Surfside Beach Vacation

At the end of July, we enjoyed a fun, relaxing week at a beautiful beach front home in Surfside, Texas with lots of family. Six of my siblings, my parents, and all 19 grandchildren were there! We lucked out with gorgeous weather. It started out a little overcast on Monday, but was clear and sunny the rest of the week. Some of the highlights of the week included a bonfire on the beach for s'mores, night crab hunting with flashlights, long walks on the beach, and enjoying wonderful meals cooked by a different family each night. The older kids also loved their little fishing trip with Uncle Brian. Here's a few photos from our week..

Loved how the house was just steps from the beach!

About midweek, the currents changed direction and the water was unusually blue and clear. It's very rare for this to happen at a southeast Texas beach!

This was our set up everyday. we had soooo many beach chairs sent up under those canopies! (That big stripe of brownish gray water is where the sand bar was.)

The next few photos were taken at the beginning of the week, before the currents changed.

Uncle Andy burying Evan in the sand

my cute niece Addie wasn't too sure about the water at first, but she quickly warmed up to it!

The next two photos (taken with cell phone- no filter added) were taken on our last day at the beach. you can see how clear the water was at the very end of the week! Never seen it like this in Texas, except for in South Padre! We truly lucked out!

I wasn't able to get a group photo with my big camera, but Dan got this on his cell phone. All 19 grandkids (except for Lukie) with grammy and grandpa!!

Andy's drone got this cool photo of the whole crew.

Such a wonderful week! Wish I could go back! So thankful for all the family that was able to make it. Love when we can all be together!

4th of July

This year, 4th of July started off wet and rainy. It finally cleared up around 5pm and we had beautiful, cool weather in the evening for fireworks. We didn't get to go swimming because of the rain, but enjoyed a delicious BBQ at grammy and grandpa's home. The girls were so happy to have most of their Ochoa cousins in town for the holiday (Dario and Aiden were with a friend in Florida). These two are the best of friends. So glad they have each other.

"Lil' Sweet" and the big girls

so grateful for this beautiful country we live in and the freedoms we enjoy!

Graduation

I can not believe that our oldest child has graduated from high school! Where have the years gone?! I definitely don't feel old enough to have a child heading to college in a few months! We will be so sad to see her leave, but excited for all that's in store for her at BYU.

Elayna graduated with honors. She was in the top 5% of her class and a member of National Honor Society. We are so very proud of her.

Recent read

This book is about the devastating hurricane that struck Galveston in 1900 and killed over 6000 people. I read this book many years ago, and after our recent trip to Galveston, decided to reread it. It is a superb read. Erik Larson is my favorite non-fiction writer and he makes history so real and engaging. Definitely recommend this one!

Kindergarten Graduate!

Lorelei graduated Kindergarten this week! She had such a wonderful first year of school and loved her teacher! She had a cute little kindergarten graduation ceremony at her school last week where the children all wore caps and received their diplomas. Can't believe she'll be a big 1st grader next year!

The stuffed animal is from her teacher :)

*this is the photo the school took. it's so cute to see a little kindergartener in cap and gown :)

BYU Bound!

A few months ago Elayna found out she got accepted to BYU (Provo, UT) for Fall semester 2018! We are so excited and proud of her! Both Dan and I are BYU graduates. I was 5 months pregnant with Elayna when I walked across the stage to receive my diploma! She spent the fist year and a half of her life living on the BYU campus (Wymount) while Dan finished up his degree. Now she will experience BYU as a college freshman! Where has the time gone?!?

Only 2 more weeks of high school before she graduates!

Easter egg hunt

Here's a few photos from our annual cousins Easter egg hunt the day before Easter. So much fun to spend the weekend together! Easter was extra special this year because it fell on General Conference. I always love Conference weekends!

Hugh was not a fan of the sour candies! lol

not the best photo and a little blurry, but I love having a photo of all the cousins together

Spring Break 2018

During spring break, we stayed three days at a beautiful beach house in Galveston that our very kind and generous neighbors offered us. The three older girls weren't able to join us because they were at church girls camp all week. It was very strange to have only three kids with us all week! The weather was absolutely gorgeous but a little on the cold side. The temperature never got higher than the upper 60s, but that didn't keep the kids and Dan out of the water!

And here's a photo of the girls at camp. They had such a great time! They stayed at a camp near Austin and the weather was great! So much better than camping in July! (Girls camp is normally held in the summer, but because of the Nauvoo trip it was moved to Spring Break.) This was Elayna's very last girls camp and Avery's first! Next year Elayna will be at BYU!

recent read

This book was recommended by my mom and I really enjoyed it! It is the incredible true story of a doomed American attempt to sail to the North Pole. I love a good survival story and this did not disappoint!

12!

Avery turned 12 years old at the beginning of March! This is a big birthday for her because she joins the Young Women program at church. I am the youth leader for the 12 and 13 year old girls, so I'm so excited to be with Avery again! I was her Activity Day leader when she was in Primary. I love being with all three of my big girls in Young Women's! Avery got braces a week before her birthday, so that has been another big change for her. Happy Birthday to our sweet Avery who is growing up too fast!