Dallas, Austin, and a Photo Shoot

we have family in dallas and austin...6 hours away, but better than nothing! we took a quick trip to see my tio, tia, and primos who i haven't seen in over 10 years. then headed over to austin to see jeff's oldest sis and her fam bam.

in dallas we spent most of the time in downtown where my cousin, andres and his new wifey, live. it was a dream...eating from food trucks, going to trendy parks, eating churros with cajeta (mexican thick caramel type thingy), and ate at the best pizza place ever in the chic bishop's district where my cousin, joshua and his new wife, live. my dad's sister, tia chela, hasn't aged in 10 years and when i heard my tio eddie's classic voice, it was like i was 12 years old all over again. 

introducing my new girl cousins who joined our family this past year...

angelee...

and yesi...

i quickly fell in love with these beautiful girls, as did my kids.

thank you family for an amazing time, can't wait to go again.

on to austin...

the wrights are some of the best people in this world. seriously. we are so so so happy that they live in texas. no one treats my kids with the love and care that my sweet nephew, kaleb, treats them.  again, we hung out, went to the movies (which jeff and i NEVER do), and ate at amazing places (arguably the best burger place i've ever been to). i wish i could go up once a month to get the treatment i get there...candy on our pillows and home cooked meals. spoiled.

tio rhino is the biggest BYU fan, and i remember him wearing this wig on game days. so of course we had to get out kids in it too...

don't mind the big pregnant woman stuffing her face in the back...

logan was 11 when i met him. today is his birthday and he is now 16. SIXTEEN? what the what. these teens are so good looking.

who doesn't love tia kelli?

hope you guys stay in austin for at least 3 years. please, please, please.

yesterday sofia wanted to do a photo shoot. weird, huh? but she was so funny, and posed, and looked so old to me that i just had to post them. we by no means, have a nice camera, so i'm sorry for the poor quality shots. but her smile is priceless.

ok, first off, she only wears dresses right now. and when she finds my fedora, there's no taking it away from her. also, she's only 2, even though here she looks 5. she is so so tall.

love this girl. most days. she is so quirky and i feel like i turn around and she's 5 inches taller. i love how tall she is. at this rate, she'll reach my height by 1st grade.

Yep, We Live in Lubbock, TX

i was one month away of living in utah for 11 years.  11! we made the jump to texas for jeffrey to further his education at texas tech. so many changes are happening and i'm a little overwhelmed. lubbock is definitely very different from what i'm used to. san diego and provo. where everyone is outside year round. just in case you don't know where lubbock is:

my in-laws flew to provo, helped us pack up (wow), THEN they drove the uhaul all the way to lubbock so that jeff could be in the car with me and the kids (Wow, capital W). i still can't believe their amazing willingness to do such a selfless act. when we dropped them off at the airport, these were mama crane's words, "thanks sooo much for letting us come to lubbock! we loved it." like it was some kind of vacation or something! all they did was work work work! Thank you best in-laws i've ever had.

anyway. here's my list.

LOVE it:

• everything is sooo close! two targets within 5 miles of my house. 
• costco opening next month
• grid (streets set up very much like provo)
• texas tech university is beautiful- supposedly college football is amazing here and the town turns in to red raider lunatics...i'm excited for this
• our humble home- so fun painting and decorating!
• market street - a grocery store that is bit expensive, but think of sprouts, trader joes type. they walk you to your car and put your groceries in your trunk! love that when i have two kids to strap in carseats.
• family relatively close! we are going to dallas to see my dad's sister and my cousins who i haven't seen in 15 years next week. then visiting jeff's sis in austin!

This is going to be HARD to get used to:

• i can't go on walks with the stroller! sidewalks don't curb down and not every street has a sidewalk! this is bad bc i go on lots of walks with this kids...
• brown, brown, brown. never knew there were so many shades of brown.
• our humble home (humble is another word for "it's old and charming and there are so many things for poor jeff to do")
• i don't have my mom group- this has been the hardest for me. i loved my "mom group" in provo. my age, girls nights, kids my kids ages, did everything with them.
• ash, ceecee, and zoe. my kid's fan club. my sunday dinner family guests. my free babysitters. i'm DYING without these girls.
• No one is outside. ever. do i even have neighbors?? so weird coming from provo where everyone is outside, on walks, running, biking, at parks (even during 100 degree summer and 10 degree winters).

pictures of our before and after house to come...