M & J

Family Pictures

2012-01-25T15:20:00.006-06:00

Last post and I am caught up!

The talented,wonderful, amazing Jamie Cook took our family pictures for us. I loved how they turned out.

Cole's Baby Blessing

2012-01-20T14:06:00.006-06:00

The last fun thing we did in Texas was bless baby Cole. My mom and dad are amazing and flew in for the event. We blessed him at the Nixon's home. It was a small group, but really awesome. Cole wore Mike's blessing outfit. We could barely squeeze him into it, but it worked.

Christmas #2

2012-01-20T13:13:00.010-06:00

From Utah the kids and I flew to Dallas from Dallas our flight was delayed 4 hours and then onto College Station. We were so excited to see our daddy! We had so much fun spending time with him. He wasn't around much this semester. We played with cousins, visited friends in Houston and just hung out. It was awesome!

Christmas Eve

We had to wait until uncle David flew in to open our presents. It was pure torture for Miss Kate.

When Andrew, Eva and Elsie got into town Kate was in heaven! One night we made ginger bread houses.

Notice Kate downing the icing

My zoo pass still worked at the Houston Zoo so we drove down there and got everyone in on my pass.

The kids got in the hot tube so many times. When they were sick of the hot tube they would get in the bath.

On New Years Eve Christopher and Rachel drove up from Houston and spent the night. We let off Tangled lanterns for Kate. Tim and Mike's dad followed them in a car to see where they landed. We played Minute to Win it games. Which was a ton of fun! I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Ate yummy food. Mike's family tradition is having crab legs on NYE, we also tried all new recipes and everything was delish!

The last day we took Cole in the warm hot tube. He loved it!

We loved going to Texas!

Christmas #1

2012-01-17T21:50:00.015-06:00

We had a world wind Christmas this year. I flew to Utah by myself with the kiddos the first week of December to hangout while Mike took his finals. I was so nervous I had to pull out all the stops. Luckily we survived! Thanks to a really nice flight attendant, who played with Kate and let her pass out pretzels to everyone on the flight and an empty seat next to me for Cole's car seat. We spent two weeks in Utah playing with friends and family and enjoying the Christmas season.

The most exciting thing that Happened while we were there was my brother Cameron got engaged. We are so excited!

We had an early Christmas before we flew out to Texas. I don't know if Kate was more excited for her presents or my brother and sisters who were watching her. Christmas has been so much fun this year because Kate totally gets it.

Matching jammies

A few friends came over to make sugar cookies and nativity sets.

Riverwoods had the most amazing lights and Santa.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-03T20:24:00.006-06:00

We had such fun Thanksgiving. We went to dinner at Mike's Aunt and Uncle's house.

Then we drove down to NYC and visited one of my bestest friends Kelsey and her husband Robby. I am not going to lie...NYC was a little different with two kids, but it was still fun. (Kate is not a city girl) We walked through Central Park, walked the Brooklyn bridge and just hungout. Kelsey and her husband Robby were so nice they watched the kiddo's and Mike and I went to the Rockette Show. We loved it.

Cat and I made 4 different pies from scratch and the turned out!

FAO Swartz

Tangled's tower.... Central Park

Kate

2011-12-03T08:01:00.007-06:00

We have been talking about Christmas and that we celebrate Jesus birthday. We were driving back from New Hampshire to visit a friend and Kate was coloring in her car seat. I turn around and she was coloring the ceiling of the car. When I asked her what she was doing she said she was making a birthday cake for Jesus.... how do you get mad at that?

Kate's Christmas List

2 Tangled dolls

2 Fynn Riders

the moder (mother)

the bad guy

the frog

and the grass

Cole's 2 Month Stats

2011-12-03T07:44:00.011-06:00

We took baby Cole to his 2 month appointment last week and he is doing great!

weight 12.4 lb 50%

Height 23 inchs 55%

Kate was such a chunk I figured Cole was going to be the same. I bought up in all his clothes so everything is a little big, but that is okay.

He is such a cute little guy. When he smiles his dimples come out and it seriously melts my heart. He loves to coo, suck on his fist, blow bubbles with his mouth and he loves to be held.

I think we will keep him!!!

Bunker Hill

2011-11-18T20:06:00.003-06:00

I have been feeling guilty because we haven't done a ton of sight seeing since we have been here. So last Saturday we went and checked out Bunker Hill. We ALL climbed the 295 steps to the top of the tower. Kate thinks every tower is Tangles tower so she loved it. It is crazy that we live so close to some many cool things!

If you had a magnifying glass you would see us next to the monument!
Kate's favorite part was running up and down the hill with dad!

La La came to town!

2011-11-12T18:27:00.006-06:00

My sista Lauren came and visited us for 10 days! We had so much fun seeing the sights of Boston. She is amazing with Kate and Cole. Kate LOVES HER AUNT LALA!

We visited the Concord Bridge in Lexington. It was so pretty.

The Head of the Charles Regatta races were right outside our apartment complex. It is amazing to see all boats.

Halloween in B-Town

2011-11-07T18:19:00.004-06:00

We had so much fun this Halloween! There was a ton of different Halloween parties that we got to go to throughout the week. The best was going to Beacon Hill. We only went for about an hour because Mike had to study for midterms (story of our lives these days). They shut down all the streets so cars couldn't drive around and people were sitting outside their decorated homes passing out candy. It was so much fun! Come to find out Beacon Hill is ranked 2nd best place to trick-or-treat in the US of A.

I actually participated in some fun Halloween events.

Murder Mystery party. Char and I were a date, because our hubby's were gone.

My character was Cobra. I had nothing to use as a costume. It was a stuggle

Witches girls night!

apple picking

2011-10-31T20:28:00.011-05:00

We have had so much fun apple picking this fall. It is such a fun thing to go, do kate loved it!

Grandma's

2011-10-31T20:11:00.005-05:00

Both of my grandmothers passed away within 24 hours of each other. It was the craziest thing. It worked out well that Mike's parents were coming to visit us the same weekend that the funerals were being held. They were nice enough to keep Kate while Cole and I flew to Utah for the funerals. They were both amazing women. I will miss them.

