September Trip Back Home!

We recently got to take a trip back home for about a week. We won't be able to go home for Christmas this year, since Tyra has to work and the flights are so much cheaper at off-seasons, that we decided it was a good time.

We'd really been wanting to make the trip to meet our new niece. Greg's brother, Jason, recently had a beautiful little girl, Melanie Lane at the end of July. We have lots of pics of the sweetie and her older sister Kaori below.

We were able to spend some time with most people while we were there, but some not enough, and some not at all! =( The trips always seem to fly by too quickly!

It was weird being home and not getting to see the Mullins clan (Tyra's sister and fam). We missed them moving to AZ by just a few weeks!

We did manage to have a little bit of the same on our trip home. We can't (or rather Tyra can't) go to El Paso and not eat at Chico's Tacos!!

She must have been having some sweeeeeeet dreams! Or just gas!!!! Either way still cute

She may appear to be crashed out, but any little noise or sometimes nothing seemed to wake her up.

There's Kaori in the middle of a dance routine!

There's a pretty little girl!! Look at all that beautiful hair!!

For Tyra's birthday, some of both families took the drive past El Paso to Cattlemen's Steakhouse in Fabens, TX. We saw a show on the travel channel that was highlighting the steakhouse and neither of us had ever been there. So we had to try it! It's a working ranch with a petting/feeding zoo, a rattlesnake pit, and a couple of old movie sets from movies that were filmed there.


As you can see below, Janet, Kaori, and Rick are all too eager to go check out the animals in the petting zoo!

It was really wonderful to have my Grandma in town for the birthday celebrations. The timing was too perfect!

There's a couple of cuties!

And there we are! Bring on the delicious steaks!!!

Funny lookin' llama! We only got close enough to take the picture. Too afraid it'd spit! No petting that thing!

Nice Texas rattlesnake

The ranch and patio's had some beautiful scenery!!

We highly recommend trying the steakhouse out if you haven't already. It's a little pricey but meals could easily be split between 2 or more people because they served huge portions!

_________________________________________________________ We stopped by to visit my Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jason in Deming, NM one day. They moved out there a couple of years ago and completely renovated an abandoned home. It's really beautiful now, and we're amazed at what they've done out there! The pics below are of the giant greenhouse they've set up where they grow the most delicious tomatos on vines without soil! Jason sells at the Farmer's Market most weekends in Las Cruces as well as other various places.

Of course, we couldn't leave the southwest and not take back some chile with us!! We were running dangerously low, and I mean dangerous! I was scared!

Aren't they pretty! I'll bet they'll taste awesome.