Hello from Durango! We’re back in Colorado for a week, then return to Texas… indefinitely! Ha! I feel like we haven’t been home for more than 10 days in the past two months. So, of course this week in review post is late, but I do have some exciting news to share: we’re building a house! Last Monday, we closed on a tear-down property in Briargrove, a cute family-friendly neighborhood close to the Galleria, and met with a few builders and architects before heading to Colorado. We have one more meeting the Tuesday we return, and will make our final decisions after that. I’m so excited about this journey, although I know it’s going to be a big headache at times – especially with a newborn baby! 

Other big news was that Isla started her first week of Mother’s Day Out at Chapelwood and loved it (despite drop off, of course). She came home talking about Mrs. LAWWWWWren and her new friends. She’s going three days a week, and while I miss her like crazy when she’s gone, it’s nice to pack that time with photos and editing so that I can spend more time with the family at night!

Some other highlights from the week include:

• Taking blog photos for Alex, Carrie, Molly and Destiny photos.
• Eating lunch with Meredith at The Counter, because my veggie burger craving has yet to subside. It was so good catching up with her!
• Coffee and crepes at Sweet Paris with Megan, where we ran into Elly, Lilly and Linh 
• Photographing our good friends’ newborn baby girl, Harper, in her gorgeous floral nursery – she is so beautiful! I’m so happy for Ilene and Kenny!
• Eating dinner at Pei Wei after visiting the house for the first time – we typically avoid big chain restaurants, but seriously, have you tried their quinoa?? The Thai Dynamite with Quinoa and Tofu is to die for.
• Swimming at my parents house on Saturday morning – Isla loves Mimi and Papa!
• Ordering the last piece of furniture for nursery, and now I’ve just got to decide on wall paper for one of the walls! My craziness in getting it done early is due to the big house decisions that are about to come our way!
• Driving to Colorado, as crazy as that sounds – we split the journey up (almost) equally, and despite a few sleepy hours, it went really well and Isla slept for most the trip… and watched Frozen twice for the awake hours!
• Spending Labor Day in gorgeous weather in Durango and relaxing after a crazy week!

I am seriously losing track of time over here! I’m trying to recall the past seven days for my weekly post, and am struggling to do so! We traveled from Colorado to Texas (16+ hours!) overnight on Wednesday, so basically I can write Thursday off as a total haze. Friday was spent catching up on laundry, cleaning, errands, groceries, etc. in the morning, and then we went to my parent’s house in the afternoon to see some of our closest friends (basically family) who were visiting from Scotland. We spent Saturday morning and early afternoon with Destiny, Sid and Truman, and the evening with Sasha’s mom. Sunday called for church at Bayou City Fellowship, then spent the afternoon in Katy, before returning home to clean up the evolving nursery! I have almost ordered every big piece, except for a new chair and a dresser, which I’m looking to have custom made. There’s a reason for the rush, which I’ll share soon!

Our last few days in Durango were spent eating at our favorite restaurants, doing our favorite hikes, going on long bike rides, dipping our feet in the freezing cold Animas River, and relaxing at the house before returning to reality! We’re heading to San Francisco in a week (cannot wait!!!) and then back to Houston for a week before turning back around and going to Colorado for a week and a bit. So chaotic, but we love it! Then life will return to normalcy afterwards!

Hope you had a great week!! xo

Happiest Monday! We’re still here in Durango, but will leave in a few days. I don’t think we’re ready for the heat of Houston, but I’m missing our family and friends at home. We’ve got another trip to Colorado planned in early September (after a short visit to San Francisco!), so it won’t be long until we return.

Two of our closest friends, Brett and Kirby, drove from Oklahoma and got here early Tuesday morning with their two adorable kiddos – “Ohhhh Baby Henry” and Lillian (also referred to by Isla as “Livi” and “Olivia” for 90% of the their stay). We love them so much, and had such a fun week hiking, playing at the park, swimming at the rec center, going on long walks, playing Taboo, and eating lots of delicious food. The house feels so quiet and lonely now that they’re gone!

I snapped quite a few (ahem, a ton) of photos of the kids, so prepare yourself for lots of hugs ahead: