Angel Fire - Summer 2016

I was looking back at last year, and apparently I made THREE whole post about our trip to Angel Fire, and this year I barely have enough pictures for one post. Ooops

In case you want to see last year: One, Two, Three

 

Well this year, we had a smaller group. Mom and Dad spent nearly a month at Angel Fire towards the end of the summer.

 

I had asked Leslie if one of the boys wanted to ride with us out there early on Friday since she was coming from San Antonio late on Saturday. Well, I figured Noah would because he loves special time with his Ampa, but she let Zay choose and he said he wanted to go with us.

I was a little nervous he would be bored with us, and I think he was. LOL

 

We got there Friday evening and watched the Opening Ceremony of the Rio Olympics.

I just love the Olympics and this particular year I was super excited and we watched a lot of it!

Mom cooked a delicious German meal. Unfortunately, I was pretty sick and couldn't eat.

But Cecil loved it!

 

Saturday, we hung out at the condo to get 'acclimated' to the higher altitude and again - I'm sure Zay was super bored with just us adults and Connor.

 

Ampa loves to pick on Connor everyone and it was sweet because Zay was super protective of Connor and would 'team up' with him against Ampa. At one point Ampa had Connor in the chair and Zay was using a mirror to shine the sunlight on Ampa from the couch.

That Zay - he is so clever!

 

Ampa picked up Angel Fired Pizza for dinner Saturday and then

Leslie, Noah and (surprise!) Riley arrived! Yay!

 

We watched some more Olympics and played lots of Guess Who and Backgammon.

 

Sunday morning we spent lots of time playing outside.

The boys played catch with the Frisbee and Football,

Zay and Riley played pretend campfire, and Grams came up with a game of

getting a rock to stay on top of the tree trunk you see below.

It was actually pretty fun and competitive. ;)

 

I also used this time to take some 18 month of pictures of Connor.

I had planned to take great pictures of him with the beautiful scenery in the background,

but it just didn't happen. I just felt so sick.

 

We went to a little Farmer's Market they had set up. It was super cute.

There was face painting and lots of cotton candy.

The weather was beautiful and it was just nice to be outside with the gorgeous views.

 

We tried to get Connor to be the fourth ninja turtle, but after one swipe of orange to his face - he was NOT having it! So Leslie completed the squad.

 

 

Cecil, Mom, and Leslie took the boys to fish. I'm guessing the boys are waiting on Cecil here.

That's how I feel too when I have to wait on Cecil. ;)

 

 

 

These two god brothers play so well together. They are both so imaginative and creative.

 

 

And apparently very brave!

 

They caught a few crawdads.

 

 

Connor and I had to go home to nap. Please excuse the horrible picture of me.

But I wanted to remember how he fell asleep with his blanket in his mouth. LOL

 

Finally after he was in a deep sleep, I was able to turn over off my hurting hip,

and try to take a little rest myself.

Please note his attempted turtle mask. :)

 

Connor is very finicky with Ampa. Sometimes he is happy to snuggle. Sometimes he is NOT.

 

Monday, Cecil and Dad played golf while Leslie and I took the boys to the park,

and to play tennis. Grams stayed home with Connor while he napped.

 

We spent the afternoon at the condo. Mom, Leslie, and the boys played outside in the

trees behind the condo.

Connor joined them after I got super sick. Then, after a little while I was feeling better and joined them too. They had a big blanket set up and it was so nice to enjoy the outdoors.

 

After a nice dinner at the country club, we tried to beat daylight and headed

back to the park to play again. This time, Connor was able to play too.

The boys played for about an hour. They started with Cecil pushing

them on the merry-go-round. Connor loved the slides.

 

All the adults left except Cecil and I because it was so cold.

I really wish we could have brought the weather back home with us!!

 

Tuesday morning, we got up bright and early and headed home.

Connor rocked himself on the footrest a few times while we were there and he was especially sleepy Tuesday morning. Noah covered him with his blanket - so sweet.

 

And with that - AF Summer 2016 was a wrap!

