Cabo Vacation! July 2009

We just got back from Cabo! I am already ready to go back. We had such a wonderful time with family and some much needed relaxation. We went with Grandma Michelene & Grandpa Ken, Auntie Ashley & Uncle Ross, and us! Nina & Ryan could not go it was too close to Nina's due date. They were missed!

We stayed at an awesome all inclusive resort, Dreams. The all inclusive was so convenient with a 16 mo. old. Good thing b/c expecting her to sit perfectly 3 times a day would have been so tough....but she did great!

Ashlyn's love for the pool grew each day as she got braver and braver! We spent a ton of time at there. She would stand on the edge of the pool where it was shallow and pour water from water bottles to cups...over and over...we were laughing saying that she was practicing her bartending skills (Hopefully not).

We enjoyed the water slide too! She is tough! Ashlyn's head went under each time she came down!

Because of the humidity her hair was so curly all week. It was beautiful...dont think they will last but they are fun right now!

We went on a glass bottom boat to see Lover's Beach. Ashlyn loved looking down at the fishies. Then we went to the beach. I have never seen Ashlyn afraid of anything...well we found her first fear....WAVES. Weird we thought. But they are pretty loud and come crashing fast right there where Sea of Cortez and Pacific Ocean meet.

When we were at a calmer beach later in the week she enjoyed running from the waves. I remember Michael and I doing that for hours when we were little...so I had to teach her! I love those moments when we remember something as a kid and now are teaching our daughter....

Here are some of our favorite pictures from the week!

Enjoy.... sorry so many but I could not choose! Haha!

on the plane...i brought out all the tricks to keep little miss occupied!

sitting with auntie ash at breakfast!

in the pool with grandma!

ready, set, go!!!

daddy and ashlyn going down the waterslide....over and over...

we finally figured out a way to make it go faster...sit on the mats!

our view at breakfast each morning

with mommy about to get into the pool for the day!

chasing the waves...

running away from the waves...

at a beach dance party with grandpa & grandma!

looking at the fish in the glass bottom boat! awesome!

uncle ross was having fun too!

family pic in front of lover's point rock...we are hiding it...

who took this picture we wanted the rock too!

bye bye cabo...cant wait to come back again!

Yosemite July 2009

We just got back from Yosemite. Our Favorite Place in the Whole World!!! It was a different trip because Ashlyn and I went up for a few days by ourselves...Eric could not get the time off work. It was tough because I was torn between wanting to be up there with my family and wanting to be home with Eric. In the end it worked out perfectly and I am so thankful for the time I had with my family and the short time we had up there with Eric.

Camping was a lot of work with a 16 month old...on top of being pregnant. Dad and Grandpa oh sorry Grandpa Mike and Great- Gramps Rod help set up camp. It was really quick actually! And by my second day there Uncle Jeff and fam were in the site next to us so they helped whenever I needed to lift anything super heavy.

The lifesaver of the week was Ashlyn's wagon that Dad made for her for Christmas. It made getting water so easy. Saying goodnight to everyone was fun too! Ashlyn fell asleep a few times before we could finish our rounds. This year we were all pretty spread out...hope next year we can be a little closer to everyone!

This week we (Ashlyn) enjoyed...daily trips to the river; daily bikerides...I bet you wish there was a picture of a 8 month pregnant woman riding with a 16 month old on the back...well I don't have one! (Actually bummer wish I did); the Horse Rangers; playing in the creek at the back of our campsite; swinging in the hammock; playing in GG & Great Gramps motorhome;Happy hour with family, sliding on Uncle Greg's trailer with Cousin Kevin, Cousin Brian & Alex; eating s'mores; bath time on the table in a tub; rides in the wagon to say goodnight; SQUIRRELS....that I did not like...thanks GG! Oh one last thing...her first Starbuck Drink on the way home!

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Here are some of my favorite pictures from the week! I still need to add a few from my grandma's camera of Ashlyn meeting the Horses when the Rangers came by.

Falling asleep before we got to finish our goodnights

Do you think Yosemite wore this little one out..

She fell asleep eating lunch!

Hanging in the hammock with Grandpa!

Wearing Uncle Jeff's hat!

Mommy and Ashlyn on a bike ride...She is pointing

to a few deer in the meadow!

Happy Hour! Family Time!

Great Gramps & Ashlyn having a snack after

getting back from the river!

Sliding down the trailer with Cousin Brian...they did it over and over...thanks Bri!

Digging in the dirt & creek. It was awesome we had a little creek on the back side of our campsite!

Our favorite Rock and the backdrop to our river baths!

Uncle Mike, Ashlyn and Daddy! Ash is pulling away b/c she thinks Mike is going to dunk her. She just pushed him in! And loved every minute until he was teasing her and said he was going to do it back!

Checking the temp!

Family Pic!

Those darn squirrls with GG! Ashlyn just threw them peanuts.

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Well off to finish more laundry. We have a quick turn around...leaving for Cabo on Sunday and it is Friday night!

