May 2015

Dear friend,

Please excuse the massive photo drop.  May was a blast!  It started off with a little visit from my parents.

They helped with a ton of projects around the house, including a lot of work on the playhouse.

The kiddos of course, were right there to help.  

It just so happened that my sister Hannah flew in town the same weekend to go to a friend's wedding so we all got to hang out.  

The kids love Aunt Hannah,

and all the ladies bought a little native jewelry to celebrate our time in the land of enchantment.

The next week Elias had a conference in Houston so the kids and I joined him for the trip.

We had a blast going to parks, 

riding the carousel, 

 visiting the aquarium, 

eating out,

and visiting the children's museum.

Actually this picture is a better representation of the children's museum, because if Boyd and Smith had their way, they would have stayed in this car all day.

It was 85 degrees and drizzling the entire time we were there, but we discovered so many splash parks.  It was so much fun!  We went through about three outfits a day.

Summer of course loves them.

Smith is quite content to stay by the sidelines,

go in for a drink every now and then,

or even just sit under the umbrella and wait for the train to come by.

Boyd was an absolute riot.

 

He was dancing and laughing the entire time.  

 

They partied until they dropped.  

Elias then took a few vacation days so we could really party.  We took the kids down to the beach in Galveston.  

While it wasn't the most gorgeous beach, the weather was perfect and the waves were just the right size.  It was fun to watch each of the kids explore the beach differently. Smith loved the sand; digging his feet in, grabbing handfuls of it, and watching the waves wash it out from under him.

 Boyd was obsessed with the waves and going as far out into the water as we would allow.

Summer was committed to collecting as many shells as she possibly could.  Luckily we were able to coax her into playing in the water as well.

Then it was on to San Antonio.  We were able to meet up with some dear friends from college,

and spend a few days with Elias' brother and his family.  

Downtown San Antonio was darling.  We loved the Alamo and the RiverWalk.

It was so fun to spend time with cousins!  We even to got see Adelynn's dance recital.  Summer loved it but may need to work on her poise before she has one of her own.

It was great to be together and we can't wait to see them again!

A dear friend of ours works at a local children's theater and dropped off some old costumes for Summer.  After searching through the bag, Summer declared, "these aren't dress-up clothes.  These are gorgeous clothes!"

The outfit of the month has been this one.  After wearing it three days in a row, I suggested she wear something else and she declared, "no thanks.  I will be wearing this everyday forever."

 

Summer has been cracking us up lately.  She takes her nail painting and outfits seriously and has been into "fancy words".   Her latest one liners have been, "I have a huge, humongous dilemma" and "that's a little wired".

Smith still has his love for the accessories, 

especially manly ones.

Boyd on the other hand, dresses up in his own way.  (This outfit is fairly common for him.)

I'm so grateful I get to parent these three with Elias.  I love him.  In Summer's words, "he's the best."

Our year of toddlerhood continues with lots of ring-around-the-rosie, 

playing in water, 

 

picnics in the playhouse, 

basking in the morning sun, 

forts, 

and more forts. 

It's fun to watch them all play so well together.  

 

Summer completed her first year of preschool 

and gave her first talk in primary. 

The boys continue to discover new things.  Unfortunately during a nap time this month, they discovered how to take off a poopy diaper and spread poop over their entire room.  

It took hours to clean up.   

We continue our tradition of watching for Elias to come home from work.  As soon as he pulls into the driveway all the kids rush into the car to guide him through a few donuts in the cul-de-sac.  

We headed up to Tober for Memorial Day weekend.  

It's always fun to see my man in his element.  

The boys loved the tractor, 

unless they were asked to share it.  

If Smith wasn't on the tractor, 

he was playing in the car. 

We had a great time around the fire, 

riding on the wagon of my childhood, 

and going out on the lake. 

Boyd loved exploring and commanding the smoke. 

One of the funnier moments came when he became obsessed with riding in a Barbie car.  

After struggling for a good ten minutes, he admitted his defeat and threw a fit.  

We loved seeing my parents again, 

and helping with their Tober projects. 

We continue to love our little life in Santa Fe.  Hope all is well with you and yours. 

Always, 

Elias, Brittany, Summer, Boyd & Smith