Halloween and the Pumpkin Patch!!

Dressed up for the Halloween party! Jeff and I went as different era's (we raided Shar's Halloween bin!) and West, well, you can see is a dragon! Too cute!!!

Weston and I at the Pumpkin Patch!
We went with some good friends from our old ward. Thanks for inviting us Carley!
This is Weston with the pumpkin he picked!! He tries to say pumpkin, it is so cute!

He was so excited to get a pumpkin, but as soon as he saw the hay he totally forgot about it! He loved picking it up and throwing it in the air, so funny!

All the cute kiddos we went with: Abigail, Tanner, Brayden, & West (who was much more interested in all the kids than the camera!)

He either needed a nap, or just woke up from one! He WOULD NOT crack a smile!

These are the coolest pumpkins!

Happy Happy Birthday!!!!

Happy Birthday Dad and Shawn!!!!!

Happy Birthday. We hope it was fantastic!!!! (despite the craziness)
Since we all know that Shar is a much more eloquent writer than any of us, I am just going to say
DITTO!!!!!
to everything she wrote. And please know that I agree and think the world of both of you. I am so glad I am part of your family. Thanks for everything!!!!

A very late update!!!!

Hello family and friends!!!

For those of you who have been wondering and questioning my being alive-- here I am. Finally!!!!! Life has been busy and crazy since last time I posted. Since I am overwhelmed with the thought of catching you up on the last 2 months, complete with pics and lengthy explanations, I am just going to do a summary and then move on to the here and now!! (It's kind of like when you miss an entire year of writing in your journal...it could take months to catch up and then that only puts you behind even farther, so we're moving straight to the latest!)

Here is a brief synopsis:

September:

• Our new niece was born, pics are below.

• We had a fantastic visit from Mom. She was here for Shar & Kapria but we were able to have a blast with her too! We miss her so much
• We found out we are expecting baby number 2!! Yay!!! We are due May 10, 2008 and we are SO excited. Maybe a girl is in our future?! We'll see! I had about 2-3 really hard weeks of feeling sick, but after that I have just been extremely tired. But, hey, I'll take fatigue over dry-heaving any day!!! sorry if that was too much info!
  

• Dad came to visit the last weekend Mom was here and then they drove home together.

• Weston was horribly sick the entire weekend Dad (aka Grandpa Dan) was here, BUMMER, but he did manage to crack a smile once or twice so that Grandpa saw a tiny bit of his sparkling personality!
• Weston is turning into a little boy more and more everyday. He is signing tons of words and trying to talk all the time. He RUNS, not walk, wherever he goes and LOVES to make people laugh. He is definitely a little ham.
  
• We miss Mom and Dad VERY much since they left!!!!
• We cancelled our internet because the price jumped way too high, hence the no blogging. However...I STILL get email....

October:

• Conference weekend for the LDS church. Need I say more? It was fantastic and inspired me to be so much better and try harder in a lot of personal areas. I love listening to our Prophet and the leaders of our church.
  
• Conference weekend Joe, Amanda, & Cole came for a quick trip. It was so great to see them and get all the siblings together!!! It made us miss them even more!
• Jeff and I were able to use our gift certificate for Johnson's Mill Bed and Breakfast (where we went for our anniversary!) It was so beautiful there in the fall!!! We saw about 7 does, 2 baby deer, and 2 bucks. How cool. Also, there was a pair of swans who followed us around the pond while we canoed. We finally asked the receptionist for some feed and were able to feed not only the swans, but about 10 geese, and a few ducks and some fish. That was so fun. We even saw a snake in the basement common room. How's that for a great get-away?! We were so lucky that Jonathan was able to watch Weston overnight!!! Weston still had a smile on his face when we got home, so way-to-go Jonathan!!! What a great uncle!!!! (Thanks to James and Amy for coming to help put Weston to bed!!!)
  
