Our trip to California - June 2007

We had such a great time visiting family in California! It had been 1 1/2 years since we had last been there, and Weston had never visited. We planned the trip so that Shar & Trav's vacation there would overlap with ours by a weekend. It was so fun to have *almost* everyone home. (we really missed you Chels & Syanne!!)
The first thing we did was my mom and I threw Shar a baby shower. It was great to have such a fun excuse to get everyone together that we rarely get to see! We miss all of our friends in CA so much! Thank you to everyone who was able to come and celebrate with us! And for those of you who weren't able to make it: we love and miss you tons!
It was an awesome trip and we are already missing everyone so much. We loved every second we were able to spend with family and are already trying to plan another trip out there. Thank you for making our vacation so fun. You are all so wonderful and we are grateful to be a part of your family! WE LOVE YOU!!

Shar's shower in California. (I didn't put pictures of all the people there because I didn't know who would want their picture online or not....but know that we love you!)

Congratulations Shar & Trav..we can't wait to meet her in September!!

What a cute expectant mom! We are so excited for Shar & Trav and their little girl on the way!!

Me, mom, & Shar at the shower!

With our cute Aunt Michelle!

Okay, this funny kid, he won't keep on a hat for anything, but my mom put these glasses on him and he loved everyone laughing at him. He thought he was so funny. He left them on for awhile and just kept making this cute scrunched up face that he makes when he wants people to laugh. What a hoot!!

Weston's first trip to the BEACH!!

Doesn't this face just say it all?! He LOVED the beach!! He kept trying to hand us the sand, but it would slide right out of his fingers. So funny. We had a blast!!

It was a pretty chilly day but the water was warm-ish! He had fun with dad!

Grandpa's little bud...he already loves sand (aka wet dirt!)

Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa!

The Gals

The Guys

Playing in the sand!! Grandpa buried him and he didn't even care!

Aren't these guys studs?!! Shawn has the Johnny Depp look goin on and Mckenon the JCrewe...You guys are great! Love ya.

Mckenon and Shawn both play the guitar (so awesome!) and Weston LOVED trying to play too! If a guitar was ever left on the floor he found it right away! Mckenon taught himself "Hey there Delilah" while we were there and he sounds so good! By the time we left, everyone in the house had the chorus memorized! Keep it up, bud, we can't wait to hear the next songs you learn!

The boys all thought Mckenon's snake, Hades, was so cool!

The Twin "Bookends"
Shar and I are the oldest grandkids on my mom's side and Elijah and Ezra are the youngest! So cute and fun! We loved getting to see everyone. Thanks for coming out to the house to visit us!

The San Diego Wild Animal Park!! We had a fun day with Mom and Mckenon (who got to leave school early!) It was fun to walk through the park and see the changes they've made since I had last been there. Animals are so fascinating to watch...I wonder what they think of us! It was a great way to spend Jeff's last day! We missed you Dad and Shawn!!

We saw the lions, giraffes, gorillas, a bird show, etc and Weston's favorite part was the ground (the cement was fascinating apparently) and the plants!! (Great Grandma Abreu would be proud!) What a kid!

Mckenon took Weston on a safari ride...well not really, but Weston didn't know that!

Rhino picture...great huh?!

Our second trip to the beach was much warmer! We didn't need jackets!

Weston loved chillin with his Uncle Mckenon!
I was a little worried because Jeff left 5 days before Weston and I did. In addition to missing him, I didn't know if I would be pulling my hair out by the end of the week!! But Dad, Shawn, and Mckenon all took turns taking Weston so I could do little things: like fix my hair, talk to mom, or do dishes. It was awesome and Weston loved playing with all of them. Coming home was hard because it's not everyday you get 5 adults playing with and entertaining one little dude!
Thanks for all the help!!

Weston loved 'driving' Grandpa's truck!

Thank you for an awesome two weeks! We love and miss you all!!

The Big Day: Jeff's Graduation from BYU!!!!

Well we are both officially now BYU alumnus!! Jeff graduated from BYU with a BS in Financial Services on April 27th!! It was such an exciting day for us and we were able to celebrate with so many awesome family members!!! We had LOTS of Texas family here: Mom & Dad Drysdale (Ken & Jeanne), Grandpa Joe & Grandma Dean, Uncle Guy & Aunt Sharon, Joe, Amanda, & Cole, and James & Amy (who live close by), Uncle Bob & Aunt Susie (who live not too far) plus my (Nicole's) parents- Dan & Karen, and those who live here: Shar & Trav and Chelsea and cute Syanne were all able to come as well!
Thank you to everyone who helped make Jeff's graduation such a special and memorable time in our lives. It meant so much to have all of you here and we truly appreciate all the love, support, and time you have given us. We couldn't have made it without you!!!
Also, for those who don't know....Jeff was hired with the Church Education System a week before graduation! He will be teaching seminary full-time in Utah Valley. We couldn't be more thrilled and we definitely feel VERY blessed! Jeff has worked so hard during his time at BYU and has done such an amazing job juggling school, student teaching, and me and West!!! We feel so blessed to have him as a husband and father and are so proud of all of his accomplishments!!

!!!Congratulations Jeff!!!