1910 ~ 2011 An Amazing Woman and Born Teacher Irene Hailes Ricks, lived among us over 101 years going strong#8230;" aanxiously engaged in a good cause, and [did] many things of [her] own free will;" (DC 58:27). Instead of rusting out, she wore out. She died peacefully at her home. Those who knew her well, knew that she was a true "Ironwoman." Her life was centered around family, friends, faith, BYU, all things Blue and White, and always-a Project. The secret to her long and productive life? She "Always looked on the bright side of life" and never slowed down. She traveled the world up until just the past few years. Since she hit the ripe old age of 60, both with Eldin and friends, she traveled to North, South and Central America, the Amazon, Asia, led tours to the Middle East and most of Europe. She exercised her mind, body, and spirit every day. She was careful about what she ate and drank. She read and learned constantly, emailed regularly, learned how to "Friend" her nieces, nephews, and grandchildren and received a notice recently from Facebook that she was the oldest living person with an active Facebook account -in the world! She got up every morning with a plan in mind and the determination to see it through to the end. A BYU season ticket holder since 1949, she never left a game 1 minute early-win or lose-no matter how lopsided the score or inclement the weather, much to her not quite so loyal son's dismay! The Cougar Club has lost one of their greatest fans. Born June 10, 1910 in Portsmouth, England, she was the oldest of 7 children born to John Charles Hailes and Nellie Warwick Hailes. Her parents, enduring much opposition, joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and immigrated to Zion, Salt Lake City, in July 1911 via steamship, 1 year before the Titanic sailed, bringing their baby, Irene, with them. Her father asked to be released from the British Royal Navy, giving up a promising career, but, unable to be far from the water, he built a home on the Jordan River on California Avenue and worked at the Magna smelter. Her first memory was walking down a long hall in a white dress when she was 15 months old to be sealed to her parents in the Salt Lake Temple. She was proud to be raised amongst the "salt of the earth" in The Cannon Ward, Pioneer Stake. From her childhood she always wanted to be a teacher. She put herself through college working for 19 cents an hour and "was glad to have the job". She received her degree in Elementary Education from the University of Utah (aka "the school to the North") in 1932. She taught elementary school for ten years at the Douglas School in Salt Lake City. She then joined the Navy WAVES in 1943 as a flight trainer in the Link Department. She enthusiastically organized LDS MIA groups wherever she went. At the end of World War II she served on the LDS servicemen's committee where she met Eldin Ricks. Describing Eldin, a friend told Irene, he is #8230;"Six foot two, eyes of blue, too religious for me, but just right for you." Eldin began teaching religion at BYU in 1946. Meanwhile, Irene enrolled at BYU to pursue not one but two degrees, a master's in education and a Mrs. She fell in love with Provo, BYU, and Eldin. She received the Mrs. degree when they married three years later in 1949. They had four children: Harold, Marjorie, Dennis, and Stanford. Over the next twenty-five years she continued teaching at BYU lab school, Cascade Elementary, and several other schools. Irene served in many church callings and positions including on the YWMIA general board from 1946 - 1963. Because of her desire to share her love for hiking, x-country skiing, and the outdoors, she helped to organize the YW Camp program. She also served on the Church Correlation Committee from 1967 - 1971 where she assisted writing Primary lessons. Irene and Eldin served a mission in London, England at the LDS Genealogical Library in 1985 - 1986. She served for many years as a volunteer in the Family History library at BYU. Irene's retirement since 1975 was spent in compiling over 10 volumes of Ricks and Hailes family history, attending BYU sporting and social events, organizing family reunions and enjoying her ever growing family consisting of twenty-three grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren#8230;. and counting. Funeral services will be held at 3:00 p.m., Saturday, October 8, 2011 at the Oak Hills 7th Ward Chapel, 1038 North 1200 East, Provo. Friends may call at the Berg Mortuary of Provo, 185 East Center Street, Friday evening from 4:30-7:00 p.m. and at the church Saturday from 1:30-2:45 p.m. prior to services. Interment, East Lawn Memorial Hills, Provo. Coincidentally(?), Irene's Day of Celebration will be capped off by the BYU Homecoming Football game that evening. She will there "Rise and Shout" one more time before making her way to an even more glorious Homecoming with her Heavenly Father, beloved husband, daughter, parents, brothers and sister who have preceded her Home. >From all who knew her-we love and revere you, Mom, Grandma, Teacher and Friend.

Isabell Jean Spongberg

October 19th, 1928

October 3rd, 2011

With humble hearts we pay tribute to our sweet wife, mother, grandmother and friend Isabell Jean Spongberg. Isabell's life revolved around the things that she loved most: her husband, children, grandchildren, extended family, friends and the Church.

Isabell is survived by her loving husband V. Jay Spongberg. Children: Mark, Roland (Sandee), Craig (Robyn), Connie (Stan) Ricks, and Karen (Dave) Schiess, 21 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, brother Russell (Carol) Hewett and numerous nieces, nephews and others who considered her to be their second mother.

Isabell was born in Pocatello, Idaho. Shortly thereafter, her family moved to Long Beach, California where she lived until moving to Orem, Utah in 2004. At her home there was always room for anyone who needed love and care or a hot meal. She promised any of the youth in her ward who attended Seminary that they could come to breakfast any morning between Seminary and school, and there were many who took her up on her offer. All who passed through her door felt her love and appreciated her warmth. She always remembered names, birthdays, and phone numbers. She had a gift for making all those she knew feel loved, worthwhile and important.

She was married to the love of her life, Jay. They grew up in the same ward and attended the same schools. After they were married they were rarely apart, maintaining their relationship together in the family business (Spongberg Mortuary), church and free time together. They served together in the Melbourne Australia Mission from 1999 to 2000. They have always been true sweethearts-from their first date and forever.

Isabell loved Heavenly Father and served Him everyday. She preached the Gospel always in word and deed. She was a great example of Christ-like love. She was simply a loving, wonderful woman who touched countless lives.

She loved to travel and visited many countries around the world. She would make friends everywhere she went, from castles to campgrounds and to neighbors. She made it a point to introduce herself to new faces at Church and made them feel welcome, and often extended an invitation to Sunday dinner.

She loved to have fun and to have surprises for her grandkids. She always had a treat for them in "her secret stash!" She loved See's Candy, milkshakes and fresh pies. In her last days, when she barely ate, she could almost always make room for a Haagen- Daz bar.

Mom is as beautiful on the inside as on the outside. Truly an "Elect Lady".

Mom, you are loved by everyone who has ever known you. We will miss you and think of you often and look forward to seeing you again, as an Eternal Family. We love you.

All my cousins on my mom's side of the family came into town to celebrate our grandma Izzy's life. It was fun to see them.

My mom and her siblings

The best part of the whole weekend was that my brother Nathan, who is in the MTC, got to come to the funerals. It was so much fun seeing him. He left for Salta, Argentina a few days later.

Happy Birthday Katie Lynn!

2011-10-27T08:33:00.004-05:00

Kate turned 3 last week! She/we had such a fun day.

The night before her birthday, Mike stopped and got Kate a pink donut. In the morning when she woke up she was surprised with balloons and a day old donut! Yum!

Eric and Little Mermaid barbies, she has been wanting these for a long time.

Ballet clothes from baby connie (my mom).

For some reason Kate has decided to call my mom baby Connie instead of grammy connie. My mom is loving it! NOT

Kate's fairy birthday party.

I made tutu's and wands for all the girl it was so much work. I don't know what I was thinking, but it turned out cute and the girls loved it.

We had the party in the lounge at our apartment complex. Since our place is so dang small.

The best was Mike, putting makeup on the little girls, it was hilarious!

Happy Birthday cute little girl! We sure do love you!

