2018 Year in Review

Welcome to our family blog! We've been a little MIA over here... I'm working on bringing it back up to date. In the mean time though, I thought I'd do a little recap of our year.

January:

We got snow!! So fun and unexpected. I mean, we only moved a few hours northeast. I expected the weather to be pretty much the same. It snowed one day and stuck around another. Perfect for us ;) The kids had fun... and then got too cold and were ready to go back inside.

Kayla turned 3!! Love that sweet little girl!

February:

Jacob turned 27. And we continued to find reasons to go to Texas. Man, we can't get enough of that place ;)

March: 

I turned 25. I feel like I'm not really young anymore... but I don't exactly feel old either. It's a weird feeling. Honestly I always forget my age and have to really think about it when someone asks. Haha. 

I sure had fun celebrating with my sweet family <3

My brother Stephen got married! (And now they are expecting a sweet baby boy later in 2019) So happy to have Angela and soon to be baby join Stephen and Bella's little family :)

We got AWESOME tickets to a Jason Mraz concert! (Thanks Mom and Dad for coming to town to babysit so that we could go)

The show was incredible!!! 

Jacob refinished a dresser and bedside table that we inherited from my Grandma. It turned out beautiful!

April:

We spent Easter in Oklahoma! Lots of fun decorating eggs, egg hunting, and spending time with family.

Wilson moved in to a big boy bed. He did surprisingly well transitioning... well, he sleeps at night, but has slowly decided not to take naps anymore.

Another trip to Texas. We made a lot of those through the year ;) We took advantage of the time of year and got some shots in the bluebonnets. We also got to spend time with Grandma Ruske and the Esquivels. Our cousins had a school play we were able to attend.

May:

There's a very short window of perfect weather in the South ;) We took advantage of it with lots of outside time.

We were able to go back to Texas (yes, again... did I mention we make a lot of trips there? Ha!) and celebrate Stephen's graduation from Texas A&M University. (The same day my Mom also graduated with her Masters, and it was Angela and Harrison's birthdays)

Celebrating with family!

Mother's Day 2018

So grateful to be their Mother. It's equally as rewarding as it is challenging. They are worth it all!

June:

Celebrating Cow Appreciation Day. Definitely one of our favorite days of the year ;)

The Esquivels came to visit us in Louisiana!

Another Texas visit, including lots of cousin time!

...and swimming. How else do you stay cool in the summer down south?

August:

In August, we took a road trip to Utah. It was a long but fantastic adventure. We stopped in Albuquerque on the way there (and back), the family cabins in southern Utah, spent some time in the Salt Lake area, and then up to Ogden before heading home. We spent lots of time with many, many family members making great memories!

At the cabin with the Lazenbys.

Hiking up to Wilson Peak. Thanks Jacob, Kiya, and Eli for encouraging me to keep going ;)

We enjoyed spending time with Omi. We love her so much!

Cute cousins! We got lots of cousin time while on our trip.

The week after coming home from that long trip, I was crazy enough to load the kids and me back in the truck and go to Waco, TX to explore all things Magnolia!

And then Gina and Nathan came to visit us in Louisiana!! We loved getting to spend so much time with family through out the month!

September:

Wilson turned 2!!

Jacob and I celebrated 5 years of marriage! Love this guy!!!

October:

We got to go see Paw Patrol Live! Let's just say some of us enjoyed it a lot more than others... Looking at you Jacob ;)

The end of October/beginning of November were a very long few weeks. Jacob was part of an exercise on base, which had him working nights. If you're wondering... we're not big fans of the night shift life ;) The kids and I took yet another trip to Texas. We were able to do a couple of different Halloween celebrations with cousins.

November:

We went to a Texas A&M football game! Thanks to military appreciation night! It was mine and the kids first time going to a game. Can you believe that I lived in College Station for 5 years and never went? Definitely going to make this an annual thing ;)

We went back to up to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving!

We really enjoy our time in Oklahoma!

**Looking at the year as a whole, I have to admit that my eyes sure have been opened to how much traveling we actually do. So many weekend trips to Texas, a few to Oklahoma, plus our big road trip this summer. We sure are grateful to live close enough to most of our family to visit fairly often... and for the chance to visit our family that is far away too. Thinking about all the driving is exhausting in itself though. Lol.

December:

This month marks one year being in our house!! And November marked one year being in Louisiana!

Also, we had such an incredible realtor. I just got a letter in the mail from her today, actually. She's stayed in communication with us after moving in, sending cards for Christmas, and now our anniversary of being homeowners... I'm so impressed by her!

The kids weren't too sure about meeting Santa... Haha!

We spent the weekend before Christmas celebrating with the Ruskes in Texas.

We were thrilled to spend Christmas in our own home for the first time in a few years. Jacob's parents joined us and we had such a great time!

Ready for 2019!!

We hope you guys all had a great year! We look forward to 2019 and all that is in store. If you're interested in seeing a million pictures and reading way too much about our family, check out the rest of our blog. I got behind and I'm still in the process of updating... but keep an eye out. I'll have the detailed posts of the rest of the year up eventually ;)