:: a trip to DALLAS, TX ::

Yes, I was lucky enough to get a preboarding pass both flights.

Which means, I boarded with the "disabled" before anyone else.

SWEET! Another perk of being pregnant. 
I boarded early and snagged Brock and I great seats both flights.

Our flight to Dallas was never-ending. We had a 20 minute stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico that turned into a 3 hour stop due to bad weather. But on a positive note our pilot and flight attendants were great! They were so very nice and hilarious. It made the long delay manageable. By the end we all felt like family on that flight.  

These two pictures were taken in the air, obviously, flying from Vegas to Albuquerque. The flight from Albuquerque to Dallas was WAY to nerve-wrecking to be snapping pictures. The reason our delay in New Mexico was so long was because of bad storms in Texas. Our plane was actually the very first plane to arrive or depart in Dallas after those 3 hours. To say the least, I gripped Brock's leg a few times very tightly. I'm not a nervous flyer, but the turbulence was pretty bad. I also saw lightning out my window as it was POURING rain. NOT FUN. I've never felt car-sick/motion-sick while flying until this time. I was curious to know if being pregnant had something to do with it. Baby Boy was not a huge fan of my tense body during this flight.

BUT...we made it safely. Thank Heavens.

We stayed with our best friends, Reed and Melissa Garza and baby girl Brooklyn. Reed picked us up from the Dallas-Lovefield airport right on time, and the Garza's treated us like a king and queen during our 5 day stay. They let us borrow one of their cars and one of their smart phones everyday. There is NO WAY in this world we would have made it around Dallas/Fort Worth without a GPS. 

Welcome to the big city!

The big city was SO MUCH FUN. Fort Worth is definitely my favorite of the two, from what we saw at least. Fort Worth is a little smaller and newer in my opinion. 

The first two days we were on the hunt for housing. I had been researching for 5 MONTHS + thinking we were prepared and it would be a breeze to find something. WRONG. The place we thought we loved and would be perfect turned out not so good. Not family friendly at all, which was high on our list.

Long story short - we were almost out of hope, said a BIG prayer and were led to a realtor that was a saint. We walked right in her office, she printed 30 + listings that fit our needs/wants and that night Brock and I eliminated and came up with 5 we wanted to check out. The next morning she took us to them, we found 2 houses - one we love one we like, both would be just great for our little family.

As of this moment, we are STILL WAITING to hear back from our #1 choice. Tomorrow we'll know for sure. I would have pictures to show but there are tenants living there now. The area we found out we loved the most is in the Keller area. About 17 miles from Brock's medical school, which is considered close in Fort Worth. The neighborhood had family friendly written all over it. I will give you more details when we know where we're for sure going to be. As we drove from one house to the next, we passed an LDS church. YAY! First and only one we saw in Texas, and it was only about 4 mins from this neighborhood we love. I had to take a picture.

More later about the housing update when it comes.

Later in the afternoon after we applied for our house and all we could do was wait, we went to Brock's school for a tour. {didn't take pics, oops} The Garza's met us there to site-see a bit. Right next to UNT {University of North Texas} are the Botanical Gardens that we made a quick stop by. There is also a district of museums right across from UNT that Cohen and I will be seeing much of I'm sure.

{Brock holding a cute tree up}

We then stopped in Arlington, which is between Fort Worth and Dallas, and ate a very satisfying dinner at On The Border. After dinner we walked up the street to the Texas Rangers ball park to go to a ball game. 
It was a little chilly, surprising, but OH SO FUN.

Saturday we met my sweet aunt and cousins in Dallas at my aunts house. I have not seen my aunt for 5 years and it felt like it was yesterday. She is so loving and supportive. They all made me even more excited to move to Texas and be closer.

Later that day Garza's took us to the biggest Farmer's Market I've ever seen. It was downtown Dallas. We walked up and down rows and rows of fresh produce and were given samples at every stop. Best lunch ever!

Our next stop was the famous Trolley ride that takes a drive through downtown Dallas. It was made in the early 1900's and drives on tracks that have been there since 1889. The drivers all volunteer, which makes it even better. Our driver was a cute old Mormon guy, believe it or not. Cracked jokes the whole ride.

To turn the trolley around, or reverse, the driver makes a switch from outside the trolley. All the passengers stand and lift the backs of their seats and then take a seat sitting the opposite direction. Pretty sweet.

A few downtown Dallas sites...

The highlight of the trip for me - other than being with the Garza's - had to be THE SHRIMP at the fancy dinner we went to Saturday night. A babysitter was with Brooklyn and we went OUT IN THE TOWN. Garza's had a hook up and we had gift cards worth $200 dollars that had to be spent in one time. :) 

Dallas Fish Market does not sound fancy, but WOW.