Celebrating our exciting day!! I feel like I graduated with Jeff, too!!! Congrats Jeff!

Weston was pretty sleepy after graduation but he perked up when he saw Jeff's tassel. Too cute!

The Abreu family celebrating Jeff's graduation!!

The Drysdale Family with the new graduate!!!

Yes, we are an official BYU family! Gotta love the t-shirts! This was taken at Jeff's graduation party at the park. We had a blast! Thanks everyone for sharing in this amazing time in our lives with us! We love all of you!!!

Some Favorite Pics from the trip!!!

Okay family and friends, here are some more pictures from the big weekend when all the family was here! (from both sides!!) I had to pick just a few of my favorites because I could spend all day uploading every single one and that would just take way too long! But if you think the Abreu fam is absent from a lot of pictures it's because I hardly took any pictures during the whole trip, and was planning on getting pictures from everyone else. I keep forgetting to get them from my side of the family! So those pictures will be pending! (especially the cute ones of Syanne's b-day!!! Enjoy the following! And don't worry--- Jeff's grad pics are the next ones up, finally!!!

On some rare, occassional moments West will actually ham it up for the camera!!

How adorable is Cole?! And check out those teeth...Weston is definitely jealous! :)

My cute mom & dad!!! Thanks so much for coming!!!

Mom & Aunt Sharon with the boys at Jeff's graduation! The babies all did so good!

Weston's feet have just gotten SO big.....

Me and my beautiful sister-in-laws, Amanda & Amy

Just too darn cute!!

Okay, isn't this adorable?! We went to the Gateway Mall in SLC (so fun) and found this cool tricycle. Weston loved it! What I loved about it was that I didn't have to stoop to much to push him in it, it had this awesome handle at the back that was pretty high. very cool!

Hanging out with the Grandparents!!

Watching the Boys!

Joe and Amanda were able to go to the Salt Lake Temple one morning during the trip and I got to babysit!!!! It was such a blast to watch Cole who is just the sweetest little guy. I absolutely love having a nephew!! It was awesome to see Weston and Cole together and it made me really wish we lived closer to each other! We love you guys!

So back to babysitting....I'll admit I was a *little* nervous to watch both of the boys on my own. (Cole is 7 months, West 10 months) but they were both amazing and convienently for me they took naps at opposite times. :) When they were both awake they had fun playing together (or taking each other's toys, so funny!) and then we went on a walk. I had my neighbor take this picture at the end of the walk. It was really fun, but I have two words of advice for anyone who is thinking about having more than one child: double stroller!! We'll be getting one in the future for sure!!! (more than 9 months in the future for anyone who may have thought i was announcing something. haha)

Color Me Mine!!!

Amanda and I went to finish her platter and bowl at Color Me Mine. I got to entertain the boys, which was really fun. They were so good and let me take all kinds of pictures of them together! It was definitely an experience getting Cole's handprint in the bowl! But it turned out so cute...ask Amanda if you want to see it!

Weston n Cole!!!

Here are the adorable cousins just hanging out!! It was so much fun to have a week to spend with Joe and Amanda and Cole before the graduation. Weston and Cole actually noticed each other this time and were pretty funny with their toys. (of course they both wanted what the other one had!) We're sure this is the start of a great friendship. :)

Our cutie pie on the day he turned 10 months old.
He loves giving kisses now and is so funny whenwe give him one!

Happy Easter everyone!!! This is our latest family pic. Weston wasn't very interested in the camera, though, so it's kind of funny. But at least he is looking! He really just wanted to crawl away and play with the flowers!!
We hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. We love all of the traditional, fun, Easter basket stuff (and there are plenty of pictures below to prove it!) but we also want you all to know that we truly love our Savior, who this day is honoring. We hope that His spirit will be with you throughout this year and that you'll take a moment to remember how much he has done for us! !!Happy Easter!!! Love, Jeff, Nicole, & Weston

Here is our little cutie pie in his new Easter outfit!!!! We absolutely loved this and were so excited when Grandma said she'd help go in on it!! He loves grabbing his toes now and we just think he is so darn cute. (I know we're a little biased!)

I don't care how old you are.....Easter Baskets are always fun!!!! Jeff surprised me with some fun treats and he got a new little game from me & West that we tried out with James & Amy. We liked it!! It's called 'Toss up.' We also DEFINITELY have way too many goodies now (Thanks also to Mom Drysdale!!) So we'll be good for movie treats for a LONG time! Weston got some fun new toys in his basket and his latest favorite treat is goldfish...so that's what was hidden in his eggs!!





Going for the Easter Basket!!!



Finding the treats in his eggs!

Shar & Trav came over too!! They took pictures for us and helped us get the food ready!
We went to Chelsea & Rob's place for dinner and had a fun Easter Egg hunt....I don't have any of the pictures on my camera though so I'll have to try to put some on when I get them from everyone else!

James & Amy came over for dessert and they brought some fun Easter treats. They also made Weston an egg...which was so cool because we didn't dye Easter Eggs this year. (things just got crazy.) So they egg said "We love you" on one side and then "West #1" on this side. So great.
We love you guys! Thanks for such a fun night!!