Late Night

The DMA hosts a "late night" every month in which the museum stays open until midnight and they have lots of added attractions like live music and food, etc. We decided last minute to attend this month and while the kids really did seem to like it, it was a really late night for us. We hit more traffic than we planned on so we didn't even get there until 30 minutes before their bedtime.
However, we kept cool heads, the kids behaved fantastically and we look forward to taking them back during normal business hours. I didn't get any photos in the museum but here we are on the way home while Chuck was pumping gas. Such sweet little kiddos.

Vegas

Chuck attended the yearly consumer electronics conference again this year in Las Vegas and this year I got to go too. Chuck went out on Monday morning (9th) and I flew there that Wednesday night and we both flew back Friday night (13th). We got to hang out a bit without the kids, got some swag from the conference and I even got to meet some of his friends that he sees there every year.

Overall we enjoyed time together and lots of good food but are glad to be back in Texas. The kids had a blast at Lynne's (Gigi's) house and wouldn't have minded if we stayed longer than a week.

Chuck got lots of photos of new cool gadgets but my favorite photos are of the ceiling in the lobby of the Belaggio hotel. It's made of Dave Chihuly Glass pieces. Huge. And so stunning. There was definitely lots to see there. In fact, I had to work hard to find a quiet spot to read Friday morning.

2011

Happy New Year! We had a full and busy 2011 and we're looking forward to discovering how we can be a part of the great dance of life! I can't even remember all of the events of last year but I'll try to give a quick recap of the main ones.

In January Enzo turned 1!

In March we visited (gran-pa) Mike and (gra-nma) Maggie and the kids had a blast! Riding horse and playing outside are a few of their favorite things! While in Colorado we also visited Gran and Dick in Golden and got to have dinner with them as well as Chuck's uncle's Randi and Robert! We hadn't seen them since our wedding celebration! We look forward to seeing them all again soon and spending more time with them next time we visit Colorado. We also enjoyed a little bit of time in Denver on our way back to TX and will try to add it to our Colorado trip plans in the future as well.

In May we moved from our house to a little duplex closer to the center of town. Our desire is to love God more fully and serve our city more often. We are getting to know our neighbors and exploring way to get involved at the university and our community at large.
We also cut off my dreads between after our move and I really don't miss them. I enjoyed the journey but am having a lot of fun with my short haircut and the freedom it provides.Chuck has been having fun cutting it (and recently coloring too)! I also learned a lot about what it means to find my identity in Christ and not in my hair or clothes.

Here's the original mohawk cut after all my dreads were gone. And here's a sneak peek of the latest version Chuck just took this photo as I was typing this post.

In June my mom and younger brother (senior in highschool) visited for a week or so. Ruby turned 3 and I added a digit to my mid-twenties. While my mom had to fly back to MN my brother, Daniel, stayed a few months until my family drove back down for my sister and I's graduation from college. Very shortly after my mom left in mid-June Ruby broke her leg! Long story short she was trying to climb onto a motorcycle and it tipped onto her. Thank God there was a raised flower bed behind her so that wood caught the bike and she was mostly pinned instead of crushed. We are grateful that God protected her. She now thinks getting x-ray's is super cool and we still when we play doctor people mostly get casts for their broken bones.

In August I (finally!) graduated from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor or Arts! I majored in Interdisciplinary Art and Design studies which is most simply the study of why people create art and how it impacts society (rather than the study of a medium like painting or sculpture). After my family's visit the kids and I got to ride back to MN with them and spend a week and a half there. We enjoyed our trip and the flight home went smoothly. I had flown by myself with Ruby before but this was my first flight with both of them. It took quite a bit of juggling both kids are so sweet. Here's a photo of the kids hamming it up at Papa Don and Grandma BeBe's house.

The holiday season kept us busy with friends and family from traveling to Glen Rose for Thanksgiving to see Chuck's family to my parents and siblings visiting for Christmas. On New Years Day some friends of ours stayed with us while on a cross country road trip. We met this adventurous couple at a church we visited in North Carolina while we were there for Chuck's company Christmas party this year (that also happened in Dec!). We flew there Saturday morning and home Sunday afternoon! It was quite exciting but I don't think the jet-set lifestyle is for me. A bit to fast paced. We're so glad we met the Grant's, however and really had a great time hanging out with Chuck's boss and colleges as well.

Here's our big family Christmas photo. It was pretty hilarious trying to get one with everyone's eyes open.

Here we are in January again and tomorrow (6th) is Enzo's 2nd birthday!!!

We pray the new year finds you all well and we look forward to hearing how your 2011 went!