Being sick just makes everything harder, but I'm glad we got some

nice quality family time in cooler weather.

 

 

 

 

 



July 2016

First, I know I'm super behind on blogging, but just haven't had it in me.

I'm going to start where I left off - July.

 

 

 We started the month of July off saying good-bye to our sweet Nana.

Her funeral was in Honey Grove, Texas on Friday - July 1st.

 

My sweet friend, Michelle, drove all the way to the funeral to support us and it meant the world to us.

After we got home on Friday, Michelle and her three kiddos came over and stayed the night with us.

 

We had pizza for dinner and donuts for breakfast. :)

We just love having these guys with us. They truly are friends that are like family.

 

After we all got ready Saturday morning, we went to Leslie's church for Noah's baptism.

He was super proud to have Ampa baptism him.

 

Zay - was not as excited. LOL

 

Leslie's sweet friends came for the ceremony and I cannot believe we didn't get a big family picture - but just this one of the kids. Aster wasn't having it and Zay still wasn't happy that the day wasn't about him. ;)

 

Noah and Ampa

Two peas in a pod.

Best buds.

 

After the baptism, we went to the clubhouse in Leslie's neighborhood and swam.

And ate more donuts and pizza.

We love this family!

 

 On Monday, we decided to cancel our plans and celebrate the 4th at home.
I wasn't feeling well and honestly couldn't imagine spending the day outside.
Connor was even acting a little off so we just rested.

Connor did sport his 4th of July shirt.
I'm not sure what the face palm is about. LOL

Wednesday, my friends sent me the brightest, prettiest flowers to work.
It was so sweet and thoughtful - and much appreciated.

Friday, Leslie sent me this picture of Noah.
The boys have been dressing themselves and Noah is CERTAIN that
any outfit comprised of all the same colors matches.
Hilarious.

The boys came over and they played in Connor's PNP turned fort.

Saturday morning I did laundry and started packing for Hawaii.
Connor demonstrated his preferred method of eating toast - start with the butter!!

I really wasn't feeling well Saturday, and I was seriously trying to decide if I could really make the 3 flight trip to Hawaii with my pregnancy nausea. This is me resting on the couch while looking at my suitcase and things to pack.

I eventually pulled myself together and finished packing. I wasn't sure if I would have another chance to go to Hawaii and didn't want to miss out.
But I was definitely worried and didn't want to ruin anyone's trip.

While I was packing, our power went out again. Womp. Womp.
Remember when I left Cecil and Connor to go to Mexico without power?
What are the odds?

After dropping me off at Leslie's, they headed over to Aunt Tammi's house
and spent the night there in AC.

Apparently, Connor was obsessed with their dog, Rocket. :)


Meanwhile, we were spending the night in the Salt Lake City Airport.
Below you see Marie, Leslie, and I trying to get some sleep.

We finally got to Hawaii and it was beautiful. This is the view from our room.
I'll blog about Hawaii in a separate post.

 

Due to the 5 hour time difference, it was a little difficult to facetime with my boys back home. But we finally connected on Monday. Connor was excited to see me, but quickly grew tired of 'electronic Mommy' as Cecil called me. He kept reaching for me - sad.

But isn't Connor so cute with his freshly bathed comb over?

 

 Tuesday, we attempted a facetime with a horrible connection while we were at lunch. Connor and Cecil had just gotten home from work/school.

 

 Wednesday, we were able to facetime for a few minutes, but again we were out enjoying Hawaii without wifi, while they were available and didn't have a very good connection

Thursday, Connor was looking especially clean and cute while I facetimed them from the beach.
 I was ready to get home to my baby!

I left Hawaii at 11:00am on Friday, and arrived in DFW at 5:30am on Saturday.
This was my dinner that I had in the Seattle airport - chex mix, M&Ms and a smoothie. :)

 

I was exhausted, but super happy to be home. We had a great time in Hawaii and I'm so glad that I decided to go. I laughed more than I had in a long time. I'll be sure to blog about it another time - hopefully this year. LOL

 

Leslie's boys had stayed with Ampa all week and spent Friday night with our cousin. We picked them up Saturday around 11:00 and went to play at an indoor play place in Plano - Safari Run.

