As usual, our time in San Carlos was heaven sent. Mom Bentley let us stay in her condo (for the second year in a row!!!) and it was a glorious-filled 9 days of water fun. All the children loved the ocean and the pool. We soaked up the hours of booggie and skin boarding, snorkling, running, digging, building, floating, sea monster gaming fun! We have the usual mounds of pictures that leave us longing for future family trips to San Carlos. Joanna Lee, our sister, took some excellent family pictures and we may finally have a family picture for the wall that will someday hang the picture frames still stowed away in the office closet since we moved.
Highlights for Brian and I were the fortunate moments we were able to run together each morning as Sarah Hatch stayed with the kids in the condo...most often they were sleeping. If we finished early enough we would float in the ocean after and just welcome in the day. One particular day the water was full of HUNDREDS of birds, mostly pelicans. As we ran we noticed a lot of dolphins (actually porpoises). We even stopped a moment to watch a small family of dolphins just 3o yards off shore or so. Anyhow, when we jumped in the ocean and floated we heard the squeeking of dolphins and I got on Brian's back to better see the dolphins just 20 yards away. Then unexpectedly a dolpin swam up within arms reach of Brian and I. We were actually a little startled and didn't even think to reach out and touch it. The dolphin circled back and then swam away. It was so cool!
Another highlight was when Ellie and Brian were out snorkling. They were noting this octupus under a rock when a man speared the octopus and brought him up above water. We were on the shore and could see it wiggle around and we laughed as Austin Woods jumped as he touched it. It was very cool to see the octupus as I have only ever saw part of one. The man continued to snorkle and find several octupus that he intended to sell.
Brian and Bret Woods were able to go out to San Pedro Island with Dwight Udall, a long time San Carlos friend. They had a spectacular scuba dive out there and I was so happy Brian got a chance to dive and spend some good time on the ocean. He loves it.
Olivia---> She snorkled completely solo this year. Brian put her in the water and ended up leaving her there to come and get another child. She loved it and was quite the adventurer. She also had fun boogie boarding and learned to catch a wave so well. She did some skin boarding with Brian this year and enjoyed it---then on a dime she is done and ready for something else :). I was proud of her responsibility in caring for her brothers. She is very dependable and we are so grateful for her independent and confident spirit.
Elizabeth-->Her happy ways are evident in her body movements. She is willing to try just about anything and is as cute as a button as she does. She almost mastered a back flip and as Brian says, "her back dive is better than ours." She didn't always catch a wave with the boogie board and often got flipped, but she was fun to watch and fun to be with. She continued to explore for shells and to name them. Emma Woods and Ellie's friendship grew even more this year.
Bryson-->He is such a stud! He loved to snorkle. Once he just jumped in a tube and had Bret Woods pull him all around the cove with him while he and Austin snorkled. Bryson loved to be included with the boys and to spend time near Austin. Bryson also loved to float out in the ocean in front of the condo and would beg any of us to go out there with him. He became more confident with making his way past the stronger tide near shore and getting out there after a few days. Once he decided to walk down the beach about 1 mile with Brian. Brian and I discovered our skin board down there while we were running. Bryson got tired so Brian told him to sit and stay put while he walked the remaining 50 yard or so and then Brian would walk back to our condos with him. Apparently Bryson got nervous and just suddenly popped up and started running back to the condos. Brian would see him look back down the beach at him and keep running. Brian was unable to run with the skin board and thought maybe Bryson was playing with him and trying to beat him back. I saw Bryson coming back alone and went to him as another lady stopped to see if he was alright. Bryson was crying and said he got spooked and didn't know that man motioning for him to come was Brian. :( He ran almost one mile! Seriously, the boy has stamina.
Mason--> What a funny man. He was happy doing just about anything. He loved to stand in the ocean at dusk and feel the sand being pulled back towards the water as the tide came in and out. He would laugh and laugh and then run down aways and do it again. He loved to jump over the waves as they came to shore. He loved to swim back and forth to us in the ocean. He loved to do crazy jumps off the side of the pool. He loved to NOT tell us he had a poopy diaper, which led to a few days of not being allowed in the pool. After one time of pooping in his swim diaper and NOT telling us, we decided our of respect for others and our own health (including Mason's) we would ban him from the pool until he chose to tell us he had a messy diaper and was willing to jump right out of the pool. We will spare the details. We are just glad he decided to cooperate, because he is so fun to be with in the pool.
Talon--> What a trooper. Being only a crawler, it was inevitable he would be heavily impacted with the Mexican germs. The last 4 days we spent time trying to keep him hydrated and fed and cleaning up a lot of throw up and poop. His last vomit came after 45 minutes of crying in the car ride home and was a BIG pile of unsettled food all over him and his car seat. Good thing home was less than one hour away! Poor guy. He was pretty easy going when he felt well and when he didn't feel well we spent most of our time loving and holding him and keeping him from eating charcoal, sea weed, sand, and other garbage from the ground.
"These are the days to remember....for they will not last forever!" I think of this song each time I am with my family in Mexico. I truly love to be a wife and mother and can say this is a time of life that I absolutely love and care to remember always.
Olivia and Ellie LOVED the summer musical theatre class with Miss Jenee Prince. They rocked and rolled their hearts out non-stop as they learned from wonderful teachers, trained by Jenee. We loved to watch their performance. Ellie made friends with a few girls, including my friend's girl, Deija and of course Emilie Weidman. Olivia enjoyed being with the older girls and idolized quite a few of them. She was more of a rock star then we knew. We loved every minute of it!
This is Mason. He is kongked out after a little recovery time aka. sitting time. He found a way to calm himself right into a VERY deep sleep. 
This last winter and spring it seemed that we were all blessed with mild sickness. We are so grateful. Maybe Mason's sicknesses were a little more intense...or at least his crankiness seemed to suggest that. One day I just put him in the swing with his blanket and within a few minutes I had to run out and check on him to make sure he was still breathing as he had put the blanket over his head. Soon enough I realized he was sleeping and just fine. Yeah! I was actually able to give someone else attention. 
Rrrrr! I now have bigger teeth to chomp you!!! Run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I am Mason, the funny man!
Mason found some of my semi-non-washable make up and well...not even the bath got it out, but it is a little more subdued now.
Mason our sweet, funny guy once again seemed cranky and mad, so he ended up on the couch were he assumed the "Dad position" and fell right to sleep. 