My Favorite Things - June Edition

A lot of blogs I read do this post and I decided to try it. Hopefully I'll do one at the start of every month. Don't hold me to it though! 

Enjoy.

Bath & Body Works Candles

Woah, if you haven't tried their line of candles yet you are missing OUT! It took me 15 minutes to pick a scent because they are all so so yummy-smelling. And bonus:  if you go buy their store now they have selected large candles (above) for half off, just $10! 

Custom Family Cross

Says: "Boettcher Family, Est. 2008"

I found this awesome find at Greatwood Annual Craft Show. Y'all HAVE to check out the craft show if you've never been. Seriously. Leave the husbands and kids at home and you'll enjoy rows and rows of crafts and girly clothes and creative home-made home decor! Heaven. I wish I had the lady's name and number so I could share it with y'all.

Bath & Body Works Body Scrub

I loooove me some body scrub. This "stress relief" scrub smells minty and fresh. Yum yum. Makes me want to go take a bath now...  You won't believe how soft it makes your skin afterward!

Summery, wooden frames

You can't tell but this frame is light blue. I found it at Home Goods. They have a lot of shabby-chic, coastal wooden frames right now. Most stores are carrying them since it's summer time. I just can't get enough of these types of frames! I have them all over my house.

Custom-made Baylor Mirror

Who the heck knew my husband was an artist...or maker-of-cool-mirrors??? I sure didn't! In my previous  post you saw the OU mirror he made. This is the Baylor one for our house. Purrrty dang cool. I'm currently trying to persuade him to sell these on the side...he thinks I'm joking but I'm sooo not. Y'all would buy one right? ;)

Revlon Nail Polish

It's out of character for me but lately I cannot leave HEB without chucking one of these in my cart! Aren't they just so bright, summery and shimmery? Love them!

Pool Toy for Adults

Orien got these for his 2nd birthday, but we don't really let him play with them. Why? Because Brett and I are usually too busy spraying each other or the dogs with these awesome pool toys. Head to Walmart NOW and purchase these. They're like $2 a piece! You're summer just won't be the same without them.

Custom-made Metal Night Light

My mom had a guy in Austin made a handful of these lights for her new house in Jackson Hole they're building. She got a moose engraved in hers. She also had this cross one done and several fleur de lis. We have both in our house and just LOVE how the light shines out behind the cross. 

Betty Crocker GF Cake Mix

Hmmmmm. Thank the Lord above for this mix. It tastes literally the same as regular cake mix and I just can't get enough since I've gone gluten-free. It's not like me to crave baked goods...but you know how it goes...once you can't have something, suddenly you've GOT to have it :)

Payless Blue Jean Wedges

I'm a flip-flop girl at heart. I feel very "me" in them. And since I've become a mom (aka: have to carry around a 25 lb person a lot) I really don't find heels as being practical. BUT. I needed some heels for a special occassion and found these for just under $20 at Payless. And they are coooomfy. Bonus! They look good with pants, capris, shorts and skirts. I highly recommend them.

A Tribute to my Brother (and lake pics)

The weekend started with family, more family and even more family! 

We had lots of visitors in town to celebrate Eric's HS graduation. Wow, my brother is onto college (OU) this fall...

Wasn't it just yesterday that we were all little and playing on our old, rusty play set in the backyard at the Bear Creek house?

Wasn't it not long ago that we were playing on the banks of the beautiful Arkansas lakes and exploring the waters on a pontoon boat?

Wasn't it just the other day that we were all jumping on the trampoline together being silly and care-free?

I swear it was in a blink of an eye we went from kids to young adults ready to take on the world!

________________________________________________________

Brother:

Do you know how long I waited for you? 

Do you know just how much I wanted a younger sibling?

Do you know that I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tad jealous when you were born? (ha!)

Do you know how funny and entertaining (and big!) you were as a baby and toddler?

Do you know how I used to love when you and Michel would follow me around when y'all were toddlers?

Do you know blessed we were to have a kid-at-heart mom who would go to Academy to buy a boat and paddle so we could all rescue the abandoned ducklings at that lake? Then she let us keep them in a baby pool?

Do you know how you and Michel used to be two peas in a pod?

Do you know many very long, endless road trips we made to Slidell, LA to visit family?

Do you know HOW MANY TIMES I HAD TO WATCH BARNEY????

Do you know how secretly I didn't mind watching Winnie the Pooh and The Lion King with y'all in the truck over and over and over...?

Do you know how much I always watched you play sports? And how much I secretly loved you always stood out in every one of them!

Do you know how early on we all knew how special, smart and determined you were?

Do you know that you gave me a tattoo that one time you threw a pencil at me? (it's a dot on my finger!)

Do you know how much I terribly missed you while I was away at college?

Do you know how I felt so sad and disconnected to you and Michel during those years?

Do you know that it's the absolute #1 reason I moved back to Sugar Land - to be there for you and Michel and watch you two grow, learn and thrive?

Do you know how many times I've cried in the past year just thinking about you moving away? (seriously - ask Brett!)

Do you know how SO SO proud I am of you? For being the Christian man you are today? For being a SMART student? For putting God and family first? For being a DEDICATED athlete? For aiming so incredibly high and never ever looking back? For standing up for what you believe is right even when the majority doubts you? 