Latley

2011-10-23T18:22:00.006-05:00

1st subway ride

Cole's 1 month dr appointment.

50% in height and weight healthy little guy

kate wouldn't take the wand out of her nose for he picture. She thought she was so funny.

Whenever Kate watches the movie Tangled she acts out the entire movie. It is hilarious!

Week 1 & 2

2011-10-01T11:46:00.007-05:00

My mom came out to stay with us for 2 whole weeks! It was awesome! She was so much help, I seriously don't know what I would have done without her she took such good care of all of us.

first bath in the sink

first walk, Cole was great! Kate not so much!

My good friend Jamie came over and took pictures of baby cole.

I love them!

She kept telling me to look at the baby and smile. I felt like such a dork.

We tried to take some of him on his tummy, but he was not interested.

We have a much greater appreciation for baby photographers after taking pictures.

Baby Cole's Rapid Deployment

2011-09-11T23:39:00.016-05:00

I realize that this post is coming more than 48 hours after the fact, but Kate and my studies (okay, and a little extra time to watch BYU vs Texas football) have impeded my ability to provide a reasonable synopsis of Friday night's events.

When Julia left off with her last post, it appeared that little Cole was simply content with the status quo and not at all interested in responding to Julia's prodding (i.e. spicy Indian food for lunch and double dosage of Castor Oil for a mid-afternoon snack). We moved along with business as usual throughout most of the evening. Our apartment complex hosted a great bbq dinner and carnival for the kids so we spent a couple of hours socializing and enjoying the beautiful Boston weather. After the activities settled down, we put Kate to bed and started our evening rituals of school work/news/espn checking (me) and blog surfing (Julia). Around 9:15 PM, Julia sent out a couple of texts to her friends in which she begrudgingly accepted defeat at the hands of mother nature despite her aforementioned efforts.

And that is when the fun began (bear in mind that I was a mere spectator throughout the night)!...

9:30 PM
At about 9:30 PM, Julia started to show signs of uneasiness and discomfort. She didn't quite know how to diagnose the symptoms. Was it queasiness? gas? constipation? - need I go further? Could it possibly be a contraction? I tried my hardest to imagine what a contraction would feel like and how that might relate to what Julia was feeling - I got no where!

9:45 PM
Soon, the discomfort started to last a little bit longer and in concentrated doses. Julia made some phone calls to undisclosed sources that indeed confirmed that she might be experiencing the ever elusive fit of contractions. The word "might" was enough to convince me to get everything gathered up in case this dress rehearsal turned into the real show.

10:00 PM
In the meantime, we reached out to our experienced neighbor and birthing class instructor, Liz, to give an assessment. By the time she got there, the "contractions" were spaced 3-5 minutes apart and intensifying. She gave us the calm and collected nudge to take this thing seriously and head to the hospital. I made the call to the on-call OBGYN and left a message (which was never actually returned).

10:20 PM
We hopped in the car and sped our way to the hospital (only three miles away). Julia's contractions (yes - definitely not gas at this point) were longer in duration and higher in frequency. She was in some serious pain/torture. Hitting every red light on the way there did not exactly help things. By the time we reached the hospital it was 10:20 PM. Still, we figured we were in good shape. We wanted to get Julia admitted and set up and then I could return for the bags once the epidural kicked in.

10:30 PM
After stopping a few times due to some debilitating contractions, we made it up to the labor/ delivery room in about 10 minutes. As soon as we walked in to the room, the nurses jumped into action. Apparently, they caught on to something that my medical expertise (yes - I've sat thru five seasons of Grey's Anatomy with Julia) managed to miss!

We made sure they understood that Julia wanted an epidural ASAP and the nurse started to get Julia set up. The initial check showed that Julia was 7 cm dilated. I think we were both thinking "Oh crap - what do we do if she can't get the epidural!" Of course, I kept my thoughts to myself and remained absolutely poised and in control. Still, the nurse said that if they move fast, Julia should be fine to get the epidural.
10:45 PM
I figured I would make myself useful and get Julia some crushed ice and water. I found my way over to the ice machine, filled up two cups with ice and water respectively, and made my way back to the room. Upon entering the room, I feel as though the entire mood, pace and occupants’ demeanor had changed. Indeed - all HELL had broken loose!

10:48 PM
The Doctor had just rushed in and the nurse was frantically setting up the IV. Then, they drop the bombshell on me - Julia is dilated to 9 cm. I run the math in my head (9 cm = no epidural!). Julia is in incredible pain (the type of pain that no human nor animal should ever have to bear).
I didn't quite know what to do. Julia had been induced with Kate and despite a little discomfort when the Pitocin kicked in, the whole labor was quite enjoyable. I'm not just saying that either...we were laughing, chatting and having a jolly good time throughout the whole ride.

10:50 PM
There was nothing jolly nor good about the events I witnessed leading up to 10:53 PM. Julia was in a zone, however, and pain or no pain she wanted Cole out. The Le Mas (ms?) breathing techniques (learned three years ago) came in handy. Julia survived each contraction and geared up to force this little guy out into the open. The nurse actually had to tell Julia to hold off on pushing so the doctor could get somewhat situated. While Julia and I painfully endured each contraction, the doctor and nurse were rushing to get the baby delivery prep tools situated. The doctor didn’t even have time to put on her gown before Julia started pushing. Julia absolutely willed the little guy out in three pushes.

In-freakin-credible is all I have to say! I know Julia will likely try to defer the heroic credit to me on this one, but I have to admit that my role (by no means small) was largely (okay - entirely) diminished by my amazing wife. Little Cole was born exactly 23 minutes after Julia was admitted! Things moved so fast that Julia experienced the entire labor all NAT-U-RAL - no drugs, no nothing!

I think we were both in a state of shock shortly after Cole was born. What the crap just happened? Is he really already here? The poor little guy got a little bruised up along the way due to his forceful and rapid entry.

We honestly feel so blessed to have a healthy little boy in our family. Kate is excited to have finally met her little brother and has already tried to offer him every treat imaginable! She will definitely be a great big sister.

Here are the stats:
Name: Cole Michael Nixon
Birthday: 9/9/11 at 10:53 PM
Weight: 8 lbs 9 oz
Height: 21 in
Hair: Jet Black (zoolanderish)
Feet: big (the nurse looked at his feet and said that he has "some big a** feet" - it runs in the family!)
Skin: a little pink and purple

Lunch and ice cream on Friday after the doctors appointment

View from my hospital room

Car ride home, not too happy

Get this baby here!

2011-09-09T15:08:00.003-05:00

My due date is on Monday, but I really really want to have baby Nixon this weekend. Mike wouldn't have classes and my sister-in-law is in town and could come over and watch Kate during the night. That being said....

