Thanksgiving 2012

We were so excited that we were able to visit Ryan's brother Scott and his family for Thanksgiving this year. Terri and Bruce flew out from Connecticut as well which made our stay even better.

Our kids loved being together... they played games, played with Nerf guns, played Wii, wrestled, laughed, crafted, played at the park, and loved every minute they had together.

Kristen and I had a great time baking and cooking. We spent Wednesday night baking pies... and managed to catch the oven on fire! I made a pecan pie and Kristen did such a good job making a beautiful apple pie (from scratch!) and we also made a couple of pumpkin pies. While it was baking the top crust from the apple pie broke off and fell onto the element, then some of the ooey goodness dripped out onto it and that caused a whole lot of smoke, and eventually some flames. We laughed and laughed (and felt grateful that the smoke detectors didn't go off). Despite their time in the fire and smoke, they still looked beautiful, so we figured we'd try them out the next day.

On Thursday we had mini pudding pies for the kids and grandparents for breakfast (tradition!) and we spent the next several hours making a delicious dinner. It was so fun to be together and share the cooking and dish washing responsibilities... Kristen is a wonderful cook and had several fabulous recipes. The kids had their own table which they loved... Alyza and Olivia had gotten up early to make table decorations and bookmarks for each of us :).  We ate until we were full (and then we ate some more) and waited a brief time before we went for pie. The pudding pie and the pecan pie were hits... the others had an odd smokey flavor :). It was bad, really bad. They tasted a bit like what we imagine an ash tray might. We decided that we couldn't do it... as much as we wanted to, we just couldn't eat the apple and pumpkin pies, so when we went out later that night for a few of the sales we hit the deli (through the crazed DVD shoppers) and picked up a couple of pumpkin pies... and wouldn't you know it, I got sugar-free... not as bad as the smoked pies, but still not great... thank goodness for Costco apple and pumpkin pies... they were purchased and consumed the next day :).

On Friday we did a little shopping and I met up with my friend from high school for lunch who lives in the area. We went to the Denver temple grounds and spent some time there. Sophia wasn't too happy to be there (she needed a nap desperately) but she finally got her cheer back when we encouraged somersaults (and joined in).

We had great weather while we were there... We visited downtown Morrison which has cute shops and great ambiance. Scott and Kristen shared with us a fun place for dipped ice cream cones.

Before we went home (to eat more pie) we stopped at the Red Rock amphitheatre to see a beautiful sunset.

On Saturday we drove to Colorado Springs to visit Garden of the Gods... it was so beautiful! There were lovely clouds and the rock formations were breathtaking.

The kids enjoyed walking on the trails and climbing in and out of a very small opening in one of the rocks. Bruce and Ryan took some great photos (Ryan didn't even have his good camera, but was making the most of his iPhone :)).

Lovely, no?

We had such a great visit with Scott and Kristen and Sam and Lyz. We were so glad that Terri and Bruce were there also... it was so fun to spend time with everyone and celebrate the holiday.

The whole gang... minus Bruce who was taking the picture... Our cute girls Lyz and Soph were so sad to say goodbye, there were real tears shed over the thought of parting... we'd had such a good visit! We were so glad to see where Scott and Kristen live. It is obvious why they love it so much... they have a beautiful home and neighborhood and so many wonderful things to do nearby. We can't wait to go back and visit again!

What a sad, sad girl sitting in the middle there (the one by the window is hiding her face from the camera because she isn't too happy either.)

(We are happy too that we all fit in our little Prius which makes road trips super affordable.)

Cute Kate

We got to go to St. George for a quick visit to see my sister Lindsey's new baby Kate. My sister Erin came with us too. Kate is adorable... Lindsey is too... and while we are at it Lindsey's boys Jonah and Jaxton are also. We were hoping to have some sunshine so we could go for a swim, but the weather was rainy and chilly. The kids loved playing with each other and did some fall crafts and watched some movies. Lindsey and Erin and I made yummy food and ate it.

I loved snuggling that cute girl... so did Olivia and Erin and Sophia and Coleman too.

We made the first batch of caramel apples for the season... Lindsey's boys weren't sure about them and took a little convincing to get them to try them. In the end they decided they didn't love them. What?!?! More for us!

