El Paso Trip, June 2017 (cont.)
After a weekend in Ruidoso and celebrating Gigi's birthday, we had planned two weeks in El Paso. And one of our first activities... a haircut for LJ!! I had been asking him to get one for a while, but of course it was Gigi that convinced him to get a fun summer haircut. LJ picked a mohawk! Ha!
Pretty handsome!
Early Monday morning, Barrett said good-bye to us and headed back to Austin. :(
Then I took the boys to Sports Camp! They did Falcons Sports Camp last year and had a great time, so we signed them up again this year! It was a perfect way to give them extra activity for a few hours in the morning, and they had a great time again!
Elie saying good-bye to her brother!
Just the girls now!
I love this little face!!
Then we headed to Aunt Patsy's house, and Ellie got to play with her little cousin Collins... How cute are they!!!
Snack time!
Ellie loves reading!
Aunt Patsy hugs... the BEST!!!
Silly LJ! Home from camp and ready for his turn to go to Aunt Patsy's while Ellie sleeps!
This little face!
And we made it! Boys got to swim with Auntie Bri and Auntie Tricia Ann...
Me and my boys!!
Playing ball!!
Hahah!! This shot! Evan does some major belly-flopping!
Impromptu dinner at the kids favorite... Peter Piper Pizza!
More camp for the boys...and more Ellie Grace time for me!
And another absolutely precious outfit from Gigi!!
Bella (and her tongue) are enjoying El Paso very much!! No young, crazy big dogs terrorizing her!!
Time for swimming with Grandma!
That night, around 2:30 am, Ellie fell off the queen sized bed she was sleeping on!! Poor baby!! I didn't hear anything, but woke up and noticed a light on by her room. As I walked toward her room, I saw that she had pulled a chair up to the kitchen counter and was munching down on M&Ms! I grabbed her and took her back to her room to clean her chocolatey face off, and that is when I realized her cheek was super red and swollen! I think she slept through the whole fall - and actually had a dream through it too! When I asked her what happened, she told me that she had fallen off a bridge! WHAT!!?? Poor baby!!
The whole right side of her face is a mess!! :(
Here is a video of her telling me what happened. She stuck to the bridge story for a couple days!
Last day of Falcon Sports Camp!
After camp, we headed to a new kids' store that a friend of mine from high school opened... SO cute! It's called the Old Yellow Bus Company, and half the merchandise is INSIDE an old bus parked in the store! The kids loved checking it all out!!
Ellie even hugged the mannequins good-bye!
Ugh- her face is breaking my heart!!!
After shopping, we headed to Chuck-E-Cheese to meet up with friends for lunch! Nico did the Sports Camp with the boys - just like last year! But his brother, Benjamin (who is around Evan's age), didn't do it this year. So Evan was super happy to get to play with Ben here!
Silly faces!
Nico and LJ....
Evan and Ben...
Grandma also met us there...
We had such a fun Friday evening at Aunt Sandy and Uncle Albert's house!!
Lots of swimming, playing, delicious dinner, ice cream... happy kiddos!!
This is how the boys sleep in El Paso! They have their own room, and Gigi and Capi bought them this cool bed with a super hero theme! Evan always sleeps on the top one, and LJ on the pull-out lower one!
Where did LJ go!?!
We got lots of swimming in at Grandma's house!! We LOVE her pool and this special time with her!
And the night before Father's Day, we got the biggest surprise ever!!! We didn't think we would see Barrett until the following Thursday, but he surprised us and was in the house waiting when we got home from swimming with Grandma on Saturday night! YAY!!!! Ellie beat me to the best hug!! What a wonderful surprise!!!!
We got the excited kiddos to bed, and then enjoyed a drink on the porch watching a beautiful El Paso sunset!!! Is this really Father's Day?! Seems more like MY gift!!
One afternoon, we spent some time making Father's Day cards for some of the very special men in our life!
To Capi:
To Grandad:
To Barrett:
We mailed Grandad's, handed Barrett his, and hid Capi's in his suitcase. We knew he wouldn't be opening it until Sunday, and then we got this awesome picture!!! How fun!!!
Ready to swim at Grandma's ....
She loves her princess swim suit!! We are so grateful for all the amazing clothes we have thanks to Eve and Aryn!!
Oh no- Grandma's pool was closed for cleaning! Hugs good-bye and then an impromptu visit back to Aunt Sandy's house!!
We waited out a huge storm, and then got a short swim!
More ice cream!!!
Mess!!!
