It's all good . . .

A Busy and Wonderful Week

This past week or so has been jam packed with things - mostly good things, but it was still pretty busy.  It is a combination of getting to have Kevin back, and the fact that we are in the last few weeks of school.  Some of the highlights are:

New Toys

Kevin has a fun new Macbook, which he has been LOVING.  He even managed to find an orange case for it the internet, since they were sold out at both the Apple store in Colorado Springs and Denver.

And it is a good thing he has this new toy, because we have had to use it to watch all our TV shows from while Kevin was away.  I had them all on our DVR, but somehow when we sat down to watch the first show, Kevin accidentally deleted EVERYTHING off our DVR.  We couldn't stop laughing, because it was so funny, and yet not. 

Luckily, he is amazing, because not only did he figure out all the shows we needed to watch, but he worked out an awesome system on his new toy to watch them on our TV and use his iPad as a remote :).

Swimming Lessons

Both Lily and Derek are in swimming lessons right now, and I am still blown away at how amazing they are doing.  It was so much fun to take Kevin to their lessons so he could see it too :).  (Wish these were better pictures, but they were taken with Kevin's phone.)

Bubbly Ears

I don't know if you would call this a highlight, but I thought it was pretty funny.  Once or twice a year, we do "bubbly ears" to the kids by putting a little peroxide in their ears and letting it bubble and eat all the nasty wax build up.   (Kevin's dad once had his doctor say this was fine, as long as you didn't do it too often.)  Well, Derek was taking his turn, and Kevin decided he wanted to get in on the fun.  I love this picture!

A Visit from the Drapers

Kevin's best friend Rob and his family were heading home to Oklahoma from a visit in Utah, and decided to stop in for a couple days.  We were so happy to have them!  Too bad that our 70-80 degree weather decided to disappear while they were here.  At one point, it even snowed giant fluffy flakes.  Lily and Ellie had to go out in it.

Lily loved having the little ones around, as they have a 2 year old, Rosie, and a pretty new baby, Clara. 

We stayed up late every night (well, we, meaning the adults) playing games and talking.  The kids had a blast together.  And I took advantage of a break in the cold to go over to the Broadmoor to take their family portraits.

We had such a wonderful time with them!!

Mother's Day

On Mother's Day morning, before the Drapers headed home, Kevin and Rob made Angela and I a special Mother's Day breakfast.  Kevin made his amazing cinnamon rolls, and Rob made bacon and eggs.  It was perfect.

The kids also gave me cute homemade cards, and Lily gave me an awesome coupon book.  Earlier in the week, I got a surprise at my door with an Edible Arrangement from my mother-in-law.  It was delicious and a very fun early Mother's Day present :).  (And I love the orange watering can - I think I might plant something in it for my kitchen window.)

Last Track Meet

On Monday, the kids had their last track meet of the season.  It was supposed to be last week, but it was stormy that whole day, and so it had been postponed.  Both kids did awesome.  Derek ran the 400 m and got a time of 2:24.  He especially loved his medal :).

Lily also did well, running the 800m in 4:27.  I was so glad their daddy was there to see a race, and so were they :).

And so yes, it has been a pretty busy week.  This next week is just as crazy, but it should be just as good :).

A Field Trip with Friends

On Wednesday evening, right before my trip to Utah for my niece's wedding,  I headed out with some friends to garden of the Gods for a photography field trip.  Even though I as in the midst of packing and very stressed, I went anyway, and it turned out to be the perfect way to relieve stress and revitalize me to finish packing.

It was so much fun, and even though it was very overcast that evening, so we didn't get our perfect sunset, it still turned out great.

The Garden is beautiful any time of year :).  And I love sneaking pictures of my friends as they take pictures.

While we were there, I took some quick portraits of my friend Judi - her husband had been begging for a picture of her, and I love how these turned out.

And I got a couple shots of my friend Natalie as well :).

As we were about to leave, we happened upon a heard of deer.  It as so fun to watch them :).

After we finished, we stopped at Chic-fil-a for milkshakes.  It was a blast, even if it meant I was much later finishing my packing.  I sure love my friends :).

Some More Special Visitors

If you haven't noticed a pattern already, I seem to have arranged for somebody to visit us each month for the past few months, because, not only does it give me some much needed company, but it also gives me something to look forward to.  During Lily and Derek's second week of Spring Break, when they were in their drama camp all day, each day, I flew out my brother Preston's girls for the week.

It was so much fun to have Mikeena and Eden here, and although it took a little bit to get them here, it was wonderful. You see, I had planned it so they would fly straight from Salt Lake to Denver, so they wouldn't have to change planes or anything tricky. However, first their flight was delayed two hours, and second, I hadn't been to the Denver airport in so long (20 years I think), that I had no idea how big it was. And when they got off their plane, they immediately got turned around and lost.

I was standing there, right where they should have come out for about 45 minutes, calling them on their phones and texting back and forth. Somebody gave them bad directions, and they ended up on the oppposite side of the airport. It was crazy. Finally, getting very nervous, I went to a security guard and told him that my nieces were lost somewhere in the airport, and could he please help me find them.

Luckily, after I talked to him, they were with me in about 5 minutes. He got out a map, had me call them, and talked them through where they should go. It was such an amazing relief when I finally got to hold them in my arms!!  We spent the drive home and that evening catching up, and then planned our fun for the next day :).

The first place I took them was the zoo.  I sure do love our zoo.  Eden was in heaven feeding and petting the giraffes, although I think Mikeena preferred watching from a distance :).

I am glad they love zoos just as much as I do, because we had a blast.  They loved getting to see all the animals, and we were lucky enough to see the hippos during their feeding time :).

And the gorillas and orangutans were being fed also, and so they were especially active.  And of course, we had to use the scale to see how many of us it took to make a gorilla :).

We saw a ton of the animals out and about, probably because the weather was gorgeous!  It was in the low 70's and sunny - like we had ordered it :).  My favorite thing of the day was the leopard.   It kept growling hello to the snow leopard  that happened to be in the cage next door temporarily.  I guess they never see each other, and watching them say hello was pretty cool.

And I guess there was also when the bird landed on my shoulder!  It completely took me by surprise.  And hey, somehow we got it to walk from my shoulder to Eden's, and so she got to have the same experience, except that he didn't fly at her first :).

