Hilton head

Last week, we were able to go to hilton head and spend time with my family. Lewis's school started in the middle of the vacation, so my parents flew us out early so that we'd still be able to have a week there. My mom and Steve were there early too, so it was fun to spend time with them.

It was a lot of fun to watch Lena experience the beach for the first time. She went to Hawaii when she was 3 months old, but I doubt she remembers it. So it was fun to watch her experience it all for the first time.

I thought she would be hesitant of the ocean at first, but Lena jumped right in and loved it! The beach was so long, that you're able to walk out really far into the water before you're not able to stand anymore. Lena kept wanting to go farther and farther out into the ocean. It took a few waves to the face to be able to convince her to hang back a bit.

Here are some of the moments I was able to capture on camera.

 

Looking out the window of the plane

Watching dad build and destroy a sand castle

Playing in the sand with grandma

Hanging out in the ocean

Jumping over waves

Steve trying to talk Lena into following him

Me and my happy babes

Steve throwing sand at Lena. It's the piece in the air right by Lewis's back

The boys building their castle. And Lena observing their handy-work

The boys and their completed castle

Baby Godzilla destroying it

 He check-mated me. After only like 3 rounds. I'm really good 😉

I wanted to bury my child 😄

She held onto the shovel nonstop every time we were at the beach. She wouldn't ever let it go.

Reading with dad

"Mom, it's nap time. I want to go home!"

Building together

Looking at the starfish with Clark and Alicia

She actually touched it!

Can't let go of that orange shovel.

We had a great time even though we had to leave early and only got to see half the fam for half the time. Lena loved the beach more than I thought she would and were grateful to my parents for planning such a fun trip and for letting us come along!

St. George

Just this past weekend, Lewis and I were able to take a little get-away to St. George. Without a baby.

It was our first time leaving Lena for more than a few hours and we were a little nervous. But we knew that she was in good hands. We left her with Clark and Alicia, my brother and sister-in-law, and we just knew that they would take the absolute best care of her. They adore her. And she sure has fun when they're around. We missed Lena while we were gone, but Alicia and Clark kept us fully informed on what and how she was doing. Complete with picture updates via text. She sure had fun without us.

A few weeks ago, Lewis found out that Brian Regan was coming to perform at the Tuachan in St. George. I LOVE Brian Regan. And Lewis has always known that. I'm always quoting him or making him watch some of his skits. I was so happy and appreciative when Lewis said he wanted to buy us tickets to go see him.

We left Lena with Alicia on Friday afternoon and started our little trek to southern Utah. The plan when we got there was to go out for a nice romantic dinner. We looked up information on some of the best restaurants in St. George and found Sakura, a hibachi Japanese restaurant. Jumped right on that plan. Lewis had never been to a place where they cook right in front of you, so we made sure he enjoyed it!

The only bad  thing about these places? They throw shrimp at you to see if you can catch it in your mouth. Even if you don't like shrimp (like me), and you even tell them you don't like shrimp, they just say that they don't care and they throw it to you anyways. I've mastered the fake "I'm trying to catch it but it just always seems to miss my mouth" act.

After dinner, we headed to the show. It was so funny. The opening comedic act and Brian Regan were well worth the money and the trip.

the Tuachan stage.

After the show, we went to Smiths to buy all the supplies that we'd need to roast marshmallows. We just forgot to bring a flashlight. So at 11:00 at night, the fire pit was hard to find and decided to put this idea on the back burner. The next morning, we hit the outlet malls, grabbed some lunch and headed home. Lewis asked me to drive since he was tired of being behind the wheel. He'd driven to Vegas and back just a few days before this trip. So I gladly took the wheel! While he took a much needed and deserved nap.

Both the trip there and the trip back were filled with laughs, road trip games, and just good quality time spent together.

We decided we're doing this every year.

what happens in vegas

Earlier this week, we made a trip to Vegas. It was so hard. But it ended up being a wonderful experience.