We are on MIT's insurance plan so we use the doctors they have at the MIT Medical Center. Can I just say my doctor in Houston was SOOOOO much better. They are all nat-u-ral here. Which is not bad, just different. Their motto is whenever the baby gets here, the baby gets here. I have only seen the doctor once and she wouldn't even consider inducing as an option until 41 weeks! They don't even check to see if you are dilated until your due date.

Today I saw the nurse practitioner and begged her to check and see if anything was going on. She consented to my pleadings and Mike's prodding and reported that I am dilated to a 3 and 50% effaced. Hooray!

One of my sister-in-laws, has taken caster oil with all 3 of her kids and it has put her into labor. So...later this afternoon I bought some on impulse and took it. We will see if anything happens. If not, I will just be completely cleaned out.

Come on baby Nixon lets get this show on the road! Oh ya, did I mention that he is already 8+ lbs. If he is too late, he will be 9 lbs! Shoot me!

We Made It!

2011-08-28T20:59:00.014-05:00

We made it to Boston!

We are moved into our 585 sq. ft. dorm/apartment, survived the earthquake and hurricane, Mike starts orientation and now we are just waiting for the baby to get here! Boston is so different then Houston. Everything in TX is big! Everything here is small and compacted.

Driving and trying to find my way around has been the hardest thing. I am totally scared to drive anywhere by myself. Our Tahoe is a beast on the road, the drivers are aggressive and rude and parking is horrible. Can I also mention that I CAN NOT parallel park
(embarrassing to admit). Mike attempted to teach me tonight and it didn't go so well. I told him it would probably be cheaper in the long run to pay to park then pay to fix the cars I hit in the next to years. Bless my Heart!!!!
Besides that we are great! The weather is amazing (especially compared to Houston right now) and it is so beautiful.

I have had request to post pictures of our little house. Space is a little tight, but it will work. Our next door neighbors have 4 kids in the same place. It can alway be worse....

Our very favorite thing is a great playground where we live, which is going to be our saving grace for the next two years.

We are excited to start this next chapter of our lives!

The kitchen is actually not horribly small. The only bad thing is the previous tenants did some crazy cooking and I am having a hard time getting the grease and fish oil smells out of the cabinets. Really gross

Family room/ kate's play area

Our couch wouldn't fit in the moving van, which is okay because it would have been too big for the room. We found this love seat at Costco. Both sides recline. Mike is in heaven because I swore I would never have recliner chairs/couch. Now we have 3!

Kate's room

I am not exactly sure where the baby is going to sleep, but we will figure it out.

bathroom, kate has been doing amazingly well going potty in the potty. Hopefully it will last.

(Thanks you Melissa for the shower curtain! Deal of a century)

There are some upsides of living where we are living and this is one of them. All we have to do is walk across the street and we have a beautiful view of the Charles River and great running/biking paths.

This is our backyard an

awesome fenced in park.

Please notice my laundry baskets in my stroller. We don't have a washer and dryer....Still trying to figure out the best way for us to get our laundry done.

First real outing... Park and feeding the ducks

At my last Dr. apt. they did an ultra sound and they did a 3d picture. It is crazy how real looking baby Nixon looks. We are excited for him to get here!

For the Record....

2011-08-14T21:07:00.004-05:00

Funny Things Kate has been doing.... so I don't forget

Kate is in love with anything to do with princesses. She has my mom pretend she is the wicked witch and gives her an apple. Then Kate pretends she dies until someone will give her, "A true loves kiss." Then she will wake up.

In the pool one day Kate's eyes were hurting and she said, " mom my eyes hurt, I need band aids on my eyes."

family Pictures

2011-08-13T23:13:00.010-05:00

Before my little brother left on his mission we took a few family pictures nothing special but they will work.

We also took a bunch of pictures of Kate

Utah Summer

2011-08-09T22:06:00.014-05:00

We have been in Utah for the last six weeks and have been having so much fun! Mike was here for half the time before he left for Malaysia with his Dad. It was so much fun having him here. We tried to pack in as much fun things as we could possibly do before he left and my youngest brother Nathan leaves on his mission. I think we did a pretty good job!

We have been playing with cousins, friends going on bike rides and swimming a lot. Seriously, there is nothing better then a Utah summer night. It is heavenly!
The above picture is Kate with some of her cousins eating dinner.

We went to the SLC Children's Museum, it was so much fun!

Thanksgiving Point farm

Kate was so funny, she would make the sound of a rooster and then put her hand over her mouth and fake giggle.

My sister La, cousin Mckinley and Kate

We stayed up in Deer Valley for a week at my parents condo. While we were there we went on the new Alpine Slide called the coaster, it is like a roller coaster it is a little safer then the old alpine slide because it can't fall off the tracks. Kate loved it! Mike, went on a few hard core mountain biking trails.

For family night one night we took 3 tandem bikes, hooked the burley up to one of them, and rode up the canyon to make s'mores. It was kate's first bonfire.

Boating at Utah Lake with the family

Happy birthday Nathan and Megan! Cheesecake Factory, yum!

Shops at Riverwoods has a fun little splash park.

My brother Cameron has been in Washington D.C. all summer and he came home for Nathan's farewell. We had so much fun hanging with him.

Indoor Surf!

Fireworks with cousins, they were a little loud for Kate

the fam

whew, did we pack it in or what?
I think Kate is going to be a little deprived of attention in a few days.
While we have been in Utah playing for the last few weeks Mike went to Malaysia with his dad, flew to Texas, closed up everything thing with work and our town home. Met my parents in Houston,who drove out to Texas with my brother and his wife. Some how packed everything in our 6x12 trailer, packed up everything else that wouldn't fit in our 585 sq. ft. apartment in a trailer for my parents to take back to Utah. We owe my parents BIG TIME!!!
Then Mike drove out to Boston with his dad and is in the process of unpacking everything. Kate and I fly out to Boston on Tuesday. Hopefully we can get a little settled in before this baby comes. (Less then 4 weeks to go!)
Can I just say Mike is seriously the best. I am so grateful that Kate and I didn't have to drive 25 hours to Boston. I really didn't want to have a baby somewhere in Alabama.
I am excited for the next stage of our lives... Let the adventure begin!

NYC

2011-07-24T18:14:00.006-05:00

I was super lame with taking pictures in NY, but it seriously was so much fun! Last time I went I took Kate which was fine, but lets be honest it is way more fun with no kids.

Every 2 years my little sister Megan's dance team, The Dance Club, goes to NYC to compete in this national competition called NYCDA. I went when I was in high school and it is so much fun.

There team won 1st place! It was so exciting.

In our spare time we shopped till we dropped and ate at some really yummy restaurants, (thank you Kelsey).

We also went to a few Broadway shows. Our favorites were, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, Sister Act and Memphis. I seriously LOVE musicals.

Cafe Lalo's

I splurged on this necklace that I have been really wanting from Helen Ficalora and after we walked across the street and celebrated my purchase with these amazing Lobster Rolls....

(once again thank you Kelsey)

DBGB a new trendy restaurant in NYC. Most expensive burger I have ever eaten, but well worth it!