Ashlyn at 16 months!

at 16 months old ASHLYN is...

wearing size 4 diapers, 12 mo. & 12-18 mo. clothing, size 4 shoes

loves any food you put in front of her...she will make a face at first but once she gets to serve herself then she loves whatever it is. ashlyn has been feeding herself for a while but lately it is the only way to get her to eat.

no more bites from mommy.

loves reading, dancing, her purses, her baby dolls, her tea set, tigger and pooh show & water play!

went on her 2nd plane trip. ashlyn, mommy, grandma darlene & papa wally flew to oregon for a cousin amanda's wedding. it was a short weekend but i am so glad we went. it was so much fun to show off ashlyn and see family that we don't get to see often enough. I miss them already!

celebrated father's day with daddy. ashlyn and i came in from a family wedding that day and daddy surprised us by getting home early from work. he missed his girls~

went to marine world twice this month! we have the best time there! lots of fun adventures this month!

celebrated daddy's birthday in santa cruz. we went to the beach and hung out at the boardwalk. ashlyn liked digging in the sand and did not mind getting dirty. off to the rides...i never realized how many little kid rides they have there. it was pretty crowded good thing we went on a week night can't imagine if we would have went on a weekend.

gg gave her a baby crib and she loves it. she pretends to put her babies "nigh-nigh" ashlyn will give them a bottle and blanket and kiss them before dropping them in...roughly...we need to work on being gentle! : )

enjoyed fireworks for the first time. was not sure at first about the sparklers then loved them. as for the fireworks...she did not like the noise but loved the lights! we had a great 4th!

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Some of our favorites from this month!!!

silly face ashlyn

one of the rides at the boardwalk!

watching the waves with daddy...precious!

yummy watermelon! ashlyn's favorite!

our little hawaiian girl...this one is for auntie christy...

she moved to hawaii this month : (

finger in the pie...yep that is our 16 month old!

love my little angel face!

Second Trip to Marine World!

Today was our second trip to Marine World! Again a super fun day! And today's trip paid for our season passes! Yippie! We were laughing the other night saying that the park does not make any money off us...we bring our own drinks, snacks and lunch! And do not buy souvenirs...hope we can keep this up as the kids get bigger! It makes day trips so much more affordable.

Todays adventures included....watching the dolphin show; watching the lions walk around for a looong time (they were very active today. we always think we are lucky to see animals moving around especially lions!!!); hung out by the giraffes for a while. these are ashlyn's favorite and we dont know why she is just really drawn to them; watched the tiger...he was active too!; rode her favorite froggy ride again! loved it again! her smile is so priceless when on that particular ride; mommy snuck on a ride with ashlyn today...they are really strict about pregnant women so i put a sweater on hoping the attendant would not say anything. he didn't...we had fun!; watched the stingrays...we told ashlyn about the last time she saw stingrays she swam with them while in mommy's tummy in cayman islands; visited the walrus exhibit...oh my they were wrestling each other right in front of us...it was crazy and a little scary. they are huge!; walked through the shark exhibit; Here is the best part of the day...Daddy took Ashlyn on a Big Kid Ride today. We still do not know how or why they allow children as small as Ashlyn to ride on this particular ride. The rides name is "Thrilla Gorilla" Eric said she had a great time until about the last 10 seconds...but she came off the ride with a smile!

Another fun filled Marine World Day! We enjoyed ourselves as usual! We have so much fun just the three of us. So amazing to bring new experiences to Ashlyn and just watch her glow and light up. I think that might be what I miss most about this age...Hoping that we are capturing the moments now so we can remember them later!

Here are some of our favorites from today!

Look Daddy did you see the Dolphins Jump!

Isn't she beautiful! We were just watching her roam around....So Aweosme!

See they are HUGE right? See Ashlyn's grip on my shoulder...

Pointing to her favorite Giraffes!

Favorite Froggy Ride!

4th of July

Happy 4th of July!

Today is an unusual 4th for us b/c Eric's Aunt & Uncle have a huge bash that we always attend. This year they are taking a break so we took the opportunity to start some of our own traditions.

Since Union City allows fireworks it is a Mandatory work day for Eric...for whatever reason he got assigned an awesome shift and was home in time for us to have a great night together!

During the day, Ashlyn and I visited my friend Stacy and her new baby Gavin Michael in the hospital! He was born on the 3rd and we could not wait another day to see them. It was so awesome to see my friends Stacy & Michael as parents! It meant the world to me!

Once Daddy was home our 4th of July celebration started!!! We cooked a fun dinner, lit sparklers & fireworks (illegally) in our backyard, and made s'mores. YummmO!!!

Ashlyn in her 4th of July Dress!

My 2 Favorite People!

What are we going to do with this...

Doing Sparklers with Daddy...Not quite sure at first!

Daddy's Firework display! Ashlyn was not so happy with the noise but loved the lights!

We bought way too many...saved for next year!

Ashlyn's first S'more!

The best part of the night!

I'd say we had a fun family night on the 4th

even though Daddy had to work!