Happy Independence Day!

We had such a wonderful, relaxing, fun 4th of July!  We had a lazy morning then packed up a picnic lunch and headed to the splash park.  It was a blast.  Not too crowded, great weather.  I really like this one because even Talia can just go and play in it without me.  I watch from the grass or go in and help Beckett play in the fountains.  It was super fun to have Ian with us.  He played some Frisbee with Weston too.  

That afternoon we napped the babies and got some organizing done in the basement.  That evening we had a BBQ with our friends, the Krueger's.  It was delish.  We bought fresh corn from the produce stand on the way home from the splash park, so we had corn, watermelon, hamburgers and hot dogs, chips, and baked beans.  Mmmm.  Carrie made fun 4th of July jello for dessert.

After dinner we all went to Thanksgiving Point to watch fireworks.  It's nice that it's so close.  It's fun to hang out in the park while waiting.  And their show is awesome.  It was over 30 minutes of great fireworks.  We brought candy, glow sticks, and sparklers to keep ourselves entertained while we waited.  The adults also played a little Space Team.

Talia wasn't too happy about how loud the fireworks were, but after the first few she sat with Ian and watched without a fuss.  Beckett watched for a little bit then fell asleep on my lap.  Davin got cold and wrapped himself up in a blanket and fell asleep halfway through the fireworks.

I love celebrating our country and reflecting on how blessed we are to live here and have so many freedoms and opportunities.  It's not perfect, but I am so proud to be an American!

Cousins

Last weekend we got to have Eli, Emilee and their girls come and stay with us!  It was really fun to get to spend some time with them.  Especially since they recently moved to Florida and it will probably be awhile before we get to see them again.  They were in town for Emilee's brother's wedding.

They flew in and came to our house on Thursday night.  We had dinner and hung out for awhile before getting everyone's beds figured out and the kiddos settled.  Then the adults got shakes.  :)  Friday was the wedding, so they were gone all day until late that night.  Saturday morning we had pancakes and pajama playtime.  Eli and Emilee went to a family reunion for most of the day.

They got back late Saturday afternoon.  We had a blast hanging out in the backyard and playing in the kiddie pool until dinner time.  We had a BBQ that night.  After the kids were in bed we stayed up chatting and watching Wizard People.

Sunday morning they packed up and headed out early to catch their flight back to Florida.  It was really a fun visit.  The kids loved having their cousins here and everyone got along well.  We are so glad they could stay with us!

9 Months

"The Leader of the Babies!" -Davin

Beckett turned 9 months old on the Friday we got back from our cruise.  I was happy to see him again and he looked so much bigger after only 5 days.  Beckett is such a sweet baby.  Grandma B said that while we were gone he didn't cry unless he was hungry, tired or poopy.  Beckett is really an easy going kid.  He is a great sleeper.  He sleeps 11-12 hours at night and then takes two naps during the day.

He is a good eater.  His appetite is growing and I'm not used to a baby who eats so much!  I have to remind myself to feed him whole meals instead of just tiny pieces like I did with my other babies.  He will even eat the baby food dinners that my other kids would spit out.  I'm hopeful that he will continue to be a good eater as a toddler.

At 9 months Beck is crawling everywhere and is into everything.  I wish I had the energy to vacuum three times a day because he is always finding scraps to put in his mouth!  We have to be really careful about keeping the door to the basement closed so he doesn't fall down the stairs too.  The kids understand about it and have been pretty good about remembering.  His favorite thing is to get into the entertainment center and pull out all of the movies.  It's currently rubber banded shut and I had to dig out all the outlet covers this week.  I'm definitely on my toes all day with this baby.

Beckett had his 9 month doctor's appointment last week.  He smiled and flirted with the nurse and doctor the whole time.  It was a fun appointment too because he didn't have to get any shots, so it was all the good stuff.  Beckett is perfectly healthy.  Thankfully nothing to report.  Well, he did dip under the growth chart, but he's still growing and proportional and small kids are nothing new around here, so I'm not concerned and neither is the doctor.

Beckett's 9 Month Stats:
Height: 27 in., 10th %ile
Weight: 15 lbs. 14 oz., 0%ile
Head: 17.1 in., 15th %ile

The Last Few Days

Talia was a nightmare on Friday.  So fussy.  Luckily she got a nap in the afternoon while Grandma took the big boys to the La Habra Children's Museum. 

That night we all went out for Golden Spoon and to see Monster's University.  It was a fun movie!  I didn't know if we would make it through with Talia and Beckett since they were so tired, but Beckett fell asleep with Ian and Talia snuggled up with me and stayed awake for the movie.  

 Saturday morning was slow moving, but after lunch we drove down to Laguna Beach.  Talia was so excited and kept saying "I go a beach!"  Grandma and Grandpa walked over to check out the tide pools with Weston and Davin while Ian and I hung out with the babies.  It was kind of miserable.  As soon as we stepped off the boardwalk and onto the sand Talia started screaming.  She only calmed down a little to eat a pack of fruit snacks then kept right on screaming.  She hated the sand and barely tolerated the water.  Beckett didn't seem to mind the sand so much, but didn't love the water.  It didn't help that the piles of kelp on the beach were stinky and buzzing with thousands of flies.  As soon as the boys were done at the tide pools Mom, Dad, and I took the babies home.  Ian stayed for another hour or so with the boys so they could have some time to play in the sand and water.

Beckett's first time at the beach!

 The. Whole. Time.