• West and I took a trip to Missouri to visit Grandma & Grandpa Abreu and Meg and the girls. My mom was awesome and came too!! We had a connecting flight in Vegas where we met her and then the three of us flew to Kansas City. Missouri is such a beautiful state. We had a blast and are so glad we were able to spend some quality time with the family we don't get to see often enough. Some of the highlights from the trip include:
  

1. Weston actually sleeping on the plane!
2. Spending quality time with wonderful family
3. Late nights playing cards (hand and foot is the coolest game)
4. getting to have my mom all to myself. I miss her.
5. Visiting Liberty Jail. The spirit there was amazing. My favorite sections of the Doctrine and Covenants were received there!
6. Visiting Independence and Adam-ondi-ahman. Again, what a spiritual place to be.
   
7. Getting to know my adorable, fun, and amazing cousins and my awesome Aunt better. She also took Weston's pics. I don't have all the pics fromt the trip yet, but I will so those WILL be posted because they are just too dang cool!
   
8. Watching Weston warm up to everyone. He also started doing some very daring stunts. too funny!
9. Weston learned to say cow, moo, and pumpkin. Okay, it might not sound just like it, but he definitely makes the same sound over and over for each of those words. too cute. Cow and moo came from visiting the cows that live, yes, right next door to my grandparents house.
   
10. Visiting historic Weston, MO. YES, it is a town and you can imagine how picture crazy I went. Again, those pics will come soon!
11. Bonding with Melissa. I miss you tons!!! Thanks for all of the texts!
    
12. We learned about the fires that were ravaging So. CA. (more on that below)
    

The trip was a blast and I am so glad we were able to take the time to go. Thank you, Jeff, for putting up with 9 days without us. I know it was lonely!!!

• Okay, back to the rest of October: we had a great weekend back after missing Jeff very much, but now I miss my mom very much.
  
• West and I had a fun trip to Pumpkin Land with some friends from our old ward. It was so good to hang out with friends! Thanks for inviting us Carley!!
• We were able to go to cute little Abigail's first birthday party last night. She is so adorable, I am sorry Jonathan, but you have a heartbreaker on your hands. Good luck when she can start dating!!!
  
• We have the internet again. Jeff found a great deal, way to go babe!
  

And NOW, that is the latest. SO...I realized that I wrote a TON. So much for a brief synopsis. Haha. I really hope you read it all, though, because that has been our life up until now.

And now for the fires:
First of all, a big, huge THANK YOU to everyone who has called and sent emails of concern for my family. I can't tell you enough how much it means.
Here is the update on what happened:

Valley Center was evacuated. The fire did go through the ranch and my dad and brothers stayed to try to save what they could. You might think this is not smart. That's not the case, my dad helped out the firefighters during the fires 4 years ago. He is not a dumb guy, in fact, he's very smart and I would want him with me during any natural disaster!!!! There are also fire hoses at the ranch, NOT household hoses. If people are trying to fight a fire with a typical garden hose, yeah, that is dumb. Also, right in front of our house is a fairly large pond. The plan was to jump in the pond if the fire got out of control, which they didn't have to do.
All but 2 of the home were burned down. For some reason, the fire hoses stopped working, otherwise my dad says they could have saved more. The shop and various other buildings were burned. The shop was a huge bummer for our family because it housed the boat, wave runner, a car, and all of my dad's tools, auto books and a lot of things that he has spent his lifetime aquiring. The books are really sad because many of them are out of print. They were able to save the house, but it is not livable. So my dad says that he saved our stuff (inside the house) but not the house, really.
But they are okay and that is the most important thing. I admire my parents so much because they have such a good outlook on things. They are being really optimistic even though they lost a lot of valuable things and are, essentially, without a home.
Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. You are very appreciated!!!!

So there is the update. I hope you enjoyed finding out why we've been missing from blogging for so long!!! Since I have to get on a different computer to send pics, I will do that very soon!!!

Hmmm...interesting quiz, kind of funny. It made me laugh it's so intense. LOVE the color I am! Let me know if you take it!!

