Welcome to Salem, City of Peace

The last few years Isabelle, my mom and I have traveled to the little town of Salem, Utah to visit with my grandparents and to participate in the annual Salem Days celebration. It is always the first week in August which is perfect timing for us as we are usually ready to head north for a little break from the constant south Texas summer heat. Isabelle thoroughly enjoys this vacation with the soft green grass, cool mountain air and all of the perks of small town living.

The trip started a little rough when our flight was late getting to DFW and our connecting flight left without us. Luckily we were meeting my mom, Grammie, in DFW so she arranged for the three of us to board the next flight to SLC. Once we finally landed in the Rocky Mountains, the fun began.

We were happy to get a chance to visit some of the headstones of my paternal grandparents, my great grandparents (Isabelle's namesake) and my mom's baby sister throughout the week and my mom even tried her own resting place on for size!

We enjoyed BBQing with family, walking around the park with Grandma, playing with cousins and 4-wheeling with Grandpa. Isabelle also adored picking fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and apples in plenty all in Grandpa's garden each night for dinner. I think one night over a few hands of cards I ate an entire cucumber myself.

The highlight of the trip was the annual Salem Days Race. Isabelle remembered waiting on the sidelines for us to cross the finish line last year and decided weeks before we left that she herself would also be a participant this year. She began "training" and ran a half or 3/4 of a mile a few mornings a week at home in preparation.

When the big day came, she was up and ready for the 1 mile Fun Run at 7:00am. It was a cloudy and chilly mountain morning and it took a while for us to all get our numbers and registration packets but finally it was race time. Isabelle was thrilled when Grandma Joan's neighbor, and Police Chief James, began the race and off her little legs went running around the Salem pond. Grandma Joan entered this race as well and my mom and I rushed in between the two taking pictures and making sure Isabelle was safe.

I was actually pretty surprised but little Jelly never stopped running until she crossed the finish line. At about the 3/4 mile mark when she had to finish uphill she commented that she was getting tired, but by the top of the climb she could see the crowd waiting and cheering for the tiniest contestant and she got her second-wind and finished strong. Her time was just over 14 minutes, with Grandma Joan just over 17 minutes. We had to put her through the shoots alone as the 5K was moments from starting and my mom and I had to literally run to the starting line. My mom and I finished in 28 minutes flat which was quick enough for her to take the Gold in her age category. We were all hungry, tired and ready to enjoy the City Council's pancake breakfast afterwards!

While we were enjoying our break from responsibilities, Ben closed on our new house and got the ball rolling back here in San Antonio. (Thank goodness for small towns and your mom growing-up with the President of the Bank when you need a quick power of attorney!) We knew we had a lot of work waiting for us back home which made leaving the easy-life a little bit tougher. Ben was in and out of town three times while we were away and was actually out of town again when our return flight landed so little Jelly and I had to find the car he left at the airport a few days earlier and get ourselves home and to bed. We missed the comforts of Grandma's house then and now and look forward to our trip back "home" next year!

Thirty, flirty and thriving!

Somehow 30 years old used to seem so much older, yet, on August 2nd I joined the ranks of the 30 and over club! Ben and Isabelle really wanted this birthday to be special and they had made several plans and arrangements for a weekend of fun.

Saturday morning we headed north to the little town of Bastrop where we enjoyed shopping down the antique Main Street, walking along the Colorado River and eating lunch at one of our favorite Texas treasures, Maxine's Cafe. We were happily joined by my parents who met us for the fun and after lunch we sat in an outdoor gazebo in the historic part of town and opened presents. My parents gave me many wonderful gifts but the most special was a Carpe Diem bracelet encouraging me to Seize the Day.

We had considered stopping in San Marcos for a little more birthday shopping but after a busy day, we were ready to get home and get into our pjs for a relaxing evening. Sunday morning, my actual birthday, I was surprised with GIANT balloons, streamers and noise makers all hand decorated by Isabelle. (For her, it is all about the decorations.) We enjoyed an Oreo ice cream pie for breakfast and again I was showered with gifts from many family members. I was surprised by a pair of diamond earrings and a trip for 2 from Ben and a new hoodie from Jelly...I wear the same old gray one everyday and once I opened my new one she quickly grabbed my old friend and tossed it into the trash. I guess everyone was glad for a change to my everyday attire.

After church we enjoyed skillitini and some more dessert before calling it a day. I received many phone calls from loved ones and lots of happy birthday wishes. While I am not at all interested in being 30 years old and I already think my laugh lines seems slightly deeper, it was at least a good excuse to celebrate!

Welcome Home Uncle Jacob!

