Fun in Dallas

Elle has grown so much just since we last saw her in June! She is talking up a storm and is very interested in everything. One day, Rich was prepping for dinner and she wanted to "cook." Here she is standing on a little stool and helping her mom make basil oil.

Next, she and I stirred up a bowl of applesauce. Cooking is so much fun!

When Sarah was little, we took a photo of her wearing nothing but some plastic yellow sunglasses and her dad's big shoes. It has been quite the conversation piece throughout her life. :) We tried to get Elle to put on these sunglasses but she was having nothing of it.

Elle is like her daddy and likes to build things. She was especially excited when the blocks got "big, tall."

Playing outside is the best!

Let's run, Mommy!

I can kick a soccer ball all over the yard!

Yay! Daddy's home!

As always, our time here has flown by. Elle went to her "school," Tuesday Mother's Day Out, so we could run errands and do some shopping. We were gone till it was time to pick her up--so busy out there with all the traffic and people everywhere. Another day, we met up with Elle's friend Miles (not to be confused with her daddy Miles--how funny is that?!) and his mama so we could go to a Christmas train exhibit at the mall. It was really neat and the kids had a great time. Rich took Sarah and I to a nice lunch at the famous chef Stephan Pyles' downtown restaurant the day Elle was at school, and we all met up with Miles' parents and grandmother for dinner last night. It was nice to see them and catch up.

Our friends Kirk and Dana came over with their cute 19 month old son, Daniel. Kirk, Dana and I all used to work together at the Rehab Center in Abilene/San Angelo before I moved to Alaska. They are great fun! Elle and Daniel are close to the same age and were very interested in each other the last time we got together so we were anxious to see how they would do this time. They were really cute and played together a little bit before dinner. It was the same day Elle had been to school, where she only gets a short nap, so Sarah says she is typically pretty tired on Tuesdays. Sure enough, during dinner, she started getting a little grumpy and asking to go to bed. Off she went and Daniel had to be satisfied with the adults for the rest of the evening. He was the sweetest boy and just LOVED Sarah. We all wanted to keep him!

Elle has kept us laughing the whole time we've been here. She sings along with Christmas songs and tunes on the radio, she recites the names of everyone in the family, she repeats everything we say and picks up new words every day. Her latest today is "happy girl." She is definitely a happy girl.

We are exchanging Christmas gifts tonight and will leave tomorrow to return to Amarillo to get ready to fly home on Saturday. It is hard to believe that our big, long month's vacation is drawing to a close.