PICTURES!!!!

I have finally gone through some of our pictures from the summer and I have uploaded some. I will try my best to go through and narrate each one as I go. I tried to upload them in chronological order. I sincerely apologize for the long time between posts. It seems that our internet upload speed for pictures is a lot slower than what we had in Arlington. I still have a lot more photos, but this is what I was able to upload in the meantime.


This is Brooke begging for eagle brand. I had just made a key lime pie and Ryan loves to lick the can of eagle brand when I am done. He really didn't want Brooke to taste the delicacy of eagle brand because he knew that he would have to share the rest. You can't help but give her what she wants when she give you her puppy dog look. He gave in and let her have a taste. She also loves the eagle brand!


I just thought this was a really cute picture of Brooke wearing Daddy's hat. She loves to put on hats backwards.





This is my first bass fish I have ever caught. I don't fish. I catch, but the biggest fish I had caught up until now was a 3 inch brim. Now that we have a stocked pond in our neighborhood it nice to be able to just walk across the street and go fishing (or catching). On my birthday, Ryan was giving Brooke a bath and putting her down for bed and I decided to take my parents down to the pond and fish. This was also my first time to fish at this pond. So, knowing how little I know about fishing I had no idea how to get this thing off the hook and I am sure it was pretty funny to watch, but eventually I got it off and back into the water.


The week after my birthday we took a trip with Ryan's brother, Jonathan, and his wife, Stacy to San Antonio and Concan, TX. This is our family in front of the Alamo. Brooke is a true Texan, now that she has visited the Alamo.

This is a picture of Brooke and I in front of our cabin in Concan, which is located on the Frio River. Ryan and I visited Concan on our first anniversary and had a blast tubing down the Frio river and we figured Brooke would like it too. One of our days there, we decided to rent tubes and have one of the local tour businesses shuttle us up river and then we would be able get out at our cabin. It turned out to be about a 3hr tube ride and Brooke did great. I rented a tube with a bottom and held her in my lap most of the way. We bought a life preserver for her. She was not thrilled about wearing it, but during the river ride she didn't mind. She also took about an hour nap in the middle. After that ride, she would constantly go to the door of the cabin and say "river". She loved playing in the water. I don't have any pictures of us actually in the water because I was too scared I would drop the camera in the water.
This is Brooke inside our cabin in Concan. She discovered that she could stand up in one of the cabinets and she loved to play hide and seek with this cabinet.

On our trip back to Longview, we made a few road stops along the way. One of Ryan and I's favorite old town stops is Bandera. The OST restaurant is a must stop if we are anywhere near Bandera. I thought this picture was really neat with the water tower and storm brewing in the background.

By the time we made it to Fredricksburg, Brooke was ready for a walk break! This is the town's courtyard and she had a blast running around. I love how is picture captures her running stance with her arms bent and her shoulders shrugged. Just a block away from the courtyard is one of my favorite wine stores, Water 2 Wine. I am not a big wine drinker or drinker at all for that matter, but when I do have a glass I like it to be sweet and fruity and this store has the best I have tasted so far. So, while we were her I thought I should buy a bottle because who knows the next time I will be here. Stacy also went into the store with me. So, here are two pregnant ladies walking into this wine store. Luckily, no other customers were in the shop, but the workers sure had some questions. It was funny, but now I have a bottle of my favorite wine to celebrate after the new baby arrives. While in Fredricksburg, we also got some milkshakes. I quickly discovered that Brooke loves milkshakes and I should have bought two instead of sharing.

Our next stop was in Luckenbach, TX. Here is a picture of Brooke and me in front of the Postoffice/general store/saloon. There is a dance hall across the dirt path, a music stage in back, and washers set up to the left. There is only a population of 3 and the saying is "Everybody is somebody in Luckenbach."

Hondo bought the town in 1970 for $30,000 and has kept its strong Texas roots alive today through music.

Here is a picture of us sitting around back listening to a guy play his guitar. Brooke love to clap and dance to his songs.

Here is a picture of Brooke discovering that she can climb inside of the cabinets all by herself, but needs some help getting back out.

At the end of July, my Nana from North Carolina came to visit. My brother and his family also came into town. Here is a picture of Brooke and her cousin Andrew having fun at the nearby Pump-it-up.
Here they are again having fun in the pool on our back patio.


It was Ethan's birthday the week prior to everyone coming in, so we had a little party for him at our house. Here he is checking out the cake.

Brooke loves chocolate. I have no idea where she got the idea that she could lick the plate. It was a big mess, but cute to watch her enjoy cake that much!

This is a picture of Andrew helping Ethan open his presents.

This is a picture of Brooke playing in the cardboard playhouse I made out of one of our moving boxes.

Here is a picture of my side of the family. From the left, Chris (my brother), Andrew, Amy, Ethan, my Dad in back, my Nana in front, Stan (my Aunt's husband), my Mom, me, Brooke, and Ryan.