We're ba-ack!

School started yesterday. I have been having some serious anxiety for the last week. I don't want to bite off more then I can chew, like I did this past Spring, and seem to feel that no matter what I do, I'm biting off more then I can chew. It's a scary feeling.

Today was day two and I feel a little overwhelmed...I will be improving and/or learning 7 instruments (you read that right!) this semester: piano, guitar, clarinet, flute, trumpet, horns, and of course vocal (no matter what you believe, the voice IS an instrument). I'm kind of nervous about it, but know if I manage my time wisely I will be fine. So, my life as we know it has ended. I will be doing nothing more then homework for the next four months...but the pay off will be incredible!

It has been very inspiring to see my mom, Ashley, Nic, and Kody all take classes as well! This time last year I was THE ONLY ONE going to school. I'm not saying they weren't spending their time wisely because they were, without a doubt, spending their time and energy on someone so much bigger, better, and incredible then school. I am so excited that they have been inspired to return and study nursing (Kody and I aren't studying nursing but the other three are). All this because of my amazing and precious niece, Mercydez. She is so inspiring...and they have definitely been inspired. They will be incredible nurses. I know it. Everything we do, we do with our Angel baby in mind. She is our motivation. She is our drive. She is our example. She is a part of our daily decisions. We love you Mercydez. We miss you.

So, this semester will be interesting. Over half of the house hold is going to school! It will be crazy-busy around here. Lots of people and cars coming and going at random times. But will be worth it? Absolutely.

Wish us luck!

Weekend with the kiddos

Trav & I regularly have the kids over for a night or two. Since moving in with my parents we have them over for one night because the house is packed full of people. But this weekend we had them Friday night through Sunday evening. We had activity after activity planned. It was a lot of fun. So fun, in fact, that I'm still recovering from the running around.

Of course we HAD to take the kids to 7 Peaks! That's a must during the summer season. Since my camera isn't water proof I didn't get any pics of that but that's okay. Here are a few pics showing some of what we did:





Friday night Marin had a "sleep over" with Makenzie (Haws). They have really gotten along well and enjoy sticking together at Seven Peaks. The girls were cute! They played with each others hair, took quizzes from a "girly" magazine (one Marin checked out from the school library), watched a movie, etc. I'm glad they have so much fun together.





Playing with the dogs. Don't worry. The dog hasn't been decapitated. He's reaching for his ball under the cabinets. Grayson and Braxton especially loved playing fetch!



Saturday morning the kids went out and helped Ashley in the memory garden. I'm really shocked how much the kids loved being out there, picking produce, watering the plants, etc. I forgot to take pictures, but I thought it was awesome...they spent well over an hour or two out there. So...if you're looking for ways to entertain kids - throw 'em in a garden! :)




After spending Saturday afternoon at Seven Peaks we roasted marshmallows and starbursts in the back yard. The kids had fun but were SUPER tired. Trav & Grayson were a little edgy, Kacey made Marin cry (suprising, I know), and Braxton took a bite of a roasted marshmallow, decided he didn't like it, spit it out in his hand, and started clapping. It got everywhere. It was an interesting night but fun nonetheless.










Travis, Marin, and I went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple dedication bright and early Sunday morning (thank you, Ash, for watching the boys). When we got home we had breakfast.




We made swidish pancakes Sunday morning. All three kids cracked eggs (that was interesting) and helped stir.





Sunday afternoon we made puppets and put on a puppet show. Uncle Trav and the kids wrote and performed the play. It was soooooo cute! The kids absolutely LOVED it! Here's a picture of the characters. Cute huh?!?!

Last day in Paradise

I wasn't able to download these pictures yesterday because the internet wasn't working at our resort. So here's our last day in photos - a day late.




The first half of the day we hung out at the villa and played games, twisted on the hanging swings, went swimming in the pool...just hung out and took advantage of our surroundings.






Kellan and Megan playing on the swing.






Kade & Kellan had a blast together. I swear, Kellan was more entertaining and fun then any sort of water gadget or toy. Kellan laughed and had as much fun being chucked as Kade did doing the chucking.