I had promised them we would go to a Ninja Warrior gym, but they had just removed the part that was toddler appropriate - so we improvised.

 

It was really nice - they had a toddler room and a bigger area for the older kids (above).

Cecil even followed Connor into the big area so that he could climb and go down a really big slide.

 

Zay loved riding this zip line (?) over the 'snakes' below.
I wish I knew how to post videos, but he was super excited.

After playing we headed to CiCi's for lunch.
Then, in the evening we met Cecil's family for dinner at Frijoles to celebrate Nana's birthday.

After dinner, everyone came to our house for cake and playtime.
They set up Connor's 'pool' outside and watched him play in the water.

I just love how you can see all four boys playing.
Zay was a swinging, Noah somehow convinced Austin to carry him,
and Connor was enjoying the water.

Saggy, soaked diaper.

We changed Connor into a swim diaper and continued to play.

I know this is picture overload, but since I avoided the heat at all cost this summer,
I don't have many pictures of Connor enjoying the water.
Here is my 18 month old baby.

What a full day after pretty much no sleep!

 

Sunday and Monday I was sick with a crazy headache and couldn't keep anything down.

So I called in sick and rested all day.

 

Wednesday, a condolences plant was delivered to me from my department at work.

It's my kind of plant because I've watered it twice since and has zero sunlight and is still alive!

Win! Win! Win!

Thursday while we were getting ready, Connor decided he wanted to try on
Daddy's cowboy boots. Hilarious. :)

Friday Connor and I went into the doctor for his 18 month check-up,
and he decided he was big enough to play with the big kid toys.

After Connor's appointment, I dropped him off at school and went to a OBGYN appointment
where I told the doctor how miserable I had been.
I was jet lagged, exhausted, nauseous and started to cry.
Then once I started, I couldn't stop.
Embarrassing.

But, he did give me a new medication, but said to only use it if I really needed it.
Well I needed it and it did help! Didn't take the nausea completely away, but made it manageable.

That weekend, I finally unpacked completely and gave Connor and Cecil
their matching Hawaiian shirts. My sweet boys!

Cecil turned a big box into a temporary playhouse for Connor - and even got inside!
He's such a fun daddy!

Wednesday morning, Connor and I babysit the boys for a couple hours before work.
Noah showed Connor some of the musical instruments Leslie had brought back from Hawaii.

 

Connor had the best time.

 

And if you can't tell - he adores Noah.

Many days, I was having to go to bed when I got home from work to rest and avoid the smell of food.
Thursday, Connor and Cecil came in after their dinner and played around. :)
Connor thinks it is HILARIOUS to sit on Cecil's face.

Friday morning, Leslie, the three boys and I got Connor's hair cut and then went to Jackie's for lunch.

Before - his little baby cut.

He was confused, but did pretty well. I'm sure having Noah, Zay, a sucker, and TV helped.

We went to Jackie's, ate lunch, and played with our cousins.

Kids table.

The last Saturday of July was actually a really great day - and I didn't take a single picture.
Leslie, Sara, and I went to Laura's for a 'sister day' and had so much fun.
We found out Sara and I are both pregnant and due 1 day apart - what are the odds!?!

Saturday evening, we celebrated Michelle and Nicole's birthday with pizza before the stockyards.
This was actually the first chance we got to tell our friends our happy news.

I was actually feeling a little better that day, so we went to the stockyards for a little bit, but headed home super early. Leslie was sweet enough to keep Connor overnight and let us sleep in!

When we got to Leslie's Sunday around noon, she had also started watching Turner,
while Russell and Marie went to a Rangers game.
Sweet Auntie!

They were playing outside and Connor started running towards us.

 

I love when these two get to hang out!!

And I love when Turner has those piggies in her hair!

 

We went home, and ended the month with a quiet Sunday together.

Perfection.