National Champions!

Nixon Family Reunion, Winter Park CO.

2011-07-19T22:55:00.007-05:00

We just got back from a great family reunion in Winter Park, CO. All of Mike's siblings and their families were there. It has been 5 years since they have had everyone together. Kate was seriously in heaven with all her cousins. We stayed in these great condos and did fun activities everyday. I came a few days late because I was in NYC with my mom.

We had such a great time, thank you Laura and Clair!

All the girls... We took family pictures and these are what we took on the side. I was so excited to take family pictures 7 1/2 months pregnant. NOT

4th of July fun.

I had not gotten there yet, check out Kate's hair do!

Boy cousins

Make room for kate

Laura, and I made these little skirts for all the girls. They turned out so cute! I was so proud!

Brothers

Grammy, Papa and all the grandkiddo's

All the brothers and sisters

The family

Rafting

Happy 4th of July

Ice cream bribery after family pictures

Unfortunately there were a few accidents. The worst was Tim, Mike's youngest brother, flipped on his mountain bike and broke his wrist and collarbone. It was so sad. He had to get surgery when he got home.

While I was shopping and playing in NYC, Mike, his parents and one sister drove 17 hours to Colorado. Mike seriously wins the best dad of the year award

daddy, daughter sleepover on the way to Colorado.

Goodbye Houston

2011-07-11T23:27:00.011-05:00

Our last month in houston was crazy! Trying to pack, but keep our house looking good for showings was seriously the worst. Luckily, we were able to rent our town home out a week before we were planning on leaving, so we really could start packing.

All our friends were so nice and helped us out so much. We are really going to miss our friends in Houston. They are the best!

While Mike, Kate, his dad and a few guys moved us out of our house. My girlfriends threw me the most amazing baby shower ever! It was so much fun and they didn't forget one detail. I loved every second of it!

A few of my friends

I am sure I will have more pictures of the shower, but all I can say is Thank YOU so much! The shower was so much fun and I am grateful that this little guy will have some cute clothes to wear next year. Since are budget is drastically about to change!

Last ice cream outing with her best buddy Reagan

This was how Kate had to eat the last few days before we moved

Last preschool at our house. Kate, Reagan, and Rosalie playing. Kate really misses all her friends she is alway asking where they are. I tell her Texas, and she says, "why?"

Good practice. Kate loves baby Anna

Father's day

2011-06-19T21:38:00.008-05:00

We had a fun Father's day today! Breakfast in bed with the limited food and spices that we have not packed. We had to get a little creative

Dad got a new backpack, now that he is going to be a full-time student again!

My friend Melissa and I teamed up this fathers day and made a few fun things for the daddies. We got a book and put our own pictures in it.

If your hubby likes rootbeer here is another fun idea that we did. I love the blogging world, creative friends (thanks melissa) and getting other peoples ideas off of pinterest!

http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2010/06/root-beer-sampler-happy-fathers-day.html

Goodbye Pool Party

2011-06-19T21:05:00.006-05:00

Some of our good friends had a good pool party/bbq for us. It was so much fun! We have made so many great friends here. We are going to miss everyone! Kate said today, "Mom we a move to Boston, Kate miss her friends."

Happy Birthday!

2011-06-13T15:22:00.007-05:00

Mike's birthday was this past week he turned 29!!! This is the first time Kate really knew what was happening she was so excited about everything and it made it that much fun. She loved the birthday cake and presents. He had to be into work really early, so kate and I took him donuts she has never gotten ready to leave the house so fast. it was so funny.

We celebrated with friends on Sunday with a yummy Cake

On his birthday we opened presents and then we left Kate with some friends and went to Perry's one last time with John and Mckell. It was so good!

Saturday night we were in College Station and Mike's parents took the gang out to a yummy Hibachi grill dinner. Kate wasn't sure about the fire and guy cooking in front of us.

Another birthday cake and celebration with Mike's family!

Go Stan!

2011-06-09T21:51:00.005-05:00

My did is amazing/slightly crazy. He just ran a 50 mile running race. It is all on trails so there is a lot of uphill so you do some hiking, but seriously... good job dad! What now?

Kate at the Zoo

2011-06-09T21:42:00.002-05:00

Kate and I were at the zoo we went to go check out the sea lions. Kate was trying to lean over the fence to see the sea lions when she said her shoe fell off. Her shoe had fallen into the water with the sea lions. I wasn't sure what to do? the sea lion had picked the shoe up and put it in it's mouth. I thought he was going to eat it. I went and found a zoo keeper. I was thinking to myself, " the dang animal is going to eat her shoe and die and I am going to have to pay for it." We went back to the water and luckily found her shoe at the bottom of the tank. They got it out and sanitized it and we were good to go. Kate frequently reminds me, "mom member how the sea lion ate my shoe."

What are the odds???

2011-06-09T21:39:00.003-05:00

Christopher, my brother, just got into University of Texas, Houston's Medical School. What are the odds that we move right when he and his cute wife might move to Houston! Dang it! Maybe we will come back before they leave.... congratulations!

Kate's friends

2011-06-04T20:28:00.002-05:00

Once a week a we do a little preschool with Kate and some of her friends. Kate loves playing with her friends. She loves anything princess and especially dressing up and dancing.

Our House

2011-06-01T22:13:00.005-05:00

We are trying to sell or rent out our town home.
It is a funny thing because we don't see how anyone would not want to buy it. We love it! It is our first house, it is great! It is crazy coming from Texas where you can get some much for your money compared to Boston where we will be paying the same price or more in rent for something really small,old and probably a little ghetto.
I just keep reminding myself that it is only for 2 years. You can do anything for that amount of time....right?

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-01T22:06:00.005-05:00

Emily graduated from high school and Tim had his Eagle Court of Honor this past weekend. David, Jessie (girlfriend), Elizabeth and Julie flew in for the weekend and John, Sheree and kids drove down from Dallas. We had such a blast!
It is so much fun when we all get together. Kate loved playing with her cousins and she became quite a little swimmer.

We were the lucky family who stayed in the apartment behind the Nixon's house . While I was getting ready Kate found a maker and colored all over grammy's walls!
I feel like an official mom of a toddler!

Kate's 1st Dentist Appointment and more

2011-05-25T16:02:00.006-05:00

Went to go visit my friend Bonnie's house she has triplet boys! Kate was a little confused, but then loved the babies. Bonnie is the best mom to these little munchkins!

The quality on these pictures are from my phone and are horrible...

Bestie Reagan

Making a cave with dad

Kate went to the dentist for the first time. She did okay, luckily dad was there to help. He is better at these situations then I am. The good news is...no cavities.

Big girl hair cut

2011-05-11T15:15:00.000-05:00

Kate's hair has been the trial of my life the last few months. She won't let me do anything to it. I have been trying to grow her bangs out so they are alway in her eyes, because She wants it down, "like a princess" (she also gets mad when I put my hair in a pony tail... so annoying.) a few weeks ago I decided to cut it. There was groupon for a cute little hair cutting place called, Sugar and Spice. So today I took her there and she was great, but the lady cut it shorter then i wanted it. I know it will grow, but I am sad because she looks so grown up.

