel, etc.

5. How did you come up with your Blog Title and what is its meaning?

Next to Heaven - it was our wedding song and one that just describes our life perfectly....

Next to heaven lies my fate, my best friend and my soul mate
God knows this kind of love only comes from up above
You're the answer to my prayers, nothing else compares
I'm next to heaven when I am next to you 

Next to Heaven it doesn't get any better than this.

6. What do you love about being part of Texas Women Bloggers?

Such an amazing community! Seriously, some of the best people right here! And who would have thought that one of my best friends was met through blogging! And we met IRL for the first time at a Texas Bloggers meetup!

7. Who inspires you to blog?

My boys!

8. If you could pick a favorite blog post from this past year, what would it be?

Hmm...Well, I really loved participating in the Blog Every Day in May challenge. You can find those posts here. Of course our birth story, here. 

Did you link up?

{Wordless-ish Wednesday - Mason and Lucy}

Mason loves little Lucy! 

And she is so chill with him. It amazes me because she's normally a little high-strung!

 That would be her climbing up the post on our porch!

{If I weren't a boy mom}

If I weren't a boy mom I wouldn't know things such as...

How bad it hurts to step on a hotwheel. 

Finding rocks and bugs in pockets of jeans and shorts.

How to dodge that {inacurate} little built in sprinkler.

What Monster Jam is.

 I wouldn't know how to make a mohawk {around a good ol' cowlick}

That there are zombies everywhere...and I mean everywhere.

The wrath of legos.

Dirty faces and stinky toots. All day everyday.

I wouldn't know how cool dinosaurs, monster trucks, jeeps, airplanes, spiders, Ninja Turtles, bull frogs, worms, mud, snakes, firetrucks and superheros really are.

Or that camo matches everything.

What a miniature version of my husband is like.

And I would never know the joy of a Mother/Son relationship!!!  Or a love so deep.

What do you love about being a Mother?

{He said what? V12}

7/4 - Driving to Galveston

Mason can I please have my phone back? - Me
Hold on Mama, I'm playing Candy Crush! - Mason

...

7/10 - at his Nana & Papa's house

Here Mom, I'll show you where the potty is. But, don't laugh when I pee.

...

7/12 - Driving home from school

I love you Sugar Mama.

...

7/16 - Walking to the house from the car

Mama, look at that Hop Skipper {grasshopper}

...

7/17 - Going to bed and Mason kept asking to watch Lightning McQueen.

Okay Mason for 5 minutes only. - Me
No Mama, 2 minutes. - Mason

...

7/21 - Waking up -

Mama, you smell terrific.

Driving to McDonalds we were singing and dancing - 

Mama, you are cute.

...

7/26 - Mason to Nate -

Daddy, it's hard work being good at school.

...

7/27 - Getting ready at home

Mason do you wanna go see uncle Jo Jo play baseball? - Nate

I'd love to! - Mason 

...

7/28 - We were telling Mason how Mommy and Daddy were boyfriend and girlfriend in high school -

Mama I need a girlfriend like you.

...

7/30 - Driving home from school -

Mama I had a bad day today. I was just too busy. I was working hard.

Later that evening I was hugging him - 

Mama I missed you today. That's why I had bad luck.

And a little later - 

I told Levi esterday that I got a new lunch box and I asked him if that was cool.

...

{Five on Friday}

Time for Five on Friday...

{One} I haven't cooked one single meal this week. And? I've kind of loved it. Last week I was just too exhausted to meal plan, grocery shop and cook and clean. I was just over it. Over cooked food. I blame it on the heat. It was nice to just spend the evenings with my boys without having to cook and clean the kitchen. Well, not a real kitchen anyway...just Chef Turtle's kitchen!

{Two}  I am ready for FALL. Texas and Summer = 100+ degree days. Blah!

{Three} My Daddy actually gets to come home this weekend!!! His job has had him working in Oklahoma for a long time and it's been a while since he's been able to come home on a weekend. I can't wait to give him a giant hug and just hang out with him and the family.

{Four} I just finished season 2 of the Killing. WOW! Love this show. Do you watch it? 

{Five} Friends, if you could, please say an unspoken prayer for my sister and her pregnancy. Baby boy is healthy. Just need some prayers. I will talk about this more when I can. Thank you all!!

How was your week? Any plans for the weekend?

 

{Chef Turtle}

Sit down Mama and I will make you lunch. 

I'm Chef Turtle.

What do you want? I will make you whatever you want.

Here, I made you manilla ice cream.

{I pretend to start to eat it}

Wait Mama! You have to pray first.