A Day Filled with Best Friends

What a great day we had on Saturday!  It was a fun-filled day with lots of stuff to do and the best company of all to spend it with...our best friends who are like family!

We started our day by going to William Baker's 3rd birthday party.  William's mommy is one of my work friends and we were all too excited to receive an invitation to his paint party.  William also invited his friend from school, and Jillian's best friend, Jackson!  So these 2 besties got to spend the morning together being tiny Picassos!

Don't they look so cute in their aprons?!

At the party, each child got their own apron, a homemade easel, and a poster board to create their masterpiece.  There was a table full of paint options, and of course Jillian went straight for the purple and pink.

These 2 found spots next to each other and got to work on their "art projects."

Jillian really, Really, REALLY loved painting.  She started off using the brushes, but eventually just started using her hands.  And then she realized she was getting her hands dirty (she hates getting her hands all dirty).  So she went back to using the brushes.  

The paint party was a great idea to keep around 15 kids entertained for a little bit, but each child eventually got tired of painting (some after 2 minutes, some after 10).  But not this kid...she stayed outside painting for 45 minutes!  She started with this lovely purple and pink heart-shaped masterpiece, but she eventually used every paint color available and covered every inch of her poster board!

(Side note: Needless to say, I came home and told Julian that he needed to make Jillian an easel at home so we could spend our afternoons painting.  She loved it so much!  I think we have a future artist on our hands!)

But the fun didn't stop there.  I told Jillian if she ate all her lunch and took a good nap, we would go see the marching band, the Aggies, and all her friends in the afternoon.  

We joined up with our closest friends, the Malnars and the Hayes, to go watch the Corps March-in before Texas A&M BTHO SMU!  These kids loved it!  And I loved getting to spend quality time with our nearest and dearest.  

We had curbside seats to watch the band go by and it is definitely a site to see!  I was a little worried how this little guy would do, but he was such a trooper.  I covered his little ears but he did not fuss one bit as the band went by.  I'll take it as a sign that he will become an Aggie someday since he enjoyed it so much!

After march-in, we wanted to continue taking in the gameday experience, so we went to the Association of Former Students and took some family photos in the Aggie Ring!

The Fightin' Texas Aggie Acosta Family (minus Daddy...so sad he had to work during all this)

And next a family photo with our friends who are like family crew!  I think these kiddos were the cutest little Aggies around!  I can see it now...all 5 of them will be in college at the same time and I am sure they will all choose the greatest university in the world...Texas A&M!

Jillian, Class of 2033, Alex, Class of 2035, Jackson, Class of 2032, Andrew, Class of 2035, and Cole, Class of 2035 WHOOP!  (Lord help us, that means that me, Meredith, and Christen will all be Aggie Moms...haha!)

Next, we went up to my office in the MSC so I could feed Alex, and these 2 ran around and burned off more energy.  A big, heartfelt thanks to Meredith and Justin for watching Jillian while I fed the baby.  I wasn't around when they took this next set of pictures, but I think they are priceless!

Best friends posing for the camera

Jillian is starting to be a little ham!

Look at that pose!  She's just like her mommy!  (I'm pretty sure my mom has a pic of me just like this, but on our fireplace in a blue leotard.)

These 2 best friend cuties had a great time together!  And as for us adults, it is such a blessing to spend such quality time with my best friends and watch as our children grow, learn, and experience together.  At times, it is hard being so far away from family, but with these people in our lives, we have friends who have become family.  I honestly couldn't do all this without them!