Holt Family Reunion

For the weekend of the 24th we went to a Holt Family Reunion in southern Utah. It was so nice to see everyone! Even though our trip was short we were so glad we could go. We had such a blast!

Joshua loved all the kisses he received from aunts and cousins especially this cute auntie (James' sister Ashla).

In the past Ethan has been timid so I was surprised that we wanted to "ride" this horse. He got up there and wasn't scared at all... maybe he was a little bit scared.. he wouldn't smile for the camera. He has asked several times since then to ride the horsey...

On the 24th my sisters-in-law Erin, Heather and I walked a 5k... Shelley, Dona and her husband Brad ran it. It was a beautiful morning! After the race most of the Holts rode a float in the parade. It said "Faith Family Farming". It was the beginning of a super fun day!

After the parade we had a family picture (that was an adventure!), yummy lunch, and gargantuan water fight and went to a rodeo. It was a fun relaxing day! We were lucky that Seth and Mary were able to drive down from Salt Lake. It was great to see them too!

This is Seth and James tuckered out after a game of king of the hill with some of James' brothers and nephews. They all played hard that day.

These little guys were all pooped out too after a long day. From the left this is Finch (Seth & Mary, 1), McKay (Kimball & Shelley, 9mo), and Joshua. It was so much fun to see all of the babies! I wish I had a picture of them all together... In 14 months there were at least (not sure if I missed one) seven babies born in the Holt family. Wow!

Overall it was a super fun weekend, only wish it had been longer!

Houston Astros

When we first moved here we went to an Astros game with one of James' cousins and her husband. They lost, which has been happening quite a bit lately from what I hear, but it was still fun to go and hang out with Camille and her family. We're sad to see them go... the next week they moved away...

Lonestar State

Shortly after graduation we moved from Columbus, Ohio to Houston, Texas. Quite a move! It took us three super long days! We left Columbus on Wednesday afternoon, after spending most of the previous day and night packing and cleaning... may I say NOT fun and NOT easy with two small munchkins! We are sooooo grateful for James' sister Robin and her kids for coming and helping us the Saturday before.

Tuesday night we stayed in a hotel in Columbus and forgot a super cute bag with some small fans in it in the room. Sad day! I really wanted my bag back and James wanted those fans... so he called the hotel and they mailed us the fans - MINUS the cutest bag in the world! Grrrr! Anyway.... after lots of driving and a whole lot more driving we finally made it to Texas! And then we had to drive some more... Members of our new ward helped us move in. Our new ward has been so welcoming! We are so grateful for that. We are beginning to get back into the swing of things. Life is finally beginning to settle down a bit! Hooray!

So far we are loving Texas! There is so much Texas pride! It's everywhere! Texas edition this, Texas style that... It's fun! It's kind of like buckeye fever in Columbus. It's not as hot as I thought it would be, but it is definitely more humid than I expected. YIKES!! I walk outside from the air-conditioned apartment and I'm instantly wet (with or without sweating)! The things I love so far.... pico de gallo, the library (well almost... that's another story), the park, the people, the many many things to do in the city... it's great to be here!

Graduation

In June James graduated from The Ohio State University College of Optometry. Yea!! His parents came out to congratulate him. His sister Robin and her family also came down from Cleveland. I am so proud of him and all of his HARD work! And I am soglad we're finally finished with school! Yea!!

Ethan loves to do everything that Daddy does...

Joshua spent most of the day in a box! Grandma took him down under the stands to get out of the sun.

He was so happy to get home and cool down!

These are some of the guys that James graduated with... they are the other LDS guys in his class. They are from the left - Thomas Moser, Chris McQuivey, Landon Hagberg, and Brandon Hicks. Congrats!