Great American Roadtrip...part 2

Ben and I know that families across America drive long distances EVERY SINGLE DAY and that we ourselves survived days and days in the car as a child heading to vacations and family reunions, but for some reason we were not quite sure that our little family of four could make it past hour 5. In our 6 years since we had become parents we had never driven farther than San Antonio to Dallas before but rather jumped on a plane and spent our time hundreds of miles above the freeways instead. So driving from Southern Utah to the top corner of Montana seemed a daunting task, but boy did we underestimate our little girls.

We loaded into the HUGE rental car (thank you Ben) just before bed in our pjs and the girls had fun for the next few hours watching movies, singing songs, playing games and eating snacks. Soon it was way past their bedtime and both girls dozed off spread out in the second and third rows of the suburban. The next 8 hours quickly passed by as the rest of us took turns behind the wheel and trying to catch a few zzz's while driving 80mph. Before we knew it, we were pulling into Whitefish, MT just after 6:00am and waking the girls to welcome them to their next adventure. They were in heaven with mom, dad, Grammie and Grandpa all within grabbing distance for the ride and I think the trek north may have been one of their favorite parts of the nearly month long trip.


The next week and a half were spent in a little piece of heaven for each of us. We slept in late and played hard outside every day. Ben helped my dad put a roof on the barn, worked on his computer, took several spins around Sigh Bar on the 4 Wheeler and was on his phone making deals a good majority of the time. The girls went shopping multiple times, enjoyed a night at the Farmers Market and drank several huckleberry milkshakes. We all worked on puzzles, roasted hotdogs, went hiking, watched the deer in the fields next door and enjoyed baths in the huge jetted tub. The girls slept well every night and Whitefish has quickly become a second home to all of us.

Now of course, again, we had to have a quick round of sickness, so the first day we were there Isabelle spent the day laying feverishly on the bathroom floor and emptying her stomach every few minutes in the toilet. She seemed to have caught the bug that Olivia had a few days before but thankfully after a long 24 hours, she began to feel better and forgot all about that first day spent in the bathroom. (And we were just glad that we had made it to Montana before the sickness began and were not on the side of the road every few minutes on the drive up.)

Great American Roadtrip...part 1

When we booked tickets for a 23 day vacation we wondered if that would be just a tad too long to enjoy, but here we now sit home from the adventure and wish the fun had gone on just a little bit longer.

Our first stop on our Mountain tour was Salt Lake City. The girls were so excited like usual to board our flight and were even more thrilled when it was time to deplane. We quickly made our way to the rental car counter and picked up our GIANT car for the next three weeks. With all of the traveling we were about to do, Ben wanted us to be nice and comfortable so he rented us a three row black suburban with dual tv screens and leather seats. The girls loved the big car and rode in the "way back" most of the time.

I15 was under construction as usual but we eventually found ourselves south and felt right at home when we arrived at Grandma Joan and Grandpa Neal's house. My parents soon arrived in Southern Utah as well and nothing makes the girls happier than vacationing with their grandparents. We spent the next few days relaxing in Salem and preparing for the 80th birthday party of Aunt Janice and Uncle Hal.

Now a vacation wouldn't be a vacation without one of the Cosby's getting sick, so the morning before the big Pioneer Day celebration and the Healy party, Olivia woke up with a raging fever and throwing up. Sadly, she and Ben had to miss the parade and morning fun on the 24th but thankfully by early afternoon she was happy enough to make her way to the park and celebrate with the Christensen clan.

We were so glad we were able to tell Aunt Janice and Uncle Hal HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY in person and loved seeing so many family members we hadn't seen for years. The girls loved playing at the park with their distant cousins and we all loved eating yummy food, singing to the birthday couple and visiting with loved ones.

After all of the day's fun, my mom and I somehow managed to let my dad and Ben convince us that we should get changed into our pajamas early and drive the twelve hours through the night to our next vacation spot, Whitefish, MT. And that is just what we did! The girls were thrilled with the idea of staying up late and watching movies in the car so we said goodbye to Utah for a while and pointed our car north just as the sun was setting behind the beautiful Wasatch mountains.

To be continued...

Fish are friends, not food.

Have I mentioned that summer in south Texas is HOT? It really isn't a pleasant time of year to be outside unless of course, you are a swimmer!

