The Briggs Bunch

Over labor day weekend we went to Albuquerque to see my dad and his side of the family. It had been about a year since we'd seen my dad so we were so excited!

Grandpa with Ains and Gavin

Grandpa meets Baby Scarlett

Besides my dad we saw a lot of my aunts and uncles we hadn't seen in years and years.
I got so caught up in talking to them all, I didn't get many pictures.
I did get one of me and my Aunt Renee. :)

and her kids :) They loved Nora, it was so fun!

The other person besides my dad we were super excited to see was my Grandpa Richard.
He was a huge part of our lives growing up. He lived 5 hours away and would drive over for anything even remotely special. We really miss being able to see him more often.

Our second day there we went to the zoo! Abq has a great zoo, I definitely recommend it!

Dad was the designated stroller guy. :)

Wes and Ains and Tad checking out the wildlife.

Loved the seals!

Another great thing about our trip was seeing my 'Uncle' Danny and 'Aunt' Jeanie! Danny has been my dad's best friend since he was a kid. I'm actually named after him. They have been around my whole life, and I love them so much. It was so fun to share the trip with them.

Tom and Tad and their firstborns. :)

Two Beauties! JaNae and Scarlett

Love my Daddy

He's so silly (fyi: he's got Nora.. I've got Scarlett)

Really Silly :)

The kids had a blast with Grandpa and Grandma Briggs

as for saying goodbye,

I think this picture says it all..

The Blessed Eleanor

THANK YOU TO CRISTI NELSON PHOTOGRAPHY!

Shakespeare and the Mountains

Wow, I'm getting behind again.. ok.. lets catch up. So this summer, one of the other fun things we did was stay at his parents cabin and go to a couple plays at the Shakespearean festival. (Gotta love the Bard!)

It was fun to watch the greenshow with Ainsley. She got her little headband and wand below and was running around having fun.
Nora had to have a turn too... she asked for it.. I swear! hehe

But the most fun was had by Ainsley mimicking the dancing girls. I really do swear that I didn't tell her to dance like this, she just started doing it. All I asked her was to do it again. :) I love my girly girl.


For the actual plays the girl spent at the childcare area they have there (super idea Festival!). Ainsley has always had fun there, so I wasn't worried about her. However, it was the first time I'd left Nora for any real space of time, and definitely the first time to someone besides her dad or grandma.. so I was a bit anxious. She did great though. They all loved her and thought she was adorable (of course, hehe).

The first day we were there, we actually saw two plays. The afternoon matinee, then picked her up, ate dinner, and brought her back for the evening performance. When we got home I saw that they'd put another name wristband on her leg. I don't know if the colors mean anything different or the person just wasn't paying attention.. but I thought it looked pretty funny.

The other fun happening that week was Tom and Ainsley fishing. She was so excited to go! I thought once she realized what fishing really was she'd be a little grossed out and concerned for the fish. Boy did she prove me wrong!

She was SO proud of the fish they caught, and when Tom cooked it, she ate it up and asked for more! I don't think Tom could've been more proud of his little girl asking for fish at every meal for the rest of the trip, lol. He frequently went out and caught her some too. Wrapped around her little finger.. :)

The Basement

We just finished our Basement! YAY! We did about half of it ourselves and hired out about half. I'm just so excited it's done. It was finished in the nick of time. We had family stay there the same day the carpet was installed.

The last big thing we did ourselves was paint it. Tom sprayed most of it, but rolled the top of the stairs. Ainsley was thrilled to be able to help. Below are some great pics of messy Tom (crazy boy even paints in flip flops) and Ainsley helping out. :)

One Month and Three Years

My talented sister in law Anna, the photographer, was in Vegas while I was there, so I took advantage of the situation. :) I'm posting some of my favorites, but you can see a bunch more here.

Enjoy the cuteness below!

Eleanor Anna

Ainsley Hazel