We got to hand deliver Jonah's birthday gifts! The kids liked exploring all of the new wildlife outside... the rain in St. George brought out all sorts of cockroaches. I love seeing my kids with their cousins... they love to  be with them!

Hooray that Lindsey lives close enough to run down for a day or two!

The Long Road Home

In the afternoon it was time to make our way to the airport in Rhode Island... flying out of Providence was an experience... Chicago was experiencing delays due to a severe thunderstorm (multiple lightning strikes per minute) so we were unable to take off for several hours. Our plan had been to find dinner during our two hour layover in Chicago... but when it became clear that we wouldn't have two hours (if we were able to catch our connecting flight at all). The airport is small enough that the few restaurants they had closed early and we had a hard time finding food to buy. Thank goodness for prepackaged sandwiches and fruit at Starbucks... and for the packages of fruit snacks and Oreos that Bruce and Terri insisted we take :).  We finally got word that our plane could take off, and the flight attendants all but promised us that all the other flights going into Chicago were delayed too, so we should be just fine. Maybe it was good to have that false sense of security on the flight to Chicago?

When we landed in Chicago we were welcomed with a wait on the tarmac... so many planes had finally been able to land that there was a big back up and no empty gates... so they had to start clearing out the planes and of course our plane to SLC was one of the ones to go, without us on board. There would be more flights the next day...We were informed that because the delay was due to weather the airline wouldn't help with food or a place to stay.... but they kindly told us they would be setting up cots in the terminal for our "convenience." Hah! Maybe if it were just Ryan and me... but there was no way I was going to stay the night in the airport with our kids... especially a busy two year old who is prone to wandering.

Coleman was devastated... he was so concerned that we weren't ever going to make it home. I think he was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack. He was worried that his stuff was lost forever (including his beloved dinosaur pillow pet).

Bruce and Terri to the rescue! They secured a room (the last one, anywhere) at one of the nearby Marriott hotels and the kids and I hopped on a shuttle bus with our carry on luggage to get settled for the night. Ryan stayed at the airport hoping they would find the suitcase that held our extra diapers and wipes... wouldn't you know that the ONE time I don't over-pack our carry on bags is the time we will surely need it the most!?! The very kind woman at baggage claim tracked down some diapers for us along with another of our bags (the one with the pillow pets, hooray!).

We were all so hungry... the kids were begging for "real food"... so right when we got to the hotel we ordered pizza and Chicken Parmesan from Barraco's which came highly recommended from the guy at the front desk. While waiting for said food to be delivered all three children promptly fell asleep... they were so exhuasted! I wasn't the nicest mom and woke them up so they could eat the pizza that they had wanted so badly... Sophia had nothing of it though and refused to open her eyes :). Both kids ate a couple of small squares of yummy pizza and fought to keep their eyes open. They were so glad when I finally said they could climb back in bed. Ryan finally got back from the airport (after fighting the Lollapalooza crowd to get onto the shuttle) and ate what he could... then we put the rest of the pizza on ice and saved it for our breakfast the next morning (we totally forgot it was Fast Sunday). We woke to find that an army of ants liked our leftover chicken and cups with root beer residue... but luckily the pizza was left alone. Despite the ants, the room was great and we were so, so happy to have a safe place to rest our heads and a place to shower before putting back on our dirty travel clothes (also because of my grand idea to "pack light").

We slept well and made it back to Midway airport... got through security (again!)... and enjoyed a non-denominational Christian church service in the airport. We had an uneventful flight to Denver and then to Salt Lake City. We were most grateful that all of our luggage made it home (likely long before we did). Home Sweet Home! We were grateful that my mom picked us up from the airport and took us to her house where she fed us dinner before returning to our home.

We LOVED being in Connecticut for a week--it was so fun to be with Ryan's parents and see and do so many fun things... and we loved coming home too.

Thimble Islands

Our last day in Connecticut was Bruce's birthday! It was fun to be there with himon his special day :). We didn't fly out until later in the afternoon... so we got to go on a little boat tour of Thimble Islands (off the shore of Branford, CT) in the morning.

