If I Could Turn Back Time

Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and share sage bits of wisdom with myself as a kid. Just to let kid-me know that being  kid is awesome and I/she/we should relish it. Or just for fun to see what kid-me was like from a grown-up perspective.

Some useful advice for Lisa, from Lisa of THE FUTURE:

Bedtimes are good for you.

You will never be a morning person, just accept it and move on.

Your friend who said she likes to eat raw butter was lying. No one likes that.

Even though you think having 3 purple "Pied Piper" shirts and wearing a different one every day means you're wearing a different shirt every day, to the rest of the world you are just wearing the same shirt. every. single. day.

Don't try to lie to your parents. You are the worst liar in the world (along with Jen and Holly) and they always know the truth. (To this day I don't know how they know, they just do!)

Swearing does not make you as rebellious as you think it does. (I'm not encouraging children swearing, just in case that's what you thought was happening here.)

When Adam gives you a bite of his food and says, "Try it, it's a Chinese vegetable." It is definitely NOT a Chinese vegetable. Also, your mom sitting there watching it happen will not warn you because she thinks it's funny.

Try a mango. It's a fruit.

Use your wishes on something other than a puppy. Maybe that way they'll come true.

Sleepovers are overrated.

Participate in some extracurricular activities.

The ocean is just as scary and awesome as you always imagined.

Don't stress about not being able to roller skate. Running around in socks is almost as fun.

I'm lying, roller skating is way more fun. Stop being such a scaredy cat.

Practice your aim. A lot of problems could be avoided if you can have better aim.

Staying up all night to read is usually worth it. Staying up all night to watch TV rarely is.

When you are sitting in the tree in the front yard singing at the top of your lungs, people can hear you. 

If a tree falls in the rainforest, a bug does NOT die in Europe.

Some Democrats do drive minivans.

Semis will get in your lane a lot. Just wait for them to move over, they will.

Buckle your seatbelt.

A great way to get out of school is to get hit by a car. (Just kidding.) (Kind of.)

Kelli will get less annoying as you both get older. So just let her hug you already.

Go get 'em, Lisa.

(PS I just watched a man outside my window try to get in the wrong car. He realized after several unsuccessful attempts that his car was the silver car next to the one he was trying to enter. I'm dying laughing at this man and he will never know it.)

How Have You Changed in the Last 2 Years?

I feel like I've changed more in the past 3 years of being married than I have in any other 3 years of my life. I feel that way, even though it's probably not true. 

Changes come so gradually that I feel like it's hard to pinpoint exactly how things have changed, but there are some big changes that I feel like are noticeable. At least to me.

I've been feeling really negative about myself lately so some of the changes I know about are because I wish they are things that hadn't changed and I would to go back to the way I was before, or actually a more improved version of what I was before. Am I even making sense?

Things that have changed (that I wish hadn't)

My weight
My style
My ability to be funny
My relationships with my friends (see previous post...)

Things I'm doing to fix these things

1. I have lost 13 pounds since February. This is nowhere near my overall goal, but I'm trying. I did a few weeks of a program called Take Shape for Life and that really got the weight loss started but it wasn't a great sustainable program for me because I struggled a lot with a lack of variety. So now I'm using MyFitnessPal to track calories and I'm using Runkeeper to do a 5k training program. I would really like to do yoga again, because it's one of my favorite exercises.
2. My style issues really are directly related to #1. I've been boycotting purchasing new clothes because I don't want to accept that this is the size that I am. I have all my old clothes, both pre-pregnancy Mara and pre-pregnancy Mo. I don't want to throw out all of my "skinny" clothes because I hope to get back to that point at some point in my life, hopefully sooner than later. I'm close to breaking though and just buying new stuff. The difficult thing is...and I realize this is a bit ridiculous...I don't know how to dress this body to make it look/feel good. I've never been this size and even though I know there are lots of options for all shapes and sizes, I just don't know how to do it.  But I do try to dress relatively nicely for work, which is a little helpful.
3. I think this has to do partly with my change from being single/childless to being married/mother. I am in no way blaming my amazing children or my fantastic husband. This is alllll me. It's hard for me to balance being a wife/mother with being my own person. This year (as in calendar year 2014) I have done a few things to try and improve myself to help me feel like a unique individual. Holly and I took an adult swim class earlier this year because neither of us had ever learned how to swim. Like pretty much at all. The class was twice a week for 8 weeks and it was really great. We only really got to learn one style of swimming but I really learned a lot and it felt so good to take a class and learn something new. Bonus: I may have a better shot at surviving the apocalypse!
4. This one is kind of tough. It is pretty hard to stay close with friends who are different points in their lives, meaning mostly that I have kids and they don't. This is something that as a couple Hondo and I have had a difficult time with since living in Utah. Lately we've really been thinking we should move to Salt Lake because it is so much less of a bubble than the Provo/Orem area. Orem is a great place to live but we haven't found our niche here. We are trying though. I've been trying to make some new friends to add to the old. 

