Viva La Familia 2008

Steve, Ethan, and I arrived in Salt Lake City on June 13, 2008 and spent the night in SLC. I got up that morning at 3:45 to make our flight - well worth the sacrifice. The next morning all 24 of us arrived at the airport again to fly to Mexico. Arriba! Here is our family with the stars of the show - Grammie Great and Grandpa Great. Gracias a los abuelitos grandes!

Here we are on the plane. I would have loved to have gotten a picture of our whole group. Hijole, que grande su grupo!

We arrived on a Saturday afternoon and walked along the beach. Here are mom and dad with all their grandkids minus one. Le extranamos mi hijo!

The beach we were on was beautiful, but the waves were huge. They were at least 10-15 foot waves and they broke right on shore. Plus, there are serious jelly fish problems on this beach. So we didn't swim at this beach, but we had fun with the frisbee and running from the waves. It was marvelous to hear the waves crashing the whole week. Las olas fueron grandes y excellentes!

On Sunday we held our own church in one of the rooms and then we roasted marshmellows at one of the hotel's fire pits. Me gusta el fuego!

Here is Brent and Brookie on our deck. This picture shows the great view we had. Each deck had its own private pool to dip in. Ethan loved to jump around in it, especially since he could stand up in it. It was nice to swim and get out of the sun sometimes. Mire! El oceano es tan bonito, no?!
Ethan couldn't get enough of the pool or swimming. He loved it, and it freaked Steve and me out because he can't swim yet. Everywhere we went he wanted to jump in the water - even when we were at dinner and dressed/showered. Ethan es un pescado! The E-man wore this outfit for a week straight. Don't you love the red hat? Sometimes he would want to catch a few rays like all the girls. Hay mucho calor, pero que bonito el sol!
Sometimes Ethan would come in for naps, but as you can imagine he got pretty tired. Here he is after dinner on the bed crying, "I wanna go swimming." I would ask, "What did you dream about last night?" He would say, "Swimming." Yo quiero nadar ahora mami! Por favor?
We enjoyed excellent food - but mostly did our own cooking. We bought all our groceries at the local, big market "La Mega." That was an adventure. Here we are at the Moonlight Dinner. Doesn't Ethan look happy? We ate and danced. My favorite thing I had was the hicama, cucumber, pineapple, mango salad. It was fabulous! Me encanta la comida Mexicana!
Steve and I had a great time horseback-riding on the beach. It was a beautiful morning. My horse's name was Tango and Steve's was Rusty. Tango didn't like Rusty and even kicked him once. Somos caballeros!
Here is the whole group. Thanks so much Grammie and Grandpa and Mom and Dad!
Viva La Familia!
I'm so grateful for my family. I don't know what I would do without them.
Les quiero mucho!

Comings and Goings

June has been a good month for our family. Ethan is getting more and more independent in thought and action. He insists on sitting on our neighbor's front step when we get to the top of our stairs. (He also insists on jumping off our front step when we leave our house. In fact, he pretty much jumps everywhere.) Anyway, Steve got this cool shot through our peep hole. There he is just sittin' and thinkin'.

I've officially nominated myself for the "Mother of the Year" award for this one. Our sis-in-law, Julie, stayed at our house the other night (very fun indeed), and she slept on our air mattress (probably less fun). So the next morning Ethan was playing with the air pump. He put the pointy tip on top, brought the pump to me, and said, "Look mommy, the temple." Boo-Yah!
This month has been really sad because so many good friends are moving away (graduation mostly). Here I am with Ruth Ann - a wonderful friend and mother who has taught me so much. I will miss her and her family dearly, as well as everyone else who is moving! I'm so very grateful for my dear friends. Ethan is grateful for his "Graces." She and Jacob will be sorely missed by all.
June has flown by. We started it with a great getaway to Yakima for some sun. While we were there, we went and saw Oliver's grave. I asked Ethan, "What is your brother's name?" He said, "Jesus." I just thought that was so precious.

Steve and Ethan also got into an argument about Frosted Mini Wheats. Ethan insists on calling them croutons, and Steve insists on calling them Frosted Mini Wheats. So the question is, Who is right? The issue has still not been resolved. Ethan and I got in our own argument about a plastic box. He insisted on calling it a bag, and I told him it was a box. We finally agreed on "bax."

Next came the "Spring Into Summer" violin recital. It was fabulous and I was so proud of all my students. I love them all.

Next came Steve's last finals ever. Yeah baby! You heard it here first - last finals ever. He passed.

Next came a trip to Mexico. Contrary to what some may believe, I came back with a tan. Perhaps some don't remember what I looked like before, but I promise, I came back with a tan. Did I mention I came back with a tan? T - A - N. It may be bad for my skin, but I feel just slightly a bit better about myself when I don't look sickly and pasty. Blessed Vitamin D. Pics from Mexico forthcoming.