Balm Family Part III: Just Hanging Out

Michael, Erika, and Ben at the Boardwalk.

This is where Mira first used her little finger to say "Look, Mommy & Daddy! Don't you see what I see?!" She pointed at the fountain over and over again.

Ben really liked the fountain, too!

Mira's new car seat came!! It was so much fun playing inside the great, big box! It was a cave, a garage, and who knows what else!

I don't think Ben wanted his picture taken. =)

Still playing with the box...in our pj's. (You can see her ultra-girly, big girl car seat in the background!)

Coming out of the secret cave...I mean, box.

Ben nabs Jeters beard. I don't think Jeter cared for this too much. Ben still has all of his fingers, so it couldn't have been that bad.

Shatzie wonders why there is a new pup in his bed.

Ben decides, "This pillow is awfully soft, maybe I'll just rest my head for a second..."

Mira is either trying to share the wiffle ball with Ben, or she is trying to smack Ben in the head with the wiffle ball. Let's think nice thoughts.

Both Mira and Ben are trying to free the dogs. Sorry, pups, you have wet paws and stink from being outside!

We had such a great time seeing our friends and can't wait until the next time we get to visit!! Ben and Mira will both be official toddlers by then, and it will be even more fun watching them play together!

Thanks for coming guys!!! We miss you already!

Balm Family Part II: Brownlee Park

We decided to take the kids to Brownlee Park so they could run around and burn some energy!

Mira waits patiently for Ben to come down the slide. I can't believe he can already do it all by himself!

Daddy and Mira go for a walk. She is getting pretty good at walking while just holding on with one hand.

Ben's first time in the sand!

Swimmers on and into the water park we go!

Ben had a grand time toddling all around, in and out of the sprinklers.

Mira had a blast, too - she was so excited to trudge forward into the water! I was very suprised she didn't pull a diva stunt and scream about the water being too cold!

Aunt Erika and Mira take a short break from the water sprinklers.

Finally got a shot of both Ben and Mira - they were hard to keep together, since Ben is so FAST!!

Big, watery smile!

Ben comes to see what Mira and his Mommy are doing.

All this fun is making me thirsty...

Balm Family Part I: Gators & Friends

Our friends, Erika, Michael, and big boy Benjamin, came to visit us this past weekend! We had so much fun together, and time just flew!! In order to show these Huskers some local flavor, we thought we would visit Gators & Friends!

By the time we arrived, both Mira and Ben were passed out! I think they enjoyed having company in the backseat all weekend. They talked and fought over toys alot. =)

Sweet Boy.

Sweet Girl.

The owner of the park was nice enough to let us borrow the wagon.

Teaming up to meet the baby gator...neither was too happy about this.

Staring contest with the llama.

Erika and Ben feeding a deer. Ben got pretty excited about this and decided he might like to pet the deer.

Mira and I feeding the goats. She kept her distance.

Ben was getting brave and tried to pet the pony all by himself!

Erika disregarded our warnings and fed the ostrich - she left with both her hands and eyes intact, so I guess we were assuming the worst about this giant bird. (I still don't plan on feeding one anytime soon.)

Mira and Ben looking for the kangaroos. Ben and I hopped like kangaroos which made him giggle, giggle, giggle.

Mira learned to use her pointer finger this weekend!

Random Acts of Cuteness

What a big, pretty smile!

Okay, this isn't the most flattering picture of my little doll, but it was such a great moment: We had to run to the car in the pouring rain (no umbrella - woops!), and we both got completely drenched! When I put her in the car, she just looked up at me with a huge grin on her sopping wet face - I guess running around in the rain is fun stuff!

Miss Mirabelle in her new, big girl pj's! (size 12 months!)

I love when she fall asleep holding random things...this time it's her comb.

And here she has snuggled up with the remote... (btw, this was taken some time ago - we have not re-assembled the swing!) =)

Kisses for Mira!

My good pal Shatzie. We like looking out the window together. (Doesn't this just melt your heart?!)

Taylor Swift!!

Olivia and I went to see Taylor Swift last Thursday night here in Bossier City at the Centurytel Arena, which is an awesome venue! This is Taylor's very first tour (The Fearless Tour), and Gloriana and Kelli Pickler opened for her! Every single show of this tour sold out in less than 12 minutes after they went on sale!! I got online about 10 minutes after they went on sale and couldn't find any floor seats, so I went hunting on eBay. We ended up with amazing seats - upfront and center!!


Olivia had the biggest, goofiest grin plastered across her face pretty much the whole time! It only took her a few beats of each song to "name that tune" (sometimes she called it before the song even started!), and she knew every word of every song by heart! We got her a t-shirt, and we ate pizza and nachos for dinner. We were SO close to the stage and even snuck up a little closer for a minute or two toward the end (we were quickly shoo-ed back to our seats along with the rest of the crowd that had encroached).


At one point, Taylor appeared up in the stands, right in the middle of the fans and did a song or two before descending to a small floor stage. From there, she walked toward the main stage coming down the aisle right next to our section!! Olivia got close enough to touch her, but refrained while I tried to get it on video the best I could!


Taylor puts on an amazing show (Kenny and I saw her here almost exactly a year ago)! The last number was so cool; a sheet of rain fell on the stage and, toward the end of the song, she walked right into it and got soaked as she wailed!! It was fantastic!

Kelli Pickler

Olivia sangs along

In the stands!!

How adorable is she?

How adorable is she??!!

Professional dancers waltzed along on stage in full costume for "Love Story."

Go Mudbugs!!!

We were SO close (this is when we snuck up a little bit)!!!

We had a great time - I'm so glad we got to go and have such a fun night together!

I love you, Olivia!!!