This summer the Schneiber (Hill, Ellis, Pettit) clan came to Houston for our reunion. And the fact that anyone was willing to come to Houston in the summer just goes to show how much love and AWESOMENESS our family has!
Katie and Russ and new baby Abraham kicked off the party with a baby blessing. All of the great-grandparents joined us for the occasion, and it was really special to be able to spend so much time with them.
My big sister has SUCH A CUTE FAMILY!
The whole clan!
At this point (approximately 4 months later), I don't remember all of the little details of everything, but thank goodness for photographic evidence to help jog my memory!
We spent days at the the Huet Hotel and Spa (it's actually NOT a hotel, they just have a super awesome house and boat and jet skis and pool and grill and and and.....so I just CALL it a hotel).
Playing pool-volleyball
Jacob keeping the ball in play
Spectating.
Ain't nobody got time to SMILE for a picture, Mom!
Lily to the photographic rescue
Be still, my heart.
Gourmet Grilling
Handsome Erik
Proof that I was there also
BFFs. Thank goodness for Papa Dirt!
She's a charmer!
No brothers-in-law were harmed taking these pictures
Or these.
We also spent some quality time at Top Golf, cooked some delicious food (thank you, Russ, for your amazing pizza!), spent a fabulous day at the beach, and squeezed (squozed?) in a family photo shoot before it was all over.
Grandparents! Not pictured: Baby Isabelle had to finish cooking in Megan's tummy
We hit the jackpot when we got sent to be in their family.
We're all so OLD now!
The Hills
Erik and Megan w baby Isabelle arriving imminently
The Ellis crew
J^2 and Baby Louise. PS. I just have to say that all of my sisters look AMAZING after having babies!
One, big, happy, family. So blessed.
This was one of the best family vacations we've had in a long time. Everyone is so happy and is doing so well in life. It's so fun to have all of the in-laws complete our family; they're each so INCREDIBLE. I really don't know how exactly it all worked out so well, but it's a huge blessing to have a family full of best friends to be with eternally.
And, to finish it off, a few more cute pictures of baby Abe (B-Abe?). Because, why not? :)
Caroline turned 2 last month. With all of life's craziness these days, we kind of snuck in her birthday celebrations when we could get most of the important people together at once, which meant she got a good amount of practice singing Happy Birthday and blowing out candles. And today, when she saw a mini cupcake (from the grocery store--which was identical to her own birthday "cake"), she pointed excitedly and said, "Happy Bird-day! Happy Bird-day!" So I think her low-key birthday still had the appropriate impact. :)
This little girl is a force to be reckoned with. She is incredibly independent and has opinions about everything. From what she wears each day (ONLY frilly dresses, thank-you-very-much), to where I put her highchair (RIGHT in the middle of the kitchen), to organizing her toys ("I do it! I do it! I DO IT!"), Caroline knows what she wants and is persistent until she gets it.
Caroline loves her sisters. She watches them, follows them around, and has learned to be an expert teaser. She can usually find the perfect button to push in order to get a big reaction from one of them (usually Savannah). But Caroline is quick to say sorry and is always eager to provide make-up hugs and kisses to the offended party. And she's helping her sisters to learn patience and forgiveness, two very important qualities. They are lucky to have her. ;)
With Savannah and Lily in preschool two days each week, we've been spending a lot more time together. She loves to be tickled ("Tickee-me, Mom!"), LOVES to read books (If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, aka "Mouse-Cookie" is a favorite right now), will draw and color for full minutes at a time, and shows me how having one child at home can be just as busy as having three!
Other current favorites: Olaf, "Let it Go!" from Frozen which she requests multiple times in a row, multiple times each day), cereal or scrambled eggs for breakfast, being up on the counter while I do anything (which makes my job MUCH easier), and wearing shoes of all colors and sizes.
We love this girl. Caroline keeps us on our toes and makes us smile, and life would be VERY boring without her! We're so thankful for her!
