Elli and the birthday girl all decked out in green.
The dessert spread. We had fondue, molasses cookies, and cake. \Do we know how to throw a party or what?
The happy family, plus one:)
Elli cannot wait to see what the presents hold! I did have to ask her not to open Leah's presents and she got sad and cried in the corner. She loves surprises as much as I do!!!!
The girls. We always have fun celebrating birthdays in this family.
I got the swings out so Elli could swing. She was so excited:)
So fun to watch them play.
She loved the baby goats!
We couldn't pass up a chance to get to Young's with th great weather. We met up with Deanna, Landon, and Olivia to see he new goats and cows, as well as eat some ice cream. They really did have fun playing together.
Elli loved this little outfit. She had a great day at school too. They had a leprachan visit their classroom and mess it all up. She was so excited to tell me everything he did while they were outside playing. She also thought he was at our house, but that maybe Fergi barked and scared him away. She did however see that her toothbrush was inside a cup and blamed it on him. (Really I did it just to mess with her:)
Another one of Elli's little friends. They were sharing a cookie:)
One last shot by the pool.
Just having a little fun.
I really wanted a family picture by a palm tree. It turned out great.
Love this one.
One, two, three!
And a pose:)
LOVE this picture of Lance and Liam.
Arisbeth with Elli and Liam and the doll she got for Elli and horse for Liam. Arisbeth was so touched by the kindness and adoration in Elli that she became overwhelmed with emotion, excused herself to go cry, and then came back with gifts for the kids. She told the waiter that she has never been touched like this but that Elli really touched her heart. Another great opportunity for Elli to see the positive effects on others of showing kindness. Arisbeth sang a song just to Elli and even danced with her. She gave both the kids these gifts, hugged them and kissed them. Liam too was enthralled with the entertainment and offered smiles at just the right time, all the time:) What a special week of vacation we had and what a wonderful memory with which to end the week.
Love this picture of the two of them.
We enjoyed feeding the iguanas again. Look at this big one. He was eating all the fruit! 
Little surfer girl.
Lance, Lana and Liam arrived at our resort in the afternoon. It started to rain so we went in for naps and played at the kids club for a while where Elli made more friends and played with the bunnies. Later that evening we went across the way to La Isla for dinner and hanging out:) Devin and Liam were dressed alike.
Lana and Elli were dressed alike.
Italian dinner. Fun times with the family.
Just the two of us.
The whole gang. Yes, we were all in one bedroom that night:)
Elli decided she was going to be brave and pose for pictures with some of the statues and things around La Isla (the mall). There are people that pretend to be statues, that Elli is terrified of, but she thought she could get a picture with this owl. We were all laughing so hard!!!!
When Lance, Lana, and Liam arrived, Elli came into our room and slept on this little chair. The ottoman was the same height as the chair and it was Elli's size:) She slept great, at least until 6:15 in the morning, normal rising time in Cancun!
Another pose by little Elli.
Our Elli made a friend Ellie. They had such fun playing but Ellie went home this day. She cried and asked for Elli's email address so they could keep in touch. Crazy. All the kids loved Elli. They would cheer when she would get there in the morning and wanted to play with her all day. Elli of course is very kind to others and the parents loved that about her too. So glad I was able to praise Elli for her kindness and for showing Christ's love to others.
Look at me in the sand:) We had some fun playing for a while. Then, she wanted to go...back to the pool:)
Family picture in the sun. Elli wants to live here. I told her we would have to gt a house and wouldn't be living in the hotel with a pool. She changed her mind.
So serious:)
So cool:)
Concentrating on making stairs for the Mayan ruin she and Brent were working on in the sand.
And what is the end to a day without a messy cup from Chocolate City? We were all feeling sick after these huge cups of ice cream drizzled in everything yummy!
Well the kids are ready for the tour of the Mayan ruins!
Very cool to see such old structures. They sure did know how to build back then!
Elli was very good at finding beautiful things. She especially would point out the pretty flowers.
There were iguanas everywhere. I love the picture of this one posing for our shot of the ruin temple.
The beach was gorgeous! Such a beautiful spot.
It was a small hike down, but totally worth it. 
Leaving the ruins through the cave. So glad we took Lance and Lana up on the offer to join them.
Lana got a coconut to drink. It was refreshing and actually good. Elli liked it too:) She said a little later to Lana, "I am so thirsty." She got another sip:)
The boys and Elli at the beach at Lance and Lana's resort. It was a beautiful place and we had a great time playing:)
Lana wanted pictures with the birds so we were feeding them nachos. Here is Devin with a swarm. Elli was terrified at first, then wanted a chance when she saw they were not going to attack her. 
Cousins:)
A family shot as the sun was going down. Love that it was still warm, except the wind:) So much fun just playing together.
We had dinner together at a Japanese steakhouse. Elli was awake long enough to see the big fire, then she went to sleep with Lima who was zonked out in the stroller. Elli did get to participate in a kids program event with some dancing and games up on stage. She loved it:) Another great day in Cancun.