Thankfully both our girls love the water and most mornings our routine was to go from pajamas (or Princess costume) to our swimsuits and be sprayed from head to toe with sunscreen. Isabelle has taken swim lessons the past 3 summers and finished a session just in time for our neighborhood pool to open it's gates for the season. She has really gotten confident in the water and can jump in and swim across the pool very gracefully and fast. I was thrilled for her to be comfortable in the water because I spend EVERY minute watching, chasing and saving her little sister Olivia.

Olivia has ZERO fear of the water and cries to go in the "deep" where the water is more than twice her size and jump in and NOT be caught. She wants to go under and I have to let her and then save her life and start the process over again. She got pretty good this summer at kicking her feet and wearing her goggles and we were all a little relieved when it was time to take a break from swimming and sit poolside with a snack.

We have enjoyed many hours at our awesome neighborhood pool this summer either as a family until way past bedtime or meeting friends and swimming and picnicing for hours. Ben and I figure it is a great life skill and exercise and was the best way to stay cool while the giant Texas sun blazed and blazed and we are proud of our little fish, or I mean girls!

Another year older and wiser too!

Birthday's seem to sneak up on us more and more lately and sadly I am aware that time will only continue to increase in speed. Ben turned the magic age of 35 the first week of July and the girls had fun celebrating every day for weeks.

We had his first cake while we were visiting his family in Dallas and his last cake a few days after his actual birthday with my family in Houston. In between we made him a birthday breakfast, went out to dinner as a family at Benihana, had a picnic at the pool, planted a Birthday Birch in the front yard and the list goes on and on. We were especially excited to give him a giant American map framed beautifully and ready for his wall in his office. It is a Tack-a-Map and is just waiting for his acquisition pins to start appearing in plenty.

Ben is a great father, husband, son, brother and son-in-law and is loved (and worshiped) by many. There is nothing his daughters think their dad can't do, and I am beginning to believe they just might be right! Happy Birthday Ben! You make 35 look so good!

Seth Weenie

Ben's brother Seth recently returned home from a 2 year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Tahiti. When he left, Isabelle was just 4 years old and Olivia was only a matter of weeks so Uncle Seth was more of an idea, than a real being in the girls eyes, until now. Upon his departure many months ago, Isabelle brought home a stuffed weenie dog that she affectionately called Seth Weenie so we were all thrilled when it was time to head to DFW to see the REAL Uncle Seth in the flesh.

We spent a long weekend listening to mission stories, wearing Tahitian necklaces and having fun with Grandpa Van, Grandma Ruth, Uncle Seth and Uncle Joe. We went to the park, stayed cool outside with the slip-n-slide, went to The Aquarium, had lunch out, shopped at the Disney Store and played lots and lots of games. Like usual, the girls were sad when the fun had to come to an end so you can imagine the joy on their faces when Uncle Seth decided to come home with us for a few weeks.

The time with Seth spent at our home was priceless. He earned money from Ben starting and finishing many projects around the house and yard, he babysat for me so I could grocery shop alone, he helped Isabelle with her piano lessons and played hours of Disney Princess Wii and he finally won Olivia over playing dress-up and eating many of her "meals" made in her kitchen. Each one of us enjoyed his visit with us and although he stayed for 2 weeks we were still sad to see him go. (Isabelle even cried real tears as he drove away.) But great and exciting things await him like college and dating and all things fun for a 21 year old boy and we were just happy to welcome him home and give the girls a taste of their fun Uncle Seth Weenie.

Land That I Love

It is not surprising to anyone who knows me that the 4th of July is one of my favorite days of the year. I love this great country and can't remember a time in my life that my blood didn't run red, white and blue.

Even though there are few places in this huge country less patriotic than the great state of Texas, sadly it is sort of a bummer of a state to celebrate anything during July in. It's just too hot to really enjoy much so bbq's, baseball and fireworks don't really sound too appealing. We couldn't let the holiday sneak by though without a little partying so we put on the skimpiest patriotic clothes we could find and braved a parade just a few minutes from home. The parade participants did their best to keep the event bearable, passing out popcicles multiple times and no joke carrying giant tubes of air conditioning and "spraying" the viewers with some cool air. We were thrilled to have Uncle Seth as well as Uncle Nick, Aunt Alee, Grandpa Elmo and Leo with us to enjoy the day and after we survived (and enjoyed) the parade we headed home for lunch, water balloons and some festive 4th of July Wii playing. I'm so grateful for the rights and blessings we enjoy being citizens of The United States of America and feel so fortunate to be called an American.