Hopefully it will grow fast!

We went and got ice cream after. I hope it will look cuter after it is washed and I do it.

I wonder what Mike will say when he gets home!

Weekend in Boston

2011-05-09T16:18:00.010-05:00

The weekend after Easter, we left Kate with Mike's mom and went up to Boston to check out our new stomping grounds. It was a lot of fun!
MIT had a weekend full of activities to entice the admits to choose MIT.

Our first stop was the LGBT club (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) party. It was hilarious. View from campus

We stayed with our good friends Dan and Jamie Cook. They were so nice to show us around Boston. We went to some fun restaurants, beautiful parks and Mike's personal favorite - a Red Sox game at Fenway Park.

There was a bunch of drunk guys in front of us that were very entertaining. I don't think I even watched the game. (how sick is that)

Robby, another friend from freshman year, is going to MIT right now and Cameron and Katie McNeil drove down from NYC. We had so much fun!

Robby took us to a yummy burger joint. The burgers were huge!

After this weekend I am way more excited to move up there.

Fun in the Sun!

2011-05-05T20:30:00.014-05:00

Spring Break for my sister was a few weeks ago so we decided to join them and 2 other families in Cabo. We had a blast as always! Kate had so much fun with all the little girls, her aunts and grammy and pops.

Football on the beach every night

Lots of popcicles

The gang!

Playing on the beach all day and night

Kate had a quesadilla everyday for lunch and dinner!

She loved playing in the waves with her daddy!

Easter and bubble party

2011-05-04T20:44:00.013-05:00

There was a bubble party at the park the other day. It was such a fun idea. They had 3 bubble machines, the kids were going crazy! Kate was a little nervous about all the bubbles she would only put her toes in it. She did love chasing the giant bubbles around.

Easter
We had a great Easter in College Station, Kate loves grammy and papa's house and she LOVES her cousins! They are so cute with her.

We had a scavenger hunt to find the baskets. Kate didn't know really what was going on, but she just chased the kids around. She did love finding her basket.

We had a easter egg hunt. Picture with the great-grandparents

Brothers

Funny things kate is saying
She is at a Reagan's house her best friend and she told her mom
"Miss Molly, mac and cheese is for babies, I am a big girl and eat chicken"
(She loves mac and cheese)
10 minutes into her nap," Dad, i sleep two hours, I ready to play."

March

2011-04-17T20:11:00.003-05:00

Kate, Dad, and Papa making the traditional cinnamon rolls for conference

Kate and a few of her buddies

Happy Birthday Molly!

Kate alway smiles the best for a picture when she is eating some kind of sugar.

It's a Boy!

2011-04-12T22:53:00.001-05:00

Just found out that this baby in my belly is a boy! We are excited!

Roller Coaster of events!

2011-04-04T21:45:00.001-05:00

The last few weeks of our simple lives have probably been the most stressful and emotional weeks we have ever experienced! Mike has been having shoulder problems for awhile and finally got around to getting a MRI. The doctor noticed something strange on the first MRI and ordered another MRI with contrast in order to better identify what appeared to be some type of growth. He quickly got it done and the next day left for business trip to Korea on Saturday, March 12^th. In the mean time, Mike had applied to Stanford and MIT to see if he could possibly get into their MBA programs. The day before Mike left for Korea, he received interview invites to both schools! We were super excited and pleasantly surprised!

Mike returned home from Korea on Saturday, flew up to Boston on Sunday to interview with MIT and flew home Monday night. On Tuesday, Mike’s doctor told him that he had a ping pong size mass in his shoulder and it looked like a soft tissue sarcoma, which is a cancerous tumor. The doctors urgently squeezed Mike into an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon to get a biopsy the following morning. The news definitely rocked us. I was a complete wreck. We experienced all of the scary thoughts and emotions one might expect throughout the night. Tuesday night was the longest night of my life.

We spent the next day at the hospital. They sent Mike’s MRI to a group of radiologists as Mike got some blood work taken. After a few nerve-racking hours, the Orthopedic surgeon called us back and gave us great news. It was not a sarcoma, but rather it was a vascular malformation, which is a group of blood vessels clumped together. Vascular malformations account for 7% of all benign tumors and do not require invasive treatment. We were so relieved!

Two days later Mike interviewed with an alumni from Stanford. What a week! We feel so blessed and are grateful for all of the friends and family that were praying for us that day. We truly felt the power of prayer and fasting. Just to be sure, we sent out his MRI to 4 more doctors and so far they have all come back positive.

Last Tuesday, Mike was notified that he didn’t get into Stanford. We were totally bummed. The rest of the week we waited impatiently to hear if he got into MIT. Today we got good news that he was accepted! So it looks like we will be moving to Boston in the fall. With a new perspective on life, we feel very blessed and are excited for the opportunities and experiences that lie ahead.

Road Trip/ Picking Strawberries

2011-03-25T14:43:00.008-05:00

A bunch of friends went to a strawberry farm and picked strawberries. It was a lot of fun. Kate probably ate more then she picked!

Road Trip

Mike was in Korea for work so Kate and I attempted our first long road trip. The way up was smooth sailing. Kate was great we didn't even have to stop. The way back was more of a disaster, but we survived and it was so worth it!

We spent the week up in Dallas with Mike's brother John's family. Kate loves her cousins. They were so sweet with her! We just had a great time!

Kate loves her cousin Elsie and Eva

Kate making her cousins watch Lion King one of her new favorites

It was so funny Kate didn't want anything to do with Uncle John. In the mornings she would run up stairs crying when he came out for work. By the end she warmed up a tiny bit.

Kate loved going to the gym with her cousins. There were no tears.

An attempt to get a group shot

happy birthday Andrew!

We took the kids swimming at the gym one day. It was so much fun!

Thanks for letting us crash your spring break! We miss you already!!!!

Exciting News!

2011-03-09T18:34:00.003-06:00

I have been meaning to post this for awhile!

Valentines Day

2011-03-09T17:58:00.006-06:00

I have been a super lame blocker lately. Here is an update of our lives!

On Valentines day we decorated cookies at the park. (Yes, we live in Houston and can go to the park in February in short sleeves.)

It was a lot of fun!

If you ever need a great sugar cookie recipe check out my good friend Kelsey Nixon's blog. Best sugar cookie recipe I have tried. http://kelseyskitchen.com/ She makes hers all fancy into conversation hearts. Who is this girl???

I ask Kate to say cheese and this is what I get!

This is what we do pretty much everyday. Destroy room, change our clothes 100 times, sing and dance to Disney songs and Wicked .

We went to Costco for dinner and got a big pizza. Kate seriously pounded down 3 pieces. Dang GIRL!!!