After the zoo, we ate our picnic lunch, and then I drove them over to Garden of the Gods.  We were too tired to hike, and so we just drove through the park and stopped to take a picture.

After that, the girls got their second wind, and we went to one of the malls so they could go shopping.  It was pretty fun, and so much different shopping with two teenage girls, instead of my kids :).  We finished off the day by eating popcorn and watching an old movie together.

The next day, they decided to help me with a project.  I told them a few things I was thinking about, and they chose painting the wall with me :).  So after we dropped Lily and Derek at thrie camp, we stopped at Home Depot and bought some paint.  Then we went to work.  They were so awesome to help me, and we had a blast listening to music and laughing the whole time. 

And hey, look at the finished product.  I love it, and it would have been so hard to do alone.  In fact, I am sure I never would hve gotten around to it without those awesome girls :).

That evening, they asked if I could do some portraits of them, and so we had even more fun.  You know how I love to take pictures.  Aren't they gorgeous girls?

We took the pictures right around the corner from my house, and Lily and Derek entertained themselves the whole time by playing in the irrigation ditch next to us.  Luckily there was almost no water in it, because Derek managed to get himself soaked anyway :).

And the last day, we played and took care of last minute things we hadn't had time for on the other days.  Like playing Wipeout on the Kinnect, which they loved.  (And since I forgot to take a picture while they were playing, Lily and Eden reenacted it for me - pretty fun.)  I also took them to see Lily and Derek's theater performance from their camp, which was very fun.

All week, the kids had been playing outside every day with Eden.  The weather was so beautiful, and so the three of them would head outside to play, while Mikeena kept me company and read the first Hunger Games book.  Eden even taught Lily how to hang upside down on the monkey bars!  And they used their imaginations so well while they played - they loved playing with Eden!

Both girls also liked to play games with Lily and Derek.  It was such a huge thing for them to get to have attention from somebody besides me, and I don't think that Keena and Eden will ever know how much they really did for them.

It was such a wonderful week, and over way too soon.  We had to drop them back at the Denver airport on Saturday morning before dawn, and it was so sad to see them go.  I love those girls and am so grateful for the wonderful time we had together, and that they were willing to spend their break playing with me in Colorado.

They are welcome back any time :).

A Touch of Spring

One wonderful thing about Colorado Springs, is that although we have winter, cold, snow, and blizzards, we also have random days of gorgeous 50-60 degree scattered throughout the cold days.  In fact, our first Christmas here was over 50 degrees and sunny - my kind of weather.  I like to say that we "dabble" in winter here, because no matter how cold and awful it gets (see my post a few weeks ago), give it a week or two, and we will have one of those amazing days.

Well, as if we weren't spoiled enough with the random gorgeous weather, we have now had two weeks of amazing weather.  Last week it was in the 60's all week, and this week it has been in the 70's.  It has been heaven, and I even had to break out my capris and flip flops.  I know that it could go away any second, and it could snow again any time up until the end of May, but for now, we are loving every minute of this.

The kids have been outside on their scooters, playing in the backyard, playing at the park with friends, and they even had a batting lesson with a boy from our ward.  It is awesome.

And as for me, I was fully enjoying the weather as well.  I did have to water my lawn with our old sprinklers, which was actually really nice, since I know I only have to do that until the weather gets cold again, or until it is safe to turn our sprinkler system back on.

I also got out twice this week with friends and enjoyed the weather.  On Thursday, I went with some ladies from the Relief Society to go to the Denver Temple.  It was wonderful, and the warm weather made the trip to Denver even more fun.

And then on Friday, we had a photo field trip, which was a blast!  We went to down town Colorado Springs, and took pictures by the old courthouse.  It was the perfect opportunity to try out my new wide angle lens.  Wow, that is amazing for taking pictures of buildings.  (I will post the rest of my pics on my photography blog sometime this week, if you want to see more.)

It was a little tricky for when I took pics of people, but that isn't what it is for anyway :).

And I love catching my friends taking pictures, or making them pose for me - always a good time :).

I sure love my fun photography group :).  We always have a blast, and afterward, for those who could, we went out to lunch at a yummy Greek restaurant in town.  We even ate out on their balcony to continue to enjoy the beautiful weather.  (Wish I had a picture of that, but all of us left our cameras in the car - he he!)  What a great day.

I know the temperatures are going to drop after the weekend - in fact, they are dropping as I type this, but I definitely have enjoyed the warm weather while it was here.  It was just enough Spring to get me through until May, when winter officially leaves us :).

Fabulous Times with Friends

Over the past two weeks, I have had some great times with friends.  Whether it was at book club, or at lunch bunch, whenever I get together with my friends here, we have a blast :).  Two times stand out the most, however, the first being a photo field trip, and the second was a weekend in Denver at Time Out for Women.

PHOTO FIELD TRIP

 
Quite a few of my friends have purchased SLR cameras in the past couple of years, and really wanted to learn how to use them.  Back in the spring, I took a couple of them out to teach them how to use their cameras, and so we decided to do it again to capture the autumn colors.

This time I had four awesome students.  They were ideal students - listening and doing what I asked, and I think I may have even taught them something :).  (Although they really didn't appreciate it when I sneakily took their pictures - he he!)

 
Don't worry, they got a few pictures of me as well.  I LOVE this one my friend Judi took. 

 
In return for doing this for them, I had a blast doing two of my all time favorite things - teaching and taking pictures.  Here are some of my favorites . . . 

 
The leaves weren't fully in their fall colors yet, but that almost made it more fun, as I got to hunt for the color, and then still have the contrasting green.

 
There was also a really beautiful little stream, and so I used it to teach them about shutter speed :).

 
It was such a fun morning, and we topped it off by going to Pannera Bread for lunch.  It was a perfect day.  I sure love my friends!

 
TIME OUT FOR WOMEN

 If you haven't heard of Time Out for Women before, it is sort of like EFY for women.  If you don't know what EFY is, just picture a two day conference for women that comes to cities around the country, where they get to listen to religious and inspirational speakers and singers, and do a service project.  That is pretty much the gist of things, but it doesn't even begin to describe how awesome it was :).

 
There was a large group of ladies from my ward going (this picture doesn't even show half of them), which was awesome.  Five of us were able to leave in the morning (thank goodness for awesome husbands taking care of things), and we went and did a session at the Denver temple, which had been closed for some remodeling for the past 6 weeks.

