audrey

Lilypie Second Birthday tickers

liam

Lilypie Fourth Birthday tickers

7.28.2009

the byars' european vacation!


it is almost august, and that means that school is almost here again. i am not quite ready for it, so follow me as i reminisce about our latest summer travels.

mr. tired
say hello to a very tired boy, who actually slept very little on the flights to and from the u.s. to brussels. the flight there was much better than the flight back.

we did get the bulkhead seat, but the arm rests do not raise up, so we were trying to squish him into a seat.

and what else can i say, except that he sweats like his father. poor thing.







mr. hungry
here we are in the adorable city of brugge eating lunch. liam is an all table food boy now, so in europe he ate a lot of bread. there was always some on the table.













great works of art
michelangelo's "madonna and child" is in brugge. it is one of the few michelangelo pieces outside of italy.















see ya later oma and liam
mema, grandad, matt, and i went on a canal tour of brugge, so oma took liam on a walk and put him to sleep. brugge is called the venice of belgium.









a.d.d. opa and fussy liam
we went out to a really nice place for our birthday dinners. meal time in europe is different from here in the states. it is not simply a half-hour to an hour affair, it is closer to to two- to two-and-a-half hours long. needless to say, liam gets antsy and fussy. in comes opa who can't sit still, so they take a break and take a stroll before dessert!




big boy in his in own seat
liam is now a big boy and wants to sit in his own chair whenever possible. the train system in europe is great, because it makes this possible. oma kept a close eye on him as we head to antwerp to shop and go to the zoo.












tiger, tiger at the zoo
liam really loved the zoo and really seemed to be looking at the animals. they had little windows at the exhibits for stroller kids to look through.

all the animals were out and active, the weather was nice but not too warm, and it didn't seem overly crowded! it was the perfect day for the zoo.




what is a vacation without shopping?!
i love to shop, especially in europe. the clothes are fun and funky, and their shopping streets are so pretty. they don't just tear down and rebuild, they work with the existing facades and architecture. it makes it not only fun to shop but beautiful to look at.









brussels city square
we went out for dinner and a walk in brussels and in the square. there is almost too much to look at sometimes. it is such a nice relaxing atmosphere. that is until your 15 month-old starts to screech (in happiness mind you) at the top of his lungs!







chocolate chip muffin - healthy breakfast
liam needs his nourishment and strength as we head to disneyland paris!











sleeping beauty's castle
let the fun begin! the weather was great the first two days, the lines weren't bad, and we all had a great time. it was so much better than we imagined. being disneyland paris, and having heard some not great things about it, we were not sure what to expect. we loved it! the rides were great and the people were nice. it is small, but going with a little one, that was a good thing.

liam loved most of the rides that he rode, but i think that "it's a small world" was his favorite ride. we rode it twice. at the studio park he loved the show "animagique". it was disney characters singing and dancing under black light and, again, we had to go twice.



we are so blessed to be able to do all the things that we do, to have the oma and opa that we do, so thank you oma and opa for a great trip.

it has been a great summer filled with travel and fun. for more pictures of all of our travels check out my flickr site - http://www.flickr.com/photos/hbyars/ or check out my mom's -http://www.flickr.com/photos/bydeedeebundy/
i hope everyone had a safe and happy summer, and i hope that we all have a great school year!!

7.04.2009

our visit from princess spazzy


since we don't get to see princess spazzy very often we needed some extra cuddle time. we weren't quite ready to get up from our nap.










we like to relax when we drink our juice. especially in our new ikea chair. we also like to stand up in our chair, throw ourselves off, cry, and then do it all over again. hopefully we will grow out of this, because i love this chair.













diva night called our name! it calls to most women: the need to eat, drink, and paint pottery. we all had a great time and hopefully our pottery will turn out well as well. this was princess spazzy's farewell. she had to go to muleshoe (yes, an actual town in texas!) to meet up with her fertile friend!!







to get over our depression at the loss of princess spazzy we had to get out the water pad and play on it!
mema and grandad came over for steak and baked potatoes. in my opinion, one of the best and easiest meals on earth!!








we decided we would let liam try to drink out of a cup regular grown up style! it was interesting. most of the water ended up on him, his high chair, and the floor, but he had a great time trying. we will keep working to develop this skill.













ta ta for now! enjoy the video below of our water pad play time!!

three weeks in pictures


in lubbock



megan, j.e., will, and kaydee came into town for camp







tim got one year older






in atlanta





we went to the farmer's market










hannah and amanda came with us








the pool called our name











father's day was hot but fun!








we cooked out with brad, jami, emma, and logan












liam pooped out on the way home










on to kristi's apartment for fun!












where, of course, we took some pictures









next came the aquarium (one of mommy's favorites!)











liam loved the fish








self portrait of matt and myself with the atlanta skyline







in nashville





playing in the fountains in nashville










we had a lot of fun!








playing at the cheekwood manor's family night out!










we got to see our friend erin, who worked at a bakery that was really yummy!







liam made quite an impression on billy collins who is one of daddy's favorite poets








then came the 15 hour ride home to lubbock. we were all tired and ready to be home!







i hope that the pictures tell enough of our story. it was a crazy, busy, and fun three weeks. there was drama camp in there somewhere too!

we are so glad to be home now. i was not excited about the laundry that was awaiting me, but to be able to sleep in my own bed it was worth it!!! i think liam was also happy to be able to sleep in his own bed again.

there is still more summer to be had, so stay tuned for more of our summer fun!!!!