Love me some Red River, NM

Awesome. That is our trip in one word. We headed out early Friday morning to Red River, New Mexico. The weather was a cool 75 degrees with a slight cool breeze, but the warm sun shining just right! I love the mountains and forgot how beautiful it is in the summer. We had such a great time with all my family- grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins! Chris loved getting to ride his dirt bike on the mountain, Nick and Ella loved playing in the river , going to the park, tubing down the mountains, and the arcade we would end up at night . I enjoyed being with my family, waling up and down the main street shopping, and going white water rafting! My parents are GREAT!!! They kept the kids Friday and Saturday night and let me and my sister and brother go out on the town. Much needed COOL vacation. A great vacation to end our summer.


Our last day in Red River (we didn't want to leave)


The house had the river running right behind it - it was beautiful

Miss sunshine

Nick at the shoot out!


Ella didn't like Olivia stealing time on her Big Bird Plane ride

Silly girl

We had so much fun spending time with my grandparents! They were great help with the kids (and fixed us dinner every night)

My wonderful parents I don't know what I would do without
Pretty Olivia - She is such a great baby!


We had so much fun getting to hang out! I love these two so much. I couldn't imaging life without siblings!

Ella and Nick both learned how to skate at the same rink I did when I was little. I couldn't believe it was still there!

Yes, Chris and I skating too. Surprising how fast it comes back to you!

Sweet boy

Chris after some serious skating….look at that hair!

Fun at the Pool!

We had so much fun at the pool today! We haven't seen our friends in forever and the kids needed to spend some time together too! We met all these kiddos in our old neighborhood and miss them so much. I forgot how much fun a neighborhood pool is and also having a neighborhood with a bunch of young kids. They invited us over for pizza by the pool and it was so fun catching up. Dylan is 4 weeks younger than Ella, and her parents Matt and Lauren are such a sweet couple! Lauren and I went through our pregnancies together and would "walk" the neighborhood for exercise during it- ok, mostly to talk. Caleb (the 2 year old boy) is 6 months older than Ella and his mom and I also went through a portion of our pregnancies together! The older boys, Aiden (8) and Ryan (7) were some of Nick's best friends in the 'hood. I miss those days when the house was filled with little boys running in and out! Brad and Amy, their parents, have been great friends to us and we miss being next door neighbors so much! We had such a great time tonight - thanks for inviting us over.

Caleb, Dylan and Ella

Nick, Aiden and Ryan

Don't these two look like trouble together?

Cute!

Olivia laughing at the kids- she's such a trooper

Galveston Vacation

We loaded up the car for an 8 hour drive to Galveston with 3 kids, and YES I was nervous! I planned for many activities, candy incentives, movies, and games and 8 hours later we somehow made it- all in a good mood. We had a wonderful week in Galveston at the beach house with all our family. Nick, Jacy, and Zoe are all 6 years old and absolutely loved each other's company. I felt kind of bad, because 3 days into our trip I realized I hadn't spend but maybe 30 minutes with Nick, but he was so consumed with his cousins it didn't phase him at all. Ella also thought she was pretty big stuff getting to hang out with Hudson and Brody who are 3. We did lots of swimming, boating, shopping, and eating great food with great company! Chris went deep sea fishing with all the guys one day and had such a great time-I love when he finds something new that he enjoys. It was such a wonderful trip and enjoyed getting to spend time with everyone

.Chris and his two biggest fish he caught!

Nick loved his boogie board!

Ella actually loved the ocean this time (unlike Destin)

Poor Livi was carried around like this most of the vacation- tough age!

Three musketeers: Jacy, Nick, and Zoe.


Playing in the sand
Cousins: Zoe and Brody; Nick and Ella and baby substituted for Olivia; Jacy and Hudson


Fun on the beach

The beach house

Olivia:8 months

"Livi" is who she is better known as around the house!

Look at that sweet grin

"All Done" - she is getting good at signing "all done" and "more"

Precious girl


It's hard to believe Olivia is already 8 months old! This month she has really let her personality shine. She is giggling all the time and wants to be a part of whatever Nick and Ella are doing! She has been such an easy going baby and just goes with whatever we have to do. I feel a little bad because I haven't been on a strict routine with her, but she has learned to be a flexible and patient child~She melts my heart.

Here are some things Olivia is doing this month:

Crawling full force; Bear crawl on the tile and wood floors (too cute)
Pulling up and attempting to take steps to close objects
Feeding herself green beans, carrots, corn, and peas
Loves saltine crackers
Learned to clap her hands
Sleeps from 7pm-7am
Is my little chunky monkey (gosh I love those fat legs)
Has 8 Teeth now (rough month)
Celebrated her first 4th of July
Wears size 3 diaper
Sits in the big bath by herself
Loves being held
Drinks from her sippy cup
Laughs out loud on her own (she literally cracks herself up)
Loves reading books
Has discovered her "favorite" doll (she can't go anywhere without it)
Has the cutest little smile
Is babbling more and more
Likes listening to music (she gets so tickled when I put in a kids CD)

A Day at Home (a rarity these days)

This summer has blown by! We have been blessed to be able to go on many vacations this summer and really haven't spent a lot of time at home. As much as I love vacations and summer time, I am secretly ready for school to start and get back on our "schedule". The kids have done so well with all the traveling, sleeping in strange places, and taking a nap where ever and when ever we can get one in. I love lazy days at home with these sweet kids, being able to spend every second of my time with them. They are the most precious things and they melt my heart everyday.


Why does he have to grow up? I'm not ready for my little Nicolas to be a big first grader next year.

Sweet Livi is now hangin' with the big kids!

Someone found the chocolate syrup….do they make baby latches for refrigerators?

OKC Zoo

We had such a wonderful time at the zoo, and finally got to see the baby elephants new to the OKC Zoo. Ella just loves her friend Lucy and such a great time getting to hang out with her. Ella loved all the animals and is finally realizing what the zoo is all about. Nick has been going to the zoo faithfully since he was 2 years old and still loves getting to see all the animals (and most importantly getting a toy at the end -ha). Such a fun morning at the zoo.

Amanda and Lucy and Beth and little Waylon


NIck loved the new elephant exhibit. He told Chris her got to go to Jurassic Park- pretty close NIck.

Best Friends

Isn't that baby elephant just the sweetest thing?

Ella was worn out!