The weekend before Valentines, we traded with our friends and went to an amazing restaurant called Taste of Texas. Since it was close to my birthday, they gave us a free dessert and took my picture,

Birthday Week

2011-03-09T14:20:00.011-06:00

I can't believe I am 27. It is weird getting older, but not feeling old. I had a great birthday. Everyone knows how birthdays are a big deal to me and with help of Mike and some great friends the day was awesome.

The whole week was a celebration. Mike's parents and Tim came down to Houston on Saturday and spent the day with us. Monday, my good friends took Kate to the park, made cupcakes and gave me a pedicure. It was heavenly. That evening Mike surprised me by saying I could get this entertainment center from Pottery Barn that I have been dying for (I have had the picture posted on our fridge for 6 months). He also brought home a yummy ice cream cake and took me to dinner. It was a really great day. Then on Tuesday a couple friends took me to dinner. it was so much fun catching up and talking all night long! Thursday afternoon my parents came into town. They haven't been here for a long time and we were so excited! We had a jam packed weekend of fun. I wish they could have stayed longer.!

The weather was perfect this weekend, my dad even complained about being cold a few times!!!

Once a year there is a thing called the Azalea Trail. It was awesome, you get to walk through 6 different houses and backyards of these houses in a area called River Oaks. It is seriously posh neighborhood. It was amazing!

Wouldn't this backyard be amazing for a wedding reception!

I loved this little outdoor sitting area. It felt so Southern Living

Friday we hit the Houston Rodeos carnival and petting zoo. Kate loved it. She was seriously spoiled with attention all weekend.

Kate was so excited to ride the elephants and as soon as she got on the ride she started crying and cried pretty much the whole time. I guess she is not quite ready for Disneyland.

Very sanitary hugging some goat.

Kate was so happy around all the animals, I usually can't get her to smile in pictures and she pretty much had a smile on her face the whole time.

Thursday we went to the zoo and feed the ducks/pigeons

We also went to a baseball game, ran a 5k and ate a lot of yummy food (surprise, surprise) We had so much fun. Thanks for a great weekend Mom and Dad!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

2011-01-08T21:53:00.019-06:00

We had a great Christmas break! We went up to Utah for Christmas, usually Mike can only stay for a few days, but he came out for 2 weeks! We loved having him there, he is the life of the party him. We tried to pack in as much as we could. I think we succeeded thanks to the help of

My brother Christopher, who just got married, had to make sure his new wife Rachel had fun with our family. So he sat us all down for a family meeting and planned something fun to do each day..... what a great husband!

Eating dinner at a little ghetto Mexican Restaurant. It is the closest thing to Cabo that we have found.

Kate saying CHEESEEEE

One of my besties Jen Oso Pendleton... Happy Birthday

Thai Dinner with fam

Mike and I took off to California for my friend Brittany Pierce's wedding. Brittany and I went to BYU Hawaii together with a bunch of girls and played intramural football together.

We stayed with family and mooched off them as much as possible... It is the Nixon way....!!!

We got to spend time with Mike's sister and her family in LA and then went to San Diego and stayed with Sheree my sister-in-laws parents. Everyone was so nice to have accommodated us.

My cousin Jill, her husband and cute kids met up with us in LA and took us to breakfast!

Baby Anna, the newest addition to the Nixon clan...

Julie, Mike's oldest sister just had her 6th, yes 6th baby! You go girl!

It was so much fun to see friends from the good old days.

Andrea and Carly are due just a few days apart from each other.

The reception was so pretty it was right on the water.

some of the Hawaii girls

Playing tennis at BYU one of the many activities.

We took take Kate skiing on Christmas Eve. It was a family affair everyone came to watch.

She actually really liked it. She kept saying "again, again"

she looked so dang cute.

Christmas Eve, new jammies

No one really needed new pj's so we all got hoodies

Thanks mom and dad

Christmas morning

Kate was so much fun on Christmas. She loved the Christmas lights, tree, Santa Claus, building snow men, sledding, playing in the snow, getting in the hot tube, and of course the PRESENTS!

My mom and dad gave her a bunch of dress up clothes and she LOVED them.

It is all she wore for the rest of the trip.

Kate likes to cook with mom.

One day we went snow mobiling with Liz and Larry (Mike's sister) and my family. It was so much fun, Kate loved going fast!

Cross-country skiing with my dad, the mountain man.

Mike picked out a backpack for Kate. It is a little too big for her, "she will grow into it"

In the airport ready to go home.

We had such a fun time being with friends and family. Can't wait to do it again!

Christmas festivities!

2010-12-11T09:52:00.013-06:00

So Mike called me while I am at the grocery store on Saturday afternoon and asked, " how spontaneous do you feel? Do you want to drive down to New Orleans? David is going to be playing in the game Saints vs Rams." (He is playing for the Rams)

I didn't think he was serious, we never do things like this.

I got home from the store and with a little persuasion on his part we were in the car an hour later driving the 5 hours to New Orleans.

It actually was a lot of fun, and Kate did great!

The famous Bourbon St. Been there done that. Don't need to ever do it again.

Mike's freshman college roommate and his little family just moved down there for an orthodontics residence at LSU. So we got to hangout with them and eat giant po' boys! They even watched Kate during the game. Thanks guys!

We got to hangout with Dave for a little while before the game. Kate seriously asks about David at least once a day. She was excited to see him.

The Saints fans are crazy! The stadium was awesome and it was fun to watch Dave! The bad news he broke his hand in the game..... We must have been bad luck. He had to get surgery, but should be fine to play in a few weeks. It's fun to be spontaneous once in awhile!

Other Festivities

Giant bubble bath

Trying to take a picture with Santa. Every time we see Santa at the mall she loves it, but as soon as we try to sit on his lap she has a melt down. This is the best picture I could get.

Decorating sugar cookies

On Friday night we went down to Moody Gardens in Galveston. It was so much fun! We did the aquarium and saw all the Christmas lights.

Kate's little buddy Roman and his mom Nicole meet us down there. Roman was so funny he wanted his mom to take pictures of him and Kate. He would totally smile and pose and Kate would be sticking her finger up her nose or running away. Little stinker

Nixon Thanksgiving 2010!

2010-11-29T19:54:00.009-06:00

We had a great Thanksgiving this year! 8 of the 10 Nixon kids and families were there! Totally craziness! It was a blast. We had a special treat this year, Megan, my little sis came and down to Houston for the week.

We loved every minute of it!

We started the Thanksgiving celebrations with a Turkey Trot. They had a deal that 2-15 immediate family members could sign up for a total of 55$. Everyone at the race that knew the Nixon family, told us we got the best value for our money award!

The kids even rode their razors the whole time!

Award ceremonies

Emily's amazing napkin folding

The boys fried some turkeys. Of course taste testing while they worked

cooking in the kitchen

Matching aprons

Lina and Elizabeth

Emily and Rachel

Makinley

Cousins

Kate slept through all of dinner. But she didn't miss the yummy pies

Sledding in Texas. There is this bunny hill at Texas A&M called Mt. Aggie. They have ski classes on it. It is turf from a football field. You spray water on it. The kids loved it.

