Ithaca Summertime

When we got back from our vacations, the first thing I wanted to do was pick strawberries.  Sadly, the crop died out really early this year!  But, I did get to pick a couple pounds of raspberries with a friend, and oh boy were they delicious!

I cannot believe that July is almost over?!  Where has my summer gone? Of course the summertime feels like it flies by whereas winter months seem to stick around forever!

 I guess we'll just have to make the most out of what time there is left. 

Since we've been back in Ithaca after our vacations, we have enjoyed a lot of warm weather.  

The Fourth of July's weather was quite pleasant.  Actually it was on the 2nd of July that we enjoyed a wonderful firework show at a park nearby. 

I have also been making some progress on baby Lewis' nursery.  It's been coming along slowly but surely, and I cannot wait for my mom's amazing quilt/bedding she is working on! 

Little buddy sure is getting big these days, but he hasn't stopped us from playing tennis every so often!

Two more months and this little boy will be here!  It hasn't been bad being pregnant during the summer.  Actually, I don't really think it has changed too much other than not being able to fit in my summer clothes! 

 One day last week Ben got home from school and we realized that we were matching.  He decided that we needed to document it.  :)

 Last weekend my cousin Annie and her husband Nick came in town.  We had a great time hosting them for a couple nights and taking them around Ithaca. 

 They fell in love with the fresh blueberries from the farm.  Blueberries are Ben's favorite as well, so we decided to purchase six pounds!

We also were able to attend the Hill Cumorah Pageant in Palmyra with them.  

Thanks for the fun times! 

Mesa Summer 2012

We drove back from California and Ben had to fly back home to Ithaca the next morning.  

I was able to stay with my family at home in Mesa for another week.  

That Sunday my brother gave his homecoming talk in church and we had a little gathering with family afterward.

Highlights of the week included: 

Fun lunch outings, DBacks Game, becoming Abbie's favorite :), shopping, 

planning for baby Lewis, having a baby shower, getting a bigger baby bump (see a theme?)

s

... Mesa temple, seeing friends, sibling time, games, heat, swimming, and trying to stay cool!

Yes my 12 year old brother is a bit taller than I am.  With my 21 year old brother it is understandable but now I'm officially the shortest one in the family!

It was sad to leave my house and family.  

It was also crazy to think that I'll have a baby next time I am there!  Wow.  

I'm officially in my 3rd trimester and can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone!  We'll see how I survive the summer :)  

West Coast Newport Beach

After the cruise we flew to Arizona. My brother Michael just got home from his mission a few days earlier so we were excited to see him!!

The next morning Ben and I drove with my family to California. We enjoyed some Pacific Ocean time at Newport/ Laguna Beach. 

It was a much smaller scale party with about ten of us but we had a great time being together again.

Three out of the four kids ended up in similar outfits for dinner at Cheesecake Factory one night!

We stayed at a nice hotel with great pools and fun facilities.  One day we joined the "name that tune" contest and definitely won! 

Beautiful view from our back porch

We played a lot of ping pong, bean bag toss, tennis, and other games.

Sweet niece Abbie was always so great wherever she went!

The boys played a lot of ball at the beach, even Jackson

Ben came up with the idea of doing the standing long jump competition.  Haha  That boy is quite creative

Baby bump at the beach!

Ben and Steven went exploring and found this awesome rock that the waves crashed up on.  They enjoyed getting drenched. 

The Christensen/Lewis/Jennings family summer 2012 edition.  

Soon to be outdated with baby Lewis' arrival in late September!!

Gotta love California, I could stay there forever!

Caribbean Cruise

The beginning of our long vacation started in Tampa, FL.  Ben and I flew down there on June 2nd, the day before our cruise left on Sunday June 3rd.  All 44 people in the Smoot family boarded the ship and we set sail!  As you can imagine it was a party all the time with the 44 family members including cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces/nephews, etc.  

Our first stop was the beautiful Cozumel, Mexico.  A group of about ten of us traveled to the ancient Mayan civilization ruins of Tulum.  The history and buildings there were quite remarkable, not to mention the gorgeous beaches. 

The next day our ship stopped in Belize.  Ben went scuba diving with his uncle, sister, cousin, and twin brother Doug.  Sadly their underwater camera ran out of batteries just before entering the water.  Ben said it was beautiful as he saw all sorts of sea life.  I'm sure he would also want to mention that he did not throw up this time!  Hallelujah!

Ben & nephew Callin

While Ben was busy underwater I went with the rest of the family to Belize City.  We traveled by van to see some different ruins and then went cave tubing through a Belize rainforest river! 

It was a blast with our few "tube chains" made up of all the family members.  We went through beautiful caves and enjoyed getting wet on a hot day!

 

 The nighttime was always a blast with karaoke, shows, Mafia, and other such activities.

Stop number three was Roatan, Honduras.  We relaxed at the beautiful beach there and played a lot of sand volleyball. 

Last but definitely not least was our stop at the Cayman Islands.  

Everyone stuck together this day as we took a boat out on the beautiful water.  

We did snorkeling, boating, and of course visited the sting rays.  

They were definitely a little creepy at first but we got used to them quickly.  

Ben kissed the sting ray for good luck.  I stuck with the back massage instead! 

It was pretty tough deciding which pictures to choose out of 1,000, but it was quite the trip! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the amazing experience Grandma & Grandpa Smoot!