Harper's Blessing

Publish PostThe boys

The girls

Guess who wanted this pose? Mom - she's a real fan of The Sound of Music - can you say "Cukoo, Cukoo?"

I love this pic of Mom & Dad - Dad doesn't have his classic deer in the headlights look!

Kendall & Harper

Three generations of look alikes :)

Kendall decided to have Harper blessed by my Dad in Florida, and all the brothers and sisters tried to make it out for it. We were only missing the two oldest, Shannon and Frederick. Since it was such a quick trip for me, I decided to go alone, which was really hard! This was only the second time in Keegan's life that I've spent the night away from him. Thanks to Kristina for watching him while I was gone :) Anyway, it was really fun to have the clan together again. We reminisced, hung out and had a good time. Mom hired a photographer for the occasion and we all had a fun time hamming it up for the camera! Hopefully it won't be too long before we all get together again.

Balloon Fiesta

Balloon Fiesta 2007

Dad came out to visit for the Balloon Fiesta. I think it's his second or third time now, and we enjoy it so much more when he's with us. The best part of Dad's visit this time was that Dad, Doug and I went up in a hot air balloon. I was a little hesitant at first thinking that I might freak out as we were going up or something, but ultimately made the decision to go. It was so cool! It's not at all what I expected. First of all, we all helped lay out the balloon and fill it with air. Then we took off and there were about 10 people in each basket along with the pilot. The take off was so smooth that you got up without even noticing that the ground was getting smaller and smaller. It was so peaceful up there - the only thing you heard was the hot air filling the balloon every now and then. We stayed up for a while, floating over the city and into the country. Then we landed, which was pretty interesting. Actually, the landing really wasn't bad at all. I was braced for the worst and couldn't believe that everything worked out perfectly. Then we all helped fold up the balloon and got the basket into the van and went home. It was really fun - I would recommend it to anyone. Thanks Dad! :)

Girls Reunion in Myrtle Beach

Mom with baby Harper (her Mini me!)

Amber, Kendall & me at the pool

Keegan & Asher with Harper

Shannon, me, Kendall and Anne

The sisters

We thought it was a great idea to have Mom, the sisters and the sisters-in-laws get together for some female bonding time, so we instituted the Girls Reunion. This was the first time we did it and Shannon volunteered to host at her beautiful home in Myrtle Beach. Mom, Amber and Anne came for the first couple of days and Kendall and I stayed for the rest of the week. (Lori couldn't make it because she just had beautiful baby Jenna on July 7th.) We pretty much just stayed up super late every night talking. Of course when we got the late-night munchies, we whipped up a batch of Andes mint cookies and ate while we talked:) We swam in the neighborhood pool and played beauty salon with Kendall cutting and coloring everyone's hair. It was a really good time and hopefully we'll do it every year now. Also, Keegan seriously couldn't get enough of baby Harper. He wanted to hold her every chance he got. He'll make a great big brother some day!

Papa's Visit

Relaxing in the river

Potty break

Keegan really loved the caves!

With Papa at Bandelier

Dad came and visited us for the week in between Rocky Point and the Girls Reunion. We decided to take a trip to Bandelier National Park to visit the cave dwellings of the native Americans from that region. It was really hot, but we had a good time. Keegan had to pee like five times while we were there, and of course, there weren't any restrooms, so we had to improvise! After we hiked to the caves, we found a little stream to soak our feet in and relax for a little while - it felt so nice. We also went to Old Town to show Dad some of the little shops and churches in downtown Albuquerque. It was a nice visit and we were glad that he could come.

Rocky Point

Keegan totally tuckered out and ready for bed

The cousins getting ready for a sunset race

The banana boat crew

We all had a blast at Rocky Point this year. Sharee, Keegan and I went up a week before everyone else and enjoyed the peace and calm. The next week the rest of the clan showed up and the fun began! All the kids had a lot of fun swimming, digging in the beach and looking for shells. On our banana boat ride, the driver got a little too excited and Doug nearly fell off, but that made it all the more exciting! Keegan kept saying that he wanted to go faster and faster - the kid already has a need for speed. :) I also came to the realization that Keegan will use his Spanish only when he wants to, like when there are two cute little Mexican girls in the pool that he wants to play with. He was like, "Hola, como estan?" It was hilarious!! Anyway, we're already looking forward to the next Rocky Point trip.

NYC!

Keegan and I went to NYC to help Maline out after her knee surgery. We were there for two weeks and it was so much fun!! I went to a dinner party at the Buddha Bar while I was there and of course, we did all the touristy things too. We took the Staten Island Ferry to the Statue of Liberty, went to Wall Street and ate a ton of good food! We also went to Ground Zero, which was a very moving experience. It's hard not to get emotional when you see the pictures of everyone that helped out and think about those who lost their lives. We took a weekend trip up to Rhode Island to visit Scott and Lora. All the kids had so much fun racing up and down their driveway. Keegan had a great time spending time with his east coast cousins. All in all, it was a fantastic trip and Keegan and I were sad to leave, although I'm pretty sure that after two weeks of sharing his toys, Jack wasn't too torn up about it!:)

All the cousins at Scott & Lora's

Keegan & Savanna at the gardens in front of her preschool

Wall Street

On the Staten Island Ferry