Bluebonnet Photos!

I have to admit that being from El Paso, I knew that bluebonnets were our state flower, but I had never seen one until I moved to College Station.  All I had seen my whole life were cacti, tumbleweeds, and dust storms.  Since we probably won't always live in the great state of Texas (Julian LOVES loathes that saying), I figured we would take part in the (east/central) Texas tradition of taking family photos in bluebonnets!

About a month ago, when the bluebonnets were in full bloom, one of our photographers set up a mini session for people to take these shots.  I signed us up right away because I had this on our College Station bucket list.  Here are a few of our best shots!

Our best family shot

We love this sweet baby girl!

"Hey wait a second...I thought we were all in this together?!"

Oh, there's that smile!

And how do you make her smile like this?  Blow bubbles behind the camera, of course!

Our Little Texas Girl (For Life)

Thanks, Shannon, for helping us cross this off our bucket list.  And now I have the photos to prove how much Julian really does love the great state of Texas! God bless Texas and bluebonnets!

Haha, I'll be sure to take a photo of Julian's face as he joyfully woefully reads this post...

muah hahahahaha!

DIY: Backyard Patio Part 2

Over the past few weeks, Julian and his buddies have been making great progress on our DIY backyard patio.  A special thanks to Michael, Franco, and Derick for helping Julian with this project...it would not have been possible with y'all!!!  I'll share some of the details of this project in case there are any other DYIers out there who want to know details.

First, they started by marking the space in the lawn where the patio would sit.  Then, they dug up the ground about 4-6 inches deep (this was apparently the hardest part...but what do I know?!?!  I was at work!).  They were sure to place dirt in one pile and sod in the other so that they can use it later to lay in between the concrete slabs.

They dug a workspace that was approximately 13.5' x 10'.

Then, they set the wood frames that Julian had previously built in to a pattern of 3 x 4.  Each frame is 3' x 3', and there were 6" in between.

Next, they poured concrete into each frame.  I think they were experts learning as they went, and this was the first one they poured, which was a little too gravel-y (is that even a word?!). But each one got better and better and the surface got smoother and smoother.

On the first day, they poured 7 of the 12 slabs before daylight ran out on them (along with fatigue and sunburns...sorry fellas!!!)

And then on day two, they poured the last 5 slabs.

Thus far, it looks awesome!  There is still a little more work to be done, like removing the wood frames, painting the concrete, and putting dirt and sod back in between each slab.  But, for now, we are well on our way towards our first major home renovation!  

Julian, I must admit that I doubted was a little skeptical of was a tiny bit hesitant on your ability to get this done under budget and nicely.  But you have far exceeded my expectations...and I am sure your dad is proud (which is probably the best compliment of all)! =)

Jilly's New Ride

For Easter, Julian's parents bought Jillian a new car!!!  It came in one day that Julian had off from work.  When Jillian and I got home from school, he surprised her with her new car, Carli the Cozy Coupe.  She was so excited!

Daddy, is this for me?!?!

Beep Beep

Mommy, no time for pictures!  Let's keep going around and around!

I ran out of gas!!!  Time to push my car!

She loves her new car and it gives us another fun outside activity to do with all this gorgeous weather we've been having!

Thanks, Mami Mari and Papi Papo, for Jillian's new ride!  I'm sure she'll be asking you for another new car in 15 years! ;)

Silly Jilly Loves "Wow Wows"

Jillian loves dogs these days.  It started with meeting her grandparent's dog, Pookie, in Virginia in January.  At first, she was terrified of Pookie, but quickly decided she would give Pookie a chance.  We would see Pookie and say, "Look at the Wow Wow, Jilly!"  Now, every time we FaceTime with Julian's parents, she says "Wow wow."  She does the same thing to my parents with their dog, Comet.  I swear, she loves doing FaceTime with her grandparents to see them their dogs!
(Sorry, Grandpa, Grandma, Mami, and Papi!)

This love of dogs has extended into her everyday life, too.  One morning, she was in her crib and she kept pointing to her stuffed animal basket and saying, "Wow wow, wow wow."  There was a stuffed Lady (from Lady and the Tramp) in the mix and she would not get out of bed till we gave her that Wow Wow.  Now, Lady goes with her EVERYWHERE!  From breakfast in the morning to the ride to and from school, playing outside, and of course at bedtime. 