The Thimble Islands are a group of small little islands that are in Long Island Sound and are part of Stony Creek Harbor. They are made of pink granite so are very sturdy... 23 of them are actually inhabited! Only six of them have electrical power. Some of them are too small to build on and one actually had just a pavilion  (and had been for sale for many years). Historically they were a spot for pirates to hide out (Captain Kidd!) and buildings on them have been built and rebuilt following tropical storms and hurricanes.

We were on Captain Bob's tour boat and he gave us a great guided tour. Some of the homes on these islands were crazy big and some were very, very rustic. It was interesting to hear about some of the stories with the various islands.

We stopped (again) at Rita's on the way back home.. It was a great way to wrap up our fun-filled trip!

Lyman Farms

We spent our last full day at a wonderful orchard called Lyman Farms. They have a store where they sell all of their harvest (and other delicious things) and a fun pond with ducks.

We loved the apple cider donuts to start off our day... and a little later on came back to try out a few other tasty things. Coleman's eyes got as big as the cookie when he saw the Black & White cookie... which again, wasn't as good as the ones from Costco, but still yummy. Liv got a croissant and Sophia, Ryan, and I enjoyed some freshly picked blueberries. Yum! Everyone loved feeding the ducks!

Lyman farms is also home to a beautiful sunflower field that they cut a maze into... much like the corn mazes we have here in the west. They had clues and check points to get us through the maze with a pirate theme. We only got lost a few times :). The sunflowers were beautiful. I don't know if I have ever seen a red sunflower before, but they were beautiful too!

After Lyman Farms Olivia and Terri and I did a little shopping and drove to a lovely and charming little town that had fun shops and neat old buildings. I love the architecture in the East. Homes and office buildings and stores (although likely much older than most buildings here) look so new and well taken care of. I especially love the white homes and buildings with black shutters... they are beautiful!

In the evening Bruce and Terri treated us to the best seafood in the area and I hoped and hoped that I would like it. I just have never, ever liked seafood...even tuna is a stretch for me... Captain Scott's was highly recommended to them and they loved it when they first tried it. I was willing to taste... but was grateful for the landlubber's menu that included chicken fingers and fries. Ryan likes seafood much more than I do and enjoyed the sampler platter with his parents. He also ate "lobster roll" which is sort of like a hot dog bun with lobster meat and melted butter. I couldn't do it... although I did taste a little bite :).  The kids seem to have inherited my (dis)taste for seafood and they ate the chicken and fries with me. This place had so many people there! It was tucked behind some buildings and not at all easy to find... but it was obvious that it is very well known and was super busy.

It was fun to see some of the places that Bruce and Terri have grown to love. Driving through so many little towns and through beautiful back roads gave us an opportunity to see a whole lot of the countryside. We loved it!

New York!

Ryan's parents were so kind to offer to watch the kids for a whole day (5:45 am until almost midnight!) while Ryan and I rode the train(s) into the city to celebrate our 13th anniversary. It was a long, long day and we filled it as much as we could. I really wanted to do a session in the Manhattan temple, but as luck would have it, the time we were there was during their annual cleaning. We managed to fill our day with other fun  activities...

After our three hour commute (via a train from Old Saybrook to Stamford and then another train to NYC) we arrived! I love the hustle and bustle of the city (although I am not sure I would thrive living there...). We relied on the subway and our feet to take us where we needed to go. Despite a blister on my foot from all the walking it was the perfect way to get around. Our first stop was the TKTS booth to see what Broadway show we might be able to find discount tickets for. We stood in line next to a nice guy from Long Island who chatted with us for the whole 40 minutes that we were in line. Our photo made it onto the jumbo tron (maybe you can see us in the bottom left corner if you click on the photo to enlarge it? Maybe not...). The guy was colorful in his language and felt sheepish after we had talked long enough to realize we were from Utah... his question was funny to me... "You aren't one of those Mormons, are you?" to which I confidently responded that "Yes, yes I am." He apologized for his language and kept it fairly clean for the remainder of the time. They had so many tickets available... and we settled on Evita. If we are honest, Ryan let me pick Evita even though he really, really wanted to see Spiderman (because he loves me so much, I am sure). Hopefully he wasn't disappointed. After we had our tickets in hand (and a lot less cash, even at the discounted price) we moved on to the favorite store in  Ryan's world... B&H Photos. It is a multi-level store that is like a little city complete with a conveyor belt to carry your things to the checkout area. The workers are so helpful too! Then we went to visit some of his old coworkers from his previous job (The Cable Building is shown in the bottom right photo) and went to lunch with one of them. It was fun to see them again and we ate at a tasty little bistro in SoHo. We had to get an authentic Black & White cookie from a bakery... admittedly it wasn't as good as the ones that Ryan's parents bought at Costco (go figure!) but still fun to eat :).

