Back from Texas

There were many parts of our trip to Texas that I thoroughly enjoyed! I'll refrain from detailing several items that I could have done without (i.e., our drive south, Will's illness, wasting money on a hotel, and a particular conversation with Jeff).

Things I loved:
Having many people to help unload the van
Getting to see Carson when I didn't expect to
Having family drive over to Dana's house to see Jeff, me, and all of our babies
Waking up every morning and having the sun shine in our room
Playing in the driveway every morning after breakfast
Watching the kids in awe over the horses, chickens, cat, and dog
Surprising Jeff on Father's Day with the kids dressed in their very own "Aspen" shirts
Having Dana and Nick cling to me in the pool
Hearing Kristen and Jeff teaching Will to "kick, kick, kick" in the pool
Seeing Josh and Dad in the water together
Hearing that Josh was playful with Robin when she went to get him out of the PeaPod
Watching little Dana play with Mom and her bracelets
Getting to see Candy, Kevin, and Tracy
Having family drive over to Kristen/Ken's house for a Birthday celebration for Dana, Will, and Nick
Having everyone sing "Happy Birthday To You"
Watching my babies play with their cousins
Having lunch at Life's a Beach and playing in the sand
Watching the kids take a fake picture of a duck
Having Mom and Dad watch all of our kids, Connor, Abbey, and Reagan so that Jeff and I could go out and have a nice dinner with Ktin, Ken, Dana, and Don
Seeing the look on Dana's face when Don or her boys are around
Spending time with Jeff by the pool in the moonlight
Having lunch outside of the Dallas World Aquarium
Watching our sweet children "taking it all in" at the Aquarium
Hearing the pitter patter of feet upstairs when they should have been napping in their PeaPods
Having the family help rush me out of the house when we decided to leave early and drive through the night to avoid the incessant whining that occurred on the way down
Hearing a sweet "DING" from Nick in the back (as he was half asleep) and as we got "off route" to fill up with gas or to make a pitstop
Hearing our sweet babies sing "Ha, Ha, Happy to you!"

...thank you all so much for making our trip enjoyable! I appreciate you, Dana, for allowing us to camp out at your home and for all the love and attention you gave us...you are the perfect hostess! Connor, you're so good at playing with our little ones! Kristen and Ken, thank you so much for hosting a birthday party at your home. I'm sure it was expensive, all the gifts and the dinner for everyone...sorry to spring that on you at the last minute! I love you and your sweet family!
Mom and Dad...you are both invaluable. I'm so glad that our kids know you and love you both so much! Your love for Jeff, myself, and the kids is a wonderful gift and I cherish that. Thank you for the books, toothbrushes, and the wall art. Eric and Jeff, thank you so much for making it to almost every event. It was very special getting to spend time with you both. Thank you for monetary gift (aka, diapers). I'm glad you got to spend time with our kids. Robin and Chuck, thank you for driving and making it to Dana's party on Sunday. Sorry we couldn't spend more time together. Thank you for helping to keep our kids safe with those Caution signs for the street. I know you had one foot in the car when you learned that we were leaving early. As disappointing that it was that I didn't personally say goodbye to many of you (Ktin, Ken, Abbey, Reagan, Eric, Jeff, Robin, Chuck) we really did have to get on the road early... we needed to cover as much ground as we could while the kids were sleeping. I've tried to remember as many highlights that I can from our trip....sorry if you recall something that I cannot at this time. Its late and I just wanted to post something since its been a while. Just know that everyone is important to me and I love you all.