A few weeks ago, my niece, River started school. I cannot believe that the little baby girl I have watched grow up is old enough to be in school. Right now, she’s in a Montessori pre-school, but before you know it, she’ll be headed to high school and then on to college. Yikes!

It’s that time of year when kids across the country load up their backpacks and head to class. It’s easy to be excited about the school year with freshly-sharpened pencils and brand-new supplies in their lockers, but eventually the new will wear off and it will be time to hit the books.

When that happens, sometimes a little extra help goes a long way. Need a chemistry tutor to help your child master their AP course? Do you have a student headed for college soon? There are many ACT tutors in Dallas!

That’s where Varsity Tutors steps in! They can schedule affordable one-on-one tutoring by SMU and TCU students. They will meet in your home, at a library or where ever it’s convenient for you and your family.

Tutors are matched to their students to ensure that they best fit your needs. All tutors must past stringent requirements.

I know I could have used a math tutor in school. And statistics TOTALLY kicked my butt in college. Why do you think I became a journalist and later a blogger? Words are my forte.

What was your worst subject in school? Do you have any kids going into school this year? What grades?

Disclaimer: This is a partnered post with  Varsity Tutors and I am receiving compensation. All opinions are my own and information was provided by Varsity Tutors.

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This weekend, we were invited to experience The Sweet Factory at Taste of Dallas.

It was a great family event featuring lots of yummy food and fun activities for the kids.

River and Eli enjoyed playing in the bouncy houses and visiting the petting zoo. We even got the kids’ faces painted!

But the highlight of the event was meeting Curious George! Andrew was SO EXCITED to meet his favorite cartoon character. We’ve watched many episodes of George’s escapades.

River met George too.

But Eli didn’t trust him.

River really enjoyed visiting the butterfly house.

The butterflies seemed to like Andrew.

But he was more interested in my camera.

Eli couldn’t get any to come to him, though.

We had so much fun. Did you attend Taste of Dallas this weekend?

Disclaimer: I was provided with tickets at no charge to attend Taste of Dallas. We also received some samples and products to try.

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There’s a long-standing joke in our relationship that The Nerd doesn’t love me enough to put a photo of me on his desk at work.

We’ve been married for three years and the man has never, not once, put a photo of me on his desk. No matter how many times I mention it.

It just doesn’t matter to him. Work is for work. Why would he have a picture of his wife there? That just isn’t logical.

A few days after Andrew was born, The Nerd asked me if I could text him some of the photos I had taken of our new son. “Why?” I asked. He had just returned to work, and confessed that everyone at work was asking to see pictures of the new baby. And he had nothing to show them.

See what I mean? The thought never occurred to him to take pictures of his new son.

We certainly are a pair, aren’t we? Me, who never puts the camera down, and James, who never thinks to pick it up.

Well, for The Nerd’s first Father’s Day, I wanted to take some special photos of Andrew.

I had this one framed so he could put it on his desk at work. And you know what? He actually did it.

I guess he loves Andrew more than me, haha.

We had so much fun taking photos of the Dude for his Daddy.

We even got River and Eli to share in the fun! This was their Father’s Day collage for their dad.

Of course, we had to give The Nerd something he’d actually enjoy on Father’s Day — so we got him a gift card to Steam.

It always comes back to video games in our house.

What did you do for Father’s Day?

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River was SO EXCITED to visit Santa this year.

We headed to the mall yesterday so she could see him and Mrs. Claus.

At first, she was a little shy.

But then she warmed up and was so excited!

Santa asked what she wanted for Christmas…

And she told him she wanted a Dora Fairy Princess Doll.

This was news to her parents, though. They had to run out to the store and get one for her to be sure that she wasn’t disappointed.

The moral of the story: Be sure to take your kid to see Santa earlier than two days before Christmas. That way, you have PLENTY of time to get another present. You know, if your kid pulls something out of left field when Santa asks what they want.

Of course, your kid could be like Eli and want nothing to do with Santa or his wife.

I just love that picture.

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This post is super-late, but if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know that I was kind of busy last week. If you consider “busy” to mean laying on the beach in between workshop sessions. Many fun posts about that to come this week.

