Two Weeks Vacation

What a great vacation we had!!! We flew into Salt Lake on July 13th where we had so much fun visiting with family and friends. Bella got a kick out of going to the Gateway and playing in the synchronized water fountain. She loves the water and takes advantage by jumping in any chance she gets. Rick got to go on his yearly waterski trip with his grandparents and was dead for days later. I was glad to see some of my friends, unfortunately we missed some of our friends because of the short time we were there. Bella was excited to see her grandparents and also had a fun time at the Old Spaghetti Factory. She likes spaghetti a lot.

We then journeyed down to St. George to spend a few days with my family. Bella was a little shy around her cousins at first, but it didn't take long before she started going crazy with them. She absorbed all of the attention and it seemed as though she had a crush on Cole :)! Her older cousins took such good care of her and she loved every minute of it. We also went up to my dads house and got to swim in their fun pool. Bella loves to swim and also to be dunked. This is very weird considering that I hate being dunked and I don't really love swimming under water. She definitely gets that from her dad. She loved going down my dads slide and I have attached a video of her going down it.

Next, we took off to Disneyland. To be honest I was a little concerned about taking Bella to Disneyland, but to our surprise she really enjoyed it!!! She had such a great time and was not fussy at all. There was so much to do and honestly I could have stayed another day there. Rick was in heaven at the Princess Luncheon that we went to. Mostly because the princesses were all really pretty and they just loved the loving dad image Rick was putting off :). Belle even called Rick her Beast. Isn't that the truth??!!

Bella loved the beach and playing in the sand. It was such a relaxing day. What more could you ask for on your birthday Disneyland and the beach. Great day!! The day before we left we went to Legoland. Not such an enjoyable experience. Bella was tired and had gotten sick with a cough and a runny nose. She pretty much whined and cried the whole time there. We took off early from that park and to be honest I would have rather done one more day at Disneyland. Sunday we headed home and Bella surprised us by sleeping 2 1/2 hours of the 3 hour flight. Are we lucky or what??!! The transitioning back to normalcy has gone a lot better then expected. Bella does miss her cousins and the fun that they had, but the sleep has been much better!

Thanks to our families for such a wonderful trip and Mom thank you so much for the great time in California. You made the trip so much fun and what a great time we had spending it with our family! Thanks for the memories. We love you all and miss you all!!

Summer Days

Last week was a really fun week. Since it has been so hot out here we try to find ways to have fun while still beating the heat. It's been 100+ several times. On Monday a group of us decided to go to the mall and let the kids go wild at the play area. What I love about Texas is that it is very family oriented, there are lots of kid friendly things to do such as play areas, great parks, and fun kid places to go. The malls out here have a play gym area that has slides, cars, trucks and all kinds of other contraptions. This makes a great indoor and air conditioned escape. Great idea right?! On Tuesday we went to the Lewisville community pool that has fun little kid areas that are made for toddlers and babies. Bella had such a blast and loved going down the water slide with me (even though I got injured on the toddler slide :)). Wednesday we went to a free petting farm down in Irving and it was perfect for Bella! She loves animals and was excited to be able to pet the goats, rabbits, cows, and deer! On Thursday, Rick and I took Bella down to the aquarium again, but it was very short lived because Bella had missed a nap and was not a happy camper. Friday was Independence Day and we headed on over to our friend's house for a bbq and some swimming. It was very fun as Bella has really taken a liking to the water. She loves to go underwater and jump from the side of the pool to me. She is definitely a water baby! Saturday we got to go to a 1st birthday party for Bella's friend Lilly! Lilly was so cute in her b-day outfit and Bella just loved to play with all the Balloon's. It was such a fun week and now we have less than a week before we head off to Utah and California! How quickly this summer is flying by!

Rick is staying really busy with school and he is really excited to be a fourth year! In less than one year he will be an actual dentist! I won't know what to think after we have been professional students for so long!

I am still waking up at 5:40 am to go running with a group of friends. We are training for a 10k in September and then possibly a half marathon in October! I have never been a fan of running, but it is growing on me!

Hope you all are having a great summer!