THAT is why I look up to you little brother. You are an inspiration to me and countless others. I pray your new journey in life is a bright one...and a Godly, enriching time in your life. Soak it all in. Every minute. 

And always Thank God every day for your blessings.

Love you always, 

your big sis,

Patricia

__________________________________

Mirror Brett made for Eric's graduation gift.

You could say Eric was supported at graduation! And this isn't even all of us.

Orien made the graduation ceremony quite eventful :)

My heart was bursting with JOY and PRIDE for him this weekend.

Aunt Wanda and O getting some cuddle time in.

Aunt Brenda on her "sports car" :)

Then we headed to Lake McQueeney - our first trip of Summer '11!!!

Man, I love this little guy!!! Drinking queso straight from the bowl. Yummmm.

My sweetie pie.

The men at Gruene's General Store.

Pez. 

We can all agree it's the best shot of the weekend.

This shot reminds me how blessed I am. My two men just hanging on the curb people-watching in Gruene on a breezy, summer night eating Pez. Life is good.

Cheetos for breakfast. (Daddy was in charge!)

Sweet kiddos playing.

Lots of popsicles were eaten this weekend.

These boys couldn't be more opposite. It cracks me up.

Beautiful boy!

Whose husbands are these anyway?

Thankfully the two 2 year olds slept for three hours letting us big kids play and swim on the Guadalupe!

Pretty nice lookin' fam!

This one's not bad either.

Our colors coordinate well :)

The kids.

And...the going-home-exhausted-and-sleeping shot of Orien. 

What a wonderful weekend at the lake with amazing friends. God is good!

HAPPY MEMORIAL WEEKEND.

-The Boettchers

Last Friday

I discovered my house (and pool) could successfully entertain about 20 Moms and 20 toddlers. 

It was a crazy, loud, non-stop action-packed play date! And it was so much fun. Enjoy some pics.

Teton was worn out afterward :)

Straight from the 2 year old's mouth (and his boo-boo story)

I wanted to write down some of the things Orien has been saying lately. 

"Mommy, that's weird"

"That's nasty"

"I have a oh-boh on my elbow!"

"Eeeeeeeeeewwww"

"Mommy, get out" 

(when I tried to snuggle with him in his bed at night time)

"Ooooh Mommy, look!!!! A bug!!! Ew. Ew. I don't wike it."

"I want the biiig one (in very deep voice)"

"Puppies, bad! Go outside!"

"Mommy go poo poo!!!" 

(every time we're in a public stall)

"I fart!!"

"Mommy, I want to faaaart!" 

(whiney voice)

"I want zoo, I want see amnals." (at the zoo) "Mommy, I don't wike that, I scared."

"I 'fraid, I 'fraid."

"Maqui sillllly!"

"HEY Mommy! HEY Weah! HEY Teton!"

"Mommy, I want Our God. I want Our God." (his fav song)

"Mommy on bus say 'shh shh shh baby'"

"Ni hao Walle!" 

(English: Hello Walle!)

"Winkle, winkle, wittle stah..."

(I need to get him singing the whole song on video)

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A boo-boo won't slow us down!

Yesterday Orien hit a BIG milestone - first ER visit! I'm actually surprised it took until he was nearly 26 months to happen. He hit a coffee table and ended up with a pretty good gash above his eye. Luckily, the doctor was able to avoid stitches and just use glue (or whatever the medical term is for 'glue'). 

And let me tell y'all...Orien did GREAT! He's known to be a bit wimpy at times but he stayed strong while they cleaned it out and put the glue on. He did cry and squirm when the doctor rubbed it all in his gash (who wouldn't?), but that part lasted only 30 seconds. 

The glue should peel off on its own in 4-5 days. Then we'll apply Neosporin. And when it's completely healed we will lather on the Vitamin E, Mederma and sunscreen when we're outside! Doc said we won't even be able to see it after a while. It's true. When I was 2 1/2 I was bit by a dog straight in the face. My entire face was swollen and cut. 

This was after a few days I think. It was much better at this point.

Luckily a plastic surgeon was at the ER and available to sew me up! I barely have any noticeable scars today - amazing! 

Anyway, we were in and out of the ER within 30 min and Orien was GOOD TO GO! Brett was at the Bon Jovi concert all last night so Orien and I headed to the big park nearby after dinner. Man was the weather NICE. So many people were out playing, running, walking their dogs - I just love living in Greatwood. We had a blast getting our energy out. Then we swung together for about 20 min and sang all of the songs Orien knows. He can just about sing the entire ABC's now without missing a letter! Super proud momma here :)

Today we did a morning trip to the zoo with some mom friends. Again, the weather was awesome. Breezy, cool, cloudy. Just perfect. And SO rare for May in Houston. After this week that will all be long gone and we'll quickly welcome 100 degrees and 100% humidity. Hmmmm. I can feel it now.

Check out some photos from yesterday and today. Good news - the gash closed up a lot already. Yesterday it was pretty open but the glue seems to be working great. Thank you Lord for staying by our sides during the minor ordeal yesterday - You are so faithful to us!