The Stephanator

I think I mentioned that my cousin Stephanie came down to visit for a week. It was so great to spend some time with her and catch up with her and hear all about the teenage drama that is the typical life of a 14 year old. I seriously can't believe she's fourteen. I watched her carry Harrison out of the room on her hip and I remember so clearly doing the same thing with her when she was his age. How was that fourteen years ago??

I'm trying to remember everything we did while she was here, but the days are really running together in my mind. You know, because last week was so long ago and all. What I do know is we had so much fun and I laughed more than I've laughed in a long time. She's got a very twisted sense of humor that is unmatched, and I so love her for it!

The week started off a little rocky considering I was pitifully sick and couldn't find enough energy to even get out of bed much of Monday. Her sleeping in until 2pm took off some of my guilt though, ha! She didn't mind just chilling out with my pathetic self and watching a bunch of movies, so that's good.

The rest of the week is kind of a blur, so it's a good thing that I have a gazillion pictures to document what we did. And aren't you so excited to look at a gazillion of my pictures?! I knew you would be! ;)  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Somewhere in there included a trip to see my doctor, where the crew somehow managed to make a fun time out of hanging out FOR. EV. ER. in the waiting room.

How many people can we fit in one chair?

And then there was the fun shopping trip where Harrison so sweetly fell asleep on his Beda's chest. I think it was a ploy to get her to buy him a bunch of clothes, which was a successful mission on his part.

I've got you right where I want you. Mwahahaha!

Another day included a trip to Galveston to the strand and the beach. That morning I saw Carlos Mencia on the news talking about his new restaurant that was opening down there that day and so we decided to give it a try it for lunch. We were hoping to see him in person and possibly become superstars in the background of a local news report. Ha!

First, though, we had to pay a visit to my brother's restaurant where he's a cook. I think we ended up embarrassing him. He was pretty busy and couldn't come visit us right away, and we felt awkward not ordering anything since we were seated and had a waiter. So my mom and I decided we'd split a panini and Steph was going to just wait for Mexican Food at Carlos' restaurant. I guess the waiter misunderstood us, because she brought out three plates with teeny tiny sandwiches on them. Connor said we were the talk of the kitchen since nobody has been cheap enough to split a panini three ways. Ha ha!

The fam

On to Lunch #2 (Pigs? Who, us?), we spotted the news van outside of the restaurant. Score!

One step away from instant fame.

We got inside and sadly there was no Carlos in sight. Bummer. But then to our excitement, the camera man was spotted! And then the camera man passed right by us and decided to film the table next to us instead. Hmph. And in that moment, our dreams of being the annoying people waving obnoxiously in the background were crushed.

Almost famous.

Lunch was still fun, though.

Two of my favorite people

 

We got lots of good girl time in and had tons to laugh about. 

Did I mention she has a twisted sense of humor?

Harrison was bored with us so he decided to occupy himself for a while.

 Enjoying your chips and queso, are ya? Yeah, well this tray tastes wayyy better and it's all mine.

And of course I did what I do best, which is stuff my face.

Get in my belly!

Oh mah gah. My mom is SO embarrassing.

As if two lunches weren't enough, we couldn't pass up dessert in the form of chocolate perfection.

YUM

This will keep the doctor away for years.

I'll take one of everything!

Truffles isn't creepy at all!

Then it was time for a little shopping on the strand.

Fashion diva

Not the most stroller-friendly area, so it was time for a little baby-wearing action.

Sure  wish I could afford something nice for my mommy. A little back surgery would be perfect!

We really enjoyed all the girl time and couldn't go without getting manicures and pedicures together. I was finally able to put my Mother's Day gift certificate to good use and my toes thanked me considerably after months of neglect.

 

Don't beautiful feet run in our family? Ha! 

One night also included a trip to Kemah. Steph wanted to ride a few rides, but Rick teased her that she was too short.

Barely passed the test.

  I regretfully agreed to ride a couple of rides with her. The wooden roller coaster about did me in. I really must be getting old because I was screaming more in pain than in fear or excitement. She also talked me into the "Drop Zone," which is one of those towers that drops you really fast. Here's the before, where we're all excited and having fun:

Bring it on!

And here's the after, where we're wondering why we thought riding this ride sounded like a good idea:

The moment we're afraid to stand up in case we accidentally peed our pants.

Harrison had a good time taking in all of the lights and noise.

 Much more fun than our normal night routine!

The rest of her trip included a lot of just hanging out and watching movies and eating junk food. We also baked some cupcakes. And when I say "we" baked cupcakes, I mean I baked cupcakes and Steph watched while she played on Facebook and with Harrison. But the baking of the cupcakes was her idea and she sure looked cute in her apron anyway.
 

The last night she was here, she offered to babysit Harrison so Rick and I could have a short date. We enjoyed a glass of wine and then went and picked up dinner to bring home for us all to eat. It's funny how we now consider a date to be anything that gets us out of the house sans baby and means no cooking. Ha!

She's got the magic touch

On her last day, she wanted to go to church with us and even helped us greet since it was our Sunday to serve. I so was proud of her for volunteering to get out of bed before noon! 

She's awake and it's only 8:30! It's a miracle!

I had to snap this picture of her room right before she started packing to go home. I'm thinking I may need to submit it to National Geographic as the undisturbed habitat of a teenager. This is partly why we nicknamed her "C.J." for Connor, Jr. Ha ha!

 

It was a great week filled with a lot of fun and laughs and memories. And I think it's safe to say that Harrison absolutely adores her. She's so good with him and I just know she'll make an excellent mommy when the time comes (like in 20+ years).   :)