A Day to Hang Out

Tuesday we hit the road and headed back to my parents.

 I had to capture a picture or two of the beautiful red rock in Southern Utah. 

This handsome guy photo bombed the red rock! 

I then had the chance to go and visit this amazing dear friend, Wendy!

She was kind enough to let me and Lily and Samantha hang out at her house while we caught up on life. She is such a kind and loving person. She is a tender mercy from my Heavenly Father to me. It only took me a few days of knowing this girl that we would be lifelong friends. She is still teaching me and setting an example for me. We have laughed, cried, studied, exercised, been pregnant at the same time, attended the temple for the first time on the same day, traveled, danced, hugged, and talked for countless late night hours. BYU would not have been even a small portion of  the incredible experience it was without you Wendy. 

 After Wendy's, the kids and I had some time to just hang out and enjoy Grandma's house. 

We played tag and rode scooters and climbed on slides. 

 

I promise Joseph was there, he just did not hold still long enough for a picture. 

Tuacahn

As if we had not been in the car long enough, we decided to head down on Sunday night to St. George for a short stay. My parents were so nice to set this up for us!

We had planned to do some fun things around St. George on Monday but it rained for most of the day. So, we went shopping and to the movie to see "Inside Out"- my kids have been wanting to go so bad and were thrilled. It is a good movie and I really enjoyed it  because Grandma and Grandpa stayed at the hotel with Samantha who does not fully appreciate the concept of a movie yet. 

Monday night, we went to Tuacahn to see Beauty and the Beast. 

It was so good! We all loved it. Samantha went to a little day care thing that is offered and did surprisingly well. 

 I love this picture because my dad is talking to the family next to him and learning all he can about them. He is a people person and I love that about him. 

 There was a mix up with our tickets and they could not fully refund our money but gave us a concession gift card instead so everyone got frozen lemonades. 

 And this is what happened on the way back to the hotel. 

Lily asked me on the way to the car if we could come again and see the Sleeping Beauty story.  

A little pre-show fun! 

The MTC

Our first Sunday there, I spent at the MTC with my parents. 

It was a marvelous experience! 

They were serving in a Portuguese branch at the time and by the next Sunday had been transferred to an English speaking branch. 

I loved seeing the missionaries and feeling of their energy, enthusiasm, and powerful testimonies. 

Mary Ellen Edmunds was a guest speaker that day to the sisters and she was fabulous! I have always wanted to hear her speak and she did not let me down! 

I felt edified and uplifted by the whole experience. 

The church is in good hands with those missionaries. 

I loved spending the day with my parents too!

A huge thanks to Carla and Jana who braved my five kids so that I could go. My kids loved it and it was such a nice feeling to have family nearby to help.

Utah or Bust!

My parents flew to Texas on July 14th and we headed out on July 16th for Utah. 

We spent our first night in Dumas, TX and left early to arrive in Denver, CO early enough to go to the Museum of Nature and Science. It was really cool and a much needed break from the car. 

 Right after I took this picture I was told I could not take pictures in this exhibit but it was really cool. All about underwater/water mythical creatures. 

 Unicorns!

 Giant fake snake, that Jon along with a few other kids were finally able to pick up completely. 

 

 The little kids discovery area was a huge hit! 

 

I visited with the lady in the background who happened to be LDS and was there with her 7 children: all boys and the last 3 are triplets. She is s supermom! 

We spent the night in Denver and then pushed on to Utah! We made it on Saturday afternoon and had a great evening visiting and playing with family! All of my kids were so happy to see their cousins! 

It is a beautiful drive, which is a good thing because it is certainly long!

Lily turns 4!

She is 4!

 It happened yesterday and yet the last 4 years seem to have flown by in the blink of an eye.

 We had early morning donuts for breakfast because all of the kids had dentist appointments starting at 7:30, thirty minutes away. She loved it!

She was given the pink crown in the picture below by the dentist and that made for an extra special day!

 The presents were a hit, even the clothes. She really wanted Strawberry Shortcake toys, which I went to 3 stores trying to find and finally resorted to Amazon and they should arrive tomorrow. Oh well! She was happy with what she had today! 

 We are going to do her party next week and for that she wants a unicorn cake. She has been talking about that for quite awhile now. For today, she wanted a chocolate cake in the shape of a heart (thank you valentine heart pan) with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. Done and done! 

These last 2 pictures are a great representation of what makes Lily the funnest little person!

She is sweet and sassy! She was the answer to many heartfelt prayers and truly a gift from Heavenly Father. She brings so much joy to our family!She is so excited to go to preschool and I am excited for her and yet my heart is aching for her to stop growing up so fast. I love you Lilykins!

And now for your viewing pleasure, a scary candle blowing video. 

Jon said after, "Mom for next year, ponytail!" 

It could have been so much worse! 

She did not believe us until we turned on the lights and showed her the singed few hairs.

My heart stopped for a few seconds. 

Happy Birthday Lily! (and yes, next time I will ensure your hair is properly tied back).

So much to share

My blogging skills are less than amazing of late. 

But, in my defense I spent 2 1/2 weeks vacationing in Utah seeing friends and family. 

I have so much to share and catch up on. 

I will do it and it will be great! 

Museum Day

June 30th I realized a whole month of summer was over and we had yet to go to the zoo or the museum.  Well, that just would not do so we packed up and headed out. By we packing up I really mean we- I put the kids in charge of making lunches. Joseph's sandwiches were great, Jon packed a plum for each of us but forgot to pack the 2 apples he worked so hard to slice.  And I left my water bottle- thank goodness for drinking fountains. It was a good group effort!

 We were photo bombed by a dino skeleton. 

 Jon kindly helped Lily create her own bird.

 The snap circuits were a hit by all of the kids. 

 This boy is growing up way to fast for me. 

One group shot before we left. 

The kids really wanted to stay longer but after 5 hours I was done and was a bit worried about traffic. 

It was a good thing we left when we did because about 5 miles from home we hit total stand still traffic and I was in the far left lane. It took 30 mintues to travel about 2 miles but I was eventually able to get off and take a frontage road home. 

We are looking forward to going to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in a next week on our way to Utah! I do have great kids!