I'm blessed in many ways. My relationships with my siblings are still strong and they truly are the best friends that I have. I'm pretty healthy overall minus the weight issue, which I'm working on. My girls are my world and I just want to spend all the days with them that I possibly can. Hondo and I are going strong and are looking forward to our trip to Ireland in a few weeks. Things are good and the past two  years have been full of trials and blessings but I wouldn't really change my life if I had the chance. If I work hard I can change those few things that I'm not happy with.

A Letter to my Ex(friend)

Dear Ex,

Hey. Well it's been awhile since we spoke. I really don't know what's going on in your life at all these days, seeing as we've removed each other from our Instagram and you got a new Facebook account. How are you doing? How are things in your new life, your new relationship(s), your new home?

I miss talking to you. I guess we may have talked less seeing as we don't live in the same place anymore, but still. I miss having you be just a text or phone call away.

You haven't seen my family in awhile. They're beautiful and amazing. I'm sure yours is awesome, too. It would be nice to meet them.

This is hard. I actually do want to know how you are doing, because I still care about you. A lot. Years of my life spent in your company is apparently not something I can get over in a short amount of time. But even if you answered these questions I would have a really hard time believing what you said. I'd hope you'd tell me the truth. I always thought you were before though and look where that has gotten me.

I probably could still message you if I wanted. But I feel like if I did that somehow that would be telling you that it's okay, that the way you treated me is fine and there shouldn't be consequences. That is not the case. No one should ever be put through what you put me through.

Sometimes when I go out I wonder what I would say if I ran into any mutual friends that we had. I kind of wish that I would see someone, so if they asked about you I could tell them what you did. 

But also I really hope that I don't run in to anyone because I don't want to tell anyone what you did. I'm somehow still protective of you, even after everything.

Sometimes I really really want someone to ask me about what happened so I could tell them everything. All the details. I would feel so validated to have someone be shocked and appalled with/for me. It would be so nice to have an excuse to cry about what happened, because I guarantee there would be tears in the retelling.

I'm still really struggling, like really really, with the way things ended. I don't feel...closure? Like you took pieces of me and crushed them and walked away and there was no difference in your life. I obviously can't tell for sure, since we don't communicate, but I guess it would be nice to know that somehow you are sad or miss me, too.

I'm sure therapy would help. Not as much as it would help you, but we already know that asking you, no begging you, to get help doesn't do a damn thing.

I am angry. At you. At what you did. At the fact that I'm having such a hard time getting over it.

What really sucks is that I would love to close with some promise of someday, like "maybe someday we can be friends again." I can't say that because realistically I know that will probably never happen. I think that is part of what makes this harder, that this really is it. Minus the pretend conversations that I have with you in my head, there is no future for us.

You were one of my best friends. I know you know that.

I really do wish you the best. And I'm sorry.

Lisa

Weird Things I Do When I'm Alone

Sometimes I wonder if when I'm alone, that is the real me, if that's the person that I should be all the time because when I'm alone no one is judging me but me.

But really, I think I'm a weirdo when I'm alone and I'm not sure the world is ready for all that.

