Texas - Volume 5

On Valentine's Day, Luis, Raquel and I went on a family date to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens.  They were pretty, despite the fact that it was winter, and we loved being able to stroll around, have some lunch, and enjoy the beautiful weather!

These plants are from Lu's motherland.

This sign says Mexican Ash.  Yes I am.  Really!  Anyone who eats cactus for breakfast (and likes it) must be Mexican.

Luis and I kept trying to get a good Valentine's Day "couples picture," but we kept getting these dead trees in the background.  How stunning!

Luis very romantically surprised me with my very own Valentine's Day roses (which he took pictures of at the garden and then showed me later).

Raquel's and Anthony's V-day gifts.

That night, we had dinner with the Coles.  Brother Cole used to be Luis's bishop, and the two families are good friends.  Brother and Sister Cole actually have 5 kids, but 3 of them were not here for this picture.

Another of Lu's cousins, Jorge, came by the next night.
(From left to right: Victor, Luis, Raquel, Jorge, and Ricky.

The day we left, we had one final set of visitors - Lu's uncle and his family.  We had to wake Raquel up from her nap so she could meet them, but surprisingly, she woke up very pleasantly and even went straight into a stranger's arms without protest.  My girl changed a lot this trip!

Tia Delia and Raquel

Tio Jesus and Raquel

Luis and I still can't figure it out.  All the gifts people brought throughout our trip were for Raquel.  I think they must have forgotten Luis and I were coming.  Raquel was spoiled rotten!  Check it out:
Dolls

Clothes (including some of the hair bows you see)

Toys

Other gifts not pictured:  a pink unicorn, bibs, teether toys, sippy cups, baby mesh feeders, bath toys, and $20 cash.  Every time we turned around, someone was offering her a gift.  What gives?

This was our final picture before we left, and the first one to include our entire Moreno family.
(From left to right: Victor, Mom, Anthony, Raquel, Me, Dad, Luis, Esmeralda, Melissa, and Ricky)

It was so sad to say goodbye!  Although, one of the funniest moments of our trip happened as we were circling around giving hugs.  We were all a bit weepy, some more than others.  Suddenly, I realized I hadn't said goodby to Anthony (Lu's nephew).  I looked around and noticed he wasn't with us.  I glanced over to the kitchen, and there he was, standing on a chair, quietly sneaking some forbidden snacks from the cupboard.  As soon as we made eye contact, he froze with an "uh-oh" look on his face.  It was classic!

We love our Morenos and miss them terribly.  Raquel keeps asking where her fan club is and wondering why everyone isn't crowded around her taking pictures.  Life is pretty dull with just having her mommy around all day:)

One of the most exciting parts of this trip was hearing our Morenos talk more than ever about how much they want to move to Utah when we do.  Wouldn't that be a blast?!?  I want my kids to know both sides of the family and it would be WONDERFUL to have them both close!  I know my family has also talked about this and have said how much they would love having the Morenos join our family get-togethers.  I think the Fergusons and the Morenos were meant to be together.  All in favor say I!

Texas - Volume 4

On Monday, we drove down to Laredo, Texas, a border town about 3 1/2 hours away from Seguin.  Luis's cousin, Martha, lives there, and let us stay at her house overnight.  We weren't able to cross the border, but we did get to visit with Lu's Tia Mague, who lives with Martha, as well as Tia Chavela and cousin Alejandra, who crossed from Mexico to see us.  I got a lot of Spanish practice at Martha's house.  They all only speak Spanish, including Martha's two little girls.  I don't think those two ever did understand why I only said "si" to them.  A couple of times I tried the old "no habla espanol," but they just only grew more puzzled and continued asking me questions.

Raquel LOVED having kids around, and Martha's two daughters equally loved having a baby around.  They shared their toys with her...

(From left to right: Mariana, Carla (cousin to the two girls), Adriana, and Raquel)

...and Raquel shared her books with them.

 (From left to right: Mom, Alejandra (Lu's cousin), Tia Chavela, Luis, Raquel, Adriana, Mariana)

(From left to right: Luis, Adriana, Martha (Lu's cousin), Tia Mague, Raquel, Mom)

 

On Tuesday morning, we drove back to Seguin and celebrated Mom's birthday!  Happy 52 madre!

Texas - Volume 3

Luis really became close to some of his professors when he went to Texas Lutheran University.  We visited some of them while in Texas, and one professor, Dr. Gonzalez, even invited us over for dinner.  Raquel REALLY loved her dog.

