Springtime!

Summer (oh I mean spring!)  is here and we are LOVING it!!  This past week we went to a spray park downtown with some friends and loved the warm weather.  Ethan had such a great time playing in the water.  Joshies didn't seem to enjoy it as much... maybe next time.  I also made two super scrumptious pies for a fundraiser at our church.  They were my prettiest pies ever!  I guess after torturing my family with the smell of baking pies I'll have to make one for them.  

Ethan had a great time running through the water.  These spray parks remind me of running through the sprinkler as a kid.  

 He was kind of grumpy all day... until we got home, then he  unexpectedly decided to be the happy boy I know and love.

Super yummy triple berry pie!  Isn't your mouth watering now?

Mom

In January James' dear mother was in a car accident.  We love her and miss her so much!  Her life was filled with selflessness and love for her family.  She was strong, kind, generous, and wise.  She was a strength in our lives that will be dearly missed.  We are grateful for the many lessons she taught us and for the love she freely gave us.  We are thankful for her deep testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the way she lived it every day.  Mom, we love you and we miss you!

Happy Birthday!

So.. this little guy is now ONE! His favorite activities include: eating, slobbering, slithering like a worm everywhere he goes, "singing" (you and i might call it a joyful holler), snuggling, playing peek a boo, "reading", pointing at everything and grunting, did i mention eating?, having his picture taken, and thank heaven sleeping! He loves to do everything that Ethan does... which is cute most of the time, scary sometimes, and occasionally irritating (sometimes they have yelling matches that then turn into screaming matches that then turn into quiet time... :) ). He is such a happy boy! We are so happy to have him in our little family!

Ethan was so excited all day to eat Joshies cake and ice cream. He was definitely more excited for Joshies birthday than Joshua was! He kept asking when he was going to have a birthday... cute boy!

Joshua love, love, loved the cake... he wasn't so sure about the ice-cream.

I think he had a little bit too much birthday fun!

Both boys had a lot of birthday fun! We're so lucky to have our boys! They bring so much to our lives! Happy Birthday Joshua!

Visitors..

My sister Alayna came to bask in the warmth of Texas with us... it was great! Too bad for her it wasn't as warm as had been or is now... it was 87 today! We still had a good time though. We went to the zoo, went bowling, to the park, had a girl's night out (courtesy of James, thanks lover!) and had so much fun! It was so nice to hang out with my sister and two of her kiddos. So excited to see them again at Christmas!

At the zoo in front of a .... dinosaur? I guess I missed that exhibit...

Wyatt and Joshua are just about the same size... Wyatt is just 3 mo and Joshua 11 mo....

Layla was having way too much fun at the bowling alley!

Both little tigers at the zoo... Ethan sure misses Layla. We loved having our visitors! We can't wait to see them again soon... and Dana too!

Holt Family Reunion

For the weekend of the 24th we went to a Holt Family Reunion in southern Utah. It was so nice to see everyone! Even though our trip was short we were so glad we could go. We had such a blast!

Joshua loved all the kisses he received from aunts and cousins especially this cute auntie (James' sister Ashla).

In the past Ethan has been timid so I was surprised that we wanted to "ride" this horse. He got up there and wasn't scared at all... maybe he was a little bit scared.. he wouldn't smile for the camera. He has asked several times since then to ride the horsey...

On the 24th my sisters-in-law Erin, Heather and I walked a 5k... Shelley, Dona and her husband Brad ran it. It was a beautiful morning! After the race most of the Holts rode a float in the parade. It said "Faith Family Farming". It was the beginning of a super fun day!

After the parade we had a family picture (that was an adventure!), yummy lunch, and gargantuan water fight and went to a rodeo. It was a fun relaxing day! We were lucky that Seth and Mary were able to drive down from Salt Lake. It was great to see them too!

This is Seth and James tuckered out after a game of king of the hill with some of James' brothers and nephews. They all played hard that day.

These little guys were all pooped out too after a long day. From the left this is Finch (Seth & Mary, 1), McKay (Kimball & Shelley, 9mo), and Joshua. It was so much fun to see all of the babies! I wish I had a picture of them all together... In 14 months there were at least (not sure if I missed one) seven babies born in the Holt family. Wow!

Overall it was a super fun weekend, only wish it had been longer!

Houston Astros

When we first moved here we went to an Astros game with one of James' cousins and her husband. They lost, which has been happening quite a bit lately from what I hear, but it was still fun to go and hang out with Camille and her family. We're sad to see them go... the next week they moved away...

Lonestar State

Shortly after graduation we moved from Columbus, Ohio to Houston, Texas. Quite a move! It took us three super long days! We left Columbus on Wednesday afternoon, after spending most of the previous day and night packing and cleaning... may I say NOT fun and NOT easy with two small munchkins! We are sooooo grateful for James' sister Robin and her kids for coming and helping us the Saturday before.

Tuesday night we stayed in a hotel in Columbus and forgot a super cute bag with some small fans in it in the room. Sad day! I really wanted my bag back and James wanted those fans... so he called the hotel and they mailed us the fans - MINUS the cutest bag in the world! Grrrr! Anyway.... after lots of driving and a whole lot more driving we finally made it to Texas! And then we had to drive some more... Members of our new ward helped us move in. Our new ward has been so welcoming! We are so grateful for that. We are beginning to get back into the swing of things. Life is finally beginning to settle down a bit! Hooray!

So far we are loving Texas! There is so much Texas pride! It's everywhere! Texas edition this, Texas style that... It's fun! It's kind of like buckeye fever in Columbus. It's not as hot as I thought it would be, but it is definitely more humid than I expected. YIKES!! I walk outside from the air-conditioned apartment and I'm instantly wet (with or without sweating)! The things I love so far.... pico de gallo, the library (well almost... that's another story), the park, the people, the many many things to do in the city... it's great to be here!