Some (weird) things that I do when I'm alone:

1. I never close the door when I use the bathroom. I think this has to do with self-preservation, like if someone broke in to my house while I was peeing I'd somehow be better prepared for it if the door is open. Also, then there are no surprises when I open the door. I can see/hear it coming.

2. Try on old clothes to see if they fit/gauge how soon they will fit. The answer to this seems to always be "never" but I'm still holding out for a miracle.

3. Cry. Not always. Not even often. But I'd rather be alone to cry about crappy days or stress than drag someone else down with me.

4. Eat Ramen noodles. I love Ramen still but I feel guilty eating it as a meal because I know how bad it is for me, so I eat it when no one else is around. Then I pretend (to myself, because there's no one there to judge me anyway) that I didn't. 

5. Take naps

6. Clean. It is so much easier to do when no one is there to distract/mess up what I just cleaned.

7. Have really intense arguments with people who I may or may not be holding slight grudges against. And by arguments I really mean one-sided conversations where my rhetorical powers are so great that the opposing party is rendered speechless except maybe to say, "You're right..."

I am realizing that I'm not a weird as I thought I was, or as weird as I once was. I must have mellowed in my old age. Or gotten boring. 

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

2013. What a year we had. I believe I blogged 5 times the entire year so...sorry? 

I've said in other spaces that we had a particularly rough year here at the Guzman house. Those rough times were mixed in with some bright spots that were really high points. So here it goes, all the highs and lows listed out in one post. I think alternating highs and lows will break up the unfortunate parts a bit and make my memory of the last year seem less depressing.

I'll start with the lowest low, which was the death of my Gram, which I blogged about here. It happened right at the beginning of the year, and put a damper on many moments throughout the year. We miss her a lot.

The highest of highs was Mara joining our family. We have been unbelievably blessed with this beautiful little person who just feels like she's been here all along, she fits so seamlessly. She was born September 17th after a relatively easy labor and birth. After my traumatic experience with Monroe's birth, we were definitely grateful that things worked out so well this time. Don't get me wrong, labor suuuuuuuccccks. It's super painful and recovering is almost as bad because it takes so long, but compared to last time we had a much better experience. We almost didn't make it in time for me to have an epidural (I was in labor all day but we waited until after work to head to the hospital) and if that had happened the labor would've been included as a low for me. Luckily we did make it. Although, funny thing, both of my kids have been born face up. Maybe it's the way my uterus is shaped or something, I don't know, but it's strange that it happened both times. My lovely stargazers.

I know it's super selfish to include this as a low, but this is my experience and I can't lie about it. I hate being pregnant, so a low for me was the pregnancy part, although this time there was some added stress that I didn't share with anyone but family. At our 20 week ultrasound we went together and were annoyingly unable to see whether or not it was a boy or a girl, but that lack of information became secondary at my follow-up appointment when my doctor informed me that there was a spot on the baby's heart that could possible be a blockage. He said that since the baby was growing normally they weren't too worried but worst case scenario she might need surgery after she was born. I was able to stay calm in that moment but I called Hondo and started crying when I told him. I had never even imagined that there could be something wrong with our baby and needless to say it caused some more emotional stress and nervousness. Anyway, after a follow up ultrasound at 24 weeks and another at 30 weeks, we were finally told that her heart looked fine but that it was a soft marker for down syndrome. So we met with a genetic counselor to discuss that possibility. 

I want to be clear on this: if Mara had been born with an extra chromosome, I know it would be nothing but a blessing in our lives. I was nervous but okay with that possibility because I know that we would handle it wonderfully and that no matter what, our happiness would have increased the same amount as it has with Mara being born without that genetic alternative. So obviously, God did not see fit to bless us with a child with downs syndrome at this time. We were blessed with Mara, which after the stress and semi-eventful pregnancy, was and is awesome.

