Sister-in-Laws Birthdays

So I have two fabulous sister-in-laws that had birthdays this month.

Nicole's Birthday was on the 19th and Kenzie's was on the 22nd


One of Nicole's most endearing qualities is her love of her family. She is such an amazing mother and I love watching her in action. She's a great example of how to treat your spouse and I'm sure Ryan knows how blessed he is to have her. She always makes me feel welcome when I'm with her and doesn't mind if I drop by to have Gage play with her fun kids. Her kids are a tribute to what a great mom she is.
She is also extremely talented. She is way too humble about her gifts, but she has many. She is an excellent cook, runs marathons, very crafty (she makes fabulous diaper cakes), takes beautiful photography, and is a great listener. Nicole also has a silly, hilarious side that totally cracks me up. Nicole, I love you tons and I'm so glad that you are apart of our family. You make any family party so much better when you are there. I can't wait to have you guys back in town.



Now for Cody's little sister Kenzie. I really don't think I deserve someone as sweet as Kenzie to have as a sister-in-law. From the very beginning when Cody and I were first dating she has really meant something special to me. We bonded immediately and we've stayed great friends ever since. I know she helped out with Gage a ton while we were on our trip and I'm so grateful for how good she is with him. I guess she would be a pro considering she has a little girl only 2 days younger than Gage, and now we are both due with baby #2 in Oct. It will be so fun to watch our kids have such fun cousins to play with (we'll just have to see what the genders are for Babies #3 and #4 being born in Oct. 2010 and 2012 :)

I hope you both had fabulous birthdays and I feel so blessed to have you.

Philippine Adventure

We had the best time in the Philippines. It was crazy being in such a foreign place. It felt like 100% humidity and everything was so different. The people were amazing, they totally love Americans, (especially those that can speak their language.) We were a good foot taller and all the girls would blush when Cody would talk to them. We felt like celebrities and were treated like Royalty.

We started off in Manila (the capital) and hit up the shopping, visited Cody's old mission areas, met up with some of his old baptisms and companions, and ate at some weird places. We then caught another flight to the southern most island and stayed at the Pearl Farm Beach Resort. We had our own secluded island all to ourselves and our villa was actually on the water - it was like out of a movie. There we enjoyed the amazing scenery, the best tropical fruits I've ever tasted, deep sea fishing, and just relaxing poolside and beachside. One of the mornings Cody and John went scuba diving while Melyna and I got pampered at the spa. We had a dinner on the beach on our last night while being serenaded.

We could't have asked for more amazing friends to share this all with Johnny and Melyna made the trip so fun. Its hard to sum up a trip like this, but it was for sure a vacation of a lifetime. We appreciate Cody's peeps for watching Gage while we were away, we missed the little guy, but knew he was in good hands. We can't wait for the next opportunity to go back. We loved it.

(the pictures are a little out of order, but I hope you get the idea of what an amazing place the Philippines are.)