After a wonderful time at the temple, we went to a late lunch/dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.  The meal was delicious, and we shared a slice of the Hersey's Milk Chocolate Cheesecake Cake (It had cake layered in the cheesecake and frosting and chocolate chips on the outside).  It was divine, but I was so glad we were sharing :).

 
Then we were off to our hotel, were we hung out until the conference was set to begin.  While we waited, I had to get a picture of Kelly and Joan trying to stretch their necks - fun times!

 
The meeting that night was wonderful, and we heard from Mary Ellen Edmunds, who was so funny, that I laughed nonstop during her talk.  Talk about a wonderful stress relief.  Then we had some great music by Dallyn Bayles, followed by Heidi Swinton, the women who wrote Pres. Monson's biography.  She had the most wonderful stories about the prophet :).

When it was over, my roommates (Kelly, Joan, and Natalie) and I fully intended to get to bed at a good hour, so we would have energy for Saturday.  "Intended," being the key word :).  It didn't seem to matter that we had already spent the entire day together and talked almost nonstop, we still ended up talking until after midnight, after saying goodnight multiple times :).  That is what slumber parties are all about, right?  My roommates were awesome!

 
The second day of the conference was also fantastic.  We were constantly going from laughing, to crying, to laughing, and to crying again.  The speakers were amazing, and Hillary Weeks did the musical portion, and she was not only an amazing singer, but she had a wonderful sense of humor.  We sat in about the middle of the group, but they had huge screens up so we could see the speakers better, which was great, because we weren't close enough to see their facial expressions.

 
One of the speakers was Dr. Kelly Ogden, which was so cool, because his daughter, Sarah, was in Jerusalem with me and we were friends.  I just had to go introduce myself and see how she has been the past 14 years.  He was super nice, and told me he would pass a note to her so I could say hi :).

Lunch that day was an adventure.  The caterers had had an issue with power, and so instead of having the food to feed us all, they only had enough for 150, which meant the rest of us were searching for a place to go.  After going to the Subway and seeing a one hour line, we drove around until we finally went to a Burger King.

When we got back, the afternoon session was going great, when the power in the entire city block went out, and we were plunged into darkness. The speaker, Merrilee Boyack, was so awesome though.  With a tiny flashlight, she made her way into the middle of the group, and proceeded to give the rest of her presentation.  I tried to get a picture, since she was right by us, but the darkness was a little much, even with everyone shining their cell phones on her.  She ended up looking like a ghost.

 
Crazy, right?  I think my shutter stayed open for a full 30 seconds.  Luckily, just as they were about to cancel the rest of the program and send us all home, the power came back on.  It was a miracle - really.  And I am so glad, because the last speaker, Emily Freeman, was one of my favorites of the entire event.

Once the meeting was over, we all loaded back in our cars and headed back to our families in Colorado Springs.  We also headed back to and inch or so of snow, since I guess winter decided to sneak in while we were away - crazy. 

It was such a wonderful weekend, and I am so grateful to Kevin for watching the kids so I could get away for a much needed recharge of my spiritual batteries.  (I wish I could say that I was rested, but since I only got 4 hours of sleep, that would be a lie - he he!)  I had such a fantastic time with my friends, and we all came back closer and stronger.  It was wonderful, and it made me want to be a better person, a better friend, a better wife, and especially, a better mother.

Saturday is a Special Day

This Saturday, we had the completely unusual experience of having nothing scheduled.  I didn't have any photo shoots, Kevin didn't have anything, and the kids were activity free.  It is such a rare thing, that Kevin really wanted to stay home and enjoy it, so we started the morning by having all four of us come up with ideas of things we'd like to do.  The first thing was . . .

Family Running

Lily is in a running club at school, and Kevin has taken her out jogging a few times to practice, and so I thought it might be fun for the whole family to go.  I hadn't been jogging since right before I got pregnant with Derek, and so I definitely didn't run the whole mile, but I did my best.  Derek gave up half way, but Lily ran the entire mile and did it in 14 minutes - pretty awesome for a girl who had never run that far up until a few weeks ago :). 

It was a great way to start the day, and afterward, I made us all a special breakfast while we made our plans for the day.

 
Playing "Go Fish"

When Derek was telling us his idea, I was convinced he would ask to play a video game, but he surprised us all by asking if his activity could be playing "Go Fish."  It was so much fun, that when we finished, we decided to use the cards to play a game of memory. 

 
Making Treats

To go with Kevin's activity that he chose for later in the day, he made some treats, and since I had just happened to buy the ingredients to make a special fudge recipe, that is what he made.  And let me tell you, it is delicious!

 
New Camera Adventures

Kevin reenlisted for an additional two years in the Army last week, and because of that he got a nice bonus.  Most of it went to various savings accounts, but he used some of the money to buy himself a new TV he has been dreaming about and an Xbox 360 with the Kinnect.  Because he is an amazing husband, he told me I could get something I had been dreaming about, which was an awesome lens.

When we were looking around, we realized that Costco had the lens I wanted attached to a Canon 60D, and for the what the lens was worth.  Because of that, Kevin bought it for me and I got to upgrade my camera and get my dream lens!  What an amazing husband :).

 
The camera came Friday evening, and since I hadn't had time to play with it then, I got to play with it all day on Saturday :).  The lens is awesome enough, but there are so many new and exciting features on my camera, I don't even know how I will learn to use them all.  I especially love the HD video.

 
Outdoor Activities

The weather was gorgeous, and so we chose to do some outdoor activities.  First, we had the kids ride their bikes around.  Lily is getting really good at riding her bike, especially when she remembers to steer and to brake :).  Sometimes it is like she doesn't believe us or realize that she can do it. 

A few weeks ago, we went so far as to put training wheels on her bike, but with them bent so they didn't touch the ground.  She was riding all over, completely unafraid, until we told her what we did.  Then she was all nervous again.  Luckily, I think she may be past it now :).

 
After the bike riding, the kids went and picked rocks out of the grass while Kevin mowed the lawn.  Everyone has to do their part, right?

 
And me, I was checking out my pumpkins.  I even cut a few off to be decorations for our front porch.  There are still a bunch that are still coming along.  It is so much fun :).

