January

The is my first blog ever. I never thought I would have a blog so I guess we'll see how this goes. :) As 2011 ended, I looked back at the year and it was certainly overwhelming. I had a very difficult year and lost too many great friends. What got me through and keeps me going is Makayla. She is my angel. God truly sent me a special one. Makayla turned 2 on January 6th. I just cannot believe how fast time has gone. I know I will always look back and say "where did the time go??" so I just keep cherishing every day with her and continue to feel blessed that I was given her.

So since this is my first blog, I will give a quick summary of what is going on in our lives. In July, Makayla and I moved out of my parent's house and got an apartment. It is just down the road so we still get to see the family all the time. It can be difficult and stressful being on our own, but it was the right thing for us. I love our little home. I had been the managaer at a dry cleaners, and in August I got a new job working at Oakley Elementary School. I am a special ed. paraprofessional, and I absolutely LOVE it! For once, I love my job! :) I am going to school to become a teacher right now. I am finishing up my last 2 classes at LoneStar College and taking the rest at The University of Houston.

Over Christmas break, Makayla and I went on a cruise and to Dallas for a football game. My entire extended family went on the cruise and it was awesome to have the family reunion there. Thank you to my Grandma who helped make it possible for everyone to go! The cruise was 8 days long and over Christmas day. We went to Costa Maya, Belize, Honduras, and Cozumel. In Costa Maya we spent the day on a gorgeous beach.

In Belize, we went ziplining and cave tubing. We had to hike through the jungle to get there and luckily my dear old dad helped me carry Makayla.

The cave tubing was such a cool experience. Makayla was able to go and she was so good! She layed on my mother's lap and looked at all of the cool sites.

The ziplining was so much fun....until I smashed into a tree!!! It hurt a ton! My sisters thought I had died, BUT after they knew I was okay they then laughed at me the entire rest of the cruise. Gotta love older sisters. :) In Honduras, those who were certified went scuba diving and the rest of us went snokeling. Then we just played, read, layed out, or slept in the hammocks right there by the water. There was a turtle shaped pool that Makayla played hard in right there as well.

In Cozumel, my mom and sister took Makayla shopping and I got to go resort scuba diving! That was another first for me. I had a hard time getting down, but eventually did and it was gorgeous. However, I then started going to the top and I had no idea why. I got a bloody nose and at that point, decided to just snorkel with my cousins and aunt. It was a lot of fun. After that my sister, Brooke, and I got our hair braided. It took a little longer than we thought and almost made the family miss the boat! We made it on time and took a picture before loading.

The rest of the cruise flew by quickly. Makayla loved her big lollypop she got on Christmas and even tried to lick it before it was unwrapped.

After, the cruise we were home for just a few days and then we headed to Dallas for the BYU football game. It was the Armed Forces Bowl and it made me miss my brother, who is a Marine stationed in Japan, a lot. I was excited to see my friend Amanda and her cute baby boy there. We won the game in the last few seconds!

This post has been longer than the rest will probably be, but it was the first and I was just excited to share. :)