What a weekend!

So, is it possible to deal with teething, ear aches, allergies, and pneumonia all in one vacation? The answer is yes. And further more, it can all be endured by one very patient little Sophie. For her vacation wasn't the most fun, but she was sure a trooper and enjoyed as much of it as she could, especially if mom or grandpa was holding her.

Really, other than that, it was a great little get-away to St. George. We did a lot of swimming (and some sleeping) in the pool, played in the sand dunes and hiked Snow Canyon, went to the park, the temple and the college, and let's not forget the Pizza Factory (worth a trip to Utah's Dixie in and of itself). There wasn't a lot of time for me to go visit old friends. I'll have to make a special trip for that, but I was lucky enough to run into Emily at the grocery store-a very welcome surprise for both of us-and a saw a few friends at church (my old ward).

The funnest parts of the trip though were the cute converstations I had with the little boys. Tyler was concerned about a baby gift I had brought with me to give to a friend. His concern? That the baby would have too many clothes. Thank goodness I had a blanket and burp cloths!! Trey told me all about how the ants are great climbers and he's a great climber. I asked if this made him an ant. He said no, he was a people. I told him that I'm an aunt. He didn't believe me. :) McKay told me all about how happy the flowers must be to live at Jesus' house (the temple). He was worried about them getting enough food and water, but he could see their smiley faces. He also informed me that I would be a beautiful flower-being pink, purple and yellow. I love these precious moments!

It's OVER!!

(Cami-just because you asked me to. :) )

Sorry I have't posted. Mr. Darcy was just too easy on the eyes to bump him down a bit. But, life goes on and tax season is now OVER! Yipee!!

To celebrate, Jeff took me to Mimi's Cafe for dinner where we overheard a young mother complain to her parents, "this season was just so hard and long!" to which Jeff and I wanted to reply, "Amen!" It did make us a laugh. The food was excellent. If you haven't been there, you need to go. (Their breakfast is especially amazing. Be sure to order the fresh-squeeze OJ.) Afterwards we went shopping for some summer clothes. (Note to self: Do NOT go shopping for any kind of clothing after eating a huge meal that included both appetizers and dessert!)

Over the weekend we took the kids to the cabin for a couple of days to relax (us) and play with Grandma and Grandpa (them). Trust me. Grandma and Grandpa did very little relaxing. My kids had them running all over the place from hiking, to working, to riding in the wheel barrow. I think my FIL was very glad when we left (and very tired)!! We all had a great time though. We did some geocaching, shooting, watched movies (Jeff brought a projector but unfortunately we forgot the speakers. Oops.) ate yummy food. It was so nice to just be together and not worry about work, cleaning or anything else.

And the winner is....

Mr. Darcy by 1 vote! Honestly, I was a little surprised at the beginning of the poll. Mr. Knightly held the lead for quite a while. Mr. Knightly, you are my favorite, though. (Although, Gweneth Paltrow isn't my favorite Emma.) The poor men of Sense and Sensibility didn't even stand a chance. Sorry boys. You're still great and better than most other romantic heroes. How nice of Ms. Austen to give us such lovely men.

This is totally not Austen-related, but if you at all like "Wuthering Heights," you should see the 1992 (?) version of Bronte's book. Ralph Fiennes makes a fabulous Heathcliffe. Such a sad story, but still, I was sucked in. Another Bronte movie to see is the A&E version of Jane Eyre. Grant it, I've only seen one other version (one from the 90s I think), but this one takes the cake. Ya know in the book Mr. Rochester is supposed to be a somewhat unattractive man, but the romantic in me just won't allow that. I think this movie does a good job at making him look the way he should.

P.S. Can I just say how pleasant it is to come to my blog and see Mr. Darcy/Colin Firth right there?

Happy Birthday to McKay!!

McKay at his Peter Pan birthday party

McKay and Bryant (my nephew)


I made this cake! (Sorry you have to turn your head sideways.) I did have some help. Thanks Tiff!









McKay turned 4 yesterday! Where does the time go???

We celebrated with his friends and cousins by having a Peter Pan themed party. We practiced all the things needed to live in Neverland-following the leader, fighting villains, and treasure hunting. We had a birthday-drama moment but was quickly resolved. He loved having all his little friends over. When I asked him what the best part was, he told me "the cake!" No, it wasn't even the one pictured. We had cupcakes with a picture of Pan and some plastic swords stuck in them. Go figure. It has been a blast watching him go from forced playtime with Lyndsi that only involved Polly's and dollies to transforming cars to robots and making his sister play power rangers. So fun.

Sunday we had dinner with mom and dad and then Jeff's brother Tim and his family came up for cake and ice cream. We gave McKay a Leapster for his birthday and, boy, was he excited. It even overpowered the excitement of a cousin! (For a few minutes anyway.)

Happy Birthday to Me!

Ok. It was a week and a half ago, but I had my birthday nonetheless. Let me tell you, it was fun. I ate out all three meals (definitely not something to do often). I went shopping. I took the kids to the park with a friend. We watched "Cars" together. Jeff surprised me with a new camera. Yes! And, Numb3rs started back up with new episodes-just for my birthday. :)

Really, though, the best part was how many people remembered my birthday and either called or dropped by. It was very sweet.

With such a good start to #28, how could I expect anything less from the rest of year??

