Grammy & Papa Visit!

The famous Alamo in San Antonio

Our Family at the famous Riverwalk

Ella and Grammy

Ella and her Papa

Train ride at Zilker Park

Last weekend, Jordan's parents came to visit us from Portland, OR. They arrived on Thursday and left on Tuesday. While they were there, we went to Zilker park and rode the train, saw downtown Austin, shopping galore, date night without kids, the Riverwalk and Alamo in San Antonio, and eating at some awesome restaurants. We were so spoiled. We loved visiting with them, and we keep trying to convince them to retire here because Austin is awesome! Thanks Steve and Marjie for a wonderful weekend. Can't wait until Christmas!

Pony Rides

1st pony ride!

Addi, McKenna, and Riley

For playgroup, we went to someone's backyard where they have pony rides and a petting zoo. Ella got to ride her first official pony. She loved it. McKenna could care less. She tried to pet the bunnies but kept stepping on them so we just let her watch from the stroller. She's at that fun stage. Ella thought she was pretty cool and keeps asking to go back.

Bosie

All the kiddos before the Trunk or Treat party

My little Bumble Bee

I loved her stinger!

The bumble bee and Tinkerbell

She loved trick or treating!

Fun at Chuck E Cheeses

Emma, McKenna, Ashley, Landon, and Lauren at McDonalds

The cousin bunch

In October, the girls and I had the opportunity to fly Boise, ID to watch my sister Lisa's kids for 9 days while she went on a cruise. She has 5 kids ages 1-10. I had her kids along with my 2 kids so I was busy and tired. My mom flew out 3 days into the week to also help. It was still crazy. We had 4 kids ages 3 and under. It was a good experience for me because I got to spend time with my nieces and nephews. Halloween was during that time so Ella got to celebrate it with her cousins. After my sister Lisa came home, the next day I had my wisdom teeth pulled by my brother-in-law. I rested a few days and then flew home. The 8 hours in flights and lay overs while on major pain killers made that day a nightmare. So glad to be home.

Pumpkin Patch

The playgroup girls

Ella, Me, and McKenna

Ella and Mr. William

Riding the tractor

For playgroup, we went to the pumpkin patch. Now in Texas, the pumpkin patches are real things. They don't have any rides or bounce houses and you have to travel an hour to get to any. The kids had a blast. Ella got to go in a kids corn maze and we also got to go on a tractor ride. The weather was hot so we picked 2 pumpkins, and went home.

Ella's 1st Dance Class

Ella got to experience her first dance class. It is a combination tap and ballet class. Her favorite part is tap. She loves her teacher Megan along with her new little friends. She now can show 1st and 2nd position in ballet. Its like the cutest thing to watch.

The Smith Family

While living here, we have met some of the best people. There is a law school couple we have become good friends. They have 2 little girls around the same age as Ella and McKenna. Alyssa is Ella's friend. We went to a BYU vs Texas soccer game. Of course we sported our BYU gear. It was raining so the girls were dancing in the rain. We also went to princess night at Chick-fil-a and if you dressed like a princess, you got a free kids meal. Ella enjoys playing with Alyssa and can't wait until they both get to be in the same preschool class together in January.

Austin Bats

Standing on the Congress Bridge in downtown Austin waiting until sunset.

Everyone waiting

The beautiful sunset

One of the things to do in Austin is to watch the bats come out from underneath the Congress bridge. So for Labor day we decided to go check it out. Our friends Jackson and Natasha, who also just moved here, joined us. At sunset, over a million bats come out under a bridge. It sounds cool but not like we expected. Yes, there were a lot of bats but it was kind of hard to see. The girls seemed to enjoy it and now we can say we did it.

We moved to Texas!

Yes we moved to Austin, Texas. Jordan is attending the University of Texas doing a LLM program. He is getting an advanced law degree in global energy and oil and gas. We have been here for about a month and a half and in the short time that we have been here, we really have enjoyed it. Everyone is so friendly and our church ward is great. Jordan loves school and currently looking for internships and job positions. My life is busy with joy school, dance class, storytime, play group, and College Football. I look forward to every Saturday to watch football. I miss California a lot, especially my family. The weather is HOT and HUMID but I'm already adjusting to it. We feel this was the right move for us and we look forward to spending the next year exploring Austin.

Excited for Texas!

All the wonderful people who cared about us!

We love the Red Hill ward!

Tired from a long day of moving! Oh yeah, we celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary the day we moved. Happy Anniversary to us!

Final days!

The last few days we spent in California before we moved to Texas, we decided to spend at the place we would miss the most, the beach. We went to Huntington Beach with my parents and Ryan and Wendy. It was a gorgeous day and the weather was perfect. We also spent time at the US open of surfing. McKenna loved the water and had no fear of it. We got to spend some good quality time with family. We miss them soo much!

The Nosal Family

While in the Bay Area, we visited the Nosals for 2 days. We had fun just hanging out, laying out at the pool, eating out, riding in sweet cars, and just spending time with them. We got to see JD before he went off to college, along with some of the old neighborhood gang. Sally had so many toys and puzzles for Ella that she thought she was at a toy store. She still talks about going back there. She LOVES Sally and grandma too and we hope to visit again soon.

The girls and JD

Staying up late having a pajama party!

McKenna was really comfortable with Danny. She just sat in his lap happy as can be.

Ella hanging out with Grandma