These shrimp were the size of baseballs, not kidding.

 

The meal was divine.

We ordered 4 desserts just because we had the money,

and we finished them all.

 {Brock showing off the cool wall that we sat by}

This picture doesn't show it, but on those bottles on the wall lit up light blue. It was pretty awesome.

The trip was wonderful.

This was my first time leaving Cohen for more than a night, and I will say 5 days was a bit LONG for me. Cohen did great with our families. I didn't doubt he would. He missed Mom and Dad enough to ask about us, but not enough to be sad too long. It was perfect. I could have shed a few tears when I first saw Cohen again, but I was tough. He skipped up to me and gave me a very good, long snuggle. Heavenly.

Brock and I missed our boy so bad at times it hurt our insides.

But it was very good for all three of us.
The trip was a success.
It got me even more excited to move to Fort Worth.
And especially to be closer to family and Garza's.
THANK YOU GARZA'S for being the best hosts anyone could ask for.
We'll see you in about 3 weeks!

:: MOTHER'S DAY ::

 I am proud to be Cohen's mother.

I do not have too many complaints about my boy.

He makes me want to be a better person daily.

He reminds me of the simple things in life that are truly important.

How blessed I am to have the privilege of being a mother,

especially to a boy who makes all my days good days, 

even if they are hard days.

Cohen {Brock} brought my mom and I one pink rose each before breakfast.

He came skipping to us so excited to give them to us that by the time the roses got to us the stems were bent and breaking.

I loved it even more that way.

Cort and Em and the kids came over for a scrumptious breakfast 

and then came to church with us at my parents ward.

 Can I say that I have the world's best looking SON, NEPHEW and NEICE? 

I think so. Just before church we snapped a few shots.

 I adore these women.

My beautiful mom and sister-in-law.

I look up to them.

I cherish time spent with them.

I want to be just like them.

They are wonderful examples to me and such great mothers. 

I have learned so much from them about parenting and womanhood. 

Thank heavens for womanhood and the blessing of being a mother.

 I love you MOM and EM!

TO US!

Happy Mother's Day.

:: a crazy busy MOTHER'S DAY WEEKEND ::

 Corby - Cohen - Naomi - Dad

What a perfect Mother's Day weekend.

I will say that I was exhausted when it was over, especially after this day, Saturday. It was a VERY HOT day, low 90's temperature wise, and we were outside all day long. {poor Ironman participants} The Ironman race passes my parents neighborhood. So in the morning we walked up to cheer them on and see them bike up a HUGE hill by Entrada Golf Course. They all looked so good! And they had already swam 2 miles and biked about 60 miles I think. The Iron man race consists of a 2 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and a full marathon 26.2 miles of running. YIKES! Call me stupid, but I think they are NUTS. 

What an amazing accomplishment though.

My guess is one day Brock will do it...

{Co cheering on the bikers}

Loni's Baby Shower

 Wow. Who would have thought that me and my best friend/sister LONI would be pregnant together?! Actually I kinda did. We are due about a week apart so we may be delivering the same day. We'll see....Her baby shower was great! So fun to spoil her and get ready for Baby Adyn to come. Can't wait to meet the little guy. Him and my boys will be best buds, I can feel it already.

 Mom - Me - Loni - Tam

{this pic was taken to replace our annual Women's 

Conference Pic that we didn't make it to this year}

Matt's Baseball Games

 Brock's little brother had a double header on Sat. and they won both games. Way to go Warriors! He is a little stud. He pitches and is so fun to watch. My little brother-in-law is growing up! I met Brock when Matt was 3. Now he's OLD and liking GIRLS! Weird.

We finished off our day by watching the Ironman race a little more by the finish line. What a neat race! The finish line was packed with people, food and music. The participants are pretty spread out in this race so when one would come close to the finish line the announcer would say their name, where they were from and then say "YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!" Pretty cool. It gave me chills.

 

:: splash pad with the cousins ::

 Cohen 23 months :: Corbin 3 years :: Naomi 17 months

 Cohen had more fun this time at Splash Pad I think because he had cousins to play with. It was a VERY hot day so the cold water was perfect. The Ironman participants were by the Pad by the finish line getting their numbers to prepare for the race the next day, which was neat to see.

:: Papa Todd's Birthday Chiesta ::

 Papa Todd turn 49 on Cinco De Mayo and we had a Chinese Fiesta, a Chiesta. Sheryl makes Todd's favorite egg rolls about once a year and it's for his birthday. There is usually a sombrero involved, but it couldn't be found this year. Bummer. Maybe next year for the big 5 0. The meal YUMMY. I couldn't stop eating egg rolls and fried rice.

 Papa's drums had to be played while the grandboys were there.

They LOVE them.