Texas!

Its that time of year again.  My annual trip to Texas to cheer for Dad while he rides in the MS 150.  This year was different in that all of my family ended up being there at some point during the week!  Matt, Orson, Ferdinand and I drove the minivan all the way to TX and back (the boys were great in the car!), Nathan and Allison were at the house, Dad and Sofie came in from Korea, Anne joined us from Tampa and even Matt J managed to put off returning to his work in Africa long enough to go out for my birthday.  It was wonderful seeing everyone and Orson and Ferdinand loved the attention.

family time:

 

The MS 150 ride had some major bumps for Mr Bernson this year.  He and Dad almost got hit by a car during their practice ride (resulting in major road burn for David) and then someone stopped abruptly in front of him just before the finish line and he went down again.  They also had a horrible head wind for the entire first day of the ride.  Compared to how smoothly the ride went the year before, this year was much tougher on everyone.  BUT, they all finished and all raised money to find a cure for autoimmune disorders.

The first lunch stop:

waiting for the riders to come into Austin:

 O was practicing his faces

 and giving his daddy a hard time

 Sofie, Anne and Ferd decided the shade was the best bet

 They made it!

While they were riding, we got to stop and play in the amazing hill country flowers, even though we missed the peak of the bluebonnets, everything was still beautiful, visited the Cezch Painted Churches around Flatonia and enjoyed driving by some of the places from early in our marriage (like the ranch were we celebrated our wedding).

ER ranch:

The painted Catholic Churches were so amazing inside and out!

 
The churches had old cemeteries attached. The pictures on the stones were so interesting.

 The ones of the babies were so hard to see but so touching as well

And of course the wildflowers:

There was some really stressful moments during the week, mostly around getting places on time and going through more of mom and dad's stuff but it was wonderful to see everyone.  As soon as we got home, I missed eating breakfast with my family and having adults that I love around to talk to during the day; Orson missed having people other then me to play and read with; and Ferdinand missed having someone that was willing to hold him all the time.

WE CAN'T WAIT to celebrate Dad's 60th birthday in FRANCE!!!

Ferdinand Update

Ferdinand is 5, almost 6, months old!  I just can't believe how fast it has all gone.  This guy seriously wants to keep up with his brother.  He added a new tooth (top) on Monday (why do my boys add teeth when we travel?), can sit on his own for long stretches, loves to stand in peoples laps, made his first visit to TX, has been on an off road adventure, is mostly sleeping for 8-10 hours at a time, gained three pounds between his last two monthly doctor appointments (he was 16.8 lbs and 26 inches at the beginning of April) and has started eating solids.  

Boy does he love food! He is already eating whole fruits when he grabs them out of my hand or his brothers (peaches during mass are his favorite), meats (salmon is his favorite) and more.  Honestly he hasn't turned up his nose at a single thing, his first foods were butternut squash and mangoes and the list is now too long to recreate.  

Orson still makes him laugh, as does dancing with me and tickles from his Daddy.  He is in love with his Tia Sofie, any pretty girl that walks in the room and today he couldn't take his eyes off the month old little girl sitting next to us in a meeting.  He is so social and smiley.  He really brings such joy and peace into the family. 

Easter! What a Week

Holy Week was very exciting this year.  Starting with Palm Sunday we had lost of fun getting ready for Easter Sunday.  

The church held an Easter egg hunt and activities for the parish children on Palm Sunday.  The morning started out rough but the afternoon was full of fun.

Orson got to decorate a cross

 play egg games

 won a cool rainbow streamer for winning said egg games

 color some Easter eggs

 Listen to Easter stories and the Easter Gospel

 and then go on an egg hunt

 Ferdinand found one too

 Then on Good Friday, I made GF Hot Cross buns (but forgot to take a picture) They turned out great, I used a new GF flour blend (C4C to make them) and changed the recipe a little (craisins for currants, more cinnamon, less cardamon and a lemon icing for the crosses. I think they will be a new Good Friday tradition in our home.  Later the Scarbrough family came over and we decorated Easter Eggs.

 We also played some dress up.  We love having the Scarbroughs in our lives and are so thankful for their friendships.

 On Saturday we took Matt's new truck out for an off road adventure with the local Land Cruiser club.

 I found so beauty in the day :)

 and Orson had so much fun that he actually took a nap on the way home

 Then we woke up to Easter Sunday.  The Easter Bunny left a little bit of fun for us

 Ferdinand was so excited for some new pacifiers!

 I made some Deviled eggs using Lynda's recipe and adding some pintrest style (Little cheepers)

 We cleaned up pretty well for church

 And then we headed over to the Scarbrough's house for Easter lunch and another egg hunt.

 Everyone was so fast it was hard to capture the hunt!

 Ferdinand just focused on finding his feet for this hunt

It was a lovely week and I feel very blest to have such an amazing family and new friends to share it with.