After lunch we made our way back to Broadway just in time to see Ricky Martin and Michael Cerveris rock the parts of Che and Juan Peron in Evita. The music was amazing... and a man sitting behind us made the accurate statement that, "Wow, she really just slept her way to the top, didn't she?" Probably not the best example of moral purity... but still an entertaining story and moving music. After the show we rode the subway to the site of the World Trade Center. They have constructed an amazing memorial there to honor all of the victims of 9/11 and the earlier bombing of the WTC. There are two pools/fountains where each of the towers stood with each name engraved around the pools. The Memorial is still under construction and we did a whole lot of walking to get into and out of it, but it was worth it. There was a light rain while we were there and it seemed like such a peaceful place. While we don't have direct ties to anyone who lost their life in any of the attacks, I still felt a profound sense of loss as I read the names and thought about the people that were left behind to mourn their loved ones. I also felt a strong sense of resiliency... as a nation we will not be beaten down. I am so glad it worked out to go there.

Our final stop was an indulgence for me... I love the show "The Cake Boss" which is set in Hoboken, NJ. It is a short train ride away from the WTC site. When we got there we realized that there is probably never a slow time for business for Carlo's Bake Shop so we took a number and waited to GET INSIDE the building. Once inside we were sardined together with so many other adoring fans of Buddy and his family. We had plenty of time to look over all of the lovely creations and when it came time to order we just about took home one of everything :). We decided that we weren't going to take home NYC souvenirs, but we could always look on our tummy rolls with fondness and give credit for at least a part of them to the $50 worth of pastries we purchased. (We did haul them all back to Ryan's parents and the kids... so we didn't eat ALL of them by ourselves :).) Favorites were the cannolis and lobster tails... the cupcakes (caramel, PB cup, carrot, and red velvet)were pretty tasty too and I loved the cream puffs. Someone in front of us in line bought the last eclairs, so we missed out on those. Only the chocolate dipped cookies disappointed.... I thought they would be like shortbread or an almond butter cookie with dark chocolate, but they weren't that tasty, kind of pasty and bland. At any rate, we had enough for many tastes of these sweet treats when we got home and some for breakfast the next morning too :).

We sped back to Grand Central Station and for dinner ate crusty baguette bread and NY Style Cheesecake for dinner that we purchased on the fly. Our long train ride home was a good time to think back on our fun-filled, exhausting day in a fun, energetic, and vibrant city.

I'm not sure when our next trip to New York will be... but I'm determined to go to the temple and to Central Park to sit and read and people-watch the next time I get there! We are so thankful that Ryan's mom and dad were such good sports taking us to and from the train station and entertaining our kiddos while we were gone.

Rhode Island

 One of the things I love most about the East Coast is that so many states are so close together... we spent a lovely day in Rhode Island. Ryan's parents had four adult bikes and a trailer and (after some trouble finding a place that had bikes available) rented two smaller bikes for Olivia and Coleman.

The trail was awesome... it was paved and very well marked for pedestrians and bicyclists. The scenery along the trail was beautiful. We saw wildlife and lush greenery. We stopped at a fun park for lunch where Olivia biffed it (hence the "Capri Sun ice pack" on her wrist) but the day was otherwise perfect. We had a couple of drops of rain just as we were returning to our cars. We rode just over 13 miles! Our bums felt it. Olivia and Coleman did great though... and if their old, out of shape parents hadn't been a hindrance I am sure they could have ridden for many more miles with their young grandparents.

