Devin's 25th Birthday

Devin's birthday is August 31, but in anticipation of the baby being born so close to then, we celebrated it early this year.

First, we did a home-version of a "couples' cooking class" with our friends, Josh and Joy (Josh's birthday is August 20, so Joy & I planned a combined activity for the boys). The whole thing was a surprise until we got together and the boys got to open their gifts: authentic white chef coats and not-quite-so-authentic (paper) chef hats. They were so excited as they opened them and we told them what we were doing. They got to pick the whole menu of drinks, appetizers, main course, and dessert. They picked root beer, twice baked potatoes, rib eye steaks with mushrooms and salad, and ice cream. We went to the store to get the ingredients we needed and came back and began preparing...



I love this man! He really is so wonderful and I am so blessed he picked me to be with him throughout eternity!
Oh, while we were at the store Devin saw that there was "Birthday Cake" Blue Bell ice cream. (It's a rotating flavor, so they don't have it all the time and Blue Bell is his favorite store-bought ice cream.) He was so excited he did this cute little surprised cheer and smile! It was one of those moments where I was reminded of why I love him, when he does those cute, little-boy-excited things:) Anyway, here he is with his ice cream...

Second, Devin's family took us out to eat at LoLo's Chicken & Waffles in Phoenix. I don't know where Devin heard about it, but it's a Southern thing and so he wanted to try it. I was definitely freaked out at the thought of eating fried chicken and waffles on the same plate for the same meal, but it was really yummy food!

San Diego Trip

Who doesn't love the beach? We had such a great time! Devin's parents have a time share right on the beach. We went with them for a week and absolutely loved it!

As soon as we got out of the car from the long ride, we wanted to go right to the beach. Here's Jax soaking up his first time seeing the ocean.

Since we came all the way to San Diego Devin and I wanted to do a session in the temple. It was beautiful!

We spend the next day at the beach. It was sunny and perfect:) We rode some waves and found a few shells. Jaxon liked to walk in the water as long as the seaweed didn't wash up onto his feet.

Cute toes!

The next day, we went to Old Town San Diego. We looked at some of the sites and shops.
We visited the Mormon Battalion Museum in Old Town. It's really amazing what those men did for our country and faith. I had no idea.
In Old Town, there is a little root beer shop. We all got root beer floats...yummy!
The next day was Sunday, so after finally finding the church, sitting through sacrament meeting, and coming home, we went for a walk down the pier and boardwalk. It was fun to watch the surfers.
Monday, we went to Sea World. Since Jaxon loves Nemo, we thought he'd love all the fish there, and we were right! We fed the dolphins and every time I asked if he wanted to touch one, he said no, but he did touch a starfish!
He loved the helicopter in the Arctic movie/ride. Devin & I went on the roller coaster and got all wet. It was really fun! Since going to Disney World in December, I have grown a love for roller coasters! I wasn't sure if I should since I'm pregnant, but my belly barely touched the safety bar the baby and I were good!
Our last day we wanted to go to the beach again. It wasn't quite ideal weather for that, but we went anyway. Jaxon helped daddy build a sand castle. It was so cute to watch them together. Devin is such a good daddy!


Here is the view off our balcony (at night). Yep, that's the ocean:)
I love this pic. I think my husband is such a hottie and I absolutely love him!!!
Oh yeah, we saw Pauly Shore at the beach...hahaha...

If we ever move there (not that we are planning on it, but still) I will open a running store with everything anyone needs to run...shoes, clothes, strollers, etc. There are so many runners there it is awesome! I love to see people keeping their bodies fit. I really wanted to run on the beach or boardwalk, but my growing belly prevented it of course.