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My Book!

One of my life-long goals has been to write and publish a book.  This is definitely a tough one to achieve because of the time commitment and, of course, the fear of criticism.  Books, just like their covers, are made to be judged-you either like them or you don't.  Well, here's my book!  If you like it, great! If not, then too bad! You already bought it and there is no returns!  Honestly though, it does feel great accomplishing a goal you've had for your entire life :)  Follow the link to check it out on Amazon!

The Song of the Walrus

It's Been Awhile...

Taking the girls for a long, sweaty walk in Belize

Elly and Big Monkey enjoying the flight (this lasted about 3 minutes)

It turns out it's hard to find time for extra things when you have two kids...

So along with watching movies, doing nothing, and taking showers, trying to keep a blog was lost somewhere long, long ago....

I won't try to update everyone on everywhere we've been in the last few years, but we now have two beautiful girls and a new house.  Bella is still fat.

We did just get back from an un-Belize-able trip to....Belize of course.  Since our girls birthdays our only about a week apart it worked perfect to use a joint birthday party as an excuse to take our first international trip as a family.

Basically Belize is awesome.  We loved it.  Sure it was tough traveling with kids (tough flights, early mornings, and expensive Belizian diapers), but it was worth every minute and I'm so grateful our family was able to make it happen.

Teresa and Elly relaxing by the river

The flights were tough-mostly because of the airline moving and changing things.  We did fly first-class the entire way (because it was free of course, if you're paying for flights we should have a long talk...)

Elly and Big Monkey

We stayed at Black Rock Lodge, which is pretty close to the Guatemala border and borders several rain forest preserves.  It was awesome.  The staff was great and definitely spoiled our kids (Eve is still confused why she doesn't get all that attention in America...)  We were steps from a beautiful jungle river that Elly basically lived in for the entire trip and right on different trails that led through the jungle to a small chicken farm (Elly can pet chickens for hours), a waterfall, and a cave.

Enjoying a drink on the lodge balcony

Tailless Whip Scorpion-they are about the size of your hand

We head about the cave from some other travelers and Teresa took the job of watching both girls so I could go check it out.  I love caves and this one did not disappoint.  Just to reach it involved a trek through the jungle and the highlight was the tailless whip scorpions inside (something I had never expected to see in the wild in person).  It was also the first time I've ever been alone in a cave, so a pretty neat experience, but also a muddy one...

Muddy from the cave

Teresa and a happy Eve taking a rest

We had decided to rent a car while there to be a little more adventurous and to give us a little more freedom.  Driving there was actually pretty enjoyable, there aren't a lot of roads, so we never got too lost, and it made you feel a lot less like a tourist.  It also allowed to visit a nearby butterfly farm that bred Blue Morphos and Owl Butterflies.  Elly loves butterfly houses, but has a really tough time not touching them.  She was in heaven here, just running around grabbing handfuls of giant butterflies and leaving a trail or carnage in her wake.  The guide was great, he just showed her more butterflies and let her go at it.  Every single person we met in Belize was fantastic and really helped to make the trip great.

Elly and Teresa checking out some butterflies

Long story short, you should go to Belize.  Traveling with kids is tough, but incredibly rewarding.  It made us slow down and caused us to interact with the locals more.  Instead of ziplining and rafting we petted chickens and looked for monkeys.  They made us get up at dawn so we could enjoy hikes and allowed us to spot agoutis, a howler monkey, and butterflies we wouldn't have seen otherwise. Plus, their passport pictures are cute  :)

MAINE

After Alabama, Elly and I flew to Maine to meet up with Daddy and visit Acadia National Park.  We had such a good family vacation and enjoyed every second of it.  When Elly was being a good napper, Jesse and I switched modes from family vacation to 7 year anniversary trip...seven wonderful years with wonderful adventures!

Maine is BEAUTIFUL.  The coast is amazing and Elly got to stick her feet in the Atlantic Ocean.  We went on a Carriage Ride through the park, ate some Lobster, took lots of walks along the coastal paths, waded in the water and walked out to an island during low tide.  

 The weather was great despite being a little chilly in the evenings and getting stuck in a huge rain storm on one of the carriage trails.  Elly is a trooper and did a great job putting up with everything.  God gave us a little babe that seems to love adventures as much as we do and is pretty adaptable to new environments.  This mama is proud of her little one that loves to be on the go and stay busy, busy...even if she wears me out.  Elly is a great traveler...minus a few very rough moments during air travel. 

My two loves on top of Cadillac Mountain during sunset

Maine, we miss you.  Maybe some day we can be back for a longer trip!

Trip to Alabama!!

Elly took her first plane ride to visit my sister and nieces in Alabama :) :)  We loved spending time with Emma and Lila.  It took Elly a few days to get use to Emma and all her energy, but absolutely adored her by the end of the trip.  She was so excited every time Emma came in her room to help get her up from naps and had lots of fun splashing in the water together and "yelling" at each other.  It will be fun to see all 3 of them grow together!

We scolded Emma for splashing too much in the pool because of Ellyse...only to find out it was Elly kicking and splashing!  She is our little water bug.  Not much phases her...even freezing cold water Lila screamed over after her feet touched  and Emma refused to sit in...Oh Elly, you never cease to surprise us.  

Melts my heart

Elly's Summer Visitors

Our first summer with Elly has been a BUSY one.  LOTS of visitors and LOTS of time spent with family.  It has been a blessing, but sure does make time go fast...

 

The Gunns came for a visit!