The rain really started to come down as we drove to Little Compton, RI which is the place that some of Terri's Wilbur ancestors were original settlers. They even have a Wilbur General Store there! It was neat to take a rainy walk through the old cemetery and see so many headstones with the name Wilbur (with varied spellings as the immigrants assimilated into US life). Our kids enjoyed being where their ancestors had been and it sparked a renewed interest in indexing and family history work. We ate dinner at a little local restaurant next to the Wilbur General Store (Commons Lunch) where we had some good comfort food... mac and cheese for Coleman and Sophia... chicken pot pie for Liv, Bruce, and me.. .and Ryan and Terri were brave and tried some sea bass with a sauce made from some type of funky seafood sauce. They liked it!

We arrived back in Connecticut dry enough and hungry enough to stop at our favorite treat spot... Rita's. They serve Italian ice in so many flavors with custard. We heart Rita's!

Devil's Hopyard and Chapman Falls

Our next stop (only a few miles away) was to Devil's Hopyard State park which is home to Chapman Falls. The falls were lovely and it was so peaceful there. I loved seeing Sophia walking with her Grandma and Grandpa... she loved being with them! Olivia and Coleman liked exploring on all of the big rocks and Grandpa helped them cross over the water to get closer to the falls. This was one of those hidden gems... I don't think we would have even known to look for it if our favorite local tour guides hadn't taken us there.

Close to Bruce and Terri's house is a really cool bridge that lowers for trains to cross. We stopped and walked along a pier where many people were fishing and crabbing. Throughout the week we saw a few birds native to the area and only got photos from pretty far away :).

We ate dinner that night at Pizza Works in Old Saybrook... which had some very fun trains that kept the kids busy until our yummy gourmet pizza arrived. I love Sophia's expression while she is talking to Terri... she very clearly adores her Grandma and loved all of the attention she gets from her.

Gillette Castle

Our biggest challenge during our week long stay in Connecticut was deciding what to do... there were so many options! Bruce and Terri have been there long enough that they have seen quite a bit and made great suggestions. We loved everything that we did and know that we could have easily spent several more days checking out all the Connecticut (and all of the surrounding states) have to offer.

After a fun few hours at the local beach (which I neglected to take any pictures of!) we took a drive to Gillette Castle State Park, which is home to Gillette Castle, commissioned by William Gillette. He was a famous actor in his day (the early 1900's) who is most well known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. He was kind of a quirky, eccentric guy and his personality came through in the home that he built. From the outside it looks like a medieval fortress, but on the inside had all of the modern conveniences of the day. He designed secret passageways and a state of the art water system to put out fires if necessary. He also positioned mirrors so that he could observe his guests' arrivals and actions without them noticing. It was really interesting to see how he lived and got me wondering about which of today's famous people might someday have their homes preserved for tours and such. We have plenty of movie stars and athletes that (to put it kindly) are "eccentric" in their own right.

I loved all of the rock that was used around the castle. It was great for some photos of the kiddos... I especially love the one Ryan got of Sophia hanging from the rail... those blue eyes just pop!

New Canaan and a New Babe

We were so lucky to be in Connecticut at the same time that my brother Matt and his wife Ashley were going to bless their newest baby girl, Cecelia. They live in New Canaan, about an hour away from Ryan's parents, and they were kind enough to let us use their car to go to church with Matt and his family. Matt and Ashley even got to teach a portion of the combined RS/Priesthood meeting which was fun for us to hear.

It was so fun to see Samuel and Eli... Sophia is still talking about them!  Liv was great with CeCe and Sophia really wanted to get her hands on that cute girl...  we kept telling her to "hold her piggies" so she wouldn't jab her in the face or spread too many germs. I love the photo of her dutifully holding those piggies. It was fun for all of the kids to spend a little time with cousins that we don't get to see nearly often enough. We ate a yummy lunch with Ashley's family and loved having a chance to visit with them.

Before we headed back to Old Saybrook (where Ryan's parents live) we stopped by a new facility of Blue Streak inside Chelsea Piers in Stamford. Matt works so hard running this sports training gym (now with multiple locations). He showed us all of the neat equipment that they use to train athletes in all different kinds of sports--back there lacrosse and hockey are a pretty big deal, but they also help athletes with soccer, football, track, etc. Liv and Coleman loved trying some of it out and they thought that posing for photos was pretty fun. Sophia napped in the car with Ryan during our tour :).

