Dancing Queen

A Very Merry Unbirthday

Last week my parents were in town for a few days on their way back from Trinidad. For the past few years we've just happened to have the family together during Ella's birthday. This year, we decided to keep the tradition alive, even though we were a couple weeks shy of her actual birthday. It was a great day, even if it did wear us all out. And nobody was happier then the birthday girl.

We took a trip to the Park of Roses. All of the roses were fully in bloom. It was beautiful!

Molly has had this phobia of all living animals for awhile now, so I was a little concerned at how she would handle the zoo. She surprised us all, she loved it! She is still terrified of dogs though. Go figure.

We even got Molly into the petting zoo. It was an unbirthday miracle. This was the only time she got anywhere near any of the animals, though.

Grandmom and Molly in front of a huge, inflatable frog...

The birthday girl at Graeters.

My parents had gone six long months without good mexican food...

All tuckered out after a long, busy day.

They recently got new rides at the zoo. Ella and Molly both loved them. When Ella would go on the 'big girl rides' Molly would stand outside the gate reaching her little arms through and saying "More".

Eeewww....

Trinidad

We just got back from our trip to Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday. It was amazing! We had such a great time. It was fun and relaxing and everything a vacation should be, but rarely ever is! Thank you, thank you to my parents for flying us down there, and to Todd's mom for watching the girls so we could have a week to ourselves. We are so blessed!

Enjoying sand and surf at the beach in Trinidad. I tried a little body surfing, but usually just ended up with a nose full of sea water.

This is a beautiful shot going over the mountains on our way to the beach.

We went to Pitch Lake while we were there. It is a huge natural tar pit. It was really interesting. I guess China is getting all of their tar from Trinidad that they need for the Olympics. So while you are watching the Olympics, you can think of me... :)

We also went to the Floating Temple. It was supposed to be this temple built on a little island surrounded by water. But the tide was out so far you couldn't even see where the water started. That might have made it a little more impressive. But we were able to snag a couple of really cool pots that people throw out into the ocean after they worship. The tide brought them all up to the shore. I'm not sure if we were supposed to do that, but it was cool.

Here is a picture of us on the shore by the Floating Temple.

This a picture of my little brother Isaac. He went to a Hindu school while they were living there. The people were so nice and threw him a big going away party when he left. They made an authentic Indian meal for all of us. It was really good. They don't use silverware. I somehow managed to eat it all without spilling it on myself, but not without spilling it on Todd. His school is just made of cinderblock that was open to the outside, and it is just one large room where the classes are seperated by a chalkboard. It was a very different experience for him.

We took this picture while we were in Tobago. My parents flew us over there for three days. Todd brought bread out to feed the fish. He thought that was very cool.

The sunset right outside our hotel.

This was the view from our room.

This is a picture of all of us enjoying the sand bar in Tobago. Its supposedly the fourth wonder of the world. But its way out in the middle of the ocean, and the water only comes up to your waist. It is surrounded by coral reefs, which we got to see when we were out on the glass bottomed boat. Its the coral that makes the water so clear.

A picture of our hotel.

Todd outside our hotel.

We rented jet skis one day and took them out to the sand bar. It was awesome. We also got to snorkel while we were out there. Hence the snorkeling gear.

It was neat to be able to experience both islands. Tobago was really gorgeous. And Trinidad really made me appreciate how very blessed we are to live in the United States. The people there were wonderful. But it was good to get home. I was starting to miss my girlies. I came back rejuvenated and ready to be the world's greatest mom. But they were ready for me. I think they were great for Todd's mom, and then saved up all the whining and crying especially for me. Or they are trying to punish me for leaving them. Either way, life is back to normal. At least I have the pictures.