Tuesday morning walk with the kids... Ellie insisted on pushing her baby in the stroller, so we didn't get as far as I hoped! hah!
Such a good 'Mama'!
Breakfast time ...
And of course we had to spend a morning at the El Paso Zoo!!
And Aunt Patsy, Lori, Trisha, Tricia Ann, Cindy, and Collins met us!! What a treat!!!
Ellie walking with her Aunt Trisha!
A fun new thing at the zoo this year- the Bird Show!!
The kids really loved this show!
Here is a video of the bird taking money from the kids and dropping into the donation jar at the end of the show...
Silly LJ!
Lizards!
It was really hot, so half our group left, but we got one great picture before they went! What a fun group!!
Then Gigi, the kids and I went looking for some more animals!!!
Giraffes!
Lions!
Posing!
And we couldn't leave without playing in the splash pad!!
Poor Gigi had to get in to convince Ellie ...
And then no one would get out! Haha!
After the zoo, we headed back to Aunt Patsy's for more playing and lunch!! Love that these two 'cousins' are getting to hang!! They are too precious!!!
Trouble!
Found this one on my phone!! Hah! Beautiful Bri entertaining Evan!
Thanks for a fun and delicious lunch!!!
After rest time, we had a nice dinner at Mesa Street! Mmmm!!
Evan sporting a mohawk!
Our last day in El Paso... got to see my cousin Teri's new beautiful house and then had lunch at Peter Piper with the family!
Barrett and LJ playing...
These two love the slow moving rides!
Cindy and Collins!!
Needed one selfie with Teri before she left!! Yay!
And then we got to go see Aunt Patsy and Tio's new house (currently under construction). So exciting!!!!
Happy birthday to my beautiful cousin Trisha!!!
Trisha's birthday today, and Barrett's tomorrow!! Two amazing people celebrating a day apart!! Love them so!!! (Ellie insisted on being in the picture!)
Ok Ellie, we can take another one!!
Swimming with Grandma- the whole family!!! What fun!!! Kids were in heaven!!
Evan's favorite thing... riding on his Capi's back!! They go underwater!! Evan's permanent smile!!
Here is a video with clips of us swimming at Grandma's pool (taken on a few different days).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOFwAzjjNiE
How is our time in El Paso over!! Too fast! Gigi bought the kids this fun little pool for her yard... it was hours of entertainment and cooling off!!
Friday morning-Happy birthday Barrett!!!!
Cindy came by before we took off to give us some pictures... We will always take one more hug!!!
We thought we would sneak in one more swim with Grandma, but then found out she fell in the middle of the night and fractured her hip. She had to go to the hospital in the morning. :(
So we loaded up the car, and headed to Ruidoso for the night ...
Good-bye El Paso!!!
Bella, the best traveling dog!!!
A few hours later, we arrived at my parents' house and put together a quick dinner for the kids while we waited for Capi and Gigi to arrive ...
Awesome weather and amazing view!
And we stayed on the lookout for Capi and Gigi to arrive in Yellow Bird- their helicopter! We saw them do a fly-by while we ate on the back porch, then raced to the front yard to watch them land...
Here is a video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Here is a video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Got kids bathed and ready for bed... Ellie got lots of extra cuddles with her Capi!
And then, Barrett and I got a very special and fun night out to celebrate his birthday!!
His very favorite band, Reckless Kelly, happened to be playing in Ruidoso ON his birthday!! So Gigi and Capi got us fantastic seats, lent us a convertible, and off we went!! Woo hoo!!!!!
Thanks for watching the kids and giving us a night out Capi and Gigi!!! Bye!!
Woo hoo!!! How fun is this!
Cool venue...
And amazing sunset!!!
Amazing front row seats in a small venue, with a little dance floor in front of us. It was intimate and unique- completely different feel and atmosphere than the other 50+ times Barrett has seen Reckless Kelly (or 5 times I have)... which made it more special!
Our last morning with Capi and Gigi :( We walked to the club to give the kids and Bella (and me!) a little exercise before our long drive home!
We are really going to miss our Gigi!!!
And our Capi!!
Thanks for everything!!! We love you so much!
After a good breakfast, we hit the road!
LJ built his legos very quickly!!
Ellie did better on the drive home compared to the drive there!
Ellie's Moana doll sang to us for hours on our drive!
Coloring away!
Then workbooks!
Back to singing....
And a short (not really!) 10 hours later, we were home!!! Loved our time in El Paso and Ruidoso! Thankful for everyone we got to see! And for some reason, just over 2 weeks didn't feel quite long enough... we may have to come back this summer!!
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