Cece's First Dance Recital

 

This weekend, Cece put on her tiny shoes, big tutu, and show-stopping smile and melted my heart as she danced in her first recital. She has only been taking her dance class for a little over a month, but is having a BLAST with it. She is always asking if it's "Monday Special Day" when she gets to go to preschool in the morning and dance class at night. Seriously, she loves Monday more than anyone I know. (Her disdain for Taco Tuesday is another story though.)

Although the audience was far larger than I was expecting, she remained unfazed and totally delivered the goods.  A BIG thank you to Cece's cheering section for coming out! (Grandma and Grandpa and the Olsons. Also, thank you, Andrea, for getting this video! Cece is the one on the end, closest to the camera.) 

I am still in disbelief that our baby is big enough to do things like this now. I don't if this is going to be a long-term interest or activity for her, but I'm thrilled that she's just having so much fun with it right now. 

Thank you for being YOU, Cece! We are so proud of you!

And we're off to join the circus...

I decided for my 29th birthday that I wanted to check off a bucket list item and take a flying trapeze class. It took a little effort to pick a date and arrange for a babysitter. But we made it happen!

And I wanted Joe to take it with me, of course. Even though he warned me that he might be really amazing and I might get jealous of his skills. (Obviously.)

Here is a video of each of us during our first class, successfully making our first "catch."

 I would highly recommend Twin Cities Trapeze Center for anyone who enjoys, well, anything fun!  I seriously feel like I've fallen in love. I find my mind constantly wandering back to trapeze and smiling whenever I'm thinking about it. And I'm trying to figure out when I can go back next.  Even though climbing the ladder, standing on the platform, and grabbing the bar was nothing short of terrifying, the thrill and exhilaration I felt once in the air was just incredible. I mean, come on, it's FLYING!

Honeymoon Part II

Hola! Here are some honeymoon photos taken from our trip to Huatulco, Mexico with the real camera!



Down by the beach at our hotel. Nothing like a vacation for two to make you seriously consider getting a selfie stick...


 

I asked Joe to take a photo of me while backlit by the sun so I would look like an angelic beach angel. Totally worked.





On our last day of the trip, I was recovering from tummy troubles, but still managed to win the "surfing" competition down at the pool. (I probably only won because I was the only contestant who hadn't been drinking, haha.)



This is the right half of the resort.

 

The sky bar was in the center of the hotel. The view was so cool during sunrise, sunset, and really all times in between. We took to drinking sueros which is a non-alcoholic drink that is supposed to help you rehydrate after being in the sun all day. Important for Minnesotans who haven't seen sunlight in six months.



The hallway to our hotel room.

And our hotel room. Housekeeping kind of went crazy with the rose petals. This isn't even one of the grandiose displays.

 

I didn't take a lot of food photos this trip. I was too busy shoving it in my face. (MAYBE that's where the tummy troubles came from.)

Here are photos from our three levels of Huatulco excursion.

^^^This was the first "level" of Huatulco. Beautiful views, even for the dry season.^^^

Below is the town of Santa Maria. Unlike Cancun and Playa Del Carmen, Huatulco is much smaller and quieter. Tourism is not nearly as developed, but it's a peaceful area with a low crime rate. The businesses here produce goods mainly for the people of the town, not tourists. We were told that much effort being made to make Huatulco a sustainable tourist area so that the environment is protected and so are the people who inhabit the area.

We watched these tortillas get made and then we got to eat them. SO good.

 

We visited an 84 year old bakery that had been passed down from generation to generation and even ate bread baked in the stone oven.

 

 

Our van broke down on the way up the mountain to see the third level of Huatulco (the level that would yield us coffee), we still made it up there via taxi and brought home a few kilos of  coffee. So the day may have gone off-course, but we still did what we came to do.

 

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Lastly, as you may have noticed, we didn't have a lot of photos of just the two of us. On our last day we did a small photo session with the hotel photographer. She got a lot of great shots, and below are the ones we purchased. Even with my poofy hair, I'm so happy we have these to remember our trip by.

 

 

 

 

I want to thank my dear husband once more for taking us on such a sweet and memorable trip! And a HUGE thank you to my in-laws who watched our girls for a week. It means more to me than you know. It came at a great time as we have been together for 10 years and married for almost five.

 

With two little ones, it can be so hard to find time to ourselves, just to even have a conversation. That being said, this trip gave us that uninterrupted time punctuated by drinks, tacos, gorgeous views, and nice hot weather. Although the whole week-wasn't smooth sailing, but hey, that's life. And we are nothing, if not adaptable. I will always cherish this trip and it'll have a special place in my heart.

 

Adios until next time, Huatulco!

 

If you are interested (and you think you can stomach watching a really shaky video), below  is some footage of our time in Huatulco:

 

 

 

Merry Christmas (2014)!

Merry Christmas! (Or "Merry Craziness" as Cece said today. She has uttered a lot of gems this holiday season, including "Rosie is my reindeer!" And also "Is Santa bringing MORE presents tonight?" Good times.)

 

Today felt special as we celebrated our first Christmas as a family of four. It was also the first time we spent Christmas eve and day in our own home. The kids blessedly slept in until nearly eight and we were even able to have coffee before present-exchanging. (Thanks, Santa!)

 

We spent the morning opening gifts, playing with new gifts, playing with wrapping paper, and having a nice big brunch. All of this wore Cece out and then she napped for nearly three hours. Since Cece received ice skates for Christmas, we wanted to find a rink to break them in. We checked out three outdoor rinks near our home, but none were open. We  ended up at The Depot in downtown Minneapolis. It was the first time we've ever skated there. It was busy, but such a cool historic and Christmasy atmosphere. We ended the day with enchiladas for dinner, lots of silliness, baths, books, and bed.

 

I put together a video of today's events. The first part of the video is when we decorated the tree earlier this month and then Christmas Day. (I inherited my dad's shaky camera hands for sure. And focusing is a serious issue for me with shooting video, but I don't care. I'm so glad we have some footage to remember the day by!) Also, we are currently dog sitting "Black Dog" for my brother. So that is the mini-Maya that appears in the movie!

 

 

I hope you enjoyed your holiday and especially enjoyed your time with loved ones. I felt very fortunate to spend the day enjoying my family. Merry Christmas, once more!

(Music: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Christina Perri)