Hard Workin' Man

Ryan has been working incredibly hard.

Each and every morning, he is to school by 5:30.  He takes a short break for lunch, then comes home for dinner at 5:30.  At 7:30 sharp he is studying again, and wraps up his night around 10:30.  For two months straight.  

For one whole month of this, I was in Oregon.  It was supposed to be three weeks, but with my mom's back surgery and my dad's business obligations, a companion to help fly us back to Texas wasn't an option until a week later.  

While in Oregon, we had the best time.  We played with cousins, jumped on the trampoline (surrounded what I feel like is the prettiest view in the valley), felt the cool Oregon mornings and evenings, spent time at Mimi and Grandpa Dave's house, spent a couple days in Eugene with the Bells, had Cal's first Easter Egg Hunt, and of course, spent a lot of time with Grandma and Grandpa.  

Grandpa and Cal are the best of friends.  My mom can get any baby to smile and giggle, so naturally Grady was always trying to catch her eye.  But Cal is pretty loyal to my dad.  Their relationship is so sweet, and I am so happy Cal loves his Grandpa with all of his heart.  Some days he would wait at the end of the road for him to come home from work, other days we three went to the park and played, or would spend a quiet afternoon on a walk.  

It is SO GOOD to be back with Ryan.  We had our first Sunday together as a family this past week and we both felt so at ease surrounded by our people.  I do definitely miss the early morning/late night chats with my parents.  I miss the random funny moments that my mom and I got to share as we were home all day with the kids.  I miss the Oregon air and Folsom/Thompson cousins, aunts and uncles.  But I am so happy to be back with Ryan as he nears his Board Exam, to be here to encourage and support and hopefully help him feel at ease.  He has worked incredibly hard, has been diligent from day 1, and I know he is going to do extremely well.  I am so lucky to be married to my hard workin' man.     

The view from my hometown front window 

The girls supporting Eric at his "Live to Dance" event

This was after Cal threw himself out of the pack n play at Alison's house.  The first time he has ever napped with me.

For some reason, while we were staying in Medford one of Cal's favorite things to do was to sneak into my parents bathroom and rub their soap in his hair with this sponge!

His first Easter Egg hunt was a hit!  He loved to find the eggs, but when it came time to open them he lost interest.

Thompson Cousins

There were two flights returning to Texas.  The first, my parents were with us.  They walked us to the gate, then went on their way.  When Cal and I got on the next plane without them, Cal looked around then asked, "Where'd Grandpa go?"  Needless to say...I bawled.