Pacific Grove, CA

Jack, my mom and I spent a week at the beach cottage in Pacific Grove, CA. I call it "my therapy to the soul retreat." I seriously love it there. It is always so peaceful and relaxing. Well, not so much with a toddler but it is still peaceful and beautiful. Time went by so fast even though we basically did nothing. Our days were spent walking along the beach, enjoying the marine life, eating yummy seafood and watching movies. We were able to visit with some good friends and visit the Monterey Aquarium. Jack loved the aquarium. It was fun to have Shawn come in for the weekend. We were also able to visit with Shawn's parents and his brother and sister-in-law.

Enjoying the beach and marine life:

Jack loved chasing around the seagulls.

My favorite restaurant on the fisherman's wharf. Yummy!

Our walks in the morning. So beautiful. This has been my favorite house since it was built. I love it. I think it feels so warm and inviting. Maybe someday.....:)

Our good friends Andrea and Hayden from Michigan came to visit us for the day. It was so fun to hang out with them and catch up.

Our friends or as we call them "family" (Shawn's best friends from Fresno and Kristy was one of my good friends from London) came to visit us for the day. They are pretty much like family to us. We celebrated Brennan turning 2 and went to the aquarium with them. It is always so much fun to see them. We were able to spend the whole day with them. We also got to see their cute little boy Cohen for the first time. He is such a happy baby.

Pasta, Passion and Pistols....

Friday night we did a murder mystery party with some friends. The theme was Pasta, Passion and Pistols... We turned my friend's kitchen into a restaurant in Little Italy. I wished we had pictures of the decorations, you really felt like you were in a restaurant. We all put on our Italian accents and had such a fun night. I could not have helped get everything ready if my father-in-law was not in town. He played with Jack so that I could cook and help set up decorations. Not only did he help out with Jack but now every light in my house is working, my broken cupboard is fixed, my break light on my car is fixed as well as my shop vacuum. Basically he fixed everything that was on a long list for things to do when Shawn had time. Seriously, grandparents are the best! Shawn's mom came into town on Saturday and hang out with us while the boys went to the BYU game. It is always fun to have them over.

Dallas State Fair

I believe that the Dallas fair is the largest fair in the Nation. It is BIG but of course everything here in Dallas is bigger and better right?:) We had a really fun time. We went early to beat the crowds. We went to the petting zoo where they had everything from Zebras to miniature Horses to pet. Then we went and had a famous Fletchers corny dog. You can't imagine how long the lines were to get a corny dog but they sure were good. Definitely not healthy but delicious. Then we went over to the Children's Museum which was free and Jack had a great time playing. Then Jack went on his first ride. Shawn said he loved it but I am not so sure..... Then we tried some deep fried butter. I know that sounds gross but I had heard it was really good so we had to try it. It actually was yummy! It was like little miniature scones that melted in your mouth. The Dallas fair is famous for their fried food. You can get fried salad, fried beer, fried lemonade, fried pies, fried p&J sandwiches and much much more. You name it and it is fried. There is so much more to do at the fair but we had to get home so Jack could take his nap. He must of had fun because he took a 3 hour nap.

Dallas Arboretum

We had such a fun day today. Well fun, except Jack won't take a nap.... I guess we stayed at the Arboretum a little too long but oh we had fun! The Dallas Arboretum goes all out for Halloween, there were pumpkins everywhere. Lots of parents were taking adorable pictures of their kids sitting nicely on the pumpkins but I am lucky to get any pictures of Jack. He was running around having so much fun with his little friend Zach.

Springfield Missouri

My good friend Christie from our MBA experience, came to visit me a couple of months ago. It was so great to have her here in Texas but I was sick when she came and felt bad that we were not able to do too much. To make it up to her I decided to go and see her on Saturday. The plan was for all of us to go but Friday Jack starting feeling a little under the weather. So Shawn kindly suggested that I just go. I flew in Saturday morning and was home by 8am Sunday morning. It was a quick little trip but we had a great time getting pedicures, eating out, going on walks and best of all just chatting away like gals do. It was so fun to see their new home and where they live. Thanks for letting me come!

FALL FUN
Riding in wagons, pumpkin patches, playing with friends at the park, making messes..... Oh, the life of a toddler.... isn't it fun!

I said "go get ready Jack" and he grabbed his glasses and put them on his head. Too cute!


Pumpkin Patch












Poor Jack is so tall and skinny that his pants are constantly falling down. I need to get a belt or something for him. He is constantly pulling them up but sometimes this is what happens. Good thing kids at this age don't make fun of each other.

I turned my back for a minute to make dinner and this is what I turned around too. Yep, yogurt all over Jack.