What color is your soul painted? Pink Your soul is painted the color pink, which embodies the characteristics of love, friendship, compassion, femininity, relaxation, ability to overcome evil, honor, morality, general success, gratitude, appreciation, admiration, sympathy, health, and marriage. Pink falls under the element of Air, and is symbolic of gentle emotions and of emotional unions. Click Here to Take This Quiz

Quizzes and Personality Tests

Kapria Faith !!!!

We went to the hospital to meet cute little Kapria on Wednesday. (I will post pics with Shar & Trav soon...they are all on their camera!) She is so beautiful, can you believe all of her hair?!!! We love her so much already. She is just so sweet and adorable!

Isn't she SO precious!

Weston meeting Kapria for the first time. He was definitely interested in her...especially when she cried! I love how sweet this picture is!

Proud Uncle Jeff meeting Kapria!!!
(we need a girl in our little family, look how sweet Jeff is with her...he's even said he wouldn't mind a girl now!)

Nicole & Kapria!!
I just LOVE this little girl already! (if I don't have a girl someday I sure will have some spoiled nieces!) Check out Shar & Trav's blog for some REALLY adorable pictures when they took her home....LOVE the bow!!!

She's Arrived!!!

Our darling little niece is here! Check out Shar & Trav's blog to get the details!
Jeff, West, and I are going to visit later today and will post some pics asap!!! I will say, though, that Shar was absolutely amazing, she had a very LONG labor (20 hours of back labor BEFORE the epidural, and then it was only so she could rest a little in order to push. She is our hero!)

Babies are such miracles. It is the most incredible experience to see them come into the world!! I can't wait to hold her tiny little self again! Weston seems so HUGE!!

Shar & Trav's blog link is on the left of the posts! Enjoy...and warning, there are no pictures yet, but there WILL be!!!

August : the countdown!!

As we have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of our darling (name unknown) niece, we have had to come up with some fun things to pass the time! This isn't so difficult for Shar & Trav, who are working like crazy, taking classes, and trying to enoy those last kid-free moments. Even Jeff, who started teaching seminary this past week, has been busier than ever getting ready for school to start and preparing a classroom. So that left me and West, who just cannot wait to have another little someone to play with during the day! So here is what we've been up to this month:

Celebrating my 27th birthday!!

Swinging!!
Weston loves it!

Playing!!!
Baby in a bag!
Yes, he is actually in there folks. In case you think this was some cruel kid punishment, cast your worries aside, he loved it so much he didn't want to pop out for a picture. He is just chillin in there. Too funny!

Cleaning!! (the never-ending task)
Weston decided to chip in one day. Again, if you are thinking that I am such a cruel mom to put my 14 month old to work-- he honestly volunteered. That means I did NOT force him. haha. If you don't believe me, see the picture below:

See, he is happy. It might take the mom who is with him everyday to tell you, but that is NOT a grimace, it is a grin. He was laughing and singing while he worked. True story!

Finding cool new hiding places!!
(NO, he was NOT hiding from the cleaning or the bag!) This is his latest favorite spot- in the closet. Usually the laundry basket sits right where he is, but he pulls it right off and takes a seat. This kid just cracks me up!

Growing UP!!
Doesn't this outfit make him look so old?! He is doing more and more new things every day. His latest trick that he loves is dancing in one place or walking backwards. He also lets mom put lots of cute clothes on him and make him 'model' them for pictures. Check out those adorable tennis shoes...would you believe I got them for FREE?! Yes, some people give hand-me-downs like this away for free. Thank you to Shar's friend who passed them on. I won't be so kind...every boy I have will have to wear them until they wear out!

Reading!!!!
What can I say- he takes after his mom. Funny thing, though, the majority of the time he looks at books upside down. What does that mean?!

Snuggling!!

He LOVES his blanket. We got two of them so that we could rotate them through the wash, but he recently realized there are TWO and now he wants to drag BOTH of them around. Oh dear, and we were trying to figure out how to get him to let go of ONE in the future!!!