Another big high for us this year was lots and lots of family time and fun family trips. Starting in March, Hondo and I got to go to California to celebrate our 2nd anniversary, which I actually blooged about here. Then in May Monroe and I got to go with Holly to Nashville to visit Stef for her birthday and for a really fantastic visit, which I shared here. <---- that post also includes our trip to Denver to see John Mayer at Red Rocks, which was our last trip before Mara was born and an all around good time.

Low point? My sweet dog Lizzie had to be put down after we found out she had bone cancer. Lizzie was quite possible the best dog we ever had and it was heartbreaking. She loved loved loved Mo and Mo loved her and still looks at pictures of her on my phone and says, "It's Lizzie!" which I love and hurts all at the same time.

High point--Kelli's wedding, which was so fun for many reasons but mainly because our whole family was together for the wedding and celebratory events leading up to and after the ceremony. We had a lot of fun playing and planning and celebrating that joyful occasion. It's kind of weird to think we're all married now, but at the same time not because every person in our family, whether biological or in-law, feels like they belong. Which I love.

Low--Hondo's job has been kind of...frustrating this year. After a company merge/investor deal, he's been dealing with some of the office politics and changes that come along with that and it's been hard on him and us. 

High--I've been home with Mo for over a year and I see how she has blossomed and grown and been so happy to be with me, which makes me happy. This is especially been a blessing seeing as I am going to be going back to work soon. I'm glad we had this time together. She is my favorite.

Low--which maybe I shouldn't share but I'm going to anyway. I had a dear friend who I have been close with for the past 5-6 years tell me that she had cancer and she only had 6 months to live. As you can imagine, this was really difficult to handle and many conversations and tears were shared in the following months. Turns out, she made it all up and didn't really have cancer. 

This experience has been really difficult. I am an extremely honest person and apparently to my own detriment believe that those people who I love and let in to my life are being honest with me, so it has been a harsh reality to discover that that isn't always the case. It has led me to question every interaction I've ever had with this person, which sucks because we've had some fun times together and I feel like everything is tainted with betrayal. I believe that many of the fantastic stories she has told me over the years are all false and I hate that. I am still trying to remember that the bad doesn't have to outweigh the good but it is hard. I am also trying to remember that this issue comes from what I can only believe is a disorder, and that she couldn't help herself.

To this person, if you are reading--I love you. I have trusted you with many things over these years and I hope that you have felt that you could trust me. I am here and willing to help you get the help you so desperately need to overcome this, which is something I truly believe you can change and get control over, but not on your own. When you are ready to seek counseling, I will support you. Until then, please, please try to remember that your actions can and do affect and effect those around you. I wish you the best.

High--new friends. In December of 2012 there was a uneventful "event" where a blogger that I follow encouraged the women in the LDS church to wear pants to church on one particular Sunday, to show that we stand in solidarity with each other and that there is a place for women who feel left out or marginalized by the Church for any reason. The media got wind and there was quite the fallout afterwards, which was both heartbreaking to witness and liberating for many. I wore pants to church that day, and in doing so met my new amazing friend Lamia, who also wore pants. Hondo and I have been enormously blessed to get to know Lamia and her husband, Matt, who would both probably be so embarrassed at my mentioning them because they are super quiet and reserved. But I knew when I saw Lamia that day that we were kindred spirits, and I was not wrong. I am so happy to have a friend close by who I can talk to about all sorts of things and feel like I won't be judged for my opinions or beliefs. We love you guys! Thanks for being our friends!

Of course, there are many more ups and downs from the year that could and would take hours to list. We were really ready for 2013 to end and for 2014 to begin. It's already looking like a lot of changes will be happening in our little family this year, which we are looking forward to. Uncertainty is hard, but we have weathered most of the storms to the best of our ability and I believe have grown and will continue to grow as we move forward. We've been discussing goals that we have for this year, where we want to be and what we want to accomplish as individuals and as a family, and I think we're on a great track starting out.

Maybe I'll blog more this year even. Maybe like...6 or 7 times. That'd be an improvement! 

Happy New Year everyone!

