10 Weeks To Go!

(But Hopefully Less!)

Winter in Spokane and "Winter" in Texas

We were lucky enough to spend Christmas in Spokane with our families. 

We enjoyed:  sledding time...

...wedding time...

... cousin time...

...present time...

...more snow time...

...sleeping time...

...carousel time...

... and more cousin time.

Let's just say that when referring to "winter" in Texas, one should always use air quotes.

Family time at the children's museum.

We found out we are expecting another BOY!

Ice cream night at Freddy's

Ryan took the kids camping in the back yard.  Morgan loved everything about it.  Connor only liked the idea of it. (He ended up sleeping inside.)

We ventured to the Fest of Tails (kites and dogs, who would have guessed?)

The kids made their own kites.

Ft. Worth Stock Yards

We spent this Thanksgiving in Ft. Worth, TX at our good friend's Halie and Kendall Stout's parents' house.  We had an awesome time!  We went to the Ft. Worth Stock Yards where we saw a cattle drive.  It was super cool. 

Halie and Kendall.

And for a bonus, this is how the kids were sleeping one night...they each have a bed, but Connor prefers to sleep with Mo.

Halloween & Morgan's Birthday Morning

The day before Halloween at the ward trunk-or-treat.

Cowboy Connor.

Halloween Trick or Treating...Morgan didn't want to be a cowgirl anymore.

Here is Morgan and Connor's bedroom door this morning.

Morgan's #4 birthday pancake.

Opening presents from Grama and Papa Mike.

Cowgirl boots from Papa and Grammi.

Mo's birthday "party" aka playgroup at the park with ice cream cone cupcakes.

Happy 4th birthday to my sweet and spunky little girl.  We love you, Mojo!

Labor Day Vacation...in the Middle of October

So, apparently there is a "Fall" busy season that exists in the tax world.  Because of this, we did not celebrate  the Labor Day holiday when every one else in the US did.  Ryan had to work on Labor Day, but was able to postpone his paid-time-off.  So this weekend we had a very special visitor and our first Texas vacation!  

Quinn (Ryan's youngest brother) came down to visit us.  It was the last time we will see him before he leaves on his mission to Brazil the week after Thanksgiving.  It was so great having him here.  We were NOT ready for him to leave!  We got to do some fun things while he was here, so that was good.  We stayed and played in Port Aransas, TX for two days.  Then we went to Six Flags.  I know...it was as awesome as it sounds!  Here are some pictures from our trip in a very random order. (Thanks, Blogger.)

 Morgan, in a nutshell.  (P.S. you probably shouldn't mention the word "nutshell" to her...she'll probably try to make a 'knock-knock' joke out of it.)

 All of us in front of the ocean.

 Ryan, Connor, Morgan, and Quinn at Six Flags.

 Connor loves slides.

 Morgan surprised us at the amusement park.  She went on a few rides, I thought she would be scared of.  This one (the "Buckaroo") takes them up then slowly bounces them down.

Ben and Jerry's ice cream...Quinn wanted to see if he could use Connor to get a free ice cream cone...it worked...but then he bought one anyway AND tried to give the girl a tip.

 Hanging out on the hammock.

 The kid's favorite pass-time was sitting in holes and playing in the "mud".

 The great thing about going to the coast in the middle of October is that for most all Texans, it's too cold...so we were one of the few on the beach.  It was great.

 Morgan voluntarily chest-deep in water...something I haven't seen for a LONG time.

 Morgan loves Quinn.

Morgan boogie-boarding. Quinn bought a boogie board and we bought a skim board...and I'm so sad I didn't get any video of Ryan and/or Quinn learning how to skim board.  They crashed A LOT...and it was funny. (Skim boarding is like skate boarding on the very shallow water.)