Trying new foods!!!
Weston just had a PB&J sandwich for the first time!! It was definitely a hit!!!

Here he is loving the pb&j AND showing off what he has been working on all month: his new teeth!! What a handsome little fella!

These are just a very few of the many many things we have been doing this month. We've also hung out with family and friends, gone shopping, had dinner at a friend's house, had dinner at family's house (hmmm...we better start having some people over), gone swimming, jogging, to movies, on dates, and just plain old had FUN!!! We're loving life!!!
Well, we hope all of you are having a great August!! Let us know what's up!
Love you all!

Discovering the LOVESAC!!!

So we have the lovesac in Weston's room, for space sake (I mean, it's HUGE) and Weston has pretty much ignored it...until NOW! He has realized what an incredibly comfortable, cushiony, cozy, corner it can be! We find him in it all the time and it is just too picture perfect not to share a few! He also is LOVING books even more than ever. He handles them SO well, also. I never let him touch my 'special' books himself: all the paper pages that can be ripped to shreds by tiny fingers in no time. gasp, it's too horrible to even think! But one day he managed to get ahold of one and to our shock and surprise, he is SO careful. He absolutely loves turning the pages and will 'read' the stories out loud as soon as he gets his hands on one. He hasn't ripped a single page and does his book-loving, story-collecting, avid-reading mommy proud!!
Take a look at our lovesac loving little boy:

These are just a few of the countless times we've found him like this!!! So cute!

Playing with Eviejane!!!


We were able to watch Evie (who turns 3 yrs in October) on Saturday while Greg & Al went to the temple, and we had a blast!! I honestly don't know who had more fun: Evie & Weston (who LOVE playing together and just crack each other up the whole time) or Jeff & I just watching them play and getting a kick out of it! They are just so funny together and it is not like 'babysitting' at all when she comes over. We just love this adorable girl! We'll watch her AnYtIMe Al & Greg!!!

They thought it was so funny to sit on the lovesac together!

West would laugh anytime he looked at Evie, but then just stare at the camera when we took the pic. oh well.

Riding bikes together...someday they won't be this different in size and maybe sparks will fly. haha.
Evie is just too funny and already calls him by his nickname: West. She is such a hoot!!

Happy Birthday to US!!!!
What is it like to be a twin?!

Shar & Nicole on our 25th Birthday! (yes we match...see story below)