But for now, let’s look at photos of my adorable niece as she hunts for Easter eggs, shall we?

River was so excited to come outside and hunt the eggs.

The Easter bunny did a great job of hiding them…even for a two-year-old.

Baby Eli even got to hunt a few eggs.

Ok, well, maybe just that one.

River’s basket got so full that every time she added another egg, three more would fall out. It was hilarious!

The Easter bunny got creative when it came to hiding some of the eggs.

But River would always find them.

She’s good like that, you know?

What did you do for Easter? Did the Easter bunny visit your kids?

Thanks for looking!

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Andy and Alex take River to the park all of the time. I’ve never seen a child who loves to go to the park as much as that little girl.

And her favorite thing to do? Swing.

She likes to swing high and fast. Andy pushes her and she just squeals with delight!

That is the face of a happy child.

What makes your kids happy?

Mine like to play fetch in the back yard… :p

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This weekend, we headed to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie, Texas.

Lately, River has been obsessed with princesses. She loves Beauty and the Beast and all you have to do to make her happy is tell her she looks like a princess.

So, we knew this would be the perfect treat for her!

Her mom did an awesome job of dressing her up in a princess costume. She braided her hair and River looked so beautiful.

River was so excited to go to the “fessival” to see the King and Queen. She wanted to dance with the King, she told us. It was so cute.

Our first stop once we arrived was by the face painting booth.

River was so excited to have her face painted. She sat so still and did a great job of letting the artist work her magic.

My favorite thing about it, though? The Nerd has this irrational fear of face paint. It totally weirds him out. And I may or may not enjoy seeing him squirm. I mean, come on! Face paint? Not clowns or bunnies? Face paint?

Hehehehe.

Once she was finished, River ran over to the mirror to get a better look at herself. She was so excited!

Isn’t she a doll?

After she was all prettied up, we headed browsed around the festival some more. River loved seeing everyone in their costumes.

We soon found a shop with crowns. Of course, no princess is complete without a crown.

She picked out this beautiful yellow crocheted crown with butterflies on it. So adorable!

Then, we headed off in search of a show or some food.

Along the way, we happened upon a shop with fairie wings. Once River saw them, she immediately headed that way. And how could we resist?

She picked out some blue ones. You know, to match her pink dress and yellow crown. So cute!

With her wings and crown, she was a full-fledged princess. She found another mirror and was dancing and twirling and admiring her outfit.

This was my favorite shot of the day. She has just the perfect princess pose!

And here she is dancing and having fun! Love it!

Next, we got to ride a camel! Err…River and Nanna got to ride a camel.

Don’t they look like they’re having fun?

It was such an awesome day, and I think River had a blast!

My favorite part of the day? The food!! Sausage on a stick and kettle corn. Y.U.M.

Have you ever been to a Renaissance Festival? What’s your favorite part?

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BLUEBONNETS!!

Ask any Texan mom (or, in my case, aunt) and they’ll tell you — Spring means days spent eyeing random fields and highway sides looking for the inky blue petals of our state flower.

What is it about bluebonnets that makes us go crazy and dress up our children and try to make them sit still long enough to snap a few photos?

It’s not like we haven’t taken these pictures every. single. year.

It’s not like it’s *easy* for a toddler to sit still while there are so many pretty flower to touch.

So many pretty flowers in which to frolic.

So many pretty flowers in which to… check your e-mail? Yes, this is what Nerds do when you bring them along for “moral support.” He does this all. the. freaking. time.

River had a great time running through the field of bluebonnets we found.

Such a great time, in fact, that she cried when it was time to go.

“But I wanna play in the pretty flowers,” she wailed, as Nanna carried her back to the car. “We can’t stay here all day,” Nanna replied. “But I don’t want to leave.”

I guess we’ll just have to come back next year.

Do you like our field of bluebonnets? It’s the *perfect* spot if you live in North Dallas.

There are three huge field of bluebonnets right in front of the JCPenney headquarters in Plano. Here’s the address: 6501 Legacy Drive, Plano, Texas. If you turn right onto Corporate Drive from Legacy Drive, there are spots to park along the road. So awesome!

Do you take photos of your kids in the bluebonnets? Where are your favorite spots?

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