ivy & gus

i am so behind on the blog!  this is just what happens when i'm in texas. no christmas, birthdays, new years, recipes, hardly any olive, etc. i tend to keep things simple over here (hence, short + sweet) and i guess the holidays and being home make me feel overwhelmed! too much going on, so i don't even try. oh well. maybe i'll catch up with it later. for now, i'll just start with this picture.... 

 ivy riding her first horse!  this was at the ranch over new years. this was like a dream come true for her. she has been watching youtube clips of horses since she was like one. i don't know how that even started... maybe from riding a carousel??  maybe from not having a TV in st. andrews so things had to get super creative?  well, she loved it so much and ended up riding every day. she learned just how to place her hands and kept them there perfectly the whole time with the hugest grin on her face :)  so cute.

happy new year to everyone!

scenes from whisper valley

so long, whisper valley. thanks for having us.

over the weekend...

last weekend, our sweet friends wes and elizabeth from san antonio came to visit us at the ranch. and they brought with them the cutest little 3 month old baby boy who goes by the name of luke. he and ivy just talked the day away...

craig and rib also came and we had a great time. we'll miss them all very much next year!

thanks for coming out brights! we love your little family!

partners in crime

partner #1: ivy james mcconnell

partner #2: khacki pants brock

whisper valley

Last week, we happily arrived at Whisper Valley where we'll be settling down for most of August. This summer has been quite a whirlwind with all of the changes going on (everyone moving, new jobs, new babies, preparing to move overseas, etc.) and it's felt a little crazy living out of a suitcase, but it really couldn't have worked out any better for us. Deciding not to extend the lease on our townhouse and just embrace homelessness for the summer was an excellent decision, I must say. We've been incredibly blessed to have such wonderful places to enjoy before heading off to Scotland, and the ranch is definitely no exception. It is pure heaven out here, y'all. It is so beautiful and peaceful. Just being outside the past week has made our little hearts happy... Looking forward to spending time with family & friends and my two favorite people in the best little piece of Texas.

Big thanks to Grammie & Grandpops!

ljb is 24

we helped logan celebrate his 24th at whisper valley.
and by golly, we did it up just right.

you'll always be my very favorite younger brother.

thanks for letting us celebrate with ya!

i love you.