El Paso for Aunt Patsy's 75th Birthday Celebration

For the 6th year in a row, all my 'Chagra' cousins got together in El Paso to celebrate our wonderful Aunt Patsy's 75th birthday!! This celebration has become a huge high-light of the year and so special to us!

And some additional super exciting news- Gigi and Capi bought a house and are ready for us!! We can't thank Gigi enough for working so hard to get unpacked and all these new things for us to feel comfortable! They even got new beds and set up a room just for the boys with all Superhero stuff! I got these pictures the night before we left for El Paso... Yay!

We decided it would be most convenient for us to drive down as a family this year (flights weren't super convenient and driving is way less expensive now that we have to buy 4 tickets!). So we had the car all loaded, breakfast and snacks packed, and we were on the road at 5:40 am on Friday morning!

This was Ellie's first road trip to El Paso- we were a little nervous as she has been more 'opinionated' lately!  But she actually did pretty well- of the 8.5 hours, she was really only annoyed/ fussy about an hour of it! Everyone took a nap- although they were all pretty short!

And Barrett and I got lots of quality time to talk!!

Awake and ready for snacks!

Potty breaks went well!

And we made it to El Paso around 1 pm Mountain time! Great time... and kids were SO excited with their new setup! Gigi even had new toys, games, and dolls out for them! Spoiled kids!!!

Boys will be sharing a room for the first time and sleeping on trundle beds! Fingers crossed!

Ellie found her new doll and stroller immediately!

She became quickly fascinated by the magnetic paci! Didn't take her long to figure it out, but Gigi had to show her a couple times!

All the stuffed animals got rides in the stroller!!

And the boys had lots of new games to play!

Rest time consisted of movies in bed with Gigi! Happy boys!

We took early baths and got boys in their PJs and then went to my cousin Leader's house to see the family! I love how much the boys have started to come out of their shells around everyone! They turn into such social guys! They love all their older cousins so much! Joaquin is super into Legos, so LJ was really excited to see what he was up to!

Right at home!!

It was a short visit, but so SO glad we made it (since this would be the only time Ellie and Barrett got to see everyone)....

The birthday girl and my little girl.... LOVE!!!

In the middle of the night on Friday (after Ellie had been in a wonderful mood and seemingly good health), we realized she had Croup! It only takes one barking cough to know what it is, and we were sure! She had a pretty rough night of sleep, and woke up not sounding so great. It was so sad! I had already planned to walk up Mount Cristo Rey with the family, so Barrett and Gigi had the kids all morning. They went to the hangar to play, sat in the helicopter, and had lots of fun.

Ellie seemed better in the morning, but when I got home that afternoon and she woke up from her nap, I could tell it was getting worse. So we took her to a minor emergency clinic. They confirmed that it was croup, and were also worried about an ear infection.

We were prescribed a steroid and antibiotic. However, when we tried to give her the steroid, she had a violent reaction (aka threw it up immediately. She is also like this with tylenol).

We agreed that I would take the boys and go to Aunt Patsy's big birthday dinner, but Barrett, Gigi, and Capi would stay home and be with Ellie. We arrived a little late, but had a wonderful time celebrating my beautiful aunt!!

 Ellie wasn't doing so great at the house. She was in bed and asleep soon after we left, but already sounding very bad. Croup is always worst day 2-3, so while we expected this, we also expected her to have some steroids in her system! Barrett had enough listening to her struggle to breath on the monitor, so my mom called a friend of hers who is an emergency room doctor. He told them to head down to the ER and meet him at 9 pm sharp. I couldn't get home and boys to bed in time, so Barrett and Gigi took Ellie for her first hospital visit. I was so sad to not be there, but we kept thinking they were almost done, so I stayed home with the boys. 

Three hours later, Ellie was finally released! She received a steroid shot (since she couldn't keep it down) and two breathing treatments. She also had a chest X-ray (all looked perfect) and diabetes test (normal thank God). 

The steroids and breathing treatment helped a lot, and she was sounding better the next morning! She didn't sound great, but she was happy and in good spirits! 

We decided to keep Ellie resting and low-key all day, so Barrett stayed home with her while the boys and I went to meet the family for one last get together. They had lots of bonding time this weekend and are more attached than ever! He is the best dad!! 

LJ was ready to go with his shades on and everything! 

First stop was my cousin Teri's house... LJ remembered all the 'room with the big TV' from Christmas,  and boys were so excited to go. They were right at home and in heaven immediately! 

Then we headed to the park for the annual cousin football game. I was so sad Barrett missed this!

Evan ... he went from arm to arm and had so much fun!!

Running hugs!!

Piggy backs!

And then I caught him lounging with the girls reading! Haha! This kid!! 

Then my cousin Leader did his annual Starbucks treat for the family- he buys us ALL whatever we want from Starbucks, and as you can imagine, we take over that place!!!

This is about half the family's order!! Haha!

Hope no one else was hoping for a quick coffee... this is all Chagra family!

Boys enjoying Aunt Bri, juice, and grilled cheeses!

The 'Glue'... My precious Aunt!!!

My boys and the Krancher kids... they LOVE them!!!

Home for rest time... LJ was worn out from the play ground! 

Boys ready to cheer on the Broncos!!! They love their new Manning jerseys from Aunt Alexa!

Gigi having dinner with the kids!

Got the kids bathed and in comfy sleep clothes since we will be heading home EARLY in the morning! A few sibling snuggles during story time!

Ellie's crinkled nose face! Hah!

We were on the road by 6 am and got to see the sun rise about an hour into our drive. We made great time and were unloading the car in 8 hours! 

So very sad that our baby girl got so sick, and that she and Barrett had to miss seeing everyone so much. By Monday on our drive she was sounding much better. Croup is nasty because the cough will linger for weeks, but we are hopefully through the worst couple days! 

SO thankful for our time with our amazing family and all the love that is there!! Capi and Gigi made us feel so welcome and special, and we got to celebrate an incredible woman with my wonderful cousins! We are BLESSED!!!!