More Picture Updates

Is it better to include the description under the photo or above the photo? I don't know the answer to that question. I'm going with below, for today.

 In March we went to Hawaii. Robert's little sister who is also my high school chum lives on Oahu in Ko'Olina  with her husband and 2 kids. She and her husband hosted all 6 of us for 10 days. It was the first vacation I have ever been on that I wasn't ready to leave by the end. In fact, I still wish I was there. It may well be the one place for which I would be willing to permanently leave my home in St. George. In the photo above, you can see Stella, Robert, Jack, Creed, and Conway. This was taken on the afternoon we spent surfing in Waikiki.

Robert's mom turned 70 and she had a huge party to celebrate. 

I don't know if there is anything sweeter than a little girl dancing with her daddy.

We have been married for 15 years! Look who we ran into in Las Vegas when we went there to celebrate. We also saw The Phantom of the Opera. It was Robert's first time. I love his reaction to musical theater. He even made reservations at one of our favorite vegas restaurants. What a guy. (Also, I split the pants I'm wearing in the photo above. I tend to own one pair of jeans at a time and I haven't replaced them yet. Boo.)

 Easter: we had Robert's family here for the weekend. We miss them and we are ready for their return.

I can see many hills from our house, and I want to climb to the top of all of them. Here we are at the top of one. I wanted to take the Webelos on a hike and I needed to do some recon. This hill was perfect and we had a great time.

We celebrated my birthday by going on a three day hike in Kolob Canyon. Have I mentioned that I really, really like this guy? Well, I do. We hiked 20 miles in three days with 30 pounds on our backs. Guess what!? When we stopped on the first night and set up camp, the love of my life pulled an extra sleeping bag out of his pack. He was worried that I was going to be too cold/uncomfortable with the bag I brought so he packed a whole extra bag into the wilderness for me. He takes such good care of me.

Our good, loyal, amazing friends from our college days, The Hatfields, came to visit. They are the type of friends that we can just pick right up where we last left off. Liz was even considerate enough to have babies the same gender and age as me, even after we moved away from each other. That is true friendship.

 Stella had a ballet recital, or as they call it at her ballet school: Defile (pronounced day-fee-lay.) She works so hard at ballet and has a ton of natural talent to boot. 

Robert worked over Mother's day weekend so I took the kids to Cathedral Gorge State Park in Nevada.

My Grandpa used to take me and my sister there. The kids loved it as much as I remembered loving it. On Mother's Day I gave each of them a letter I had handwritten highlighting their strengths and why I love being their mom. Then, later in the day, I lost my cool and made everyone cry because nobody was helping me. Then Robert came home and they showed me the Mother's Day movie they made for me and I felt like a schmuck.  

We watched the eclipse.

Did you know that St. George was the optimal place on the whole planet to view the Ring of Fire?

That's why my mom, my grandpa, and two of her sisters came down that weekend. We really got into the mood of the whole thing when, during the four minute Ring of Fire, Uncle Bill blasted Johnny Cash from his car. Everyone got a kick out of that.

 Creed graduated from Elementary School. He had the best teacher and we will miss Mr. Quann. Both of my elementary age kids had amazing experiences this year. I am so thankful that we moved here and  they had teachers who were so perfectly suited to each of them. I can't wait to see what Creed does with his life. He is so creative and passionate.

 We spent Memorial Day Weekend in Park City celebrating my mom's birthday. Robert did not accompany the kids and me because he was working. My stepdad orchestrated the whole thing behind her back and mother's reaction did not disappoint. She was absolutely shocked to see us there and the kids loved being in on a secret. It was a blissful weekend spent playing cards, swimming, sleeping in, and . . . watching the snow fall!! No kidding! Holy canoli I'm so glad that I live in a warm climate and can vacation to the cold.

Sara came home from Park City with us and spent the first two weeks of summer here. She left us last weekend and I miss her like crazy.  I need to sit down with the kids and brainstorm what we want to do with the next couple of weeks of summer because starting the first week of July we are booked almost until school starts.

We have friends from Iowa (woohoo!!) coming right after the fourth, then the boys are going to Scout Camp for a week (let's not talk about it. I'm totally vaclemped), then we are headed up to Montana for three weeks. We should come home in the nick of time for the first day of school. Robert and I also get to attend the wedding of one of our best friends  in Texas during July. 

 I'm not used to that! I prefer my summers to be unscheduled, unhurried time. I prefer to spend the time that my kids are out of school staring at them and soaking them up like a sponge. That unspoiled time I spend with them in the summer is what gets me through the school year. Our time spent in Montana is going to be just that, and it's what I am looking forward to the most.

Here's to blogging! Here's to summer! Here's to kids!