Scout-O-Rama

Before I forget or get side-tracked-This morning my parents took the kids to the Scout-o-Rama. Right as they walked in

They met President Erying!! They even got to shake his hand. The general Primary presidency was with him, so they got to meet them as well! Lucky kids.

Conference

Wasn't Conference wonderful? I heard so many talks where I was "Yes! That is what I need to hear right now!!" None affected me so much as Elder Ballard's talk, though. (I'm sure I'm not alone in this.) I was laughing so hard I was almost crying when he talked about having to sit through sacrament with 6 kids while his wife led the music. When he spoke to the little kids about what they could do for their mommies, both my kids perked right up (after mom and dad nudged them). More on that in a second. His approach to motherhood was so different from previous talks by general authorities. I loved how it got into the nitty-gritty parts of motherhood instead of just the sweet parts. I felt completely understood and comforted that others know what I (ok-we :) ) are going through.

It seemed to me that Conference seemed to be on a much more personal level this time around, too. Personal story one right after another. Maybe I was just paying closer attention, but I didn't feel like it was the large group setting that is really is.

Back to the kids now-They did fabulous. McKay sat through about 2-2 1/2 sessions quietly (mostly) and Lyndsi sat through all 4!! In fact, she was anxious for it come on after each break. I actually finished the flash cards I mentioned in an earlier post-lamination and all. I put them on some rings so they could flip through them. Boy, did they work! Every time a new speaker came on they asked if he was "in the book." They found everyone that spoke in the general sessions. By the 4th session they didn't even need to ask if he was in the book. They knew and if it was someone not in there, they would watch for something he was wearing (i.e. red tie, glasses, hair color). The best though, was to hear their conversation after Elder Ballard's talk. McKay had run down stairs to tell me that he should pick up his toys, and this and that and then gave me a big hug and kiss. Lyndsi and McKay started talking about it and Lyndsi exclaimed, "I've never had a prophet speak right to me!" (How old is this kid? She's growing up so fast.) I love and am so glad they recognize that these men are called of God and that they speak for him to us. By Monday I thought they would've forgotten the little they learned, but no. They have been wonderful helpers all week long-not only helping but doing so willingly. Last night at dinner McKay started laughing and said something like, "Do you remember when that guy said 'Don't let daddy touch the microwave!' " Then he laughed some more. I guess something is getting in their little heads.

Totally Random and Completely Sentimental

I think about people way too much. I'm not referring to current friends/family that may need help or that I just love to pieces, but people from my past who have touched me. I think part of my brain cannot stand not knowing what happened to them and if they're doing well. It was in this attitude I was looking for a wedding announcement of a friend from years ago because I forgot both her husband's name and her married name. Seriously. Finding old girlfriends is almost next to impossible. Anyway. I was looking through some things and found these pictures that I love and wanted to share. I'm sure that there will be more to come as this is the year of the "10-YEAR-REUNION!" Scary, I know.





*Disclaimer: I have a new scanner and absolutely no idea how to work it. My right brained mind just decided to take pictures of my pictures. So not 2008.


Jeff and I always have our sunglasses on, thus ruining any cute, otherwise frameable picture. (Like the best family one from Disney last year. Sigh.)









This is one of my bridal pics. My aunt was the photographer and now I have all the negatives! This is one of my most favorite pictures of myself ever.

















This is my absolute favorite picture of my dad. We were camping somewhere in the early years of our marriage (way before I had a digi camera) when I snapped this fun pic. What is happier than a fisherman with a freshly caught fish?



These next 2 photos are of my friend Ines Kaphan. We met at the start of Senior year. She was an exchange student from Germany that I and many others love dearly. Communication was tricky at the start, but as soon as I figured out a "beautiful welly" was, we were great! (Translation: Beautiful Valley. Can't tell you how long that one took me.) She was a doll. I should share more about her, but I'll save that for a future post.

Baby #3

That's right! Baby #3 (otherwise known as Teslyn) arrived Saturday morning (thanks for trying to have her on my birthday, Karamie-maybe next time) at 2 something in the morning. She's 8 lb 9 oz and 20.5 inches long and an absolute doll. Lucky me-three gorgeous nieces all in one week! Congratulations to Karamie and Neal, Sally and Dustin, and Andy and Lisa. I can't wait to meet all of them.

Claire

Claire Eden (Sally and Dustin's baby) was born April 2 and is 7 lb 1 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. She is adorable, isn't she?

I am so lucky to have such cute nieces! 2 down and 1 more to go. Yay!!

Work...

Introducing the 80 hour work week. Yes, that's right. It is tax season and my hubby announced last night that they are going to start pulling 80 hour work weeks! Ick. So, feel free to pour on the sympathy and invitations for the next two weeks. I'm just kidding, but I will now officially put on black and go into mourning being an official tax widow.

Scrapbooking

My cousin and her friend have started a new scrapbooking website called Organize.Plan.Create. (link is to the right). These girls are all-around amazing but excell at scrapbooking and organization. As part of their new business, they are offering challenges to help us all get going. Check out their website. It's going to be a lot of fun! (BTW-they posted their first challenge today!)

Welcome Gabriella!!

This is my first niece!! Gabriella was born on Sunday and is 7 lb 1 oz and 19 inches long with lots of dark hair. Congratulations to Andy and Lisa! We are excited for you guys and can't wait to meet her.