More pool time! :) We had a lot of fun together!





Me & Trav relaxing on the patio at our villa. Nice huh?




The second half of the day we spent in down town Akumal.





We walked along the beach to "down town" Akumal. It was about a 15 minute walk. On our way we saw a shark out yonder in the ocean. It was FREAKY! I was standing on the beach and I STILL screamed out loud! You better believe I stayed out of the water after that.







Had dinner on the beach while in Akumal. It was as gourmet as it gets! Lots of yummy food and a gorgeous view!





Kellan was so excited to eat his chips and guacamole he ended up nose diving it and got a face full of guacamole! We tried not to laugh while he was crying, but it was pretty funny.







While we were eating a mariachi band walked along the beach. There was a wedding on the beach! It was so beautiful, but I don't think I prefer a beach with people sun bathing in the back ground...for wedding pictures anyway.









Building a sand castle - er, a sand village.







Enough said (I tried to turn this picture but it won't turn).





We've been so blessed to be able to come down here. I'm sure gonna miss this place...

A change for the better

We were originally planning on going to Cozumel this morning, to spend the day snorkeling, shopping, and exploring the island. But after talking with the receptionist here at the resort we decided to hang out at Playa Del Carmen again and then spend the rest of the afternoon at a place called AKTUN CHEN which is just a short distance from our hotel. We were told Cozumel is a lot like Playa Del Carmen only we'd have to pay for a ferry ride over there. I thought it sounded fun to begin with, but the more we discussed it the more I realized it would be better to change our plans.

So, here are some more pictures. :) Enjoy!




PLAYA DEL CARMEN - ROUND 2

We have learned the way of the natives (sort of). In order to get anywhere around here we have to walk out to the main high way and stand on the side of the road. We stand there until a shuttle or taxi pulls over. We then climb in and hope we don't get kidnapped and beheaded.






Trav & I got matching tatoos! Woot! Woot! Just kidding. These are temporary tatoos, also known as Henna tatoos. Don't worry, it'll wash off in about two weeks!




AKTUN CHEN
We spent most of the day here, so there are a lot of pictures. Brace yourself.





I think Trav looks sooooo handsome in this picture! Hotty, baby!





Like father, like son.





Does this look familiar? In a sort-of-very-distorted-way, I saw this (I turned the picture sideways - but scroll down):



Michael Angelo



The gang in the underground caves. It was crazy! Hot and Humid but we were able to escape the blasted misquitoes (Megan was SERIOUSLY attacked), so we were happy.





Bruce was in heaven - clearly with THAT smile! He is a collector of rocks so this adventure was right up his alley.










Imagine that ceiling falling on you! Eeek!





A picture taken in the under ground cave. My husband's so hot!




We didn't wipe oursevles down to look shiney and sexy...that's 100% sweat. It was hot!






Yup. There were lots of bats! They were flying around us the entire time. Uhg.





More cave shots (we got a lot of these).





There was a beautiful pond in the caves. The water was perfectly clear and perfectly still. It was almost therapeutic to look at the reflections of the cave ceiling and walls. This picture doesn't show the pond at all because it was really dark in there. But it was amazing.




Another view of the underground pond. You can sort of see the reflections. It's still REALLY dark but hopefully this gives you a SMALL idea of what we saw.






What a romantic!





Look how clear the water is. It was unbelievable.





Snorkeling in the underground caves. This water was COLD! Megan and I froze! It was waaayyyy better then snorkeling in the ocean. I didn't get motion sick at all, thank goodness!















They had wild monkeys on display. We were told to hold on to our hats and sunglasses! I guess the ones that aren't caged up have a bad habit of stealing accessories.





There were many, many deer in this part of the jungle. They weren't tame or anything but they sure didn't mind being in the company of humans. This deer walked right up to us and let us pet and take pictures of her.


John, Kahli, Kellan, and Mary Kay stayed in Akumal and played on the beach. They said they had a great time. So everyone had a successfully super satisfying day. :)



I still wish my whole family could have come with us...