Shar & Nicole March 2006


Okay, this post is, first, to say Happy Birthday to my wonderful and amazing sister! And second, to reminisce about what it was like growing up with a twin. Our entire lives we have gotten lots of questions, some funny, some lame, some very strange and some not even worth mentioning. But one question AlWaYs pops up and it is this:
What is it like being a twin?
My usual response to this question was: "well, what is it like NOT to be?" It's normal for me, so I don't have anything else to compare it to! And then people will usually ask if we liked being twins, etc. Well, again, when you don't have anything to compare it to, you are what you are. I don't feel extraordinary, or different than anyone else, or strange in any way. I have liked my life, I have liked my sister. And then again, there were times when I definitely did NOT! But I think that any singleton out there (that's what I'll call you non-twin/triplet/multiple birth folk) would have had days like that as well.
So, on to the reason why I am writing this post. As usual, when my birthday rolls around, I think about myself and Shar, our relationship, and how we've grown through the years. On a recent trip to Texas I had some of these twin questions asked of me, which I honestly don't mind answering, but I gave my usual, pat answers. So this, Aunt Betsy, is for you. :)
What is it like being a twin?
I have realized that I have taken for granted one of the biggest blessings in my life, and that is Shar. I have had a best friend since the day that I was born. Not just a friend who says hello/goodbye at the end of the day, but one who has lived with the same people, gone to the same school, shared the same room (until we were old enough to rotate getting our own) and gone through pretty much every first together. When I say 'gone through' I mean, that we were there for each other. Not all of our 'firsts' happened at the same time, or while we were together, but we listened, we talked, we cried, we shared, etc.
I think Heavenly Father knew that I was a big wimp and so I needed, not just parents and cool siblings, but a special person who would, literally, be there through it all! And she has.
Those who know us both, know that we are VERY different, however, despite growing up together! (but the same in a lot of ways too..haha, confusing, huh?!)
Being a twin means sharing a LOT of things. This is also a lesson I had to learn (maybe I wasn't as nice of a person as some!) I didn't always love having to plan a birthday with Shar because I wanted my OWN day. But now we LOVE sharing- and the cool thing is- since we've been pregnant at different times, we get to share clothes! Right now I have a lot of her 'thin' wardrobe and she has my maternity stuff! How cool is that?!
We were often compared, mostly by people outside the family. Or maybe it just felt that way. But I don't think it created a competition between us-- my parents did a wonderful job of making sure we were able to do the things we wanted to, and not getting pushed into one interest because that's what the other was doing.
Being a twin has also meant that, occasionally, we have shown up in similar and even matching outfits. UGGG! Okay, I will tell all of you now that maybe matching is cool if you are NOT a twin, but when you have a twin everyday and people say 'who is who,' 'I can't even tell you apart,' 'you look exactly alike,' YEAH, matching is NOT the way to go!!!!! But, one of our similarities is that we like some of the same clothing. On our 24th birthday we both showed up at the party in pink tops and black pants. At least they weren't exactly the same outfit, no THAT happened on our 25th birthday. (Pictured above) Yes, we both showed up in the same green top and black pants and I swear, it was not planned!!! There really is not much that is more embarassing!
Random twin memories: sitting back to back to open birthday gifts because they were the same thing- just different colors and we didn't want to 'see' it before we got our own opened, sharing a car that we hated to drive because it was a standard, sharing a car at Ricks college (I am sorry roommates for the years Shar & I didn't get along....we're much better now!), being recognized on campus by people I had never met in my life, switching places in Jr. High ONCE (not that great), having the same comforter - but different colors- all through elementary school, oh gosh, the list goes on. But see, my memories are probably similar to yours...pretty much like anyones' who has a sibling.
Okay, I am really wanting to read my new book, Eclipse, before Weston wakes up from his nap, so I am going to end this. Sorry if all of your 'twin' questions weren't answered, I did try to shed a little light on the query, though!
So, all in all, I will have to say that being a twin has ups and downs (much much much more ups), like it does with any sibling! But I am so incredibly grateful that I get to go through this life with such an awesome person who knows, right when I turn 27, how horrible it feels to be 27! (haha. It actually feels pretty great, 30 is the one I'm not really looking forward to!) At this moment, especially after writing this post, I am feeling pretty special, and wonderful, and extraordinary because I have a twin. How lucky am I?!
Happy Birthday Shar!!!

I've been TAGGED!!!
So here is a fun little game that I hope those I *tagged* will participate in. I enjoyed it and I hope you do too. Also, I tagged more people at the bottom because I want to find out more about everyone!! (but don't feel bad if I didn't tag you..it's because I thought one of the people I tagged would pass it on to you) Okay, long explanation...

I was feeling a little nostalgic, so below is a picture that was taken before baby. Hence the perky chest, slimmer waist, and long hair. Ahh...to have that body back again! But I wouldn't give Weston up for anything- he was ALL worth it! And just FYI, this picture was taken at Sea World, the greatest place on earth!


