Rolling Around

We went on a little drive this afternoon to get out of the house. I am always amazed at the beauty of this place. When I was a teacher in Leavenworth I would sometimes go on walks during my lunch break. Seconds away from the school I was away from the stress of work and I could see horses, fields, and these majestic peaks in the distance. It was so peaceful and beautiful that it would brighten the rest of my hectic day.



Darn! I wish this photo was not out of focus. She had such a dreamy look in her eyes this afternoon; I'm sure my mom will see a bit of "Annie" in this one! Below is a short video of our little rolling girl! She thinks that she can get a toy in front of her by rolling back and forth. It looks like a good workout, maybe I should join in!

By the way, I fixed the video below that was not working... now you can have your 8 seconds of enjoyment. :)

The Tongue (Part 2)

This video was taken in December, but I just thought it was too cute to not post. I wish there was better lighting... her tongue and lip looked so funny!

Oh Maisy! Part 6

I don't think Maisy realizes that Brooke doesn't know how to throw her toy yet. Brooke likes to pull on Maisy's ears and get her fingers licked by Maisy.

New Tricks

I'm constantly amazed at how babies learn new skills. In a blink of an eye they can figure out how to use their muscles to balance themselves in a sitting position or flip themselves onto their belly. In the last two days we have watched Brooke sit up by herself for minutes on end and roll all the way over. She even figured out to get that pesky hand out from under the belly to the front.

It always seems like Brooke has a harder time getting back after a vacation. She seems to have a 20 second attention span and a 30 second nap time lately. Kent is working hard at school with the musical "Anything Goes" which is performing next week. I'm so excited for him to be home more in the coming weeks!

Grandpa Wally would be so proud of Brooke for this next "first". She has started to try out rice cereal and doesn't seem to mind it!

I don't know if you can see the bug bites (her souvenir from a night in Mexico) but they are starting to go away. Poor girl!

Kaili and Adam's Wedding

Thursday was the day for my cousin Adam's wedding. We piled into SUV's and headed up to Don Pedro's Brisa del Mar Palapa which overlooks the city of Sayulita. Everything was set for probably 70-80 guests!

Kaili looked so amazing in that dress!

Brooke was squinting from the bright sun. It was too hot for shoes!

The mariachi band was wonderful! They were a great backdrop for a lot of the photos. I wished that Kent could have been there to hear them.

Sawyer gets to hold Brooke "big cheeks" Chalmers.

"Woo-hoo!" Congratulations Adam and Kaili!

Before dinner they came by with drinks and chips with guacamole and salsa. Boy, they do not go light on the guacamole!!! The dinner to follow was one of the best dinners I have ever had. Mahi-mahi, shrimp, enchiladas, and so much more.



Visit this website to see info on the wedding and hear the song that her brother wrote for her. There was such great entertainment at the wedding. The slideshows, dancing by my cousins (choreagraphed by Kaili), their first dance with music sung by Kaili's siblings, a pinata, an awesome Cuban band and to top it off... fireworks! What a fabulous time!

Ricon de Guayabitos

We decided to go up to Ricon de Guayabitos to get an idea of what another small town was like. We took one bus out to the highway and another one north. The second bus was very comfortable and air conditioned but was very dark inside so we didn't see much scenery.

We really liked the beach here because the waves were much calmer than in Sayuilta. Again the pelicans were a lot of fun and pretty friendly.

School gets out around 1-2pm so we often saw the uniformed school children heading home; the girls in the front giggling and laughing and the boys running up behind.

My cousin Logan tried out the fish on the beach.




I'm loving the fruit!!!

Around Sayulita

Walking into town from our house we passed by this small creek. It was entertaining to watch cars pass through the murky water. There was a foot bridge so we didn't have to walk in the water.

Kids were everywhere. With their mothers while they cleaned the houses, in the businesses while their mothers worked, and on the backs of trucks as they drove through town. I watched as this young lady was trying to get this crying girl to ride the bike with her.

There are no paved streets in Sayulita. Most roads really need some work! There was also a lot of garbage on the sides of the streets. On Friday someone had gathered the leaves and garbage in little piles on the sides of the street and set them on fire. Everyday we watched men mix concrete right on the streets and fill buckets which were handed up one or two stories to workers who were waiting.

One of the sad parts for us were all the stray dogs and cats. We would often see a pack of three or four of the same type of dog roaming the streets looking for food. Some dogs were injured and some were very skinny.

Dad shopping in one of the many shops in Sayulita.

Scenes from the Beach

We have enjoyed watching the pelicans. They are very tame from being around us tourists. When the boats come in and the fish is cleaned they are all pacing around the fisherman. I especially loved how they seem to surf over the waves when they fly parallel to the waves.

I have used my Baby Bjorn carrier for hours everyday. She can fall asleep when facing me and can see the world move by when facing out.

When I took this photo I thought it was a seagull and a rock, but later found out that it was a dead fish... woops.

Yum! This is my kind of food!

Toys for sale! You can buy everything on the beach from the locals: henna tattoos, mobiles, donuts, fuit cups, name bracelets, jewelry, hats, sarapes, braiding hair services, lawn chairs, umbrellas and sceletons.