Donut Falls

Days like this one are part of the reason we moved back to Utah. We took everyone hiking on Memorial Day where we got all muddy, ate granola bars and drank Gatorade, played in the water, and then headed down to Neilsen's Frozen Custard in Holladay for raspberry concrete. It was a perfect day. We are so glad that we're here.

Fun Run

The end of the school year is always super busy. The kids' school fun run was last week and it was a fun family event. There was a kids run around the school grounds, and Curren got a prize for that race. Then I took the jogger with Emily and Porter to run the 5K. There are lots of big hills in our neighborhood so it was a good run and fun to be out with everyone. Emily ran almost all of it, and took a few rests in the jogger. She took 3rd. place for kindergarten. She cracks me up...she ran hard and talked the entire time!

Kindergarten program

Let me first say that Emily's kindergarten teacher is amazing!! She has been teaching kindergarten at our school for 27 years!! She is also in our ward and she is my Sunday School teacher, too. She taught almost 120 5-6 year olds enough songs and dances to fill a whole hour. And the kids were awesome!! James' grandma and Terri Ann came up and Emily was so excited to see them there with us. It had a multicultural theme and the songs were adorable. Emily didn't miss a beat and she had so much fun practicing and performing. I can't believe that she will be out of kindergarten next week! I don't want her to grow up anymore.

First grade field trip

I was so excited to go on a field trip with Curren's class to This is the Place state park. There were lots of hands on activities that the kids got to do to get an idea of how the pioneers lived here in the Salt Lake valley. In this photo, the kids are carding wool. This is actually harder than it looks! We saw baby goats feeding, "did laundry," and learned lots of new things about pioneers.

Mother's Day

My favorite thing about Mother's day is all the great things that my kids make at school for gifts! I remember doing crafts with my students when I was a teacher, and now I'm on the receiving end. I absolutely LOVE each one-of-a-kind piece made by them. James gave me a turquoise ring from Sundance, too. Love it. (I have told him that he can get me anything from that store and I would love it!) There was breakfast in bed, as is the tradition in our home. It was yummy: french toast with homemade cinnamon syrup, fresh fruit, and orange juice. And served by all my favorite little people. Then we went to church and the young women passed out super cute flower sugar cookies to all of the women. After that we had dinner over at Terri and Brian's with family. It was a great day!

Window issue

Since this is my blog, I just want my friends in Utah to know that I experienced unsatisfactory customer service with Price's Guaranteed Windows. So, if you are planning to do some updates on your home and are looking for some advice, I will fill you in.

Christine and Madie's visit

We were so excited to have our good friends come and visit us from Texas! Even though it was a quick trip and it rained almost the whole weekend, we still had tons of fun. Lunch at Hagermann's, shopping at the Oh Sweet Sadie boutique, played at the Ormsby's, dinner at the Dodo, cake for Madie's birthday, late night talks, lunch at Brick Oven with the Williams' family, and Church History Museum, pictures with all the gorgeous flowers at Temple Square, Cafe Rio salad, it was a fun weekend with great company and good food. Just like old times. We're so glad you came, girls. Come again soon...We miss you!

3

Right before we left for spring break, Hunter turned 3. He loves Cars and Thomas. He is very sweet and loves to try and keep up with Curren. He has some pretty good one-liners, too. His favorites things to eat are spaghetti, chicken nuggets, and ketchup. He will wear long sleeved shirts and jeans and his classic blue Vans. Even when it's nice and warm outside. Despite his quirks, we absolutely love this boy. XXOO Hunty!

Las Vegas

On our way to San Diego we stayed with the Pia's in Las Vegas. We had planned to get there before 7pm, but Hunter had bitten completely through his bottom lip and I took him to Primary Children's in case he needed stitches. (He didn't and we were in and out really quickly!) So, instead we got there at 10pm and all the big kids stayed up to play. It was a big slumber party! It was so fun to visit with them and catch up, since we haven't seen them since we all lived in Flagstaff. It was great to visit and seeing their cute kids. Kelly was one of my closest friends in AZ. She is one of those people who is beautiful inside and out, and she and Anthony are lots of fun. Kelly was so sweet to braid Emily's hair, too. On our way out of town, they gave us directions to Caprioti's so we could have a Bobby sandwich. (If you haven't lived in Delaware or Vegas, it's Thanksgiving on a roll). Thanks, Pia's!

San Diego temple

Here we are at the San Diego temple, 10 1/2 years later. We happened to be in town when James' cousin was having her daughter sealed to her and her husband. What a special day it was for their family. It was so sweet to see their family in the temple. There is just an amazing spirit about children, especially in the temple. It made me think of the blessings that I enjoy because my children have been sealed to me and James. I remember thinking that day, that temples are all about families. Heavenly Father really wants us to be together forever with those that we love.

Disneyland/California Adventure

Two days at the Happiest Place on Earth was tons of fun. Hunter was thrilled to finally see Lightning McQueen, Curren loved Tomorrowland with all the Star Wars things (he even made his own light saber!), and Emily's favorite was the Tower of Terror. I didn't even want to go on that ride a little bit, but she was really excited to try it, even though Curren cried after going on it a few years ago! We were in an elevator that goes all the way up, then drops fast and stops. Then it drops more and stops, over and over again. It makes your stomach drop and as a reflex you scream! It was only fun for me because Emily loved it. She begged to go on again at the end of the day, so she and I waited in line for 90 minutes while James, Jearldene and the boys rode the Monsters, Inc ride 11 times!!

Gavin, Noah, and Carina came with us to Disneyland and it was so fun spending the day with them. Talk about lots of jackets, snacks, water bottles, souvenirs, etc! We had two double strollers, an umbrella stroller, 4 adults, and 7 kids in our group that day.

Torrey Pines

One of my favorite places! The beach. This is one of the beaches I spent many summer days when I was a little, then a teenager, a college student, and now a parent with my own children. (Curren was super sick this whole week. He had a fever and slept for over two hours while we played in the sand, had snacks, and splashed in the waves).

Easter weekend

We drove down to San Diego for spring break. It was so nice to get out of the snow and enjoy the sun! Russ & Rebecca and all the kids came down to visit. The cousins had a blast! It had been too long since we had seen them. Emily and Carina were best friends and the boys played spies, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars all weekend. We also dyed Easter eggs and took some family pictures. (Well, at least we tried!)