It was so good to be with Matt and his family! 

Plum Island, New York

Bright and early on our first day in Connecticut we woke up and got to go to Family Day where Bruce works for the Department of Homeland Security on Plum Island, New York. The day started out a little bit cloudy, and on the ferry ride over we hoped for good weather since they had a beach party BBQ planned for the day. We had a few drops of rain on the boat... and after our bus ride to the beach there was a torrential down pour. The kids still loved going on the slippery slide (and Bruce even raced a co-worker... I'm pretty sure Bruce won!) and we laughed at all of the water that was coming down. The people there were so kind and did everything they could to make it pleasant despite all the rain. They finally invited us all inside to eat our hamburgers. I would estimate that between the three kids there were at least 17 bags of Cheetos consumed. Even though the beach party got rained out it was fun to see where Bruce works. His coworkers love him and it is obvious that he does a good job there!

After our dry ferry ride home (we rode inside on the way back :)) we all crashed for several hours for a glorious afternoon nap.

Traveling to Connecticut

We were so excited to travel to Connecticut at the end of July to visit Ryan's parents. Ryan got to be Sophia's travel buddy... for some reason she behaves a little better with him (much to Olivia's and Coleman's  dismay... they wanted to sit by him too.... I agree, he is fun to sit with!). They all did great. Sophia watched her favorite "Rella" (Disney's Cinderella) over and over again. Olivia was more nervous about the take offs than she wanted to say and Coleman thought flying was really cool. We had a stop in Chicago and tried some official Chicago pizza... I don't think airport food can ever count as anything official. We changed Sophia into her PJs for the last leg of our trip and finally landed in Hartford late, late. Ryan's parents were so kind to come and get us in the middle of the night... and with both of their cars so we could fit all of our bodies and stuff. We were so happy to arrive! Terri and Bruce were wonderful hosts and we got to see and do so much while we were there.

St. George

Since it's October already it is probably time for me to share some summer photos! We had a great summer... full of activities and busy days. 

In July we took a quick trip to visit my youngest sister Lindsey who just moved back to the southern part of our fair state from Arizona. We braved the heat and spent a whole lot of time in the water! We loved being with her cute boys Jonah and Jaxton. We had fun going through all sorts of cute little girl baby clothes to help Linds and her family get ready for their sweet baby who came in September. We packed in a few sessions at their community pool, a trip to the splash pad, and of course lots of playing and yummy food. We were so happy to spend a couple of days with them and even more happy that they finally live close enough that we can zip down and back.

Snowbird

We got to spend a whole week with the Harper family at the amazing Cliff Lodge at Snowbird in early June. It was a great way to start out our summer! Ryan's parents came from Connecticut, his sister Traci and her family came from Washington, Tim and Laura's family and the two local families (ours and Tim and Laura) drove less than an hour! We had so much fun, but daily missed Scott and Kristen and their family who couldn't make it because of work conflicts.  Ryan's parents were so generous with everything. Our condos were wonderful and the activities that are at Snowbird are so much fun. They kids loved being with their cousins and grandparents! We took turns cooking which I loved. I only wish I had five or six other adults to help with meal prep and clean up all the time! I love the picture below of Bruce reading to his girls. Sophia loved to grab a book and snuggle on his lap. The photo on the bottom right was funny... four Harpers, at least four Apple devices and other gadgets, and not one word between them. We love our gadgets!

Ryan's parents planned a very fun Family History game with all of the names of our family members including maiden names. They brought so many fun prizes for the kids AND adults... we are still enjoying ice cream from Cold Stone :). It was fun to see that our kids know the names of their family members. They tried to give challenge questions about great-grandparents and in-laws and we all learned a few new things :).

We took a walk up to the overlook that showed a beautiful view into the Salt Lake Valley. You can see Sophia's latest tactic when she doesn't get what she wants in the second photo down from the top left. She did NOT want to be in our family picture! She loved riding on Grandpa's shoulders though and thoroughly enjoyed "reading" the nature facts along the way. She also found that picking up pine cones to throw or leaves to distribute to the adults was fascinating. She thought it was so fun that she didn't want to pass by ANY pine cones without picking it up (at least once) to throw it.