Silly Jilly, you and your Wow Wow make us smile everyday!

DIY: Backyard Patio

Julian has been thinking working hard on a major home improvement in our backyard.  After lots and lots of dreaming of what he we want, and lots of drawing up plans (and then scrapping those plans in favor of newer, bigger, better ideas), he finally got started on the project today.  Julian started cutting the wood and forming it into 3'x3' squares that will serve as frames for our concrete pavers.

Here is the first of 12 frames needed for the patio.  Julian completed 5 frames already, but got pulled away to celebrate Easter with a cute bunny named Jillian! ;)

This is just the beginning of a beautiful backyard to come!  Stay tuned for more DIY with the talented Julian Acosta!

Hoppy Easter, Jilly Bear!

Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again, Hallelujah!

Happy Easter, everyone!  To celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, the Acostas enjoyed a great Sunday together, especially because Julian had the day off (can I get an AMEN?!).  The day started with cartoons in bed, followed by a homemade french toast casserole.  Then we quickly got ready for church...after all, Jesus is the reason for the season celebration (yeah, that doesn't rhyme...). After the Easter Sunday mass at St. Thomas Aquinas, we went to lunch at Cheddars, as is now an Easter tradition...haha!

And then it was time for the 2nd Annual Acosta Easter Egg Hunt!  Jillian was a lot more into into it this year than last year.  It is so fun to witness holidays now through your child's eyes!

Julian hid the eggs and Jillian and I went hunting for them.  We searched high and low, and Jillian had so much fun spotting them and then sticking them in her Easter basket.  

Also this year, her eggs were filled with yummy snacks, like goldfish, Teddy Grahams, fruit snacks, and raisins, so Jilly was in heaven!

We then gave her the Easter baskets she got this year, filled with lots of goodies, like books, flash cards, a chalk board, and bubbles, of course!  She also got an Easter basket from Granny Julie filled with clothes, eggs, and bows!!!

Because the day was so pretty, we decided to play outside.  After switching out of our Easter dresses and into a "Happy Hoppy Easter" shirt (thanks, Granny!), we went outside to play with sidewalk chalk and bubbles.  

But, when the Easter bunny left baskets, he also left a new water table for Jilly!  So we built that and Jillian went to town, splashing around and getting soaking wet!

Then, it was inside for a late nap while Mommy and Daddy worked on a DIY project (post to come soon!).  We ended our perfect day with steaks and shrimp on the grill.

We had an amazing day today and enjoyed every second of our Easter Sunday!  Hope you all had a blessed and family-filled day, too!

College Station Bucket List

The other day, Julian and I were driving back from Houston and, like all long drives, we decided to do some life planning.  Included in the plan was a timeline for when we would like to move away from College Station.  That got us thinking...we have had some great experiences in the nearly 7 years that we have called Aggieland home!  We have built a life together here and spent so many of our life milestones here.  Here are just a few...

 

Living together, away from everyone
Coming home for the first time as husband and wife
Having our first child
Buying our first house

 

But that also got us thinking that we should start a College Station Bucket List of the things we'd like to do before we move away from here.  Some of the things on the list are things that we would like to do here in B/CS, but others are things in close proximity from here.  After all, we may move away and not be 2-5 hours from such great places with great things to do.  So here is our College Station Bucket List so far...

​Attend an Aggie baseball game in Blue Bell park!

​Take blue bonnet pictures

​Go to another Cowboys game

​Visit the College Station library

​Go to a Fightin’ Texas Aggie football game in Kyle Field at least once more

Enjoy another hip hop concert in Austin

​Go to one of the Six Flags or Sea World

Spend a day at the George Bush library

​Go see friends who live in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and Austin

Have a picnic at 5 College Station/Bryan parks

​Summer trip to Galveston

Experience the Texas State Fair

​Go to Fredricksburg around the holidays

​Go to Austin - outdoors-y stuff

​Go to a Rangers/Yankees game

​Walk under the Century Tree at least 3 more times

​Go to Schlitterbaun as a family again

​Enjoy the new MSC

Experience the Houston Rodeo

Go to the Renaissance Festival

Have snowcones from JJ's as much as possible

By the time we embark on the new phase of our lives in a new place, I hope to say that we have crossed all these things off the bucket list.  I'm also open to suggestions on other great things to do here/around here so that we can add to our list...