 
After Kevin was done with the lawn, the kids played with their stomp rocket, and these really fun helicopters.  Unfortunately, the helicopters went a little too far, and one went in one neighbor's yard, and one went in the others. 

This led to an extra activity - a walk to go retrieve them, since these neighbors live in a tucked away street a few blocks away by way of the road.  Once we got there, neither person was home, and so we ended up having Kevin sneak into the yards to get them.  But hey, the helicopters were retrieved :).

Playing Legend of Zelda (while mom goes to a party)

One of Derek and Lily's favorite activities is to watch Kevin play Legend of Zelda games.  I don't really understand it, but they love it.  And since they had just started a new one last week, I knew they would want to get some time in with it.  They played for two hours, and I spent the whole time at a friend's house.

I had been invited to a "Make and Take" party, where we all brought things we had made, and then we all got to take one of each of everybody elses creations home.  I brought some of my favorite fall photos that I took last year on my trip to Connecticut, and I came home with homemade hairbows, pumpkin bread, artichoke dip, sugar scrub, 3 mini apple pies in jars, a cute board with a vinyl quote, etc.  It was very fun :).

Watching the BYU Football Game

Our final activity was watching the BYU game, and we had fun eating fudge and being together, even if they lost.  Oh well.  It was a good way to end our awesome Saturday, and although we didn't have time to do one of Lily's ideas (playing the Kinnect - which we did for Family Home Evening instead), we had a wonderful day together :).

 

The 5th Week of Summer - Our Trip to Idaho

On Friday, July 1st, we headed to Twin Falls, Idaho to visit family for a week.  Even though it was a long day in the car (11 hours), it was so awesome not to have to fly there, and that we actually live within driving distance now.   We did so many things and had so much fun.  I don't think I could write it all down if I wanted to.  We stayed up late talking and watching movies most nights.  We got to play with both sides of our family.  The list goes on and on, but here are some of my favorite things . . .

Cousins!

I know that Kevin was probably overwhelmed growing up with the amount of cousins he had, and how often he saw them because they lived so close, however, I grew up with very few cousins, and none that lived anywhere near us.  I can count on one hand the amount of times I got to see them.  Because of this, and because of how close I am to my siblings, I love that my kids have friendships with their cousins, and that they get excited to see them. (It only happens about once a year or less.)  They had so much fun with the cousins they saw on our trip.

I wish I had snapped a picture of Lily with Mikeena and Eden, her older girl cousins, as she spent a lot of time with them.  One night they had a sleep over, and then another time they painted her nails and did her hair.  Lily loved it, and it was a nice break from all the boy cousins her own age.  And Derek really loved having a crowd of boys to rough house with.

After church one day, I snapped a picture of the 2005 kids (Peter, Luke, and Derek) and the 2003 kids (Preston, Lily, and Austin - Logan wasn't there).  (Lily and Derek also have another cousin from Kevin's side of the family that were born the same year as them - pretty funny.)

 
 Fourth of July

Although I completely forgot to take any pictures, we had an awesome Fourth of July.  We had a BBQ with Kevin's parents and Randy and Kate.  On our way there, we happened to look over, and who sis we see on their Vespa, but Kate and Randy.  The picture isn't great, since we were driving, but Kevin loves it - says it reminds him of  "Dumb and Dumber" :).  I just thought it was fun that we saw them around town.

 
After dinner, the kids got to go swimming with them at Randy and Kate's apartment.  And then later that night, we watched fireworks in Holly's front yard, and we had quite the show from all the surrounding neighborhoods.  It was awesome.

Playing in the Back Yard

Granted, now that we live in Colorado, our kids can enjoy ourveryu own back yard, but there is just something special about being in Idaho that gets them out and playing for hours on end.  It may have something to do with the great company :).  The kids had a blast playing on these inner-tubes in Holly's back yard - it reminded me of when I was little.

 

We also love Kevin's parents back yard.  It is the perfect place to sit while the kids play.  Uncle Randy and Aunt Kate were there to play with the kids, which they loved.  And really, you just can't beat the view - yes, that is the Twin Falls Temple.

 
Playing on the Snake River

Idaho has had a LOT of rain and snow this year, and so up until a few days before we got there, the river was too high to do anything on.  Luckily, they began diverting for irrigation, and although this meant we didn't get to see Shoshone Falls in all its glory, it did mean that we got to play on the river.

My brother-in-law, Stuart, took us out on the river in his fishing boat and it was awesome!  I had jetskied down the river back in high school, but I had forgotten how spectacular the views were inside the canyon.  Plus, I had never gone down this section of river, were we went directly below the Perrine Bridge.

 
It was so much fun, and we all loved it.  He took us all the way to Pillar Falls, and then we went back.  It was so gorgeous, and I found myself wishing that I could come back at sunset to get better pictures.  These will have to do :).

 
Sweet Elizabeth

Holly's youngest, and her only daughter, turned one right before we got there.  She is the cutest little girl, and is the most adorable age right now.  Plus, it is uncanny how much she looks like Holly did at this age.  I spent so much of my time cuddling and playing with Elizabeth, just like last summer, but at least this year I remembered to have someone snap a picture of me with her :).

 
I also showed Holly how her hair was long enough for a ponytail or pigtails, and it made her even more adorable!  And of course, I had to take her one year old portraits while I was there :).  Here are some of my favorites . . .

  
 Playing with my Little Brother

  Okay, so he is definitely not  "little" anymore, and has been bigger than me for about 14 years now, but he is still my little brother.  I was so happy to get to see him on our trip.  I hadn't seen Matthew for three years, and had not even met his littlest son, Harvey.  Besides that, I love his wife, Susan, and love spending time with her.  He was able to come out to Idaho from Nevada for the 4th of July, and we had a great time together.  I even was able to do some family portraits for them, which turned out super cute.  (I am going to post more of them on my photography blog, if you want to see them.)

Uncles, Aunts, and Advice

Other than getting to see and play with their cousins, I love that my kids get to build relationships with their aunts and uncles.  It is so important for kids to have adults, besides their parents, that can be good influences on them.  Derek had a blast with my brother Matthew - he would try to tackle him and get tickled in return. 

