September

We are loving the cooler temperatures around here lately. It still does not quite feel like fall with it being 90 but we will take anything under 100 and be happy!

This is a random tidbit but I was feeling extra domestic and had to document my first time making pickles. It's so funny realizing the things that are exciting once you're a wife and mother. I am really getting tired of all of the food coloring in EVERYTHING! It is so hard to buy anything at the store anymore because so many things are colored with artificial coloring. I went to buy pickles for the first time in a year or more and could NOT find ONE jar of pickles in the store without Yellow 5 in it. Not one jar! Why in the world do you have to color pickles? I don't get it! So I made some, thanks to my dear friend, Clairissa, and her wealth of knowledge, ideas, and inspiration. Pickles are SO easy to make and they taste amazing! You don't even have to can them, they last a long time in the fridge so I am on a mission to make more things on my own that I used to just buy out of convenience.

On a more important note, I cannot get enough of my children! Especially when they wake up right before I go to bed! For some reason, Els woke up a few hours after she fell asleep and instead of just comforting her and putting her back to bed, I let her play. We had so much fun! This little girl is so into babies and dolls and being a little mama. It's so darling!
She did this all on her own. She is always carrying as many things in her arms as she can. And I just love that she looks like her daddy!

This picture describes our little Shelleybean PERFECTLY!!!

A little daddy time.

It has been so fun watching these two sisters grow to be good friends. They play so much together now and it makes me so happy seeing them have fun together (and yes, they are still learning to share and communicate better as well ;D).

Shell loves being a big sister!

And Els loves her so much!

We were so happy to get to see a good ol' Stanford buddy! Ryan was in town for work so he stopped by to chat and it was so much fun talking and catching up. We miss our Stanford friends so much!

Last weekend, we headed to San Antonio with Justin's brother, Matt, and his family. We had some free nights accumulated so we had a fun weekend hanging out and playing.

Here are the girls getting ready to head out the door for Sea World.

It was our first time as a family and we had a blast!

Here are the cousins watching the first show.

Elsie was surprisingly SO into the show. Every time she saw anything in the water she would smack her fish lips together. It was so darling. She sat and watched the whole show.

And clapped away :)

It had been 20 years since I visited Sea World and it has changed so much! It was an amusement park mixed with sea life and shows. It was so much fun for the kids with all of the different things to do.

This is me getting my stomach turned upside down on a kids ride that really didn't move hardly at all. I thought I'd be safe on a kids ride but I guess not.

This was their fourth time on this ride. There were no lines at all so they just kept riding and riding. Justin looks terrified in this picture; they were getting creative with the pictures.

There was a 'splash zone' and Shelley wasn't expecting it and was not at all happy when she got soaked unexpectedly.
But she's so cute with her sad face, I had to take a picture :)
Jorgen, on the other hand, could not get enough of it.

Elsie just kicking her feet up.

Shamu!

There was a net park that was pretty intense and fun.
Can you spot Justin and Shelley?

The dolphin show was our last stop and was amazing! My favorite show for sure!

On our way to the river walk in downtown San Antonio, we spotted a vintage aircraft.

Dinner at Costa Rio on the river walk. So good!

The kids had much needed baths and Elsie just lived up the hotel life.

I just want to squeeze those little cheeks and all of those rolls!

The next day we spent playing by the pool and going down the waterslide. Elsie even went down by herself - three times! I didn't have my camera to capture it though.

The resort is very family friendly and they had 'zoomagination' where the kids got to meet all sorts of animals and tough some of them.


Elsie had a comfy little bed in the closet and Shelley just could not resist the urge to have a sleep over with her.It did not last long though before they wanted their own beds.
It was a fabulous trip and we are so glad we got to share it with our fun Texas cousins!
Happy September!