Family Time in Texas- Happy 1st Birthday, Grace!

Two years ago from the day of this picture, we were in Scottsdale, AZ, holding our little burrito.... now, she's almost as tall as me! :) Last week we were all fortunate to go on vacation TOGETHER!!!! (Matt included) :) Today, August 26th is our niece, Grace's, 1 year birthday- so we headed to Texas to join in the celebration. Before heading to Austin, we headed straight for the BEACH!!! (Thank you Dan & Kim for choosing to live in coastal states)

We went to Galveston Beach, not knowing what to expect and spent Monday evening there, and the morning of Tatum's 2nd Birthday! Happy Birthday, Tatum! (maybe next year we can celebrate my birthday on a beach... hmmmm)

Tatum enjoyed running away from the waves on her own, but enjoyed jumping over the waves with Mom or Dad. Just like my daddy, I make friends everywhere I go!!!

We headed up to Austin to stay with Dan, Kim, and Grace, and how excited was Tatum to see Grace!!! That's all she would talk about on our way there... I go see Grace; I share this with Grace; I play with Baby Gracie... etc. She was so excited to play with her 'baby' cousin! We hung out Wednesday in Austin, then decided to go crash Lola & Pocky's (Ron & Patti) beach vacation- they were headed to Corpus Christi/Padre Island.... soooo... to the beach we went :)

We had a great time playing in the Gulf, pool, and at the Texas State Aquarium where we were able to watch a short dolphin show. Thank you Lola & Pocky, for letting us join you! We had a blast!!!

How perfect is the name of this Bait & Tackle???

The camera evading Pocky... CAUGHT!

How did a coconut end up on Padre Island? I saw no coconut trees!

After enjoying the beach a bit more, we headed to Austin with a short stop to see the Alamo. Then off to Uncle Dan and Aunt Kim's house we went! Again, Tatum couldn't wait to play with Gracie. Saturday was Grace's 1 year birthday party and what an enjoyment it was to see our niece enjoy her chocolate cake! Good Girl!!! :) She was a little hesitant at first... then came the smiles! :)

Good times in Texas! Tatum's first time at a 'real' beach (salt water/ocean), Grace's first birthday, finally visiting Dan & Kim in Texas, hanging out with Lola & Pocky.... loving the family time! I'm glad we could all get together!

Tatum's first official flight with her own seat!!! (made for a MUCH more comfortable flight) We definitely took advantage of her flying free before 2!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Tatum!!!

Before we jumped on a plane for Texas to join the celebration for Grace's 1 year birthday, we had a day of birthday parties. The morning was a friend's 3rd birthday- she invited us to "The Hop"- where Tatum and Matt enjoyed jumping around. It was a first for Tatum, but she ended up loving it!

We headed home, took a nap, and had Tatum's 2nd Birthday Party at the house. We had a great time with friends- Tatum was soooo excited that almost all of her friends were here at once! Having 7 kids age 5 and under over at once was a little scary to think about, but it turned out great! They all got along and shared (for the most part). Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us! The Dora Balloon made it through the week until we got home from TX.... Tatum LOVES it! She carries it around the whole house... all day long! lol... who needs toys???

It's A Baby.....

As Matt says, we're going to have to get our own zip code for my belly by the end of this one ;) This pic is at 19 weeks.

Fun times w/Tatum

Here are just some fun shots of Tatum....

Grandma & Pocky "B" Visit Colorado

Grandma Birt & Pocky B came to visit us... or maybe they came to see the whole state of Colorado... or perhaps we meshed it together and it was both! And visit the whole state of CO... we almost did! We started off at the Denver Zoo... that's always a favorite for Tatum... next we headed south to Colorado Springs to visit the Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak. With some possible rainy weather pending, we stopped at the Garden for a minute, but headed to Pike's Peak first. This was a drive up 14,110 ft... and we made it! The road up isn't completely paved... parts were gravel- not my favorite, but we made it! With a bit less oxygen and some lightening, we stayed at the top for a little while, I caught my breath, and we headed back down. Amazingly, there were flowers near the top of that mountain! I had to stop to take pictures, because it amazed me!

We headed home, hung out for a day... then headed back south to see Seven Falls and the Royal Gorge Bridge. The Royal Gorge was created by the Arkansas River and wow, was it beautiful there! We took the Incline Railway straight (well almost straight) down to the river and walked across the bridge. It was absolutely beautiful there! You could see mountains for miles! It really is amazing to check out this bridge... Definitely a "must see" in the state of CO.

We took the next day 'off'... okay, well I took the day off, but put my dad to work fixing the curtains I so pitifully tried to hang :) .... then Sunday, we headed to Estes Park, had some sandwiches in Rocky Mountain National Park, then walked around the touristy area. As many times as Matt and I have visited Estes Park- this was the first time actually walking up and down the street of shops! A pleasant day. It was a filled week of traveling the state of CO.... well parts of it anyway. We had a great week in which the next week was spent laying around recuperating :)