El Paso!

May was a fabulous month. It started off with a fun trip to El Paso. Our week there was full of family, fun, food, photo shoots, desert cook out/fires, late nights, and all around fun. We really do love El Paso so much. We are desert rats and enjoy everything that west Texas town has to offer. We also love being in east Texas right now; the lush greenery everywhere, the thick accents, and the kind people.

Anyways....I'll add some captions to my Instagram journal from the trip and let these pictures tell the story:

Knox got to meet 2 great parents this trip. Both of them quickly fell in love with him. I love that he has great grandparents living. We have one more still living (Grandpa Jessup in Utah) that we need to see.

My Grandma Bracken, whom my kids refer to as "Grandma Dotty"

 Cliff's Grandpa Espinoza, whom my kids refer to as "Abuelito" 

It wouldn't be a complete trip to El Paso without at least one trip to Chicos. My kids love it! 

Like I said...we love the desert. My dad took us out one night, and we roasted some hot dogs on a fire. My kids went on a night hike with my dad, called for coyotes (no joke), and enjoyed some quality time with "Papa Dan".

One day, we went with Grandma and Grandpa Jessup and the Navarro clan to the other side of town for this fun indoor play yard. There were huge slides, things to climb on, color stations, bumper cars, etc. We had a blast!

 Grandpa Jessup supervising art time.

Stone climbing (complete with a plumber's crack), and Stone helping Emerson with the car.

 Future bridesmaids! Emerson showing her twin cousins (Emma and Ella) the dress up stuff.

Knox playing in the kiddie yard.

And a little vacation wouldn't be complete without a little drama. We were headed to a fun pool one afternoon, and just as we were waiting in line, Emerson fell on the concrete and busted her head open. She was swinging, doing flips around a bar, and lost her grip. We ended up in the ER, she got a few stitches, and she was told not to go in the sun all summer if she doesn't want to visible scar. Well, first off, we live in TEXAS. Second, we swim EVERY.DAY. We have been putting sun screen on, and wearing hats daily. She even wears a swim cap (really cute, I might add) any time we are outside playing in the water. 

She was SUCH a good sport with the stitches. She didn't even flinch her head. Her little foot was flinching, and she was nervous, but she did SO good. LOVE her.

The biggest perk to visiting El Paso is all the family we get to spend time with. My dad and Lisa, Cliff's parents, the Brackens (my cousins/aunt/uncle), and my Grandma (who lives with the Brackens). We love her so much! (below)

 Like I said, we love our El Paso family. Stone and Danny are best friends for life. Since they were 6 months old, they have been tight. They just get each other. Before they could even talk, they understood each other. They love each other so much, and we love their great bond.

We were there for Mother's day and spent the evening at Sheldon's home (Cliff's older brother). My dad joined us, and we had so much fun playing in the yard after eating. My dad loves playing with my kids.

The kids are always climbing Grandma and Grandpa's fence to watch the traffic go by.

And again...we love our family!!

My dad and Lisa...

The Jessup/Navarro gang...

Grandma and Grandpa Jessup...