A- Attached or single: Attached to the best-husband-ever!
B- Best Friend: Jeff aka: the best-husband-ever
C- Cake or Pie: Cheesecake with strawberries, OR strawberry cream cheese pie (my mom's recipe)
D- Day of choice: SATURDAY, or any day I get to sleep in
E- Essential Item: ditto Annie on the oxygen, and my family
F- Favorite Color: pink
G- Gummi Bears or Worms: Bears, although I prefer other types of candy MUCH more
H- Hometown: San Marcos, CA....ahh the beauty, the warmth, the NO SNOW
I- Indulgence(s): snuggling with Jeff in the Luv Sak, reading a good book
J- January or July: July, see my favorite season
K- Kids: Weston, my cutest kiddo
L: Life is Incomplete Without: Jeff, Weston, more kids, family, sun, beach, pools and BOOKS!
M- Marriage Date: July 23, 2005
N -Number of Siblings: 2 brothers and 2 sisters, 4 bro-in-laws, and 2 sister-in-laws.
O- Oranges or Apples: Oranges. Mmm...the juiciness of it. Love it.
P- Phobias or Fears: Sharks, losing my family, dying before my family, and going blind.
Q- Quote: "What in your life is worth keeping the Spirit out?", "Proceed with faith through the open door." , "Keep on keepin on." (who can name the movie where that last quote comes from?!
R- Reason To Smile: Jeff, Weston, family, niece (and another one soon!), nephew, family vacations, good weather, friends. Oh the list goes on...
S- Season: Spring and summer
T- Tag Three: I'll go with my sisters - (who have blogs) Shar, Amanda, & Amy.
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I have many hidden dreams: singing professionally (need more voice lesson first), writing a novel (I love the ideas in my head, we'll see what kind of story they make!) and being an interior designer (sadly, BYU started their program when I was too close to graduating and I couldn't switch over..) These dreams WILL be realized sometime... and in some form. haha
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals: Oppressor- if that means I like meat. I love veggies too!
W- Worst Habit: Of my many- complaining. I know it's a problem and I'm really working on becoming a positive person! Yay for changing!
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: what kind of question is that?
Y- Your Favorite Food: ice cream, lasagna, food I don't have to cook!
Z- Zodiac: Leo, I find this a lame way to end this quiz. So here is a new question: what do you do late at night when you can't get your ZZZZZ's? haha. I READ!

Enjoy!
I don't know if this is allowed, but here I am going to tag even more people because I want to find out these fun things about them:
Desi F., Alli S., Alli B., & Carley T. I chose people that I don't think the people who I originally tagged will know or tag. We'll see.

What City Do You Belong In?!

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city soul with a small town heart Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian people - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong In?

I was thrilled that I belong in Rome...it sounds perfect!!! Maybe this little quiz will convince Jeff that we need to vacation there! Thanks, Amy, for the fun link!

Welcome Home Jonathan!!!!

Well, our big Texas trip was just as fabulous as we had hoped!! We welcomed home Jonathan from the Spain, Madrid Mission and had such a blast having the entire family together again!!! Jonathan has such an incredible spirit and is so much fun to have back!!! We are definitely excited that we get him out here with us in Utah in just a few weeks!! We packed our Texas trip with all of the best things: family time, pool time, a trip to the Zoo (before everyone got there), Jonathan coming home, a trip to San Antonio, family pictures, food, and fun, fun, FUN!!!! We love and miss everyone so much already and can't wait to go back!!!
Here are the pictures from the airport...some of them are blurry, sorry!!!

The girls holding the poster to welcome him home!!!

Jonathan coming through the doors...we had to wait much longer than we thought and mom was jumping up and down when he came through. It was so fun to see her that excited and so neat to be there when he returned!!!

Mom and Jonathan hugging. I love this picture...so cute!

Dad and Jonathan!

Jonathan got to meet his nephews finally!!! He's a natural uncle!!!


Family Pictures

We took family pictures while we were there...they turned out so good, but BOY was it HOT!!! I don't want to show off everyone's pictures before they get a chance to do it themselves...so as soon as I get the okay I will post the rest of what we took. It was so fun to have us ALL together and the pictures turned out great!!!

After pics we hung out at Joe and Amanda's...

The good looking guys: Joe, Jonathan, Jeff, & James. Jonathan brought home these cool jersey's for the guys from Spain. He also brought them each an awesome tie and the girls were given authentic Spanish jewelry. It was so neat. We LOVE having him home, although, I think mom is definitely the most excited out of all of us!!

