Home Again

Craiggy had a surprise for me when I came home from Texas. He bought me a punching bag and hung it up in the garage!! I've been asking for one for awhile, but we've never had anywhere to put it. What a great surprise! Brooklyn likes to punch it too. :) As you can see, we haven't painted our garage yet!

It's finally warm enough to go play outside! Still chilly, but not deathly cold. Brooklyn has been loving her bike.

Texas, Part 4 - Back to Las Vegas

Our flight back to Las Vegas was comfortable and uneventful, except when we landed we were bouncing around so much I thought we were going to flip over. I was relieved to see my dad (and tired from going to the airport at 5:30 TX time) and burst into tears when I saw him. He got my luggage like a gentleman and drove us home. We talked about the landing and he told me some fun stories about when he was a pilot and some crazy landings he's had. That helped a little. Doesn't mean I'll be getting on another plane soon though... Besides, the turbulence made me ridiculously nauseous. We got to my parent's house and both slept for a few hours. It was fun to see Matt and Jen, and Brooklyn followed Toby everywhere. She also stepped right on the pool cover and into the hot tub, fully clothed. Luckily Mom and I were both out there to rescue her. 

The next morning, Mom and Dad got Brooklyn up and played with her while I slept in. How nice. :) She was swimming with Grandpa when I got up. Then we packed up and drove home to see Daddy! How we missed him! We had such a wonderful trip, though. Well worth it.

Texas, Part 3 - Easter

Easter was so much fun! They had a neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt with tons of kids and a million eggs. They had an easier section for the younger kids, so Brooklyn wasn't left in the dust like I imagined she would be. She got a lot of eggs and had enough practice to know what to do. 

Later on, the girls dyed eggs and made cookies. Angeli made it a very memorable Easter! She took over while I laid on the couch and whined about how sick I was. Haha! She was so great to keep Brooklyn happy and taken care of, so I didn't have to over-exert myself. Such a great friend. :)

Dyeing the eggs.

The creations!

Very proud of "her" cookie, and surely hyped up on sugar and sprinkles.

Easter Sunday was nice, and we enjoyed the musical Sacrament Meeting.

After church, there was a HUGE lightning/rainstorm, and the girls were out there playing in the rain and getting soaked! They thought it was fun. I was terrified! 

When we got home, they still wanted to play in the rain. In their Easter dresses!!

Even though Brooklyn was grumpy and I was sick, we had an amazing time in Texas. It was fun for Brooklyn to have kids to play with all the time, and fun for me to be around one of my best friends for a few days. We hardly ever see each other anymore, and when we do, it's usually just an hour or two in passing when we both happen to be in Vegas. So it was nice to reconnect and realize we are still such good friends. There were other people I would have liked to see in Texas too, but the state is just so dang big! Anyway, we had a blast.

Texas, Part 2

Texas was beautiful! The weather was perfect, and I had never been there before. We were visiting Angeli, a friend of mine since 5th grade. She was a perfect hostess and made our trip wonderful! Brooklyn became fast friends with Brooke and Max.

We rode the carousel.

Unfortunately, the tantrums were too many, too often. I think Brooklyn had a hard time with all the excitement. And I'm sure she missed her Daddy.

We played.

We bathed.

Angeli read stories to the kiddos. Brooklyn couldn't get enough of that!

The traffic lights are sideways!

Mmmmm.... We stopped to get some fresh honey crusted pecans. Yummm!

We visited Old Town. There were a ton of little antique shops that sold everything from books to deep fried oreos. We walked around in the perfect weather, and spent a lot of time in the toy store, where the kids got to play with all the toys!

And of course, we stopped at the Texas Store to get some souvenir cards.

The girls were so tired, they stopped to take a rest in the soft grass! Really, the grass was amazingly soft.

Texas, Part 1 - The Flight

Our Texas trip was amazing. I am very proud of myself - I undertook a drive to Vegas, a flight and vacation in Texas, a flight back, and a drive from Vegas to home, all without the assistance of my lovely husband. I traveled with my 2-year-old who had never been on a plane, while I was 8 weeks pregnant and uber sick. And we survived! Hallelujah!

Early last week we drove down to Vegas to see my parents and spend a little time there. Brooklyn sure loves her grandparents. :) She was inseparable from Grandpa, and we got to see Grandma's storytime at the library. 

On Wednesday, we flew out to Texas! Brooklyn was so excited to get on an airplane for the first time!

She was a very good traveler, as the passengers around us were so kind to point out to me. We only had one tantrum, and only a slight problem with kicking the seat in front. It was a pretty crowded flight, but we made it (somehow I was able to make it without puking) to Texas late Wednesday night.

She was so excited to tell Daddy about flying on the plane, and how LOUD it was! Cute little monkey.