Guatemala 2013

Eric and I had the chance to go to Guatemala last year. We were both excited but Eric was super excited to revisit the country he spent 2 years serving his mission. I was a little nervous considering we would be going to a different country, I didn't speak Spanish, we were leaving KJ home with family, and we were going in the middle of a school semester. Im glad that I set all my nervousness aside and enjoyed our time down there because it was an absolute blast and was definitely too short of a vacation (like most vacations)! Eric had mentioned to me that Guatemala is one of the prettiest places he has ever seen and as much as I wanted to believe him until I saw it I couldn't....and he was not lying! We did lots of fun things including: going to Tikal (a rainforest at the top of Guatemala) where we were able to see breathtaking Mayan ruins, Rode a tuk tuk around the island of Flores, Explored Antigua, which was once the capital of Guatemala, Took a boat around Lake Atitlan, Visit some of Erics old mission areas, Went to the Guatemala LDS Temple, and explored the city where we found a delicious taco restaurant. I haven't written this post for so long because we did so much I have had a hard time deciding all that I should say but the truth is the pictures can speak for themselves and I would recommend to anyone who has the chance to go an explore this beautiful country!  I wish I would have taken more pictures but I was always so memorized by what was going on around me that I'd forget to pull out the camera.

A church in one of Eric's areas that was built after he left his mission. This was exciting for Eric because these member had to meet in a random room before the church was built.

I was incredibly impressed with these ladies I had a to take a picture!

A ward member Eric knew while serving his mission

These kids are so cute! One of girls would always say she was going to marry Eric when she grew up!

A family Eric was close to in his mission!

Surprise Birthday!

Eric dad, Julio, turns 50 this year! For his big birthday we wanted to make sure to do something special for him and throw him a surprise party!  nothing better then a surprise party to celebrate....oh wait that's not it! Eric's mom had Julio's mom, brother, and sister (and her husband and son) all fly in from New Jersey (that's where he is from) to surprise him! (I must mention he hasn't seen his mom for 3 years and its been longer then that for the other 2). Eric's dad's birthday isn't until September but with everyone's schedules it worked out best for us to do it in July! So with months of planning and having to keep all of our mouths shut (which sometimes hard to do but luckily eric's dad can be kinda oblivious) it finally came. Needless to say he was surprised!  It was perfect and the excitement in the room couldn't even begin to be explained! (They got video but unfortunately I didn't). We were lucky to have them be able to stay a couple of days but it wasn't long enough.  During those days with them we made sure to pack in lots of things to do so we could spend every moment with them. Our family was so glad they came for our own selfish reasons considering me nor Kj had met any of them but now we have we can't wait for the next time we see them! We were having so much fun that I didn't remember to pull our the camera but we did get some group photos the night before they left!

My daughter never has a problem not hiding her feelings. She would rather in the pool with her uncles!

Summer Heat

This summer has been extremely hot! I feel like every day the only way to get cool enough to function is to stand in front of the fan!  Kj and I have tried going to the park a couple times but ended up leaving soon after because we are sweating from the heat.  A couple weeks ago we found ourselves searching for any kind of shade or water to keep us cool as we sat at the park waiting for my mom to get done with her Physical Therapy so we could take her and us home to air conditioning!  When we soon found this...

a puddle created from a leak in a hose! It was a miracle! As simple as this was KJ and I laughed and played and found that something as simple as this was just what we needed to get our spirits up!  The next week we were then blessed with some rain and we made sure that we took advantage of it to the fullest! 

SUMMER: Bear Lake

My family (my mom, dad, brother, and I) and I decided to make a small trip to Bear Lake this year.  With bear lake only being a couple of hours away we try to make at least one trip a year up there.  It came at the perfect time because I was in desperate need of a getaway.  It was only for a weekend but enough time to let me refresh.  My Mom, Kj, and I spent a day at the beach wandering around, enjoying the water, and soaking up the sun! I thought that Kj might be a little nervous of the water since it was a lake that looks like it never ends but she was all up for playing in it! (Although she wasn't so fond of the sand when it got wet making her hands dirty....gets that from her dad). It was a fun trip and I am looking forward to our next trip up there!

 These pictures were taken within the same week but a year apart!

5 Things I LOVE...

5 things that I LOVE this week...

1. MESSY HAIR DAYS. the days you look in the mirror or at your child and you tell yourself "oh well its summer"

2. I GOT YOU by JACK JOHNSON. i love this artist anyways but this song melts my heart.  i can't get enough of it.
                                                     
 3. BRIGHT BEDROOMS. i love that bright bedrooms are in style right now for kids.  this bedroom is just adorable and makes me want to redo KJ's bedroom so bad.

4. SNACK TIME. nothing replaces the small moments when we can let our hair down, get a little messy/sticky and eat some yummy snacks together.

 5. Candy Crush. i have become obsessed with this game.  its so incredibly addicting and the time i should be spending doing productive things i am usually caught playing this game.

Can I wear that?....

There have been many phases in KJ's life that just crack me up! The one that she is currently going through just brings constant laughter from me.  To understand you have to realize that KJ refuses to let me put any kind of hair accessory on.  I don't mean if she discovers it then she takes it out or she will pull it out if she feels me putting it on or sees herself in the mirror. I mean the moment she sees me have a hairband in my hand she will start shaking her head, throwing her hands in the air, or by the chance I do get it in her hair it immediately comes off!  I thought that I had discovered the trick and that was to put in silk ribbons around her head making it harder for her to grab but that only lasted one day when she spent it all trying to get the thing off of her head! A friend of mine suggested putting her in front of the mirror and putting it on while telling and showing her how pretty she is with it telling it works with her daughter.  This did nothing but let her realize where she was grabbing so she could get it out sooner!  The point of the background story is that KJ puts everything she can on her head.  Doing laundry with her around is pointless because she is grabbing all the clothes and stacking them on her head.  I often find her coming out of our room with clothes draping from her.  The down fall for her that I can't help but laugh at is when it falls over her eyes and she starts running into things! The entertainment of a mom!

SUMMER Swimming!

One of my favorite parts of summer/ Life in general is swimming! Lucky for me I married someone who loves swimming just as much as me! With the both of us having such a great love for swimming our poor daughter gets forced into having to love it as well! We have already tried to get as much swimming as we could!  We even purchased ourselves a small pool nothing fancy or big but enough for us to hop in and let KJ play around in. We love it! There is something about the sun, water, and some snacks that make for the perfect day! 

(P.S its not fair that she can look so cute in a swimsuit)