My Monroe

Having two babies close together in age is turning out to be a bit bittersweet for me. On the one hand, I know that for Monroe it will probably be an easier transition into sharing her parents with another kid because she is so young and won't remember what it is like to be the only child. On the other, (oh my gosh I'm already crying) she won't remember this time that we've had together and I will. Even though being at home is hard for me a lot of the time, I have absolutely loved the time that I've had with just me and my Monroe. She's my little best friend and it's kind of scary to imagine bringing another person into our daily mix.

So I'm going to just talk about Mo. Who she is and the things I love about her, her quirks and hilarious personality.

This video makes me laugh out loud every time I watch it

Mo is very much a mini version of me. Not in her face, although her nose comes from me, but she looks more like her Dad and has since day 1. No, her personality comes from me and I love it. There are things about that which obviously I hope she doesn't have to deal with (like everyone always describing me as someone who you'll like and think is funny once you get to know me) but really I can't imagine her being any other way.

She is very much 2. The moodiness that comes with her age hit pretty much right around her birthday, but she handles it in such funny ways. Hondo and I don't let her throw tantrums or fits, so pretty much the second she tries to start we'll tell her that she can throw a fit in her room or communicate what is wrong. So now, it having been about a month or more of this, if she starts to throw an angry fit I don't even have to say anything. She'll lash out for a second and then look at me and say "Go to my room." And I'll let her choose whether or not she wants to. Sometimes she does, but she'll just stand in the doorway and look out at me until I say "are you done?" and then she'll come out. It's pretty funny to watch, although I obviously can't laugh. She's such a good kid, always has been, and she listens to us so well that we hardly even have to discipline her.

With her cousin Quincy in July

One of her favorite things to say is "I can't want to." Her dad HATES it when she says it! She really means "I don't want to," but somewhere between learning to say that and hearing the words "I can't" (thanks a lot, Finding Nemo) she combined the phrases into her own unique phrase. 



Another phrase she picked up which is about the best thing I've ever had anyone say to me is "I'm so happy to see you." Hondo would get home from work and give her a big hug and say that to her almost daily, so now anytime she gives me or him (or Aunt Holly) a hug, she says "I'm happy to see you!" and adds "Everyday." Hearing her perfect little voice say that pretty much melts away any bad feelings you could have been having that day. 

Doing some exercises with Dad

She loves reading. We've read all of her books so many times that I have over half of them memorized, Hondo could probably recite at least 1/4 from memory, and Mo herself can pretty much "read" them to me without any prompting. She is so smart; she knows all of her letters and can count to 20 (mostly, she tends to skip 5 and for some reason tries to jump to 17 too quickly) and also to 10 in Spanish. She knows letters by sight, and we're working on sound recognition.

I haven't attempted potty training yet because it intimidates me and until I feel like I'm ready to tackle it I don't think it's fair to try to get her to do it. Hondo and I disagree about this a bit, he's ready for her to be done with diapers but I'm just really nervous about trying it for some reason. But sometime pretty soon we'll probably start that whole process. She is definitely smart enough to get it, I'm not really worried about it.

She loves babies and animals. Doggies have been her favorite since she was a baby, and she also loves horses. But pretty much any animal makes her all excited. She even (heaven help me!) gets excited when she sees ants on the sidewalk. I'm not at all scared about how she'll handle having a baby around the house all the time, I know she'll be a great helper and an amazing big sister.

For her birthday we took her to the children's museum in SLC. She had lots of fun with all the activities there

She loves playing in the water, it's unfortunate that summer is over and all the pools are closed. She's very brave and even though I am a little nervous I let her explore and go in the water by herself. She will go down the little kid slides over and over without help. I think she'll do great with swimming in her life. 

We had a hard time with bedtime for quite awhile this year. She got sick and her schedule was thrown off by the time change in March, and for pretty much the next 4-5 months she wouldn't go to bed until 11 or later. Not fun for Hondo and me. We stopped trying to fight her on it because she somehow can make herself throw up when she doesn't want to do something. SUPER ANNOYING and gross. After cleaning vomit off her floor and her bed for about a week we just gave up and let her fall asleep in our bed, then move her to hers. But lately things have gotten a lot better--we've established a little routine for bed time and she's been going to bed between 9 and 10 which is amazing! Except she then wakes up at like 7 which is not my fav. I'm not a morning person.

