This is for you, Bryce!

Eli's European outfit At the duck pond Twinners Riding the truck Lounging on the pillows We're trying to be better at posting. Thanks for the encouragement, Bryce!

Videos

Catching Up

Sorry it's been so long. But we're alive and well and busy! Here's what we've been up to... since August.

We went to Portland for my friend Ashley's wedding. It's a good thing she got married there because we also got to hang out with my family for 10 days and had such a fun time. Here are some memories.

This is us at the coast, at Cannon Beach. This was Eli's first time seeing the Pacific Ocean.

This is cute Ashley and her new hubby, Cameron! Congratulations Ash! You looked beautiful! Cameron, you looked pretty good too!

Eli and his best buddy, Madeline. We had so much fun hanging out after a long time away from each other! Welcome home Mads!

Devin and I were married in this very temple 2 years, almost exactly, from the day we took this picture. My how life has changed!

My best buds from high school. Yes, I know, my eyes are closed... sorry, it was the best one.

One of my favorite things to do is to go the amphitheater at the rose gardens for concerts. This year we went to an island inspired concert where they played lots of fun and jazzy music. It was a beautiful evening, with delicious food and amazing company! This is Eli and Grandpa - one of my favorite pictures from the trip.

And Eli and Grandma.

This is my hot sister-in-law, Becki and her sweet little Marion. We went to the Farmers Market downtown and enjoyed looking at all the crazy people... though I certainly didn't enjoy smelling some of them. It was true Portland fun! And Marion is trying to hold Eli's hand... SO CUTE!

Ashley's wedding reception was at a golf course and Eli was really tired. Thankfully Ron was there to keep him entertained!

And Ron again, doing what he does best! We loved visiting our family and friends in Portland!

The next month, Devin's uncle, Glenn, and his girlfriend, Francoise, came to visit us. They are embarking on a 2 year trip driving around the world and their first stop was to visit us in Lubbock. We were so glad that they stopped and are excited to hear about all of their adventures!

Wink!

The month of September was all about decorating Eli's room. We had some hiccups along the way but are glad that we have finished another room. I think the colors look a lot better in real life, but you get the idea.

During all of our home remodel projects, Eli has been our foreman. And he's done such a good job. This particular project was during the month of October when we were redecorating our bedroom. Thankfully, we're done with projects for the year but look forward, kinda, to finishing next year!

My favorite time of year is the fall. Eli seems to enjoy himself too!

You want some?

I love this picture! Eli has this little scrunchy face that he pulls out every once in awhile. This is the scrunchy face combined with a little smile and hands up. I think he looks like he's growling and it matches the lion on his shirt!

Speaking of lions, Eli was a lion for Halloween. Pretty cute, huh? We had a combined birthday party with another 1 year old lion the day before Halloween, so naturally it was a costume party. They both LOVED the cake! And I love oxyclean!

Eli turned 1 on Nov. 5. I can't believe that he's a year old! For his birthday dinner we had spaghetti. I think it may be his favorite, just like his Mama. Though I prefer to eat mine with a fork and not have a 5 o'clock shadow of sauce.

We opened presents from the grandparents that night.

And the next day, he showed off his new shirt! So cute, thanks Mom!

We had a family party on Sat. And by family I mean us and our friends the Olsen's. They are our Lubbock family - family away from family. Here is Eli's cake for that party. It's supposed to be a rubber ducky in a bathtub... do you see it? There were some adaptations along the way but I think it turned out okay, and it tasted really good so that's all that really matters, right?!

You can't see it, but there is a candle on there.

Eli also got his first haircut! What a handsome boy!

So that's it for us. I'll try to be better at posting more than every 4 months!

Summer Adventures

We have been out and about for a few weeks visiting our family. Our first visit was to Colorado Springs to see Devin's brother, Brad, and his wife, Summer. They are expecting a baby girl soon. Devin's parents and sister, Katherine, also visited that same weekend. It was fun to see so many family members at the same time. You may notice that we mostly just took pictures of ourselves. We think that "You're so Vain" song may be about us.

Aren't these bird statues cool? We thought so too!

Our next visit was to Dallas to visit Melia's brothers and celebrate the 4th of July.

Here is our family photo. Eli loves swinging! Flying high! This is my brother, Paul. He's still living in Utah so we were so happy that he was able to fly down to be with the rest of us Texans! Eli and his cousin, Gaelyn, loved playing together. In this picture, she is feeding him imaginary food with a plastic hot dog spoon. So cute! I wish there were some pictures of all of my siblings and spouses and kids. Unfortunately they are on my brother's camera. There is a really cute picture of me with my 3 brothers... (do you hear that... "you're so vain, you probably think..."

From Dallas, we drove down to Houston to visit Devin's brother, Jared, and his family. Eli woke up that first night with a rockin' fever. The next morning, he had little red bumps all over his little body - we think it was heat rash. The fever was pretty much gone in the morning but the bumps stayed for the rest of our vacation. Luckily, it didn't seem to bother Eli too much! What a trooper!

Happy red-spotted baby! This is cousin Kai. He's 2 months younger than Eli and they loved sticking their fingers in one another's eyes! Oh to be a baby! This was Eli and Melia's first time in a warm ocean! We're so happy! Yeaaaaahhhhh!!!! Eli loves the water, even in his face! Eli and Kai are loving the water! Look how big he's getting!?!? And here are just some cute pictures of Eli. Cause he's so stinkin' cute! And so exciting... Eli got his first 2 teeth, in the same week! Growing up is so fun, and painful. Hope you're all doing well!!!