Hello! Long time no see! This is going to be a mostly pictures post! That's what people really want when they read blogs, isn't it?
P.S. It's my birthday! Happy birthday to me! Nate has already spoiled me with omelets, flowers, a clean kitchen, and babysitting Emma! Then he's taking me on a date tonight :) I'm so blessed!
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| Romantic zone, Puerto Vallarta |
First off: Mexico!!!!!!!!! We went to Puerta Vallarta in June with the Bushmans. It was a fun, crazy trip! And really, really HOT!!!!!!!! It was a blast to be surrounded by a different culture and I even enjoyed the beach (I normally avoid the water)!
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| The highlight for the boys was a private fishing tour. They caught 31 fish in a couple of hours! |
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It was my first time ever snorkeling. I loved it,
besides the twenty times I almost drowned because of leaky gear haha :) |
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| Rock jumping. |
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| Walking on the (almost) private beach by our condo in the rain! So romantic! |
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This is Reinhard, a German born beach bum who gave us an all day tour.
We did snorkeling, hiking, sight-seeing, etc. :) |
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| Hike to waterfall in Yelapa :) |
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| We went to church there, and Emma made friends with an adorable Mexican boy :) |
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| Beach by our condo :) |
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| On another all day boat tour, we followed the birds to find the fish :) |
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| Nate and Nick swimming in the waterfall :) |
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| Hanging out on a beach you can only get to by boat on Reinhard tour. |
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We took buses everywhere because Taxis cost a fortune!
Notice we're all drenched in sweat haha :) |
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| Emma locked herself in a room in our condo. Landlord didn't have a key so he had to break off the doorknob! Luckily Emma had the time of her life while she was in there. I slid M&Ms under the door to her to make sure she was still there haha :) |
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The babies passed out on the boat on the all day tours.
Thankfully grandma was there to get Emma to sleep. |
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| Hiking in the jungle :) |
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| Waiting for the bus. |
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| Emma on the patio of our condo :) |
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| Getting nasty frozen ice stuff. Yuck! |
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| Are there words? |
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| My fav was the zip line. Totally worth it! |
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| Cathedral in Puerta Vallarta :) |
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| Famous wood carving of Christ :) |
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| Los Arcos |
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| Beautiful! :) |
So we made it back all in one piece. Then, we thought Nate's school was supposed to be a breeze, but it turned out to be just as hard as the previous quarters! What the heck!? Plus, at the same time, Emma started her terrible twos three months early, and I started nannying full time! More on Emma's craziness later :)
Fourth of July: We had a BBQ with some friends and went to the fireworks (while Emma slept at home). It was fun!
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| Misras, us, and the Houstons |
Anyway, I've been nannying JT pretty much everyday, and Emma has been going through a lot of stressful changes. She is now binky and (almost) diaper free! We're still working on potty training, but she is doing really well when she wants to, and she's doing great without the binky! Even sleeps without it!
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| Emma pushing JT in the swing :) |
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| Emma is starting to like Daddy better! |
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| JT playing with all my condiments. You wouldn't believe the terror these two are capable of! |
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| Emma stacking the books on the missionaries. |
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| Throwing rock in the water. |
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| Painting :) |
Anyway, back to terrible twos! Emma's new favorite thing is to run away from me anytime I ask her to do something or to come here. And she's really fast! She thinks it's so funny to have mom chase her. She went through a time where she wouldn't obey anything I said. Luckily, she's getting better and being more like her obedient self again. She even sings the "clean up" song with me when we clean up before nap time. She also loves to clean up her own spills and throw away her own trash. She can now open the fridge, and she's taken to finding her own snack. This morning she ate three cheese sticks before we got up to make breakfast! Silly girl! :)
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| Emma has really bonded with her Uncle Nick since he's been home from his mission :) |
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| Tessa changing Emma's diaper. This was entirely their own idea! |
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| Emma found grandma's make up! |
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| Eating donuts at the beach! |
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| Best friends :) |
I'm putting this in a different color because I think people keep skipping this part!
I'm done with the first draft of my novel!!!!!!!!!!!! 5 months, 40 chapters, and over 200 full length pages later! I've been working on it while the kiddos nap haha! Now I just have to perfect it. Ugh! If anyone is willing to read it and tear it apart for me, let me know!
My garden: I've decided potted gardens are so much harder than in the ground ones! Grow babies, grow!
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| Carrots, romaine, and peas! |
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| Tomatoes, strawberries, watermelon, peppers, zucchini, herbs, peas and green beans :) |
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| Cucumbers and green beans growing on the trellis. I've also miraculously kept some roses alive! :) |
We have done a few fun things this summer, though I'm dying to do more. The funnest was probably our family hike a couple of weeks ago :)
Well, Nate has two more weeks of school, then we're free for the summer! We booked our tickets to New York in September! We're so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love,
Kamie