Laura, Mike's mom made these darling Christmas dresses for the girls. The first attempt to take pictures didn't go so well. Kate was screaming and crying she was out-of-control. This is the second attempt that night. The dresses turned out so cute!

Set your DVR's

2010-11-05T14:53:00.002-05:00

My best friend is famous! I am so excited to watch her tomorrow!

Kelsey’s Essentials

Premieres: Saturday, November 6 at 2:30pm ET
With a fresh look at cooking basics, Kelsey Nixon inspires the next generation of food lovers with her essential kitchen techniques. Voted “fan favorite” during The Next Food Network Star’s fourth season, Kelsey gives her tips on must-have pantry items, useful gadgets and basic cooking techniques. From roasting to baking, Kelsey delivers the basics – and encourages viewers to then make it their own

Check out the website

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/kelseys-essentials/index.html

Twins having Babies

2010-11-03T19:59:00.002-05:00

My friend Melissa is an identical twin. She and her sister were pregnant and had their babies on the same day. How cool is that! Check out their video.

They are famous!

http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/twin-sisters-give-birth-at-same-time-22785929#video=22810513

Halloween

2010-10-31T19:37:00.004-05:00

We went up to College Station for Halloween. Kate had a great time with her cousins! She loved the treats! surprise, surprise!

Krakow, Poland

2010-10-28T14:43:00.016-05:00

Mike has been traveling a ton for work lately. I was lucky enough to come on one of his trips. We went to Krakow, Poland. It was AWESOME! I loved everything about it...the European charm, the food, shopping, and sightseeing. Mike worked the first 3 days and the last 2 days we packed in all the sights and sounds of Krakow and the surrounding area.

Salt Mines

The miners carved out a beautiful cathedral about a mile deep into the mine.

We visited the Auschwitz concentration camp (about an hour drive outside Krakow). It was a truly sobering experience.

The infamous entrance to the Auschwitz concentration camps states "Arbeit macht frei" or "Work will make you free."
We also made it to the Schindler's Factory museum. It was a really neat, interactive museum that detailed the history of Krakow, the prelude to WWII and the occupation by the Nazis.

Krakow is a beautiful city. There are over fifty cathedrals spread throughout the city.

This spot was used to film a scene from the movie "Schindler's List."

The tattered building on the left is the remnants of the Jewish Ghetto dating back to WWII.
Mike and I ate at the oldest restaurant in Krakow. It has been open since 1364.

Kate turned 2!

2010-10-24T16:34:00.010-05:00

Our little munchkin turned 2 this week. I can't believe I have a two year old. She is such a fun little girl we are pretty much obsessed with her. (If you can't tell by our blog) We had a week full of parties! She loved every minute of it!

Mike's family came down from College Station for her party yesterday. They are the best!

Of course Kate found the dog at the park and made herself a new friend. She loves dogs!

How many guys does it take to light 2 candles on a cake in the wind???

I was quite proud of my cake!

Opening presents on her birthday!

Birthday party up in Utah!

Can't wait till next year!

They did it!

2010-10-13T06:39:00.012-05:00

So they did it! They sealed the deal! Rachel and Christopher got married. Everything was beautiful!

The reception was in my parents back yard, she wanted a vintage feel. I think she did it.

Mike flew in for the wedding and the next day flew out to go to Poland. Luckily I got to go with him.

Utah Fall

2010-10-03T21:09:00.001-05:00

I seriously LOVE the fall weather in Utah. We went up to Sundance and took pictures. It was so much fun, Kate was all over the place. She doesn't walk anywhere, she runs! I love it (most of the time)

UTAH SO FAR!

2010-09-29T22:33:00.007-05:00

We are having a blast in Utah so far..... 10 more days of fun and 9 more days until my brothers wedding. The weather has been so incredible we have been swimming and playing at the park with friends and cousins. Kate loves all the kids she is in heaven.

We went up to Wheeler farm yesterday and it was so much fun, tons of animals and a nice park. Kelly, my sister-in-law and her cute kids.

Cousins

Go Texans!

2010-09-06T21:37:00.003-05:00

We had a great weekend! For starters Mike's brother David got signed on by the Texans Sunday morning, by 2:00 the same day he was on a plane to Houston! We are so excited that he is going to be in Houston this season! We are no longer raiders fans!

We went up to College Station for the weekend. We went on walks, went swimming, had lemonade stands with the cousins and watched Aggie Football.

Elsie chowing down on some ribs!

Yes, Kate and I are totally matching! I got Kate dressed and went to the gym and got ready there. I picked her up from the children's center and realized that we were MATCHING! We weren't going home until after playgroup! It was awesome!

Cabo 2010

2010-08-30T20:03:00.005-05:00

Mike left for Korea and Kate and I left for Cabo on the same day. We missed Mike on the trip, but we managed to have a great time, swimming, playing on the beach, going for bike rides, adventure walks, playing games and eating great food! Rachel, Mike's sister, Bob a family friend and Rachel my brother's fiance' all came with the rest of the Ricks' clan. They were awesome!

Kate was in heaven on the beach and in the pool. It also helped that there were 11 adults and 1 kid, lets just say she was totally spoiled with attention.

We can't wait to go back!

Christopher is getting hitched!

2010-08-07T19:50:00.004-05:00

Rachel Ricks.

Doesn't that sound good? My brother Christopher got engaged and is getting married October 8th!

We are so excited!

Now Mike is going to have some competition for favorite in-law!

Lately

2010-07-18T15:22:00.004-05:00

Kate and I came home from Utah for 2 days and Mike left for Saudi Arabia for work. He had a 24 hour layover in Paris. So he got to see some of the sites!

While Mike was gone I went up to College Station and hung out with Mike's family for a few days. I found this on a blog and it is totally easy and it turned out pretty cute.

http://heylucy.typepad.com/heylucy/2008/08/t-shirt-tutoria.html

June Update

2010-06-28T14:27:00.006-05:00

We have had a super busy June, I can't believe it is almost over!

We flew back up to Utah for my Grandma Ricks's 100th birthday party! It was awesome! It was suppose to be a garden party at my parents house, but it rained so it was inside. She invited 150 people! One of her friends wrote her a song and then she handed out music to everyone for some "good ol ones."

We had a blast up in Utah. Seeing friends and family, swimming and hanging out. We met up with Mike's sister and kids at Thanksgiving Points petting zoo. Kate loved it!

Mike's oldest sister and her kiddo's were are in town (they drove from California...hard core) so we backed our bags and headed up to College Station for a few days.

Kate loved swimming with papa!

She loves her Uncle Tim

Mike turned 28! Happy Birthday

I made 2 kinds of cheese cake. Lemon and mint they turned out great, I was so proud of myself!