Rachel's makeover

Last week, Rachel decided she wanted a new do, so we did a little makeover! I cut it into a short pixie cut and it looks so cute on her! We forgot to do before pictures, but her hair used to be right above her shoulders, so this was pretty drastic. Of course we had to add a little bleach a few days later, but we didn't get pictures of that, so just imagine it a little blonder. She does a great job of fixing it herself by making it messy and spiking it. Sometimes she evens styles it into a faux-hawk! She's very trendy for an almost 12 year old. You look super cute Rach! (Ethan told me to say that.)

Toledo Bend

Last week we went with the Ochoa family to the lake. It was about a two hour drive to Toledo Bend where we were staying for three nights. It was a really nice cabin with four bedrooms and each room had its own bathroom. There was a pool, a paddleboat, and a playground for the kids. It was so much fun! We even got to spend some time with the Ratcliffs. They were only about twenty minutes away in Hemphill, so they came over one night to eat supper with us. They were nice enough to bring some Blue Bell ice cream! If you haven't tried the Southern Blackberry Cobbler ice cream, you're missing out, it's delicious!

That's Todd, Brian, and Dario fishing. I think they ended up catching a couple while we were there.

Nana and Granddad on the paddleboat.

Me, Jill and the Ratcliff kids.

Ava and Ella became pretty good friends. They were so cute together!

Baby Bryn and all her teeth!

Sweet little Ava.

Me and Ethan on the playground. We didn't really spin because I get sick on those kinds of things.

Me and Ethan on the see-saw. (We kind of needed someone on the other side.)

He loves the playground!

Jonathan and Ethan swinging.

The swinging put Ethan to sleep!

Jonathan spinning with Ethan.

Dario and Aiden rode back with us and Granddad. There's a dvd player in their car so they were very entertained.

Ethan watched baby einstein on the way there and, as usual, he loved it.

8 whole months!

Ethan turned 8 months old yesterday! That's right, it's already been eight whole months! So, here are some pictures of what he likes to do now that he's a big boy.

He likes to climb...

He can fall asleep while eating (he was feeding himself some dry cereal puffs and it just knocked him out)...

He loves his Pa Pa (and his Granddad) so much...

He always hangs on super tight...

He likes to feed himself baby biscuits...

and get it aaalll over his face.

He likes to chew on watermelon...

and lean over to look for it after he drops it on the floor.

We just love him!

Hey Jerry!

Ethan loves to play with Little Jerry. He always smiles when he sees him and laughs when Jerry runs and plays. Ethan just started something cute, where he'll lean his head over sideways to look at stuff, as if he's trying to peek around a corner. I love it, so I caught it on video.

Todd's home!

^Here's Todd and Ethan bonding.

^Jonathan and me at the airport. He's always making me laugh.

Jonathan's brother, Todd, came home from Russia on Tuesday. He was serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which means we haven't seen him for 2 whole years! Obviously it was Ethan 's first time to meet him, and I think they hit it off. Todd flew into the Beaumont airport, so we all went to see him. Unfortunately, his plane landed earlier than expected, so we didn't get to see him right when he got off, but it was still exciting. It was cool to hear him speak Russian and hear about the different culture. We're so glad to have him back!

Family pictures

We went to JCPenney a couple weeks ago to take family pictures. Ethan pretty much didn't smile the whole time. He just stared at the lady. I was disappointed that the photographer didn't pull out one toy the entire time. I thought everyone knew babies liked toys, but I guess she didn't get the memo. Oh well. I'm still excited that we finally got around to getting them done. Even though I hate taking pictures, I know I'll be happy to have them years down the road. I like the traditional pictures, but we obviously had to do a football one. So we got Ethan a Tony Romo jersey to go with Jonathan's Marion Barber one and they looked so cute together! Aren't my boys so handsome?

Memory Tag

1. Add a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments. I can't wait to see what people remember.