My last week of freedom

A few months ago Brad planned a Mexico vacation for our two year anniversary. We were excited because we found a pretty good deal for an all-inclusive hotel, so I rushed out and got a passport and started making plans. Then reality set in. We're trying to finish our basement and the bills are starting to add up. So instead of spending mucho dinero on a needless trip, we decided to buy the rest of our lumber and pay a professional to come install the heating and air (because we all know that if we try to do it ourselves, someone will get electrocuted). Anyway - the money was re-allocated to the basement fund, and our Mexico trip was cancelled. Brad was actually really cute about it... be felt like he was selling me short, but I promise, it was my idea. I hate being a responsible adult!

Wow - long introduction... so, we decided to still take some vacation time but do something a bit less expensive. We went out to California to visit Brad's siblings Amy & Frank and Adam & Jessalyn. It worked out perfectly because we spent a couple days in St. George with some friends first, then went out to California, and then caught Phantom in Las Vegas on the way home.


We spent a couple afternoons at (the other) Newport Beach with Amy's two kids, Ava and Koben. They are so much fun! Here's Koben eating the sunscreen... he's about seven months old now, and is just calm, content, and chubby. I love it! I swear - the cutest babies are the ones whose hands look like they're screwed on at the wrist.


And here's our little diva, Ava, playing with the sand. She refuses to actually sit in the sand, but loves to play with it. Ava is absolutely hilarious and adorable. She is talking so much now and waddles around jabbering nonstop. She loves to play with her uncle "Bat" and watch her aunt "Shell" get ready, which I love, even if she did steal, and successfully hide, my blush brush and hair clips :) And don't you just love her little 'nini??




And last but not least, I want to put a plug in for The Phantom of the Opera. Oh my gosh! It was incredible! I guess it's a bit different than the original Broadway version. They took away some dialogue and shaved some scenes short, but kept all the songs. They also added some killer special effects and pyro! The theater was even re-designed to resemble the Paris Opera House. Obviously, the actor playing the Phantom doesn't do justice to Gerard Butler, but all-in-all, AMAZING!!