Texas 2012! Part III: San Antonio!!

And we finished up our trip in San Antonio.  Cannon & Bryan both have beautiful, large homes there now, so they hosted us as well as all our family that lives in Houston (my sister Jenny & her family, brother Jeff & his, and my parents).  All told, it was 13 adults, 10 kids, and one baby on the way.  Almost the entire trip was spent in one of their two pools, and it was always loud, boisterous, and fun. :) I did get a little sad b/c being split between two houses meant we weren't always together, but it was so nice to be able to spend time with everyone.  Can't wait to come back in December for Bryan & Marra's wedding!!

Noelle & Greyson taking his ride for a spin!

Going for a walk in the neighborhood. :)

Bubble gun!

All the guys by the grill

Matthew & Lauren take their turn

Delilah told us to say 'cheese!'

Red loves taking pics of her sis

Chris helping the kiddos with a puzzle

Noelle taking a swimming break with PopPop

Emerson, Bryan, & Marra hanging out

The kids celebrating the birthday of my sister-in-law, Kelly.  Too cute!

Very intense poker game.

Pool Party at Bryan & Marra's!

Pool Party at Cannon & Amy's!!



It may be crazy when my family gets together, but it's never boring!  So grateful that everyone made the effort to be together and make this trip happen.  Thanks, everyone, for all the wonderful summer memories we made on this trip...we love and miss you so much!!!!!!!!!!!

Texas 2012! Part II: Austin!

Between our families in Dallas & San Antonio, we decided to spend one quick night in Austin with friends.  The Bighams are so near & dear to our hearts and I just knew we couldn't go to Texas without getting a visit in.  Red & Makinley were best friends when we moved away in 2010 and Laura & I are determined to keep them that way!!! :)   Two more girls have been added to the mix (Molly & Noelle) and it just keeps getting more fun.  It seemed like Red & 'kinley had never been apart and Noelle & Molly were eager to keep up with the big girls.  And Laura & I tried to get in as much girl time as possible in less than 24 hrs...oh Laura, I miss you SO MUCH!!!!!



Slumber Party!!!!!

I hate that I don't know when we will see y'all again.  I hope it's very, very soon.  Delilah is convinced that 'kinley is her cousin, and one of her favorite cousins, at that.  Near the end of our Texas trip we were asking her if she could name all her cousins and she said, "Lauren, Taylor, 'kinley, Greyson, and Brenden".  We reminded her that she has many more than that and she said, "I know, but those are my favorites". :)  Thanks for being like family, sweet Bighams...we miss you!

Texas 2012! Part I: Dallas

NYC is beyond fantastic, but we have definitely been missing our family and friends in Texas more than words can say.  So we headed down for an 11 day trip that was way too short.  Our trip started in Dallas, where we stayed at Chris's sister's house.  Grammy Di & Papa H came down from Utah, so all the Huntley/Ernzens were together!  Delilah and Lauren took up right where they left off last year, and Taylor was like a little mommy to Noelle the whole time we were there.  We also had family friends join us from Houston & Austin, and two of my best friends live in the Dallas area, so we were quite busy the whole time we were there.  I love how relaxing it is to hang out with Chris's family; every one is just always having a great time.

Delilah & Lauren playing Uno.  Noelle watching intently!

Indicative of the week: Red with Lauren and Noelle with Taylor

LOTS of dress up time!!

Grammy Di & Papa H doing some stickers with Ellie Bug

How we spent most of our time!!!

Had such a fabulous time.  Such a treat for Grammy Di & Papa H to join us!!  Kim & Ted are always so much fun and it's just such a joy to watch Taylor & Lauren growing up into such smart, athletic, beautiful, interesting girls.  Can't wait to see you all again soon!!!

First Haircut!



Sweet Noelle got her first haircut today!!  It was just getting too long in the front and hanging in her eyes.  Since her hair is pretty straight, I asked for bangs, and I think they turned out so precious!!!

A "before" pic

Another "before"

The awesome stylist entertained Noelle with balloons and bubbles!

She wasn't sure about the whole thing

Delilah was being so awesome and well-behaved that the salon gave her a free mini-manicure while she was waiting for her sister!

"After"!!!

Congrats on another milestone, precious Ellie Bug.  I cried just as much as I did at your sister's first hair cut!!! :)

Pigtails & Parks

Still super busy with school, but here are a few favorite shots from the past week.  First, as I've said, Delilah is in love with taking pictures right now, so this is a picture she took of Noelle.  Noelle adores sunglasses and is almost always wearing them when we're outside.  Adorable, no?

The second picture isn't the best quality, but I just had to document Delilah's first pigtails!!!  She saw her friend, Lyla, wearing her hair that way and immediately wanted hers done, too.  I think they look precious on her.

And the last picture is just a random little pic I snapped with my camera when we were at the park one day, playing in the sprinklers that every park seems to have.  We were at one of our favorite Central Park playgrounds, just across the street from Chris's office.  The girls were playing "ice cream stand" and were having so much fun that I just whipped out my phone and asked them to say, "Cheese!".  It is now one of my all-time favorite pictures of them together!!!

A Mid-Summer Night's Recap

I admit it: I have bitten off more than I can chew. I have never taken classes during the summer, so I don't think I gave proper credit to the pace and density of summer school. As such, I am quite behind on blogging. It is July 15, which is right in the middle of summer, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to post some pictures of how our summer has been going so far!

This is what we have been doing:

Having dance parties in the living room

Taking lots of cool baths

Going to our first gymnastics lessons!

Taking pictures.  This picture and the next one of Noelle are Delilah's handiwork.  She is in love with the camera right now.

We've been riding our new red Radio Flyer tricycle.

A little blurry because she can get going pretty fast.

We've been playing in the park

And playing in the park

And playing in the park (hooray for giant bubble guy in Central Park!)

Did I mention playing in the park?  Most have water features, and if we don't have suits, that doesn't stop us!

Pure joy

Our little beauty

Playing in the park!  :)

It's been such a fun summer but it is going by tooooooo fast!!!  And because I try to stay honest, I will also mention that Delilah always whines for an ice cream when we go to Central Park, and Noelle always fights like a banshee when we try to put her back in her stroller after playing, and both girls seem to be permanently covered in a layer of sand & sunscreen that sticks to everything, and it is exhausting loading up the snacks, towels, bathing suits, sand toys, and sidewalk chalk every time we step out of the house.  It's a good thing they're the cutest, most fun little beings I know. :)