 
But my favorite memory had to be when Kevin sat on the couch with my nephews, Paul and Austin, and gave them advice for almost a half hour on how they needed to live life to reach their goals - especially Austin, who wants to be in the military.  They soaked up every word, and it was actually really good advice.  They think he is the coolest uncle ever, since he is in the Army, and for Austin, that was cemented even more when Kevin gave him a Special Forces and Airborne unit patch.

 
And now that Randy and his wife Kate are settled in Twin Falls, I love that my kids get to see an uncle and aunt from Kevin's side of the family on a regular basis.  They love them, and Lily is especially taken with Kate, and was always finding a reason to sit next to her :).

 
Sewing Lessons with Grandma Valerie

Lily really wanted to do a sewing project with Grandma, and so she had an afternoon where she was the only one to go over to their house.  She picked out all of her patches for her quilt top she was making, and then learned how to sew it on the machine. 

 
One of the times she went over to work on it, she was enjoying the quiet so much, that she gave up on the sewing and spent a few hours in the basement all alone :).  (It does get a little crazy with all those cousins, even if it is fun.)  It turned out super cute, and now we need to find the perfect fabric for the backing.

 
Washing the Van with Grandpa

 
Kevin's dad loves having a clean car, and his garage is set up to be the perfect wash bay.  And so we had to take advantage, and Derek and Kevin helped Grandpa wash our van, which was pretty filthy from the drive.  They had a great time, and it sure was nice to have the van washed and waxed :).

Watching a Play

It is almost becoming a tradition to take Lily to see a Jump Co. play when we are in Twin during the summer.  This year the play was, "The Music Man," which I just happened to be in when they performed it 16 years ago :).  Holly took Austin, and I took Lily and Derek and we went to watch the show.  It was really cute, but Derek fell asleep during the first 30 minutes of the play.  (He had been going full tilt all day, and so I guess a dark, quiet theater put him to sleep.)  I had Kevin come and get him, and then we watched the rest of the play.

Golf

Kevin's idea of a vacation, is playing as much golf as possible.  He managed to squeeze in 72 holes of golf while we were in Idaho (54 holes with his dad, and then another 18 with Stuart).   He also got in 18 holes during our one day in Utah, bringing the grand total to 90 holes of golf and 5 complete golf games.  That made for a pretty happy husband :).

Fish - Feeding and Catching

Have I ever mentioned that Lily's favorite animal is a fish?  I think it is because of an offhand remark I made when she was four, about how the only pet she might ever be allowed to have would be a fish.  Regardless, she loves fish, and so when Grandma Valerie took us to feed the fish, she was in heaven.  In fact, she kept begging us to capture one and take it home as a pet.  We convinced her to name one or two, and that they could be her pets, but stay in the pond :).

The fish feeding was really fun, especially when the giant black fish would come up from the bottom of the pond and steal all the bread from the goldfish.  They were so creepy, but so cool to watch (I wish you could see them better in the pictures).  It was a blast :).

 
And Saturday morning, we went fishing with Grandpa Dennis.  We started with donuts on the way out to Hagerman, and then he drove us out to the fishing pond his grandfather used to take him as a little boy.  It was so beautiful and clear, that you could see the clouds reflecting in the water.

 
Once he got both kids all set up, we waited.  And waited.  And waited.  We watched the fish swimming right past our fantastic bait, but I think we must have come a little too late in the day, because they had already had their breakfast and weren't biting. 

 

Even though it disappointed Dennis that the kids didn't even get a bite, I thought it was a fantastic morning.  We got out in the gorgeous Idaho scenery for a few hours, and the kids learned that they had to be quiet, patient, and that you don't always get a fish.  (Lily caught two when she went last year, so she needed to know that it doesn't always happen that way.)  Those are lessons my kids really need to learn, and it is too bad they don't live closer so they could go with Grandpa more often to learn the patient and quiet part a little better.

And Lily and Derek had such a great time, regardless of whether or not they got a bite.  Lily eventually went and created her very own fishing pole, with a stick, a line she found, and a bottle cap for the weight.  Her "hook" was a piece of wood that would not sink, and so, of course, before we left, she had found a real hook and attached it to her "pole."  Derek wanted in on the fun, and so she helped make him one as well.  It was so fun to see him trying to cast it, just like he had seen Grandpa do :).

 
Pictures, Pictures, and more Pictures

I ended up spending a lot of my vacation editing pictures, because you see, I spent a lot of time taking pictures :).  I did  family portraits for Matthew, as well as portraitsof my nieces and nephews that live in Twin Falls, and senior portraits for my niece, Melanie.  I even did two other photo sessions for friends of my sister.

Holly's boys

 
Preston's Kids

 
Melanie's Senior Portraits

 
I love how they all turned out, and if you want to see more, go to my photography blog.  (Although I don't have all of them on there yet.  That is tomorrow's goal.)  It was so much fun, but the editing did take up a lot of time.  Luckily, my amazing husband had just fixed up his old laptop for me to use, and so I was able to edit while I spent time with family, and wasn't trapped in an office.

During one of my shoots in the canyon, I snapped these pictures.  The golf course if where Kevin worked in high school.  Pretty fun :).

 
All and all, it was a fantastic vacation.  We did so many fun things, and really loved getting to be with family.  But all good things have to come to an end, and on Sunday afternoon, we headed to Utah to begin our trip home.

*The only sad thing was that my own parents weren't there to visit, as they are still on their mission in Nauvoo.  But we did get to visit them in March, so I guess it all evens out :). 

On the Fourth Week of Christmas

And what a week it was.  With a road trip to Utah, Kevin's brother's wedding, Derek's birthday, and all sorts of other things thrown in, it has been a little crazy.  Today is Christmas Eve, and yet I am not ready for tomorrow.  Maybe once I post about all the rest of this week, I can move on and focus on celebrating.  Your see, it all began on . . .

SATURDAY:

Unable to sleep the night before, I was up at five finishing up our packing, and we were on the road by 6:30 am.  We were super blessed that the roads were clear and that it wasn't snowing.  That wind through Wyoming is bad enough all on its own.

The highlight of Saturday was when we arrived in Spanish Fork and had dinner with our friends, Glen and LaDawna.  We spent the evening eating and talking while Lily and Derek played with their girls, Emma and Holly.  It sure made me miss having them as neighbors.

We had planned on staying the night there, but found out that I-15 closed at night and wasn't opening until late in the morning, making things tricky for Sunday morning.  Because of that, we found a hotel in downtown Salt Lake on Hotwire, and stayed there for the night.  We tried to get some rest to have energy for  . . .