Laura and the kids along with Grandma Penny came for a visit!

Grandma came for a week and then stayed for her and Pappy's annual camping trip!

  

We were also very saddened to loose my Grandpa on August 23rd and made a couple trips back to Nebraska to say our final goodbyes and for the funeral.  It is so hard to say goodbye and was not the best situation to be going home to Nebraska for, but we did get to spend time with family and for that I am thankful. 

I am so happy Elly got to meet her great Grandpa.  Gramps will be missed soo much

First Camping Trip

Dinosaur National Monument

We deem our first camping trip with Elly a success!  Especially considering mom and dad weren't thinking through things completely and forgot about how hot the Utah dessert could be in the middle of July (maybe it has been the lack of sleep).  Regardless, we have a little trooper and the nights were a perfect temperature for our little Elly to surprise us by sleeping until early morning both nights and then being a lazy baby and sleeping in late.   

Fresh Air = Good Sleep

Besides, if we hadn't braved the Utah dessert, Elly wouldn't have gotten to see Dinosaurs and even "touch" her first Dino bone!!  ...

 

...Or get her first Junior Ranger Badge

...Or seen Dad get bitten by a giant Beetle

What a baby! Mom and Dad are excited for our next adventure with you!

Trip to Nebraska

We had a lot of fun taking our first trip back to Nebraska since having Elly.  It was special getting to introduce her to the family she still hadn't met, especially the great grandmas and grandpas.

Great Grandma Barry and cousin Lila!

Great Grandpa Olson and her cousin twin :)

Great Grandma Donna

Elly's Birthday Buddy, Great Grandpa Don

 

Great Grandma Deloris

Elly loved getting to meet all her little cousins too and it was pretty special for her mama to get to meet her little cousin Lila that was born 2 weeks after her...they are going to be buddies.  We just wish everyone could live closer!

Emma loved having two babies to play with!

Johni Jo and Brockett couldn't get enough of her

Why can't they all live closer?

Elly got to meet her Grandmas and Grandpas soon after she was born!  No one could keep the Grandma's away...

 

 

 

 

Grandpa Randy and Grandma Penny

Her Grand-pappy

Grandma

Our Greatest Adventure Yet...

Having Elly has certainly been a much different kind of adventure than we have been use to, but it has been quite the ADVENTURE! 

The last 3 months have been full of new discoveries and lots of adjusting.  We are a family of 3 now (4 if you want to include the furry beast we call Bella) and God gave us a sweet, independent, nature-loving, so cute it hurts little baby, Ellyse Joy Williams. 

Lake Estes

OH the places we've been...Machu Picchu

 

If visiting friends and their families and experiencing authentic Peru wasn't already one of our favorite vacations...a weekend at Machu Picchu really topped it all off!

OH MY GOODNESS...Machu Picchu is impressive.  What a great way to end our trip with some one-on-one time with my honey and get an once in a lifetime experience.  We flew into Cuzco and rode via taxi to Ollantaytambo...a picturesque town full of cobble stone streets along a river.  From Ollantaytambo we traveled to Aguas Callientes via the only route possible:  train. 

Mystic Machu Picchu

The train ride took us deep into the jungle with crazy mountains jutting up on each side of the canyon until we reached the town at the base of Machu Picchu where we spent the night before embarking on our visit to Machu Picchu early the next day. 

It was difficult to see the old ruins at first because of all the mist and fog in the air.  We hiked straight up Waynu Picchu (a steep mountain overlooking the old city).  It was a great hike, but the fog only got worse.  For one brief second we got a glimpse of the city.  The rain started when we reached the top and it was quite the adventure making our way back down the steep trail which had now turned into a miniature waterfall. 



This guy almost ran me over as I was taking
a break. I smelled him before I saw him

temple of the 3 windows

By the time we reached the bottom and started walking through the city, we were soaked, cold, and I was a little miserable and starting to get sick.  Despite all that, it did not take away from the beautiful city.  We spent the entire day roaming the terraces, streets, and every nook and cranny.  We hung out with the alpacas and llamas while the sky cleared and eventually dried out and warmed up.

Peru and Machu Picchu left us with wonderful memories and a yearning to visit more of South America.  If anyone is even slightly tempted to visit this wonderful place...then GO!  It was totally worth it and more beautiful than any picture could capture...even though Jesse did a pretty good job :) 

Yep, we climbed that mountain in the background

 

Beautiful Trujillo...Peru Part Two



When visiting Peru, why should you add Trujillo to your list?



Besides being right next to the ocean, and packed full of history and culture;  Trujillo is the home to Laura y Diego and their beautiful families!

We got the privilege of staying with Diego's family during our weekend in Trujillo and spending a Sunday afternoon at Laura's families' fruit farm.  Trujillo is a beautiful place to visit, but the best part for Jesse and I was simply getting to hangout with our Peruvian friends and experience life in Peru.




Evening at the beach



Afternoon with both families at the farm




Top Ten Things we love about Trujillo:

10. The bright colored buildings

9.  We got to visit the dessert and the beach

8.  Peruvian Desserts

7. Chicken sandwiches

6. Giant corn and cheese...muy rico! 

5.  Burnt up old taxidermy animals

4. Eating at a family owned restaurant

3.  Wandering the fields and picking fruit at the farm

2. Discovering Asian fusion food

AND #1 ...Getting to spend more time with Laura y Diego because we missed them and still do!!  Thanks for letting us visit you.  You made our trip more special, more memorable, and much more fun :)