Cancun 2023

To celebrate Harper turning 13, we decided to head to the beach in Cancun!

When we first got there, the weather was in the

mid 70’s and it was overcast.

We had a gorgeous view from our balcony.

There were several huge pools.  They were heated, so Harper jumped right in!

Ashley and I stayed warm on the side of the pool.

We spent time on the beach too!  The water was so blue and there was no seaweed this year.

The resort had several great restaurants!

Our favorite was El Mexicano.

We also loved the Thai restaurant

and the Italian place.

The breakfast buffet was a big hit and 

had great views of the ocean.

Another favorite was the churro and crepe stand. Mmmm!

Eventually the clouds went away and 

the weather was perfect!  We spent time in the pool 

and found a shady palapa on the beach.

We played in the waves

and soaked up the sun!

Harper joined a craft activity

and we snacked on nachos and fries by the pool.

Harper loved all the frozen drinks!

We had fancy cakes by the ocean

 (with a candle for Harper’s birthday)

then went to a New Year’s Eve party!

The Mayan Fire Dancers were amazing!

The resort next to us had a midnight fireworks show.

We caught an early flight home

and opened a birthday gift in the airport.

Harper is a big fan of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives so she was excited to see Guy Fieri in the Cancun airport.

We had a great time in Cancun 

and can’t wait to go back!

Christmas 2023

We had a great Christmas season!

Christy and Joel came to visit in mid December.

We had a great time at BRKThrough

and we did a Christmas themed breakout room.

We played Outsmarted a lot!

and had fun eating out!

We went to Build a Bear too!

The girls and I went to see the 14th Street Lights.

The weather was so warm that we

put the windows down while we watched the show!

Harper and I went to the 

Christmas Eve service at church.

On Christmas morning, we checked our stockings

and opened lots of presents.

Harper really wanted a giant octopus plushie this year,

but they are very hard to find in the US.

Luckily, a friend in China was able to buy one

and ship it to us.

She was so excited!

The octopus quickly made friends with her other plushies.

We got lots of new games and had a fun day doing a new puzzle, playing games, and eating lots of yummy food!

First Snow of the Season

It snowed last night, so we bundled up

and got ready to go outside and play!

Harper loved sledding

and making snow angels.

Next, it was time for more sledding!

We made a snowman

then sledded some more.

We had snow much fun!

Halloween 2023

We had a fun time getting ready for Halloween.

We ate a jack-o-lantern pizza while

we carved our pumpkin.

Our pumpkin turned out great!

Halloween was on a cold Tuesday.

Harper dressed up as Taylor Swift

and had lots of fun passing out candy 

to the trick or treaters!

We had lots of visitors but had 

plenty of candy leftover to eat!