SUNDAY:

Sunday morning I was up bright and early, because Lily and I were going to the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert.  My sister Holly, who lives in Idaho, also had tickets, and so we went together.  (And at the last minute, Kevin ended up babysitting her 6 month old baby, Elizabeth.  He had to stay home to watch Derek anyway, and so he offered to watch Lizzie so that Holly didn't have to leave her as long as she would have if she had left her in Ogden.)

We went extra early, because even with tickets, it wasn't guaranteed you would get in.  I think the extra large crowds had something to do with the special guest this year - David Archuletta :).  We stood in the cold rain while we waited for the doors to open, and a sweet lady lent us her extra umbrella while we stood in line.

It was worth the wait though.  The concert was AMAZING!  There is nothing quite like the Tabernacle Choir singing with an orchestra, and hearing it live was unbelievable.  Then add to that, the amazing decorations, the dancers, and David Archuletta (whom I have never been a big fan of, but he was fantastic). 

Lily and her cousins, Paul and Austin, just sat there in awe of it all.  (And it sure was fun to spend some time with my sister Holly.)  Oh, and it it couldn't get any cooler, President Monson was at the performance, and so Lily got to see the prophet in real life for the first time. 

After the concert, we said our goodbyes, checked out of our hotel, had lunch, and then checked into our other hotel.  Then we took it easy in our room for the afternoon.  Later on, we met Kevin's parents at Little America for dinner.  It was delicious and it was so fun to be together with everyone.  Then we walked to the nearest train station to ride TRAX to Temple Square.  Derek and Lily loved the train!

But the train was nothing compared to seeing the Christmas lights on Temple Square.  They were beautiful, and the kids loved every little thing - from the nativities set up, to the different colors of the lights, and of course, holding hands with Grandma and Grandpa :).

 
I loved taking pictures of the lights and the temple.  If only I had brought my tripod with me so that I could have done it right :).

After we looked at the lights, we made sure to watch the Nativity presentation out on the lawn - which is always fantastic.  It was then that we met up with Kevin's older brother, Scott, and his family, which meant Lily and Derek had cousins to play with :).  Lily and Anna hit it off like they had known each other forever, and I loved watching them walk hand in hand.

Then it was back to the hotel to get ready for the much anticipated event . . . "Build Your Brother's Pants."  It deserved its very own post though :).  After the festivities, it was time to get some sleep before . . .

MONDAY:

We got to sleep in on Monday, which was wonderful, especially since Derek and Lily had been staying up hours past their bedtime (Isn't that what happens on vacation?).  Then we got up, had breakfast, and walked to the train station.  The kids had been begging to go to the Church History Museum, and so that is where we went.

They thought it was great, and especially loved getting to stand behind the replica of the podium from the Conference Center and playing in the replica of a ship's bunk.

 
When we finished inside the museum, we headed into one of the visitor centers.  It was too busy the night before, and we had promised the kids they could go in.  they sure love looking at the statue of the Christus.  And the temple was looking so beautiful against the cold winter sky, that I had to snap a picture :).

Then we hopped on the train and headed to the Gateway for me to find a new dress for that night.  (It was a case of me not really liking anything in my closet at the time, and Kevin saying I should get something new.)  After an hour of being disappointed, I discovered DownEast Basics and found 3 beautiful dresses that I took home - for less money than one dress from the other stores.

Later that evening, we went to the Wedding dinner.  Since Kate and Randy decided not to have a reception, they had a formal dinner instead at a beautiful reception center in Sugar House.  We got there early for pictures, but Derek had fallen asleep and was not having any of it.  The poor kid was worn out and grumpy.  Luckily his grandma and grandpa worked their magic and helped him rediscover his smile :).

All of the kids were really great, and waited so patiently for the dinner to start.  Lily and Derek loved being with their cousins, and all five kids were pretty happy when I let Derek play with my iPod.  I love how all of them were entertained by watching him play :).

Randy and Kate, the reason for the celebration, were just glowing with happiness.  Kate looked gorgeous, and Lily just had to get a picture with her newest aunt (Even if Lily has forgotten how to smile in pictures - he he!  I promise, she was happy.)

Dinner was great, although a little too fancy for Lily and Derek's tastes.  No worries though, because Kevin had a pocket full of Rolos, and so they were just fine.  We were seated with two of Kevin's aunts and uncles, and had a really great time.

 
Then we all headed back to Dennis and Valerie's hotel for the traditional swimming and hottubbing the night before the wedding.  Everyone had a fantastic time, and wow - it was one big splash when all the boys jumped in the pool together :).

By the time we got to bed, we were all exhausted and ready to get some sleep for . . .

TUESDAY:

Seeing as Randy's wedding day was also Derek's fifth birthday, we decided to take him to a special birthday breakfast at Little America.  Derek loved it!  He got a pancake in the shape of a bear, and then, after he told the waitress that it was his birthday, she brought him a huge piece of chocolate cake and sang to him :).

After breakfast, we checked out of our hotel and headed through the icky weather to drop our kids off at my old roommate Terrah's house.  (She lives in the Draper area.)  She was so awesome to watch Lily and Derek for us!!  As soon as we dropped them off, we hurried back to downtown SLC for the wedding.

It was such a wonderful wedding, and I have never seen anyone smile as big as Randy as he came into the sealing room with Kate.  We are so happy for them!!  Afterwards, we did a few pictures, and then we went and picked up the kids.

Because of the long drive there and back, we were quite a bit late for the wedding luncheon, but I am so glad we went and got the kids first.  It gave them a chance to say goodbye to all their aunts, uncles, cousins, and their grandparents.  Plus, Lily got to play her recital piece for everyone, and Derek got some great cuddling in with Grandma Valerie.

 
As soon as all the goodbyes were said, we headed to Ogden to visit our friends the Jones family.  On our way, I called my older brother and found out that he was in town and headed toward us in the opposite direction.  So we both pulled off at a random exit and got to say hello.  It was so wonderful seeing Preston and Misty and their kids - even if it was only for 15 minutes :).

We got to the Jones' house just in time to help with a few last minute preparations for Marilyn's family Christmas party.  They have always been more like family than just friends to us, and so we fit right in :).  And Kevin was especially excited that the dinner was catered by Maddox - one of his favorite Utah restaurants.  (And I found it pretty funny that all the pies say they were made by Kevin - he he!)