Monroe is always such a happy girl. It makes me feel like we're doing something right that she is so happy. I'm very excited for her to have a sister, because I love my sisters and can only pray they have the same close relationship as I have with all of my sisters. 

A Little Bit Of Summer's What the Whole Year's All About

It is HOT. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that, but it is really so hot and I am almost over it!

Almost.

Summer is typically my favorite time of year, probably having to do with childhood and not having school/my birthday occurring in the summer months. 

We have been blessed with a pretty fantastic summer, aside from the excessive 100 degree days. 

In May Mo and I were able to fly with Holly to Nashville for Stef's birthday, which was so fun. I'd been to Nashville once but not since the Griffiths have lived there, and Holly (and Mo, obviously) had never been. We had so much fun, I really appreciate having time with my sisters and I LOVE it when Monroe gets to play with her cousins! They wear each other out in the best possible way--seriously, Mo slept for 11 hours one of the nights that we were there which has never happened before. I posted most of my pics from that trip on Facebook already so I won't rehash everything we did here, but I am definitely looking forward to another trip out there! Hopefully Hondo will be able to come with us next time!

Hey Holly I just noticed the shirt you're wearing in this pic. Premonition, maybe?!

Two weeks after we got back from Nashville, Holly, Mo, and I packed up the car again and went to Montrose for Kelli's bridal shower. The weekend ended up being even more fun than we had anticipated because all of us Mahan kids (minus Stef, who was sorely missed) were able to spend the weekend at Mom and Dad's. More cousin time, more sister/brother time--always lots of fun. When I get together with my family, I tend to leave my phone sitting on a shelf and not take any pictures because I know that everyone else is documenting the weekend, and also no one else ever calls me except my family. So when we're all together, I really don't even need a phone. Except to once again communicate long distance with my hubs, who wasn't able to come again. Mo got in some fun cousin time with the rest of her cousins who don't live in Nashville, and Kelli got some super fun stuff for her new adorable married house! (She wasn't married yet but is now so I can say that.)

Here's a pic from that weekend. Kelli's wedding prep (including the shower) was fun and a bit stressful for some of us but everything went so well!

When we got home from Montrose that weekend, we settled in for a few weeks of relative normalcy before Kelli's actual wedding. I turned 26 on the 17th, which we celebrated with not too much pomp and circumstance. Hondo spoiled me a bit (as usual!) and stayed home with Mo for a day so I could go to a spa and get a full package--massage, facial, mani/pedi. It was pretty fantastic.

At the end of June was Kelli's actual wedding, and this time we weren't the ones who did the traveling. My family made the trek here from all over since Kelli and Tyler were married in the Mount Timpanogos temple, the same one Hondo and I were sealed in in 2012. They started showing up on Wednesday of that week, which we celebrated by going out as just us sisters to get our nails done. I can't tell you the last time we got to spend time together as just us 5 (or 6, once Kara got here too) of us. No kids, no husbands/boyfriends, no parents. I think we tried to figure it out and it was probably around the time that Stef was married 5 years ago. It may be another 5 years or more before we get to again so it was greatly appreciated 

I don't think we got a pic of all of us at the nail salon, but I promise Stef and Jen were there too. Also that we were having fun!

Holly actually made the kid doing her nails laugh so hard he practically had to stop painting for a minute. Typical Mahan shenanigans. 

Our houses are small but it's always fun to have family or friends stay with us! We had the Griffiths and Kelli staying with us, but during the day a lot of down time (if there was any) was spent at our house because we have more kid friendly things to do at our house. Makes sense, seeing as we have a kid and all. So our home was a disaster for the weekend but I swear the second my family shows up Mo doesn't even care that Hondo or I are there anymore, it's all about cousins and Aunts and Uncles and Gramma and Grandad. She'll generally check in with me once every few hours or so just to say hi or get a hug and then I don't see or talk to her again for the next few hours. 