Dr Gonzalez, Raquel, & Luis

Next up, we stopped by Tio Luis's house to visit with him, his wife, Amelia, and Lu's cousin, Eduardo.  Tio Luis has a small farm.  Once again, Raquel was delighted.

 

That SAME NIGHT, we heard another cousin (also named Luis) was in town, so we headed over.  Raquel was pretty much done with the day, but she was a trooper.

(From left to right: Anthony, Dad, Amy (cousin), Jackie (cousin), Leila (his cousin Luis's daughter), Adriana (his cousin Luis's wife), Luis, Raquel, me, Angel (aunt), and Luis (cousin).

Texas - Volume 2

Our trip was perfectly timed.  My sister Megan and her husband Blake have been living in Dallas for the past six months.  They drove down for the weekend while we were in Seguin, and then moved back to Utah the following week.  I'm so glad we got to see them - especially since we won't be seeing any of my side of the family again until August.

Megan & Blake taught Raquel about the ipad, as any hip aunt and uncle would (Luis and I are still in the dark ages.  Our last piece of new technology was Lu's ipod touch in 2010, though I am considering buying myself a new walkman one of these days .)

We then took Megan & Blake to see the sights, starting with a monument dedicated to the world's largest pecan, claimed to have been found in Seguin.

Later, we ventured into San Antonio and visited the Alamo.  Yep, I'm pretty sure I still don't really know what happened there...

... though it must have something to do with Davey Crocket, because I got this!  Jealous? You should be.  I wore it as we walked along the River Walk.  I bet the passers by didn't even realize it was trendy to wear a coon-skin cap until they saw me!

After grabbing a bite to eat, we got to go see my cousin Alison, who lives in San Antonio.  It's been a long time since I've been able to sit down and chat with her and her husband.  It was really nice to see them. 

That night, we also got to visit Tia Cecelia and three of Luis's cousins.

Tia Cecelia and Raquel

Texas - Volume 1

Luis finished his LAST pharmacy class and now has rotations for the next year and a half before graduation.  The school was kind enough to give Luis a 2 week breather before he started into rotations.  We took advantage of the break and flew out to see our Morenos in Texas.  Warning: I hope you're not overwhelmed by all the names.

So, we opted for a plane ride instead of a 22 hour drive, although the idea of keeping Raquel happy on my lap for three hours on a plane filled me with panic.  I prepared for WEEKS and read every baby traveling tip I could find.  In the end, she was fine.  In fact, our fellow passengers were shocked to discover that a baby had been sitting behind them.  Thank goodness for the baby video that kept her happy when everything else got old.

We arrived in Seguin on Saturday in the late afternoon, but after so much traveling, Raquel wanted nothing to do with any of the anxious arms awaiting her.  The fact that she'd only met Abuelo y Abuela Moreno and Tia Mague, didn't help.  The next day, Raquel was still pretty miserable and confused, so we headed to Landa Park and finally saw some smiles.

In case you are wondering, most of the vacation was spent like this: someone bent over walking Raquel, whilest her many adoring fans cheered her on.

After a day or two, Raquel began warming up to everyone.

Raquel with Abuela

Raquel with Abuelo

Raquel with Melissa (Lu's sister)

Raquel with Esmeralda (Lu's sister)

Raquel with Ricky (Lu's brother)

Raquel with Victor (Lu's brother)

 

She especially loved Anthony, her one Moreno cousin.  (Anthony is Melissa's son.)

I've been wanting a banana stroller (as I like to call them) for some time now, and since we thought it would be useful to have in Texas, we ventured out and found the perfect one!  Isn't my little Minnie Mouse cute?  I only wish I'd had this at Halloween when she really WAS Minnie Mouse.  THAT would have been adorable!

Wanna know something else that's cute?  Watching my man play some b-ball!  It's been two years since the last game of brotherly hoops.  Now I can't wait until we see a match between ALL my brothers.  That game will be epic.

(Sorry Victor, this is just too funny not to share.)

Word spread that we had arrived, and the first of Raquel's visitors arrived - Lu's Tia Martha and her daughters.  Raquel put on a good show for them.  She's got this new quirk where she'll suddenly start laughing out of nowhere or laughing really dramatically when she hears others laugh.  It's the best.

(From left to right: Tia Martha, the twins Yojaira and Yomaira, and Perla.)

We hit up the local library a few times while in Seguin.  They've got the best little sofas I've ever perched upon.

Luis and I also went on a romantic date to the laundromat.  It was my first time being in one, and Luis made it extra special by walking next door to the Dairy Queen and bringing me back a Blizzard.  If you're looking for a good date night idea, this one is golden.