Happy Birthday to Me!

I felt spoiled on my birthday.  Bryan made breakfast and then kicked me out the door to do some shopping without kids. I love my kids. I love shopping. I do not like mixing the two. Although, Emma did go shoe shopping with me the other night. We had a fun time and she even picked out the pair of shoes for me that I liked the most. Still, I appreciated some "me" time.
I joined a friend at the park for a birthday picnic and felt loved from the cards, texts, calls and drop-ins from friends and family. The afternoon and evening were busy with kids' activities. Bryan asked what my preference was for dinner and I placed my ordered for some of his smoked ribs. He obliged and we dined at home with the kids. For dessert, we each enjoyed our own mini cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes.

New suitcases...I was genuinely excited! I AM getting old!

My favorite present came from Luke. I love that he wrapped up his favorite toy (Legos) and gave it to me.

Not even forced by me, a birthday miracle! Sometimes my kids do love each other!

 An octopus left on our backyard patio addressed to me from some of my favorite neighbor kids. 

General Conference

We enjoyed a nice, quiet weekend at home listening to the leaders of our church. I tried taping up pictures of the 1st presidency and 12 apostles around our living room and kitchen. I was surprised how much the kids liked this and finding each one when they spoke. Luke brought down Legos and Emma chose her dollhouse to play with while we tried our best to listen. Myles found it most entertaining to torment his older siblings by playing the destructor to any toy or creation they formed.
In between sessions, Luke helped me with homemade cinnamon rolls. I think I try a different recipe every time. They all taste delicious to me.

The kids played in the backyard between conference sessions. We love the Cramer family and are so happy to have them as our neighbors.

So Long, Farewell

I think if Myles knew this was going to be his last day with his binki he would have found the super glue and permanently affixed it to his mouth. This boy la-la-la-la-loved his binki. I clipped the ends and we haven't looked back. There was one afternoon when he woke up and was crying for his binki. I went in and rocked him for the rest of his nap time...which was quite awhile. I loved snuggling my baby, who is not so much a baby anymore.

Mexico: Day 8

We took a few more pics, packed the taxis and made our way to the airport. Our journey home proved to be full of surprises and more memory makers. Prior to checking our luggage, poor Emma threw up all over the airport tile floor (talk about splatter effect, yikes!). One nice perk of it happening there was they brought it a hazmat crew to clean it up and all I had to do was change her clothes and clean her up. On the flight home she was still throwing up, but Bryan handled it like a champ and was ready with a handful of barf bags. I was seated on a different aisle with Myles and am fully aware I lucked out-especially because Myles slept so well. At one point, Kelly said she walked by and Bryan and Emma were cashed out. Bryan, always prepared, had the barf bag over Emma's face while they both slept. Haha! On the decent, our friend's kid began to throw up! We were quite the infectious crew! Gross! The flight attendants made sure to announce that they would have a cleaning crew come through before the next flight! Oh man, what are ya gonna do? We made it home and everyone is now recovered.

Adios Mexico!

Mexico: Day 7

We made the most of our last day. The girls went to the spa in our building and enjoyed a pedicure.  This was Emma's first pedicure. Londyn and Emma did really well. (It was the longest pedicure I've ever had!) Bryan and I got a massage the night before so I was feeling extra relaxed after the pedicure!
We joined the boys at the beach for a few hours. Kelly and I took 4 kids up to the pool while Bryan and Devin enjoyed some relaxing time on the beach while Myles napped in the stroller and Paxton on a lounge chair.
The kids started to get a little hanger so we ordered some nuggets and French fries by the pool. It was the perfect break and energy rejuvenator they needed (we all needed). We packed up that night and enjoyed one more night listening to the waves and feeling the ocean breeze.

Mexico: Day 6

e ventured to another beach this day, Sayulita. It turned out to be a national holiday. The way to the beach, as well as the actual beach was CROWDED! We were trying to go to a lesser known beach, but even with Bryan speaking to the taxi driver we ended up at the popular one. I loved this little town and the shoreline. I could easily picture staying another day here. The boys loved searching for hermit crabs. The girls had their hair braided and loved the results. I did learn from this that the next time we visit Mexico, I will have this done at the beginning of the trip---hair is done everyday! Bryan was a good sport and took the kids in the ocean to "catch some waves." I think Bryan and I each took a turn with misjudging the next set of waves and watched our kids get pummeled in a few waves. Just making them stronger and weakening their trust in us!

Kelly had the kids doing fun races while we waited for our taxi.

W

The Fun Bus! 

 I packed the carseat to keep Myles contained during our drive. I didn't think through the fact that we would have a different taxi going home. We had to pack it with us the whole day. Oopsies.

Dinner is served. Hermit crabs anyone?