Los Cabos!

For the week of Thanksgiving, my little family joined my in-laws for a vacation in Los Cabos, Mexico. We spent the week swimming at beaches, shopping, and eating delicious food. 

Ready to go, Mom and Dad!

Welcome to paradise would have been more accurate ;-)

Michelle has flown before (over the summer on a quick mini-vacation to SoCal), so we weren’t too worried about how she’d be on the plane. Luckily for us, our 100% booked flight had an extra seat, and the woman in our row decided to be the coolest person ever, and give up her seat to Michelle. She offered, and we ended up getting three seats for the price of two! I really hope that nice lady had some positive karma go back to her :) 

Our private row! Lol

Nursing on the plane to pop those ears

Our hotel was in San Jose del Cabo, and it was very beautiful. We roasted marshmallows at the hotel’s fire pit, swam in the pool with a swim-up bar, and lounged in the hot tub. Michelle had so much fun in the water, and loved being able to play with her cousin Nichole. 

Michelle and Nichole sitting by the fire

Roasting mallows

Sitting by the pool - little cuties!

My sassy girl, posing on the beach at the hotel

We went to Chileno Beach a few times, and it was by far my favorite spot! The waves were high, but gentle enough to swim in, and there were SO many fish. Michelle’s Nona held her the whole time in the ocean, so Michael and I were able to play in the waves. It was awesome!

Swimming with Nona

Mama and Mish

Gorgeous!

Watching the waves

Move over Coppertone Baby! There's a new cutie in town!

 

On Thanksgiving day, we had a fish dinner that the men caught, and Michelle and Nichole wore matching dresses (a gift from Diann, Michelle’s Nona!). 

Michael, his uncle John, and dad (Gramps)

Festive girls!

All in all, we had a great time, and we are forever grateful for the generosity we experienced. Michael’s family likes to take care of each other :)

Kisses and cuddles from Nona and Grandpa

We had a whole day layover in Dallas Texas, so we thought we’d make a mini-vacation out of our home trip. Well, it was horrible and Texas left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to visit – it was dirty, ghetto, and frustrating in the town we were in. We tried to make a trip to downtown Dallas to shop, but we experienced a horrible cab ride and things kept preventing it. Boo. We had high hopes, but it was a bust. Thankfully we had such a fun time in Mexico! The Texas trip can fade into the ether. Lol

July in Review

As much as I love July, is as horrible I am at updating my blog! I swear, the moment life gets too busy or too quiet, I just forget to update and spend my time frolicking around like a loon.

Fourth of July

The 4th was a super fun day with my family! Michael, Michelle and I went to American Canyon for their local 4th of July celebrations. My dad usually drives a firetruck in the parade, but this year he was on call with the city.

We watched the parade, then hung out at my parents' house before going to the town's small fair. It was really nice! I ate two pieces of delicious roasted corn, while my nieces helped roll up the giant flag with the fire station. It was so cool! If you look hard enough you can see Mish in the background watching her cousins :)

In the evening we went down the street to a local park to watch the fireworks. We got an amazing view of the fireworks - it was like they were going off just for us! Michelle slept through the first 3/4 of the show, and sleepily watched the rest from my arms. That's TWO years of 4th of July fireworks shows that she's been to without crying :)

SoCal Trip

We went to Southern California for a little vacation with my in-laws at the end of the month. We flew down there, and Michelle did amazingly! She is definitely a kid who likes to go, go, go!

We stayed in a hotel and went to beaches, swam in the pool, and did lots of shopping. It was so fun :) Michelle loved the ocean and the pool. She's a mermaid like her mama!

The day before we were to fly home, Michael got notice that his job was sending him on a 1-year job rotation (transfer) to Yreka California. In case you're like me and wondered where the heck Yreka is, it is right below the border of Oregon and California (and FOUR hours away from our house). It's 1 1/2 hours past Redding and 45 minutes away from Ashland Oregon. We're here now, but I'll write about that another day.

Birthday

And lastly, the month ended with me turning 27. I'm an old woman, blog. I'm old. My day was actually really nice! Michael and I went thrift store hunting all day, then had a BBQ with my family at my parents' house. A great day!

Happy 3rd of July!

What better way to kick off my favorite month, than a holiday to celebrate our country! 4th of July has always held a special place in my heart because of the great memories I had growing up. I'm from a small town that used to go big on the 4th (not so much now due to the economy and whatnot) so I always make sure to go back for their teeny parade (my dad usually drives a fire truck in it) and small "carnival". Michael thinks it's a joke, and maybe he'e right, but I can't get myself to go anywhere else! We'll see how tomorrow plays out, but we're definitely going to the parade and stopping by the small fair. Maybe we'll watch the fireworks in our town, maybe we'll drive into the city.

My nails are extra excited! 

On other big news, we're planning a trip to Southern California for fun and relaxation. I've only ever been down there to go to Disneyland, and once on a road trip with my sisters (we went to Santa Monica and Hollywood), so I'm not sure what to plan for. I know we want to hit up a gourmet food truck, go to Venice Beach, San Diego (and do who knows what), and the LA fashion district, but I'd love ideas for fun trips and cool things to do/see.
This trip will be the first time we fly with Michelle, so we're nervous about how she'll handle a plane. It's only an hour and 15 minutes of flying, so hopefully it is a breeze. This trip will be our test run for when we go to Mexico this winter.

She's ready to travel!

Lately Michelle has been calling her daddy "Mike" and yelling his name through the house. We think it's hilarious! She *really* loves that guy - and so do I!