Two very dear friends of ours decided to get married in the Las Vegas LDS temple this week. Lewis and I were fortunate enough to go. And we got to bring Lena. It was so hard. Lena had to forgo naps and stay up way past her bedtime so that we could celebrate with the happy couple.

We learned from our last wedding trip to California that Vegas is Lena's breaking point. And she broke. About a half hour outside the city. Good thing we were close!

We made it to our hotel and asked for a crib when we checked in (they told us twice on the phone that we didn't need to bring a crib because they had them there). Lena was so tired and so ready for a nap. Two and a half hours after checking in, we still didn't have our crib. I had called housekeeping multiple times and they kept saying, "we're trying to find a crib."

Trying to find one? Lena was tired. And grumpy. And all she wanted to do was sleep. I knew if we pushed it much longer, she would be so tired, she wouldn't be able to sleep. So I prayed and prayed and prayed.

Finally, a crib came. And we fed her and put her down to sleep. And she cried and cried and cried. We let her go for a few minutes and eventually, she did fall asleep (thank goodness!). But only for about 20 minutes. And she was sad. Screaming and crying and screaming. We knew at that point, it'd be a long night. The wedding was at 5 and the dinner wasn't until 7:30.

So we just prayed. Put her in the car and went to the wedding!

The wedding was beautiful! It's always so wonderful to be in the temple, especially for a sealing when husbands and wives are promising to be with each other for eternity. We were so happy for them.

Mr. and Mrs. Cornellison!

They've known each other for a very long time. Lewis heard about her from Jared when they were on their missions together. Anna wasn't a member of the church at that point (5 years ago). She joined the church about a year ago.

crawling around the temple while we waited for the bride and groom to emerge

Lewis knew the groom from his mission and was able to reunite with some old mission friends before, during and after the wedding. We were able to make it to the dinner at 7:30 and sit and talk with two friends who had served in Honduras with Lewis.

And Lena survived! Usually she's going to bed at 7:30, but she sure was a trooper! All we had to do was feed her the whole time. Food in her face, and she was a happy camper. Which means we were happy as well. And we gave her some apple juice and she learned how to sip through a straw! Yay toddler-hood!

Her first straw!

Her nap that afternoon was awful! So we were praying that bedtime would be OK. She went to bed easy (at 10), but then an hour later was up with just a terrified cry. It was so sad and I didn't know what was wrong. I tried singing to her, rocking her, holding her close, but nothing worked. All I could think to do was feed her again. So I made another bottle and tried to calm her down. She slept good for the rest of the night but at 6:30 am she was bright eyed and bushy tailed! Happy (thank goodness) and ready to play!

6:30 in the morning

The next day, we spent the morning on the strip. We just walked around, had breakfast in New York New York, and saw the interior of the Bellagio. I couldn't remember the casino with the painted walls and ceilings, so unfortunately, we missed that. But Lena had once again hit her limit, so we headed back to the car to start the trek home.

outside New York New York

"mom get the hat off!"

inside the Bellagio

inside New York New York.

Half way home, we stopped for lunch and to change Lena's diaper. And let's just say that the car is not the ideal place for a diaper change. The poop made it from the inside of one diaper to the outside of the other, stuck between the diaper and her onesie. Whoops! She didn't like the double diaper change, but was so happy when lunch finally made its way to the car!

Dad and Lena hanging out in the car

Yay! Lunch!

ready to eat!

When we got home, we rewarded her with her very own jamba juice. They have a children's menu now! She loved being able to suck from her own cup.

Her reaction to the cold at first

Got used to it and then wanted more

It was a good trip, but in the middle of it, we realized that as parents, we no longer take vacations. Instead, we take "survival trips."

And we survived!

family

I was going through old pictures on my computer and found these gems. And it made me even more grateful for them, the memories, their love, their friendship, and the relationship that I have with them.