Easter 2014

Compared to Easters in recent years (out of the country, sick kids, husband in hospital) this year was pretty low key, which we were thankful for.

This was the first year that Will really got into the whole Easter egg hunt thing. It was fun! An autism support group invited kids from his school and their families to a special Easter carnival. I think this is the first time either of my kids have had their pictures with the Easter bunny. That's all on me...I think Easter bunnies are crazy weird.

But both of the boys left soaked in sweat and with baskets full of eggs and candy. That of course equals a good time! The kids were split up by age group, so I was only able to get pics of Will. Tate got his eggs in about 1.7 seconds. :)

 Counting down in 5, 4...

 And they're off!

And then on Easter Sunday, we had a wonderful service at church (which may or may not have included an epic meltdown by one of my children).  :) Afterwards, we headed to Tisha & Ford's house for lunch and another egg hunt.

I've had this sports coat for Tate for almost two years, and it finally fit right. I thought he looked so cute...and so grown up! Of course, what I didn't have that fit was a belt. And we couldn't ever get the Rangers "temporary" tattoo off his face. And I completely forgot to get a family picture of all four of us. It is what it is. :)

Mary Tish did a beautiful job decorating the table and making some delicious cupckaes!

And then it was time to find some more eggs.

It was a fun couple of days. And I'm thankful for the special day set aside to remember the beauty that is the Easter story, full of sacrifice and redemption.

Misc. September

The fun times that were September...

Wade had the great honor of leading a prayer at his high school's Homecoming Pep Rally for a classmate of his who was seriously injured in a car accident. In addition to the prayer, Wade arranged for a "little" way to hopefully cheer his friend up. It's pretty great!


Mimi & Grandpa made it to Tate's school for the Grandparent's Day breakfast.

Tate started another season on the Astros with a great group of friends from his school.

And this kid just kept getting cuter!

LOVE!

And I discovered the greatness that is individual serving guacamole!!!!

And I have watched this video about 500+ times, maybe. There is very much a routine to Will's bedtime. And for awhile, it was reading Goodnight Moon every.single. night. One night Wade videoed the experience...pretty cute. :)

And speaking of Will, this video was for our own pleasure. Pleasure of seeing this boy making some pretty big leaps and bounds. The video in itself seems pretty basic in the life of a three year old. But it marks a big milestone for this guy...pretend play. He never really did it until the recent weeks leading up to this video. Something I realize is a skill I took for granted. But a really important developmental ability. Grilled cheese on a bus, Will?  Sure! :)

And look who also learned to write his name?

And the proof of a great friendship. After missing several activities in a row due to Tate having strep twice, look what my friend Kelli showed up (for both of us) with on one of his home-from-school sick days.

Is that a good friend or what?

And finally, our favorite kid's performer came to Tate's school. He performed all day at the grade-level character assemblies and then came back that night to perform at our PTA meeting. We love Eddie Coker!

15th anniversary trip

15 years. That's like an entire life of a teenager about to drive. So hard to believe we've been married that long. Somewhere along the way, we decided that every five years we would do an anniversary trip just the two of us. For our 10th, we drove the Pacific Coast Highway. It was an absolutely incredible trip but definitely packed full. So for the 15th anniversary, I told Wade that what I really needed right now was a beach, a cold fruity drink, a book, and a lovely quiet dinner for us to catch up each evening. :) 

He complied and the result was a perfect 15th anniversary spent together in Cabo. There's not a lot to tell about the trip. We really didn't do much, and I'm perfectly OK with that. :) We were on the beach every second we could get. Only time we left was for a beautiful sunset cruise to see the famous Arch of Cabo San Lucas.

And we loved the hotel. Such pretty views every time you turned around. 

And possibly one of my favorite parts...there was no humidity. My hair looked normal and not like Monica from the Friends Jamaica episode. And yes we did wear the matching hotel robes. That's what you do on vacation. And eat breakfast on your balcony looking at this incredible view...vacation!

I took an absurd amount of pictures of the same beachfront, but I couldn't stop. It was that pretty.

And the waves were intense. Definitely not the kind of ocean you just float around in. But I could've sat on the beach listening to and watching the waves crash on the rocks for hours. So incredible. I don't understand all of the people laying by the pool. If there's a beach, that's where I'm at.

A fun part of the trip was the discovery of what may now be one of our all-time favorite restaurants, Edith's. It had everything going for it...delicious food and great atmosphere. Think non-cheesy, outdoor, romantic tiki hut with adorable light fixtures. We loved it so much we went back the next night again. Pretty sure it was the best shrimp scampi I've ever had, and Wade ranked the ribeye in his Top 3. And randomly, Pete Rose was there the same night as us. :)

Speaking of food...I also experienced the BEST guacamole ever. And that is saying a lot because I have had my fair share of guacamole. We ordered this at least once a day. Surely my hdl has gone up, right?

And I was so pleased when Wade did not totally roll his eyes at my crazy idea of waking up early to go down to the beach for the sunrise over the Sea of Cortez. It did not disappoint. Honestly I haven't really sat and watched that many sunrises. It felt like a very profound moment. Serious Carpe Diem. And it blows my mind that something that beautiful happens every single day. No matter what. I'm sure sunrises in Keller, Texas, are just as profound, right?

Right as the sun broke over the horizon we nerded out and played Here Comes The Sun on our phone. And a funny moment was when a man walked by and offered to take a picture of us. That's sweet...click. Then he said we should turn around and face the sun. OK that's a little funny awkward...click. But we complied and laughed the whole time. 

This is when we were awkwardly laughing and wondering why we were still smiling for the camera while turned away from it. The random stranger made us do it.  :)

The word is overused, but this was a moment when it had appropriate context...amazing!

Thankful to witness a beautiful part of this world and God's creation. Thankful to my parents for coming in town, so we could have four days away on our own. Thankful for all of the craziness of the last 15 years...the good, the bad, the ugly, and the wonderful. And thankful to be going through it all alongside this guy.