Summer has begun!

Summer is here! 

While Mario's parents and younger sister were still visiting us, we got to see Dulce's graduation from preschool

Dulce and her teacher, Miss Sara

With her friend and fellow classmate (Miss Sara's daughter)

Mario's family watching the graduation

Aspiring graduate

 and go to Tibble Fork Reservoir (with Audrey and Lily too!)  They caught some fish which we ate that night.  Luckily it wasn't as windy as the last time we went.

Mario (holding Luz) with Dulce

Dulce and Lily

We go to lots of parks and splash pads

Bluffdale slashpade/playground is aweeeesommmee.  Really big!

Luz isn't a fan of the cold water, but she enjoyed trying on shoes.

Dog duty at Saratoga Splash days!

I liked the smallish, fenced in playground/splash pad at the Orem University mall.

And the Thanksgiving Point venues

Bela's first time wanting to go on the pony ride!  She had always been scared but she really liked it once she did it.

Dulce's an old pro.

Checking out the chicks

On a nature walk in the outdoor section of the Museum of Curiosity

Outside the dinosaur museum with our bud, Madyx

And lots of outdoor time, doing new things, and having fun with family and friends!

They were thrilled with the "three-person swing" outside Smith's grocery store.

Bela loved her Coco purse treat bag she got at a birthday party

First time making donuts!

She is still obsessed with Cooper

Neighborhood friend

Little sister edition

And I got to hang out with two mission buds!  Sheree (right) lives in the same town as me now, and Jessica (middle) was visiting family in Utah. I trained both of them, but we also all lived together during the last part of my mission. 

Luz turned one!

...last month!
Our little Luz turned one on May 5 and we are so happy she’s a part of our family. She is mellow, easy to please, and so happy!
We call Luz "Lulu" because that's what Bela always called her and it just sort of stuck!
She has two bottom teeth and one top tooth and a few more top ones are coming through. She pulls herself up on things and has taken a few independent steps, but she’s not a walker yet. She loves playing with the water table outside, using ours”door slide” in the basement, and is pretty content doing most anything. She really enjoys bath time and splashing, but isn’t up for splash pads if the water is cold.  She loves the song "The Wheels on the Bus" and anything that has hand motions with it.
I love her belly laugh. 
Here are some favorite  pictures from the first part of her first year:

Brand new!

And some more recent ones:

Luz gets a lot of love from Bela, who always wants to snuggle something small and cute!

Looking a little crazed with Papa Abue

Felix cumple, Lulu!

Celebrating her #1 with an outdoor orchestra concert...and veggie straws!

Mexico

Mario's parents came into town for two weeks in May, and obligingly took care of our three children so Mario and I could go to MEXICO by OURSELVES for a week.  It was blissful.  We did fun things, but my favorite thing was just not stressing out or worrying about the million little things I have to do as a mother and housekeeper normally.  SO NICE!
We landed in Cancun and went to see Mario's aunt and her family.  It was fun to meet his dad's sister, her husband, and their three kids. We went out out to eat with them and stayed the night there before heading to our hotel the next morning.  I sadly did not get a picture!  I loved how they had fruits trees in their yard.  And one of their son's dogs loooved the pool.  (I did take a picture of that, for Dulce.)

We stopped at Playa Delfines on our way to tour hotel. Embarrassed at how long we stood in line to take this picture...

We stayed in nice little hotel, Riviera del Sol, in Playa del Carmen. It was a block from the beach and a block from la Quinta Avenida (where the restaurants and shops were).

View from the hotel.  See the beach? So close!

We picked a hotel right close to the beach because our plan was to just relax on the beach every day for a week but we ended up going once for like 30 mins to take a nap on an overcast day.  The afternoon we got to Playa I had some ceviche that tasted sparkly (for lack of a better word) and was OUT all Thursday - nauseas, etc.  Mario ate it too, but he was fine...

Friday we went to Xcaret and LOVED it.  I definitely would have planned for and gotten the two-day pass next time.  It was an ecological park with animals and plants and beach and they had a really cool show at night about the history of Mexico.  My favorite part was the underground river you could swim/float through.  I didn't take a ton of pictures, but we both really enjoyed it and hope to take our kids with us next time!

Saturday morning we drove two hours to Chichen Itza.  I definitely suggest getting a tour guide, which we did NOT do.  We met up with Mario's aunt (another one of his dad's sisters), her husband, and their three kids.  I had seen and learned a lot about Chichen Itza and it was neat to see it in real life. 

Mario and his uncle at the ball court

Mario's three cousins rode back in our car and I looked back once to see them all like this with their seat belts in a big complicated mess haha!

After Chichen Itza we drove to Merida (two hours north) and stayed with his family that night.  It was fun going out to eat in the city center and seeing people out and about late (by our standards).   I bet people who make the transition from that to Utah would be sad that the night life here is not like that!  We went to church with them the next day and then headed back to Playa!

With his Merida relatives!  (One cousin is taking the picture,)

Monday we went to Cozumel and went snorkeling.  In my opinion, the reef looked pretty dead.  We saw some neat things but I was a little disappointed.

In the evening we just went back to Playa, ate, and spent the rest of our pesos.  We left early the next morning, sad to leave the beach but very excited to see our kids!

I thought they only had these signs in Cancun, but they were everywhere!

At the Plaza by the beach near our hotel.