February
Taos, New Mexico
A quaint little pueblo in New Mexico near the popular snow ski and snow boarding spot Angel Fire. And...that's about it. I didn't have a car and I had a head cold so I really didn't get out too much. It's cute and if you're there to ski I'm sure it's great but I was more than happy to go home.
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| The Rio Grande |
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| Love the pueblo architecture |
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| The best part was coming home and getting Sushi with Sweetie! |
Vero Beach, Florida
I was so excited when I found out I had a trip to Vero Beach because some of my favorite people live in Florida! I drove up to Orlando and saw my friend S.N. from Guatemala and his wife and baby. They took me to the Taproom at Dubsdread- so tasty!
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| Arrival into Vero Beach |
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| 1999? I think- Visiting the Nicholsons in Mexico (I'm in the white shirt and S.N. is next to me in the stripes) |
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| Look at us all grown up! :) |
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| S.N. and his precious fam |
After spending the day in Orlando, my bff T.F. from college finished her day of flying and we caravanned back to Tampa area. We spent the next few days playing on the beach with her 3 little boys.
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| No, of course I'm not jealous...Ha! Anna Marie Island |
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| But I love her anyway :) |
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| She took me to her favorite farm stand. Their fresh OJ was to die for. |
March
Early March my grandpa's health began to fail. Sweetie and I decided I needed to be back in California with my family as they had to make decisions and determine what steps they needed to take. It was a very stressful and overwhelming month, but it was encouraging to see my family come together and support each other. My sister and her family had just arrived on furlough, and my other sister flew in from Washington. I spent a week with them visiting my grandpa in the hospital, running errands and making food. The day after I got back to Texas the hospital sent my grandpa home on hospice, and he passed away at home surrounded by family the next evening. I had a trip I had to do before I could return home. While I wanted to be home immediately, I was thankful I could go somewhere that was fun and relaxing to distract me for a few days.
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| These little ones brought us joy and laughter during a rough time |
Nassau, Bahamas
The captain that I was flying with has a daughter who happened to be on spring break the same week. He airlined her down with a family friend. It was a fun change of pace to have girls to hang out with all week. We had an amazing few days by the pool, riding the water rides, exploring the grounds, swimming with dolphins and of course the beautiful beach
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| The view from my room |
On the return trip I caught a nasty cold. I arrived home with a fever and absolutely no voice - I had one afternoon to do laundry and repack before I drove to Dallas the next morning at 4:30 am. By the time I arrived back in California (so I could "help") I was so useless I was sent straight to bed. It was another hectic week as plans were made and family flew in from all over. The funeral and memorial were very special. He was so inspiring, and we loved hearing all the wonderful things everyone had to say about him.
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| He flew to Dallas and drove to Longview by himself to make it to my graduation. An amazing grandfather and inspiration to us all |
The following week I had another full week, but thankfully it was in Arizona where I was able to spend time with my extended family again. I was so thankful to be surrounded by more family, where I could be myself and process everything that had happened.
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| We made these ADORABLE donuts! |
The last week of March C. L. (my bff from 2nd grade!) came out to visit on her spring break. The following day we road tripped down to Austin for 3 days.
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| Hiking down to Hamilton Pool |
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| Even more beautiful than we anticipated! |
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| Watching the sunset at Oasis |
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| Stuck our nose in the capital |
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| Then walked, walked and walked. |
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| Found amazing burgers at Hopdoddys |
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| nom nom nom |
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| After trekking back to the car we were hungry for more! |
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| So we got BBQ |
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| The next day after paddle boarding, we made our way to Hula Hut |
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| And got a top off at Mozarts Coffee before hitting the road! |
The following day we got a flight out of Shreveport together to Orange County where Sweetie and I spent Easter.
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| Easter Breakfast |
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| Z was so excited about his chocolate bunny |
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| That smile makes me melt! |
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| We all got Roney Macaroni Easter Cards! (buy yours here! http://www.roneymacaroni.com/) |
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| Chase me! |
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| now I'll chase you! |
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| The Amazing Adult Easter Egg hunt...I did pretty well ;) |
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| We got a late night visit from the Easter bunny! |
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| Cousins <3 |
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| The WHOLE family! |
April
I thought April would slow down, but we just kept going full steam ahead. I had a day to try and catch up around the apartment. The next morning as Sweetie was getting ready for San Antonio our boss called and asked if I would want to copilot for him. Um...YES PLEASE! Within the hour we were both on our way to our very first crew trip as a couple. We spent the weekend walking around the San Antonio River Walk, the movies and shopping. (Trader Joes stock up)
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| Look what I found! |
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| copilots! yay! |
The next day I had an overnight to Pittsburg, and following that a 3 day trip to Vegas! It just so happened that my sister-in-law M.A. had a conference that week in Vegas. When we were leaving them in California, I joked that maybe I would get a trip out there and we could meet up!
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| What are the odds?! That Sunday was Baptism Sunday at church. I've been wanting to for awhile, but our schedules never worked out. This Sunday we were finally both home, so I was baptized! I returned to Vegas the next day for an overnight (and a spontaneous shopping trip since I forgot to bring pants...)  The rest of the week I spent near Kingsport, Tennessee. It looked like a gorgeous area to explore, but I was so tired I ended up resting and catching up instead. Sweetie and I had a WHOLE weekend TOGETHER! We cleaned up the apartment and set up our balcony (I'll post pictures with the other apartment posts). Sunday we went to church and then lunch with friends. and today I'm back in Austin for the day! What will May be like? |