The lovely ladies!! I feel so lucky to be one of them!

The Zoo!!!
Weston and I were able to go to Texas for a week before the rest of the family joined us! We had so much fun with Mom, Dad, Joe, Amanda, & Cole. Dad took us to the zoo and the kiddos loved it! :) (The pictures are going to be a little out of order because I wanted to put Jonathan's homecoming at the top. But I am having trouble loading pics so I'm just going to publish this one and then work on posting the real reason why we were in Texas: for Jonathan!!!)

So this is too funny...Weston wasn't too fond of his hat...and Cole really loved his!! Aren't they just too cute. I love my little boy and my only nephew!!! It was such a blast to see them together and to watch them play. We definitely have some fun times ahead!!!

Checking out some of the cool animals!!!

The following pictures are some awesome shots Dad took of the animals. He managed to escape being in ANY pictures himself...so I wanted to show off his work. He took about 80 pictures at the zoo that day...I only wish I could show them ALL to you!! I think the orangutan is my favorite..Jeff's fav. is the bald eagle. I admit, it does inspire! Enjoy!

Tiger fun!!!

Okay, Weston is like his mom: the white tiger was his ABSOLUTE favorite animal. He was able to stand right by the glass while the tiger was pacing in front of him. He watched it for SO long and every time it would pass right in front of him, he would just bust up laughing. It was the cutest thing and Dad was able to catch it in pics. (sort of...nothing could capture the laugh!) This was definitely mine and Weston's highlight at the zoo!!

Amanda and cute Cole checking out one of the animals.

The girls!! (we missed you Amy!)

Grandma with the cute kiddos!! Don't you just love their hats?! (and I'm sorry mom that this is the one with your eyes closed...blogger wouldn't load the other one, I tried about 5 times and it never worked. crazy thing! But you still look great to me!!)

A few random favorites:

Okay, how cute is this snuggling?! LOVE it!!

Weston LOVES his blanket....and Cole did too! It was so funny to see them tugging on it and learning to "share" They were so fun together and we can't wait to see what buds they'll be as they get older!!

Sharing...they are getting so cute together!


Our San Antonio Trip!!
We drove down to San Antonio (5 hours from Dallas) and were able to visit a lot of family we haven't seen in a LONG time: Gramma and Papa, Aunt Trycia and Uncle Mike, Erin, Cynthia & Belle, Aunt Betsy and Kayla & Benjamin and then Dad's side of the family: Grandma & Grandpa Keefe. We had a blast and crammed a ton of fun into a short time!!

All the grandkids with Gramma & Papa!!
From left to right: Jonathan, Amanda, Cole, Joe, Papa, Gramma, Amy, James, Nicole, Jeff, Weston. FRONT: Erin, Cynthia, Belle, Benjamin, & Kayla!!!

The Alamo!!!
We were able to visit the Alamo and the River Walk in San Antonio. It was so neat to see such a historical place and to read about what happened there.
We were able to spend the day with the family (we missed you Cynthia!) and had so much fun getting to know them better in the short time we had! We love and miss them all so much!!

The bridge over the river walk!! It is the coolest place, with shops and restaurants lining the river. It is so gorgeous and we were able to go on a boat tour of the river, thanks to Dad!! Thanks again Dad, for everything!!

Having fun on the tour boat (on the river)

All the beautiful sisters!!! I have heard how fun mom and her sisters can be together and it was such a blast to get to see them in action!

Mom & Aunt Pat (on the right). It was so much fun to see family that we haven't seen in way TOO long! We love all of you and miss you tons!!

Mom & her sister, Betsy. (the left picture) We got to meet Betsy and her adorable kids: Kayla & Benjamin for the first time. We already LOVE them!!! They are SO much fun!!!

Weston & Cole's first ride on a mini merri-go-round! So cute. They LOVED it!


What is a trip to Texas without the POOL?!
This is where we tried to spend much of our time!!!

Nicole & Amy chillin in the pool!