 My handsome guys

 Saturday night I was not feeling good.  I couldn't even pack up, so I just went to bed early and hoped to wake up nice and early feeling better.  Luckily I felt much better when I woke up on Sunday at 5:20am.  I showered and we packed up our stuff and headed out for our drive home.  We ended up leaving a little after 7am.  It was a long day of driving.  We ended up having to make four stops instead of three, but we finally made it home at 7:30pm.

At our last stop in Scipio checking out the little petting zoo

 We had a really fun trip!  Big big THANKS to Grandma B and Grandpa Bob for watching the kiddos for us so we could go on our cruise!  And thanks to Aunties for helping out too.  I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful, supportive family.  It's nice to be back home and enjoying the long, hot days of our Utah summer!

Meanwhile . . .

While Ian and I enjoyed celebrating our years of marriage by relaxing and reconnecting . . . our four kids were in very capable hands.  My mom is a rockstar for watching all of them all week.  I had zero concerns about it.  I knew they would be fine and probably have more fun than if I was there.  

After they dropped us off on Monday they had a mellow day that included nice, long naps for the babies. That night Jules and Rick came over and the boys made these cool wood skeleton models while Auntie Jules painted Talia's nails.  

On Wednesday Grandma took Talia to Disneyland!  It was their special trip.  Talia was still free because she's not three yet and Mom had an extra ticket from Disney Magic Music Days, so it worked out perfectly.  Talia had a fabulous day and was a good little girl once she got the idea of waiting in line for things.  She loved the rides and exploring Minnie Mouse's house in Toon Town.  She especially loved seeing characters and princesses!  I kind of wish that I had gotten to be there for her first time at D-land, but at least my mom took lots of pictures.  

Talia still talks about when she went to Disneyland. They saw a parade and went on Buzz, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Small World, Autopia, the carousel and more.  She saw the Tangled show and met Rapunzel and Flynn Rider.  She saw lots of princesses, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Woody and Jessie, and more.  They stayed all day.

While Talia and Grandma B were at Disneyland the boys had a babysitter in the morning for a couple hours until Joy and her girls got there.  The kids had a blast with their cousins!  They played in the backyard and sidewalk chalked all afternoon.  That night they had pizza and a sleepover in the tent Grandpa set up for them in the backyard.  

Thursday they had a tea party to celebrate Liz's 9th birthday.  They played on the slip and slide and cleaned up their sidewalk chalk mess.  Weston and Davin shared their Pokemon cards with their cousins and had fun trading with them.  They were sad to see them leave on Thursday afternoon.  I was bummed I didn't get to see Joy and the girls, but I'm glad that the kiddos got some cousin time and Joy got some good Beckett snuggles!

Friday morning Mom and the kids picked us up from the boat and we got lots of good hugs and snuggles before the meltdowns and whineys caught up with them from being so good for Grandma and Grandpa all week.  :)  

Chillaxing

Wednesday morning we woke up in Mexico!  My first time leaving the United States!  I was pretty excited that I was finally going out of the country, even if it was only for one day to Mexico on a cruise.  I felt like it was a rite of passage and made me feel like a real adult.  

We got off the boat in Ensenada after breakfast and took a little shuttle bus to the downtown area.  On the way there we were warned about the sketchy business practices of Chiclet selling children and fake silver selling street vendors.  I was actually a little nervous about using my Spanish, but as it turns out I didn't really need it.  Most of the vendors in the touristy shops spoke enough English to get by.

We wandered the shops and bought souvenirs.  The boys got Mexican woven money pouches.  Talia got a cute leather purse.  Beckett got a maraca.  I got a pair of silver and turquoise studs (probably not real silver since there were $5), and Ian bought a hat.  After we got down one side of the street we realized that every street cart and shop had the exact same stuff for sale.  We didn't want to do any of the excursions, so after an hour in Mexico we left.

We got back on the boat and enjoyed the fact that most of our fellow cruisers were off drinking in Ensenada, which left the pool nice and quiet.  We spent the whole afternoon laying out by the pool, drinking cold sodas, reading, napping, and chatting.  It was exactly what we wanted to do.  We both got a little sunburned, but it was worth it.

Wednesday night we partied.  Ok, not really.  We never did hit any of the night clubs on the ship, but after dinner we went to the newlywed game they did in the lounge.  After that there was a party on the Lido deck and we danced and had a good time.  I was really impressed with how many people really knew the whole Gangnam Style dance!  :)

Thursday was our day at sea, and you could feel it!  It was a pretty rocky day.  It mostly made me sleepy, which was fine since we spent the day lounging by the pool and enjoying our last day of relaxing vacation time.  Ian willingly participated in the Men's Hairy Chest Competition.  It was all in good fun, but he was bested by a couple of the older hairy men on the cruise.

We really liked hanging out in the 21 and over deck of the ship where it was quiet and the lounge chairs were padded and comfy.  I plowed through my books, we both snoozed in our chairs, and we watched the ocean.

We dressed up a little for our last dinner.  Ian was really looking forward to having sushi, which he was told was available on the last night, but the sushi was pretty minimal.  Oh well.  After dinner we strolled outside and watched the sun set.  It was beautiful.  And romantic.

That night we went to another stage show, which I loved because it was all oldies rock and roll music.  Super fun!  We decided to make the most of our last night by staying up late and going to a comedy show too.

Thursday morning we were back in Long Beach.  We checked our bags the night before so we wouldn't have to carry them all off the ship, which meant we had a little extra time that morning before disembarkation to eat breakfast in the dining room and lay down by the pool.

We really had a fabulous time and I think we would both do a cruise again, but I could have done a couple more days.  Next time I need a full week!  :)  I was excited to see my cute baby again though.  Mom and the kids came to pick us up and we headed back to my parents' house to finish off the family part of our family vacation.