Friday, August 31, 2012

New Dierbergs

Saint Louis readers: go check out the new Dierbergs in Des Peres!  It's AWESOME.  3 levels of Dierbergs wonderfulness.  Brand new shopping carts!  Lots of delicious options for a quick lunch or dinner.  We went with friends and enjoyed a tasty lunch in the 3rd level Mezz.  So fun!

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Catching up

We have been stamping...

and getting ink everywhere.

Nate and Carol went to the never-ending Cardinals game and had the good sense to leave early.

We've been exploring natural consequences.

We tell you not to squeeze the egg and it cracks and gets all over you.  Boo-yah!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

ABC Dance

The dance you see here is her signature move.  It's all hers and she does it well and often.  I witnessed her hamming it up in her Journey Kids class with this move and another where she puts her elbows by her ears.  She's turning into a class clown and loves to make people laugh! 

Carousel

First time on the carousel at the zoo - loved it! 

She wanted to ride the polar bear!




Girls Night(s)

 I've been a lucky girl lately to go out with so many of my girls!  We had so much fun on my first girl's night that I suggested we do the same thing on my next night.  Happy hour at the Drunken Fish in the Central West End, cruise through Chase Park Plaza and make an attempt at Eau Bistro, and end the night with dessert.  Love girl's night!! 



Fun times with Theresa and Jamie.  And I mean SUPER FUN.
Out with my mom's group girls for the first time without kiddos.  Amazing!
Enjoying gourmet chocolates at Bissingers.  One benefit of going out with non-overlapping groups is that you can wear the exact same outfit.  It think of it as my CWE uniform.


Monday, August 13, 2012

Grammy and Riley visit!

 Grammy and Riley come for a quick visit over the weekend and it was EPIC. 


We went to Yo My Goodness.

We went to the pool.

We had a handstand contest. 


We watched Fresh Beats.
And we GOT TATTOOS!!  We each got one part of Live, Laugh, Love.  My mom got Live since she is the giver of life, Riley got Laugh because DUH, and I got Love.  They are all perfect for us and we are super excited about them!!!
Here's a close-up of mine. LOVE IT!



Transportation Museum

 Last week we had a super fun playdate with big Jake and his beautiful mom Megan.  We had never been, but we had a Groupon (holla) and wanted to check it out.  It was unbelievably cool and fun.  Like, have your birthday party there fun.  Like, buy more Groupons fun.  There was so much stuff to do and the kids explored a lot on their own.  Anytime you need a break you can hop on the mini train and take a ride!  Also, I love places where bringing your own lunch is encouraged.



Jake and Violet spent an hour playing in the Creation Station.  There was so much cool stuff to play with.  P.S.  I think Violet is on her knees here - Jake is bigger than her but not THAT MUCH.
We got to explore lots of trains.  She was nervous about this one because it looks like it's coming right at you!

Megan helped the kids ring the bell. 

We took a trolley ride.

Sweet girl.

Calling daddy to tell him how much fun we were having.

Puppet show!

A sign my kid is growing up: she played by herself for several minutes more than 10 feet away from me.

Getting ready for the mini choo-choo!

WAY more excited than she looks here.

She LOVED it!

We took this picture for you, daddy.

Whoa, big choo choo!

Babe Day

 If you've been around the Tenholders for a few years then you know about Nate Day and Babe Day.  They are little holidays we plan for each other once a year.

Last week was Babe Day!  It started with me arriving home at the appointed time of 11:15 to receive my first assignment.  Nate took a half day so I could spend the afternoon doing Babe Day things! 
Assignment envelopes.  Inside were maps (duh!) and more specific instructions.


Assignment #1: Lunch with my work wife!  We had a great lunch at Buffalo Brewing and it felt luxurious to go out to lunch with a friend on a Wednesday afternoon!


Assignment #2: A one hour massage!  I didn't take any pictures of this for obvious reasons.  However, I can tell you that it was GREAT! 


Assignment #3: Time at the pool with a new book from the library.  He knows me well :-)

Babe Day continued as he made my favorite dinner (orange chicken bowl) and then took his girls to Yo My Goodness for dessert.  It was a great day and I definitely felt very special and loved.  To say I am blessed to have met Nathan Tenholder almost 10 years ago on a Ryle Hall night-monitoring shift is an understatement.  He treats me like his queen and it's days like this that help me remember how grateful I am that he picked a gal like me for forever & always.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Family time

The Simons were in town from California and so we all got together for brunch.  We also got to celebrate Ashley's birthday!

Nate wasn't wearing green or navy, so he was voted out of the family. He did take a good picture of us, though.

Sea Lions


We went to the zoo this weekend to see the sea lions again.  If you get to the zoo as close to 8 am as possible and leave within an hour or two it's not too crowded.  This was Violet's third time seeing the new sea lion exhibit and my first time.  It's so cool how they swim all around and even above you!

Look!

She insists on bringing jackets if we are going to the zoo.  She knows it's cold when we go see the penguins!


Moby wrap

Vi's baby was a little crabby so she needed to spend some time in the Moby wrap. 

So cute!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Family Worship Night

Our first time at a family worship night was a big hit.  Violet loved the music and having lots of kids singing and running around was actually really cute and fun.  We were surprised when she said she wanted to go in the front with the kids all by herself.  We were a few rows back, but she bravely went up to the front and stayed there for about 15 minutes!  Our hearts swelled to see her confidence grow and for her to "leave the nest" for a few minutes in a safe place.  Seeing the kids sing worship music with hand motions and smiles on their faces was such an encouraging gift for everyone there. 


Just watching the kids first (she's in a green top and brown skirt)
Then she scooted on the stage!


Pool party

 Nate's family hosted a graduation party over the weekend.  We don't normally go to St.Peters, but we were happy to make the drive to see family and especially since it was a pool party!  We all had a great time.


Enjoying a tropical drink (water) with fancy straws
Violet made a big impression on her great-grandparents.  She was particularly cute!

Pool party!

Babies

Nora and Margaret have spent Mondays with us since last December.  This Monday was my last official day to have them since they will be spending work days from now on with their Grandma.  Violet and I love them so much and we hope to see them often so we can see how much they are growing and changing.  They are such sweet girls and I loved getting to discover their personalities!


Happy girls!

Sweet and laid-back Margaret is always ready to smile

Fiesty and silly Nora loves to laugh

Oh, Nor-do, how I love you!

Margaret Ann is so snuggly!