Braces

Makayla got her braces off on June 28th - yeah!

Jarin got his braces on June 30th - ching ching!

Jarin's a Deacon

Today Jarin received the Aaronic Priesthood.  

He shines like a new penny in his first new full missionary suit.

He's excited to fulfill his new priesthood responsibilities of passing the sacrament, collecting fast offerings and being the tallest Deacon in his group of over twenty boys.

We had a family gathering to celebrate Jarin's day.

Trevor and Andres sporting the lastest style of ties.

Andres' gift to us found in the mircowave.

It's an old family joke that started with Tia Alba leaving a diaper in my mom's microwave many moons ago.

Smiley Face Birthday Party

Rebekah and Kerri celebrated their 7th birthday in matching pajamas for them and their American Girl Dolls.  They invited their friends over for a Smiley Face Party.  They danced, opened presents, cracked open a pinata, made smiley face wind-socks, and had a yummy dinner of smiley face pizza, strawberries and cupcakes.  Happy Birthday Rebekah!  Happy Birthday Kerri!

Happy 17th Anniversary

We celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary on the 17th of June.  After 21 days of traveling, Cameron and I wanted to stay home and enjoy an evening of being spoiled by the kids.  Trevor whipped up a gourmet meal of spaghetti and green salad with a yummy bundt cake.  Rebekah and Kerri helped serve the meal.  It was the best anniversary yet!

Road Trip Day 18, 19 and 20

1.  Drove three 11-13 hour days to get home.  
2.  Swimming at the hotel, sore bums, picnic lunches and dinners, lots of beautiful views and counting every mile home.
3.  Makayla gave the girls make-overs in the car.
4.  Played musical chairs to avoid conflicts - we even paid Makayla to sit between the boys a couple of times.
5. Had to re-route our trip when the Illinois River flooded the freeway.
6.  On the last day we bought 'fast food' lunch and set the record of eating 'fast food' IN THE CAR for the first time ever.  The kids loved it.
8.  Almost got struck by lightning in Wyoming driving through a snow/hail blizzard in June.  It was pretty scary.
9.  Knew we were almost home when we spotted buffalos.
10.  Everyone sighed when we pulled into our neighborhood.
-I inhaled the smell of our home sweet home when we walked in -mmmmm.  
-Makayla kissed her bed.
-Jarin laid on the couch and immediately got kicked off.
-Trevor went searching for Oreo (I think Jarin did too before laying on the couch).
-Rebekah and Kerri hugged everything.
-Oreo did a flip when she saw us.  
-We unloaded the Suburban and celebrated home.
-Geepers (GPS) got tucked away until the next destination.

The trip was 95% perfect!  We will remember this adventure forever.  We are thankful for great memories and safe travel.

Road Trip Day 15, 16 and 17

Day 15
1.  Happy 7th Birthday Rebekah and Kerri!  They got breakfast on their sleeping bags.
2.  Girls played with cousins all day.  They found Lica's stash of doll trolls and paraded them about.
3.  Cam and I had our first date in two weeks.  He took me to a local antique mall for two whole hours!  Loved every single second.
4.  Nina (Adriana) helped the girls decorate their mini birthday cakes.
5.  Chased fireflies again.

Day 16
1.  Went to church in Vinton.
2.  Nina made Cafe Rio style dinner - yum!
3.  Chatted and enjoyed the day with walks and fireflies in the evening.

Day 17
1.  We are all getting a little home sick.
2.  Bummed around Lica's house, we can only bum around so long before it drives us crazy.
3.  Lica and Lico took Rebekah and Kerri birthday shopping.
4.  We took the kids to the local water park.  Saw more than we wanted and came home with a small tan.
5.  Evening with fireflies again.  Love. Love. Love.
6.  Late movie with Jarin and Makayla

Road Trip Day 14

1.  Slept in - zzzzzz.
2.  Four and a half hour drive to Vinton, Virginia from Washington DC to visit Lica and Lico.
3.  Isabel and her two girls, Adriana and her family and Cristian were there.  We met two brand new cousins, Caroline and Emmett.
4.  Had a nice long walk with Lica and Cameron.

Caroline, Alexander, Emily, Emmett

5.  Chased fireflies!  We have been waiting for this evening!

Road Trip Day 13

1.  Took the Metro to DC - $42 round trip for the family.
2.  We spent the day visiting the museums - Air and Space, Natural History and American History.  It was 101 degrees again and we about died with sweat dripping off our backs walking from museum to museum.  It was CROWDED but fascinating.  Our favorite exhibit was Written in Bone in the National Museum of Natural History. It was awesome!

Natural History Exhibit 

Written in Bone examines history through 17th-century bone biographies, including those of colonists teetering on the edge of survival at Jamestown, Virginia, and those living in the wealthy and well-established settlement of St. Mary’s City, Maryland.

The forensic investigation of human skeletons provides intriguing information on people and events of America's past. No other inanimate objects make us feel the same passionate curiosity as the remains of once-living, breathing individuals like us. And nothing else can answer our questions in quite the same ways.

(Link to Smithsonian)

3. By mid-afternoon, we were beat, exhausted, tired, hot and the walking dead.  No one complained when we boarded the metro to head back to the hotel.  We arrived before 4:00 and spent the rest of the day and evening watching the Disney Channel while laying on the beds eating a variety of cold cereal and bananas dad picked up for us.  After two weeks of travel and no rest, we rested.  It felt GOOOOD!