During the party, we also found time for Derek to open his birthday presents - which he had been patiently waiting for ALL DAY.  What a sweetheart :).  His favorite gift was the Imperial Walker he got from Grandma Valerie and Grandpa Dennis.  He has been wanting one for years, but they finally made one for his collection, and so his grandma immediately got it for him.

And Derek spent the whole dinner (before his toys were opened) playing with Jordan and playing with the holly leaf decorations on the tables, turning them into spaceships and blasters :).  After Marilyn's extended family left, we stayed up late talking.  It was so wonderful to be with them, especially since their son Tyler was home from Afganistan.

The next morning we took our time getting ready and getting out, having a nice breakfast of waffles that Brent made us.  When we finally did get on the road, we were only an hour into our trip when we were stopped for a terrible accident.  A semi with a hazardous load had crashed and shut down the highway.  After almost two hours, they finally let us go, but we had to get past the accident by driving on the frontage road.  Craziness!

We finally made it home at 9 pm at night, but were very grateful that, aside from the accident, some slick roads, and some fog at the end of the trip, we had no issues.  The roads were clear, they were open, and we made it safe. 

It was a great trip, and a great week, but now that it is over, we can get ready for Christmas for real :).  Merry Christmas!!

Apples, the Big Apple, and Other Traveling Adventures

Last week, I got back from the most amazing and fun vacation with my sisters, Holly and Wendy.  (It was too bad Heather and Cheryl couldn't have been there with us too.)  It all happened rather suddenly, but it was definitely meant to be.  It all started with a conversation I had with Holly on a Thursday, and after some scrambling around to get people to watch my kids while Kevin was at work, I was on a plane the following Tuesday for Connecticut.

Holly, along with her adorable baby girl, Elizabeth, and I went to stay with my sister Wendy, who just moved to CT.  It had way too long since I had seen Wendy and her family, and so that would have been enough to make the trip worth it, but it was so much more than that.  Here are some of the many adventures we had during our week there . . .

Apple Picking- Can you get any more quintessential than going apple picking at a sweet little farm in Connecticut in the fall?  It was gorgeous and the three of us (four, including little Lizzy) had a great time picking apples and trying not to drop any or fall down the hill :).

Aside from the plentiful and delicious apples, the farm had mounds of pumpkins and gourds everywhere and were so pretty.  (I may have to post more pics of them on my photography blog, along with other random favorite pics from my trip.)  It was a blast, and I even made an apple crisp with some of the apples - yum!

Crumbs - For any of you who know about Crumbs, you know why it was one of the highlights.  And there just happened to be a Crumbs store a five minute walk from Wendy's house.  Not the best thing for my figure, but hey, I walked a LOT on this vacation, I needed something to work off, right?  The red velvet was amazing, and of course, we had to try a bunch of different flavors too - all delicious!

The Train, the Subway, and Grand Central Station - By the end of our trip, Holly and I sure got good at riding the train and the subway, and we could even find our way in Grand Central Station pretty well. 

Wendy's house is about an hour on the train into NYC, and it was as convenient and affordable.  Definitely a nice way to get there (especially once you see the traffic there).  We spent our train rides talking, playing with Elizabeth, and playing games on our i-pods (which I never have time to do at home).  I got really good at Angry Birds and Tiki Totems :).

 The subway was an adventure that I feel like we conquered, and we did it all with a baby stroller (which I don't really suggest).  We used the handy dandy map Wendy provided us with, and never once got on the wrong train or wrong stop.  We also came up with quite the system for getting up and down the stairs and through the turnstiles.  I would hold the front of the stroller, Holly would hold the back, and we just carried it - Elizabeth only weighs 14lbs :). 

And I have to say, that I really loved Grand Central Station.  Sometimes I would just stop and look at the amazing architecture and details of that building.  Also, I loved that they had quite the food court.  We found ourselves taking advantage of that quite a few times :).

Taking LOTS of Pictures - I brought all my lenses, and played with different ones on different days.  If my camera bag wasn't so heavy, I would have taken them all with me every day.  And it sure was awesome to have Holly there taking pictures as well - it meant I got to be in some of them :).

The Statue of Liberty - It was pretty amazing to visit The Statue of Liberty, and the ferry ride there was pretty awesome, especially the view it gave us of Manhattan. 

Ground Zero - I don't know what to say about this, since it was quite sobering to see and think about what happened there.  So glad we took the time to walk over there.

The Manhattan New York Temple - It sure was wonderful to see it nestled into the city.  I wish we would have had time to do more than walk by.

Oh, and I thought it was pretty funny, that not even a block away from the temple is the studio where they film "Live with Regis and Kelly."  If we had the time and preparation, I would have gone there too :).

Times Square and Other Fun Places - We took a break and chilled at the tables they have set up in Times Square - they even had free wifi, and so I could check my email :).  Then we wandered around and found David Letterman's studio, Radio City Music Hall, etc, and even went in what had to be the biggest Toys-R-Us anywhere.  Very fun.

The Top of the Rock - After talking to a few people, we decided to go up in the Rockefeller Center instead of the Empire State Building, because from it, you have amazing views of Central Park, and both the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building.  It was awesome!  So beautiful, and that was one fast elevator too.

 This was my favorite view . . .

 
Day at the Museum- One day we hit both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural History.  We went to the Met first, and it was amazing!  The Egyptian exhibit alone was worth it - so cool.

And then, of course, we had to check out the famous works of art there.  I kept thinking of one of my favorite children's books, "From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" in which a girl and her brother run away and live in the museum.  (It was also funny, because on my way home "The Thomas Crowne Affair" was on TV on the plane, where much of it takes place at the Met.)

The Museum of Natural History was pretty awesome as well, and I kept thinking how much Lily would have loved it all.  The dinosaurs and the blue whale had to be my favorite things there.

Central Park - Just as big and amazing as everyone says.  We barely scratched the surface, but we couldn't have been there on a more beautiful day. 

My favorite part of what we went through, was the Shakespeare garden.  There were little quotes posted throughout, and I loved the old fashioned fencing.

