It is Better to Look Up

You know, things don't always go according to plan.  For instance, if you had asked us a few months ago what we would be doing this summer, we would have confidently said that Becky had a great nursing job at a hospital, Nick was doing an internship with a film production company, and Olivia was busy being the awesomest baby ever.

Well Olivia stuck to the plan...but we have yet to land a nursing job or an internship.  To be honest, it is a little discouraging.  But, in the words of President Thomas S. Monson, "It is better to look up."  We are staying positive, and still having a great summer.

And so, even though things have not gone exactly according to plan, we have lots to be grateful for.  Presenting:

Top 10 Things We're Grateful For This Summer

10. Teeth

Starting in the middle of June, Olivia started getting her first tooth!  It was a long and painful process for all of us (Olivia felt the actual teething pains, but we suffered from lack of sleep and an often inconsolable little girl). 

She was a big fan of the teething keys.

 We were confused when this unOlivia-like behavior continued even a few weeks after the tooth had broken through.  We finally found that the tooth right next door was making its way up too.  Both teeth are finally up, and we are all much happier!  Olivia likes to show off her nice teeth when she smiles and laughs. 

It's hard to catch those tiny teeth on camera, but they're there if you look!  And yes, that is a barette in her hair :)

9. Disneyland Annual Passports

Ok, we haven't been able to go back to Disneyland and use our annual passes since we went in the beginning of June (darn those black-out dates), but we are counting down the days until we can!  It will be great to go back when there are less crowds, plus some more of Becky's family will be coming in September for a Disneyland vacation.  Oh we can't wait!

8. San Jose

Like we mentioned earlier on our blog, we were able to drive up to San Jose to visit some of Nick's family for the Fourth of July holiday.  Olivia was a little nervous around everyone at first, but after a couple days she warmed up and loved playing with everyone.  

Olivia with her Great-Grandma Judy

Olivia liked to watch the boys play WiiU

Bedtime story

Helping Grandma Julie get ready

Mini golf!

7. Groveland

While we were up in northern California, we decided to all go up to Groveland for a few days.  This was Olivia and Becky's first time to Groveland.  Despite the ridiculous heat, we had a lot of fun!

Enjoying some sun at the lake

Josh and Nick kayaking

Chillin' at GiGi's house

6. New Foods

Olivia is no longer just a rice cereal girl-- she loves to eat most all of the veggies and recently developed a love for oatmeal!  As for the adults, we have developed a new love for Frosted Mini Wheats Crunch, Honey & Oat Mixers, and sour dough bread.

5. Developing Talents

Since we've had a little extra time on our hands, we've been able to use that to further develop our talents!  First, Nick has been doing some awesome writing on his blog Mr. ScreenRight (have you read it lately?  If not, you should!).  Becky has been practicing her sewing skills and has successfully finished a few projects, including pennant banners to decorate Olivia's room.

Here' some that we hung above Olivia's crib

Nick contributed some of his crafty talents too as we decorated Olivia's room.  He recently sanded, primed, and painted an old chair Becky's grandpa made for her when she was a little girl.  It looks so cute in Olivia's room now!

4. Nemo 

Earlier this summer Olivia got a Nemo toy that can swim in the water.  We started letting her play with it in the bathtub and she LOVED it!  So Nemo started having to come with us when we went to the pool too.  Olivia likes to watch him swim, but her favorite thing to do with Nemo is chew on him-- maybe that's her way of showing affection?  If we let her, she could probably gnaw on him all day...but for now, Olivia and Nemo are just best buds when it's time to play in water.

3.New Ward 

We really love our new ward at church.  The building is just down the street from us, sacrament meeting starts at 11:00am (the perfect start time, in our opinion), but most importantly, the ward members are great.  We have felt very welcomed and accepted so far, and are beginning to make friends.  We really enjoy having people around our age and who are pursuing careers in the film industry like Nick is.

2. Simple Pleasures

Sometimes you get so caught up in life that you take the little things for granted.  But we have been able to really appreciate the simple things, like taking a walk in the evening, reading a good book, discovering the handles on the ottoman, or hearing your baby girl squeal with delight!

1. So much time together

It has been wonderful to spend so much time together as a family.  Even though we don't do many super exciting things, our little family is very happy and we feel very blessed.