On Thursday after we had gotten most things done for the day that we could we took Kelli to a local trampoline gym to play for an hour for her bachelorette party. I was unable to participate in the act of jumping, but got plenty out of it still just sitting on the side watching. I don't know if any of us have laughed that hard in a long time--I know my cheeks were hurting afterwards from smiling so much. Trampolines are just the type of thing that you forget is fun as an adult but once you go on one again you wonder why you ever stopped. This trampoline gym even offers aerobic classes a few times a week, which Holly and I may have to check out in a few months.

This is an after shot--if you can't tell by the red faces and huge smiles

The wedding was on Friday, and everything went wonderfully. We had some last minute setting up and getting ready to do that morning, but they were sealed at 3pm without any issues (aside from me dropping some of the cupcakes, but don't tell! I didn't tell Kelli about it) and the reception was that night. It was about 101 degrees that day, so pictures were a bit tortuous but Kelli's photographer was great and the results have been fantastic. 

The whole day was fabulous, and Kelli and Tyler are married! So crazy! She is my last sibling to get married, from now on we're going to have to start doing family reunions if we want to get together--all the major life events are pretty much over! (Aside from babies and such, but we don't get together at each birth.) Reunions and Powderhorn weekend are pretty much all we have left. So weird!

Okay this is turning into a super long post but one more vacation happened this summer and then I promise I'm done! We aren't going anywhere else for a while!

Back in March we procured tickets to see John Mayer play at Red Rocks on July 17th. So Hondo, Mo and I drove to Denver for the concert and to spend the weekend. I haven't driven to Denver in several years, we usually fly, but decided to save a bit of money and make the drive this time. We drove to Grand Junction Tuesday night and stayed with my Grandma and Grandpa Gray, then went the rest of the way on Wednesday morning. The concert was that night and it was, as always, amazing. Live music is almost always worth the cost of the ticket, and to see John Mayer especially--he is soooooo good. I've only seen him 6 times in the past 10 years, so you know, I'm no expert. :) 

This was Hondo's second concert ever! Red Rocks is the best possible venue, we had so much fun and conquered the stairs just fine!

On Thursday we got to spend time with Jen and her girls (and my Mom) going to the Denver zoo. We've taken Mo to the zoo in SLC but it's kind of pathetic comparatively. Mo loved the animals and was super worn out by the end. We all were really, it's a pretty big zoo!

At the zoo, it actually wasn't too hot which was nice.

Thursday night we got to spend some time at my Aunt and Uncle's for a BBQ, which was so great. We don't get to see them often anymore so any time spent is always good. 
Friday we spend some time in our old stomping grounds and went to the Bay in Broomfield. All the girlies got to swim and play and we just relaxed in the water. With babies though the swimming days never last too long, which is turns out was good because even though I offered to put sunscreen on my super-white husband a few times, he declined and as a result was burned to a crisp.

Dad and Monroe at the pool

We stayed at a hotel in downtown Denver, so Friday night we walked a few blocks to 16th street to get dinner and go window shopping. I do love Denver.

We had to leave Saturday afternoon, but not til after I got to stop by a meet my friend Caitlin's new baby (who was 1 day old!) and to celebrate Tessa's 1st birthday.

Caitlin had never met Mo either! So great to see them even for a few minutes

Mo and Quincy looking super cool

Our trip back home was uneventful, we got to stop and spend another night at the Gray's and then come the rest of the way on Sunday. It was a great family vacation, and one of our last for awhile. Maybe around the holidays this year we'll be ready to travel again, but we aren't planning on anything yet.

This summer has felt long and hot--it's one of the hottest we've had in Utah and definitely the hottest I've been in probably ever. Mo and I try to spend some time outside when we can, but it's usually not too long since neither of us are up to the heat at this point. Hondo is starting some classes at UVU this semester, which will be an adjustment for us as a family but I'm so proud of him for going back to school. A lot is changing for us Guzmans this year, and we're grateful for the blessing of lots of family time we've had this summer.