Walking Around the City - Although we probably walked at least ten miles a day when we were in the city, it was awesome.  You never knew what you might find or see.  Whether it was the beautiful streets, a Ferrari dealership, the fountain from the credits of "Friends," walking around a corner to discover the Chrysler building, or a beautiful church with an extremely old and cool cemetery, there was always something to discover. 

 
And I believe it was the Trinity Church.  It was really crowded at the time, otherwise I would have loved to explore it.  Did I mention that it had the coolest cemetery?

A Trip to the Emerald City - Holly and I went there unsure if we would have a chance to see a Broadway Show.  We even started getting pretty discouraged, as a lot of the shows were sold out on the night we could go because of Columbus Day Weekend.  (Who knew it was such a big travel holiday?)  Well, we found out that there were a few tickets to Wicked available, although they were pretty pricey.  After talking to our husbands, they convinced us to do it.

Wendy watched Lizzy for Holly, and the two of us set off on our adventure.  Even though I had seen Wicked a few years ago, I was super excited, especially because it was on Broadway!  Holly had never seen it, and I think some of my excitement came from that. 

Most of my excitement came from the fact that we were on the fourth row, center orchestra seats!!!  I cannot even describe to you how awesome it was.  It was definitely a once in a lifetime kind of thing.  So amazing!

And then after the show, Holly and I had to book it through the streets of New York to make it back to Grand Central in time to catch our train.  That was pretty exciting in itself, and one of my most fun memories of the city :).  We did stop to snap a picture of the Empire State Building lit up in fall colors though - he he!

 
Yummy Food- Whether it was the Crumbs cupcakes I talked about earlier, the chocolate peanut-butter chip cookie from Levain Bakery, a yummy gyro from a street vendor's, pizza at the neighborhood pizza place, a milkshake at Ben & Jerry's, or lunch at the Shake Shack, it was all awesome :).

Mystic Seaport - On the Saturday we were there, we went with Wendy's family to Mystic Seaport in CT.  It was especially cool, because my niece Megan who is off at college, was home for the weekend and came too. 

It was this really cool village that is preserved to look like it did in the 1700-1800's.  We wandered around and explored, and of course, took lots of pictures.  We had a yummy lunch there too - everyone had clam chowder; I had BBQ brisket :).

Ralph Lauren's Ferrari - I still can't believe it myself, but walking around Wendy's neighborhood, Holly and I saw a Ferrari.  Her oldest son loves them, and so I took a picture of her in front of it.   A funny guy in the Jaguar in the next spot over was teasing us that we didn't take a picture of his car, and then we walked away, only to have him run up to us and tell us the coolest thing.  He said that as soon as we walked away, who should come and get in the car, but Ralph Lauren!!  The Ralph Lauren!  So awesome!

 
Chillin' at Wendy's - I loved Wendy's house - it was so beautiful and cozy.  I think they said it is over 100 years old.  It even had an old barn in the backyard :).  With as many things as I did that week I visited, one of my very favorite things were the times we just relaxed at her house, or walked around their neighborhood. 

 
I loved getting to reconnect with her kids and be with her and her husband Tod (Whom I have known since I was 6 years old - he is more of a brother than a brother-in-law.).  Whether it was talking, watching a movie, going to church together, or whatever, it was great. 

One of my favorite things was when Brooke got out all the pictures of me with them and we looked at them together.  (She was Derek's age when I lived with them in Texas, and I have always had a special place in my heart for her.)  I sure love my sister and her family!

Playing with Logan and Lizzie

Logan, Wendy's youngest daughter who is Lily's age, was such a sweetheart!  We played games, watched movies, had dance parties, walked to the library and checked out books, and just laughed a lot.  I loved playing with her :).

And little Elizabeth, what can I say about that sweet baby girl?  She was fantastic the whole trip.  We dragged her all over New York and Connecticut, but she was happy and sweet.  When we walked around the city, she was always flashing grins at people and stopping them in their tracks. 

We had people stopping us all over to look at her.  One lady even stopped Holly as she was trying to go into a restroom stall, because she wanted to show her friend the baby.  (You would think they had never seen a baby before - he he!)  I also loved al the cuddling and holding her I got to do :).

Being With My Sisters - I am pretty amazingly blessed - not only do I have four sisters, but they are my best friends.  The best part of this trip was getting to spend time with Holly and Wendy.  I love them so much and am so grateful for them.

 

Up, Up and Away in My Beautiful Balloon

Saturday morning, we were up before the sun and making our way to Colorado Balloon Classic.  It was something that Lily and I had been looking forward to for months, ever since we discovered that they had a balloon festival in Colorado Springs.  I have the best memories of going to the balloon races growing up in Nevada, and I couldn't wait to share the experience with Lily and Derek.

When we got there, it was still pretty dark, and they had one balloon blown up, just to show us how they glow in the dark.  We spent the next little bit exploring and finding yummy things to eat.  They had all sorts of vendors, and we settled with hot cocoa, a funnel cake, and fresh cinnamon donuts.  (Oh, and the kids acquired some bunny-ears along the way from the Energizer Bunny balloon people.)

We layed out our blanket and enjoyed watching the fun begin, as the balloon owners began unrolling their balloons and filling them.  It was awesome to watch, and we couldn't get over how many people it took to help blow up one balloon.  Then, all at once, we were surrounded by colorful bumps of inflating balloons.

I got up close and personal to this balloon - it was amazing to see the whole process - especially when they turned on the burners and five feet of flame shot out - so cool!

The balloon closest too us was a little strangely shaped, and so we were completely curious as to what it was.  We would never have guessed that it was a flying pig :).  The kids sure got a laugh out of that one.  And they especially loved that it flew right over us and they got to wave to the pilot.

One of the kids' favorite balloons had to be the Energizer Bunny - and it wasn't just because of the free bunny ears :).  It really was awesome, even when it fell over on the crowd a few times.  Hey, it added to the excitement, right?

And just when we thought every balloon had taken off, a second wave of them began, and the sky was once more filled with balloons.  One of them flew directly over us, giving me one of my favorite photos of the day.  (If you want to see some of my other favorites, go to my photography blog.)

It was the perfect family outing, and although we were happy to head home and get in a nap, it was more than worth getting up so early for.  And really, what sight is more fun than a sky full of hot air balloons?

PS. And just for Grandma Valerie, Lily wanted to be sure we got a picture of the patchwork quilt balloon :).