HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRACKEN!

Bracken turned 1 year old today! It's amazing how much he has grown and how much our lives have changed since becoming parents. We love our little boy. Here's a flashback to one year ago...



Now he's cruising all over the place, teases us, says a few words, and loves to read books. He gets into everything, and has an adorable smile that he uses to try and get out of trouble.

We had a little family birthday party for him Saturday and he had fun with his Grandpa Clay, aunts and uncles, and cousin Kylie. He had lots of help from Dallin and Tyson unwrapping presents and blowing out his candle.


Grandpa and Grandma gave Bracken this little bike/walker. His favorite part is the little container he can put his toys into, close it, and then open it back up to see if his toys are still there.

Brian gave Bracken a computer keyboard for his birthday. He's always trying to hit and bang on our laptops, so we figure this will be safer for him to play with. It's one of his new favorite toys.


I gave him a good sized piece of carrot cake because I thought most of it would end up on the floor, but he ate the whole thing, and even scooped up the crumbs and licked the frosting off his tray. . . then he was up all night. Too much sugar I guess.

Happy Birthday Bracken, we love you!

Look Mom, Jesus!

On Saturday we went to the St. George Temple. Our friends the Eggertsen's came too and we took turns watching each others little boys in the Visitor's Center so we could go to the temple as a couple. When we got back to the Visitor's Center I saw David holding Bracken over by the Christus. When Bracken saw me I expected him to reach out both arms to me and start saying "Mamama." Instead, he saw me, turned around and flung his arm toward the Christus and said "Jesus!" (Sounds more like "esus").
He must have recognized the statue from this picture we have in our living room. My sister-in-law Sally drew it for Brian and I two Christmas' ago. Isn't she amazing? We love it, and obviously Bracken does too!

Cancun Mexico!

Brian and I just got back from an amazing trip to Cancun, Mexico! Brian won the trip as part of an incentive this summer for work. We left Bracken with my parents and brothers and sisters. It was hard to leave him, but it was so relaxing and fun to have time for just the two of us. Above: All the food and drinks were included at our resort. We drank so many pina coladas! The waiters all thought we were crazy for ordering them with no alcohol.


Brian Parasailing...It was way different than we thought it would be. I thought it would be a little scary, an adrenaline rush. That I'd be zipping through the sky veering from side to side. But it was more like floating than flying. It was very peaceful and quiet. And the view was incredible!


One afternoon we went out in the jungle and took a zip lining tour. It was really cool to go flying through the canopy of the forest. We even zip lined upside down! At the end of the course we got to swim in a cenote, a water filled sink hole. My favorite part was zip lining right into the cenote.


We rented a 17 passenger van with a driver for the day and a group of us went to see Coba and Chichen Itza. Coba was more dilapidated than Chichen Itza, but it was cool because we were able to walk to the top. This is the last of the Mayan ruins they'll let you walk on (or in) the others were all closed in 2006 after Chichen Itza was declared one of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World. This picture is from the top of Coba. Look how steep it is! We could see for miles and miles from the top.


Chichen Itza was definitely our favorite. It was impressive. Our guide gave us the "LDS tour." So many of the buildings were based off of calendaring and astronomy.

Our guide showed us pictures of Chichen Itza where the sun creates triangles on the steps which look like a snake coming down the steps. (See the sculpted snake head at the bottom?) It happens twice a year at the equinox, March 20 and September 21. And the sun rises exactly between the two main posts of the Temple of 1000 Warriors.


A close up of one of the Feathered Serpents.


We had to build a sand castle fortress when we were at the beach. We only had plastic cups that kept breaking, but we had fun making it. I don't have my pictures scanned yet, but I also got to swim with dolphins, one of my little girl dreams! We went snorkeling with sting rays and went underwater next to a bunch of bull sharks while they were being fed. We could have reached over and touched them! There was only some hard plastic part of the way up and then a net. It was pretty crazy. It was so nice to have a week together without work or school or anything else to get in the way. And at the same time, we were both so excited to get back home to our little boy.