Ben's younger brother Jacob recently returned home from serving a two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Tallahassee, FL. Although lately we have had way more to do than time to do it in, we couldn't let Jacob head back to college before we were able to catch-up, so we caught a quick flight to DFW with a return ticket booked only 48 hours later. Isabelle was excited to actually meet in person the Uncle she has had a picture of her with in her bedroom for the last 24 months and especially to also see her silly Uncle Seth! From the moment we arrived she played as busy and as quickly as she could moving from one thing to another, definitely making use of the short stay. We had fun visiting with Jacob as well as Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Seth and Joe and even found a little bit of time to celebrate Ben's birthday with an alligator cupcake cake, in honor of Tallahassee, FL. Although it was a fast visit, all three of us really enjoyed our time in Dallas and were especially grateful to reunite with Jacob. Now Isabelle has a real face to go with her picture and can't wait to play with her Uncle's again soon!

It's a girl thing

It is so funny to hear all of the silly things that come out of Jelly's mouth. It is interesting to hear what she is thinking about and to try and walk through her logic, etc. This was our conversation today in the car:

Belle Mom, I know my legs are fat!
Mom No, your legs are so skinny and long.
Belle I just know they are fat.
Mom Why do you think that?
Belle I know they are fat because I am a girl, and girls legs are fat!
Mom (laughing)
Belle Girls legs are fat at the very top! Aren't they mom?!

I was left wishing my legs were as "fat" as hers at the very top!

A quick birthday!

Ben turned 32 years old this week. He was traveling for work and we have all been in and out of town for months, so his birthday sort of snuck up on us. I had kindly scheduled him a cleaning at the dentist as soon as he got back in town and Isabelle was so excited to celebrate with him that he really didn't get a chance to open any gifts himself. The first morning she woke up to him at home all week she yelled Let's get this party started! at about 6:20am and she meant it. By 9:30am she had decorated with ribbons and leftovers from her Curious George party, we had opened all of Ben's gifts and even lit his candles and ate his birthday cake! It was a very quick, and early, party but we were glad we were all three together! I adore Ben but only perhaps half as much as his little girl!

Long summer days...

We have all been running a little ragged lately. Life has been busy and we have been doing our best to keep up. Ben has continued to be on the road working in various cities and burning the candle at both ends of the stick. Occasionally he comes home and sleeps more than 5 hours at night, but most of the time he functions at top speed for days and days at a time.

We were luckily enough to have Grandma and Grandpa come over for a quick weekend visit while Ben and I continued to celebrate our 8th anniversary, a few weeks late. We met some friends for a yummy dinner at Bohanan's downtown and then walked across the street to the Majestic Theatre for a viewing of the Broadway musical Wicked. The next morning Belle and I left with my parents and headed back to Houston for a few days. My dad was scheduled for another procedure at St. Lukes and I wanted to be there to help with the travel and recovery, etc. We spent a very long day, especially for a toddler, at the hospital and unfortunately left without a lot of good news. The doctor was unable to open the bile-ducts like he had hoped and scheduled my dad for a follow-up surgery the next week. If anything makes a hospital visit less pleasant, it is leaving with your return visit already on the calendar.

We squeezed in a little bit of fun playing with Aunt Alee and Uncle Nick before returning to San Antonio for a long holiday weekend. Our great friend Chris Venegas was married to Nicte on Thursday the 2nd followed by a dinner and reception on the 3rd. Isabelle was very excited to attend the wedding and was extra quiet during the ceremony and loved dancing with the 9-piece Mariachi band at the reception. It was a beautiful night and we are so glad we were able to be there to help celebrate with Chris and Nicte.

Saturday morning, the 4th of July, came too early, like it usually does, but we didn't have time to be lazy yet. We had 3rd row tickets to the Ringling Brother's Circus. We were especially excited for this event since DUMBO was Isabelle's very first favorite movie to watch and she continues to watch it at least every month. Our seats were great and we enjoyed every act of the Best Show on Earth. Isabelle had a snow-cone in an elephant shaped cup and the rest of us feasted on all sorts of circus snacks! After all of the fun, we had just a few minutes before we headed to the church to view the Sonterra Fireworks show. Although we were pretty far back, it was good enough for Jelly and she had fun staying up late and seeing all of her friends and especially her babysitter's dog, Penny!

With all of the commotion and business, I only picked up my camera one brief moment and didn't capture too much of the excitement. Now it is Monday again and Ben is in Baltimore, Belle is taking a nap, still trying to catch-up on too much missed sleep, and I am anxiously awaiting my dad's next surgery tomorrow. Somewhere is between all of the recent maddness, Belle had a violent stomache bug and Ben's brother Jacob returned home from a 2-year mission in Florida. We are hopeful to make it up to DFW to visit with him very soon. I keep thinking life will slow down at some point but so far there is no end in sight. I guess that's what keeps us going!