Cabo

This week our family went to Cabo San Lucas on vacation. It was AWESOME! The wonderful thing about Cabo is that there is NO PRESSURE to do anything because there isn't much to do except soak up the sun and relax. This is the first time that Josh and I have traveled with our kids and it was great. They loved every moment and made the trip much more enjoyable for us. (Of course it was more work, but they were wonderful entertainment.) They were so good and willing to be obedient. They LOVED the beach and ocean and they spent countless hours in the pool.



This trip was the first trip in over ten years for my family, and we were all able to make it. My parents now have seven grandchildren. (Cathie, Keith and their three kids came from Alaska.) My parents are so fantastic with the kids.



The kids followed my mom around like a magnet. She had fun activities planned for them, and of course she had a candy drawer in her condo. Dad spent hours holding and taking care of the baby's.



Dad was willing to "sacrifice" and stay back in the shade and nap with the babies. I think he may have slept like a baby too.


The cousins had a wonderful time together. There is something really special about cousins!


Colter, Corbin, (Cathie's boy's) and Caleb (You may notice the C pattern, but is is not intentional. It does make things a little confusing.


Cara and Emi (Cathie's girl) couldn't get enough of each other. Emi is 15 months older than Cara, but when they are together they are best friends.


Andy and Daniel (Cody's boy. They are only four months apart in age. They will have fun growing up together.)

We adults had a fantastic time together too.

Cody (my only brother) and his wife Stephanie, Connie (the baby), Christie (who hooked us up with her condo's) and her boyfriend Jeff, Cathie and Keith, and Me and Josh. (Not pictured my parents and Aunt Merle who is also a part of our family.) It was amazing how well we all got along. It was wonderful!

Following are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip that show just a few of the things that we did. They are in no particular order so enjoy the randomness.

Andy was so good even though it was sometimes hot. He must like the taste of sand because he ate it every time we were on the beach.


We played cards at the condos, which by the way overlooked the pool and beach. This was an intense game of Old Maid.


We took a glass bottom boat to the famous Cabo Arch (notice over our shoulders).


This is the whole gang on the boat. In order to get onto the beach we had to bail off the front of the boat into the strong waves. I thought Merle and Stef were going to to be sick they were so nervous about it.


Josh took up rock balancing, and actually was quite good at it.


This was a tight van ride from the airport to the condo. We mostly took public transportation which was quite a scene with 19 gringos getting on the bus.


We went surfing and boogie boarding. The waves chewed up us amatures, but Keith and Jeff held their own. I would have ended up at the emergency room if we didn't have our own private RN with supplies to treat a foot full of rocks (sand).


We flew kites on the beach.


We searched for crabs.


We tried not to cook in the desert while we waited for the bus.


The kids waited for the waves to push them on their kick boards.


Cody barried the kids in the sand.


Connie served as "the other mother" and helped a ton with the kids. Sometimes she thinks she is their mother and I don't mind a bit.


Cody and the kids worked very hard at building a sand castle with sand that didn't really want to stick together.


We went to church. It reminded me of the first few months of my mission because I didn't understand much of it. I think that the Lord really blesses me with spiritual experiences when I go to church while on vacation. I highly recommend it. My most memorable church experiences have been from vacation.


The guys went deep sea fishing and caught us a mahi mahi dinner.


We took family pictures.


Thanks for all of the wonderful memories!

Caleb is Growing Up

We have struggled with Caleb's stage fright. It is hard for Josh and I to comprehend and frustrating when we want him to perform and he will not. Last week we had two great experiences that are giving me hope that he may be overcoming his fear of performing. First, last week was the Joy School Graduation program. The kids sang five songs, performed with bells, and recited a poem. We were so proud of Caleb, although he was resistant at first, he jumped in and did a great job. We had a crowd of about 30 people with parents, siblings and grandparents. Caleb did an excellent job. I can't believe that my little boy will be in Kindergarden next fall.



I have to put a plug in for Joy School. This was our second year for having a neighborhood coop preschool and I LOVE IT. Of course working with fantastic moms makes it a good experience for me, but I also really enjoy having the children in my home and teaching them. This year I taught the units of Joy of the Body and Joy of Family. I taught the first three weeks of the year, before I had Andy and the last three weeks of the year now that he is 6-7 months old. The kids are so cute and it was amazing to see how much they had learned this year. I believe that the preschoolers who will be going to kindergarden are really ready. It is such a privilege to watch children learn and grow.

The second impressive thing that Caleb did this week was to give his first primary talk. Our primary is so big that they meet in the chapel for opening exercises, so he spoke from the sacrament pulpit. He had his talk memorized, but he had asked me if I would come up by him and help with his pictures. Just before primary started he told me he wanted to do it all by himself. I let him and he did an awesome job. He spoke loud and clear and did it just as we had practiced.

I can't blog about Caleb without mentioning that he is playing soccer this Spring, and he lives and dies for it. Thank goodness for the neighborhood kids who have coached him. He is really pretty good too. He has played three games and scored four goals. I have also been impressed with his sportsmanship. Unfortunately the weather has caused three of the games to be canceled. We will be missing three games while we are in Mexico next week and so he only gets to play one more game. It has been a fun experience for the whole family though. I really like cheering for him and his team, and it is a good thing because I think I may be going to games of my children for the next couple of decades.

Mile Stones

Andy is so much fun! He has hit some milestones that I must mention if for no other reason than because I have mommy brain and I will have forgotten by next week. Two weeks ago, at six and a half months he got his first two teeth. They broke through two days apart. He has not been fussy about teething except the day that they came in. He started screaming at 11:30 PM (luckily I was still up.) I went and got him from his bed and felt in his gums. I could feel the little corner of one tooth. Since he was screaming anyway I used my finger to brake the tooth the rest of the way through. (I have always wanted to do that.) When the second tooth broke through he was lethargic and sad. Weird, I know, I have never known when my kids teeth have come in, but with Andy there was no mistaking the moment.

He is now officially out of his baby car seat. I hate giving up the portable bed, but he is over twenty pounds and breaking my back.



He is getting really good at eating solids and this week he began eating foods that are not pureed. He loves fishy crackers, but insists that someone besides himself put them in his mouth.

This weekend he also had his first hair cut. I like my little boys to have missionary cuts and his hair was growing over his ears. He didn't love the experience, but he sure is cute.



You may be wondering about the huge scab on his nose. Josh took the kids to the park this week and he learned why strollers have safety straps. Andy slipped right out of the stroller while going down a steep hill. It took the skin right off of his nose.