 There was a fun playground a short (1/2 mile) walk away.

Each day the condos hosted activities for the kids... games, treasure hunts, and these cool t-shirts. They had colored t-shirts and all sorts of foam shapes and letters. The kids designed their shirts by laying out the shapes and then they were sprayed with 100% Clorox bleach. After sitting for a couple of minutes they washed their shirts for them and wrung out the water. In just a few hours, each kid had a wearable work of art. We loved this project (and have ideas for many future holiday t-shirts).

One of our favorite traditions during Harper family trips is the Jammie Walk. Bruce and Terri started doing this when they were babysitting Olivia and Coleman one night many years ago... they wanted to go for a walk but had already changed into their PJs, and thus, the Jammie Walk was born. Sometimes they include books or stories and sometimes they have a fun light toy or flashlight for the kids. The last Jammie Walk was two years ago at Bear Lake with sweet Mikayla, and Terri wanted to help the kids remember her. She read a great story about candlelight and they gave each of the kids an electric candle to carry with them. The kids loved this so much! The building had all sorts of neat hallways, staircases, and mirrors for them to explore.

Aside from all of these great activities, I got to read a few magazines (cover to cover!), we celebrated Olivia's 11th birthday, we attended a great sacrament/testimony meeting, I finished listening to Jane Eyre (why, oh why did it take me so long in my life to read this?), we watched the fabulous BBC movie of "Jane Eyre" (Olivia and Coleman especially loved it... Coleman thought he had the mystery figured out..."I know, there's a vampire in the house!"), we played a lot of blocks and games, spent some time in the hot tub and pool, and I tried to keep up my training for the 5K (which was not easy in the mountain air... who am I kidding, it wasn't easy because I am out of shape!). We loved Snowbird!

ELEVEN!

This lovely lady turned 11 last month! We were up at Snowbird with Ryan's family (post to follow) and we got to spend the day in a beautiful place with the people we love.

She got spoiled rotten, as per usual, and had a great day. Her buddies J.D. and Anna even got to spend the afternoon with us. She requested German Chocolate Cake (that makes TWO times in one year I get to make that lovely labor of love) and Cafe Rio salads for dinner. We invited my mom and Mike to come up to celebrate and eat with us. We loved sharing Liv's day with so many people that have been important in her life.

Olivia is thoughtful, responsible, intelligent, funny, caring, faithful, and she does so much for others, without being asked. I feel so grateful that she is a part of our family and love that she loves being with us too. She is already on the countdown to being in Young Women's! We know this will be another great year for our Liv.

Surprise for Heather

My cute sister Heather graduated from San Diego State University at the end of May!  A few of my sisters and I decided it would be fun to show her how proud we were of her and surprise her for her graduation!

It took a lot of planning... Heather knew that my mom and Mike were going with Megan, but she had no idea that Erin and Lauren and I were going to come. My dad and Heather's friend Serena plotted to preserve some tickets for us and they planned the "big reveal" at the Buca di Beppo restaurant in downtown San Diego. We got assigned the Pope room... complete with a bust of the Pope in the middle of the Lazy Susan on the large round table. I have to be honest, it was a little unsettling :).  Heather expected to have dinner with my dad and Ruff, my mom and Mike, and Megan. She wasn't super excited because of possibilities of tension... but she was a sport and went anyway. She was shocked to walk in and see Serena and her parents and another close friend... but it took her several minutes to register that Erin and I were there. She was crying and smiling and laughing. I love surprises like this! We ate (and ate and ate and ate) and had a yummy celebration cake.

The next morning I got up early and met my mom and Mike for a temple session. The San Diego temple is beautiful! They only have sessions each hour, and we just so happened to be there during a Spanish session. I was happy for that, but my mom and Mike needed headphones for the translation. My mom kept wishing for the gift of tongues (maybe the headphones ARE the gift of tongues for these days?).

After the temple I went to the swap meet... fun shopping and people watching there. Then I went to the beach by the Hotel Del Coronado. Someday I want to stay there... but during this trip we just got to hang out on the beautiful beach and soak up some rays. This was the site of the big reveal for Lauren's arrival. It was glorious! I love the beach, particularly when I can snooze or read a magazine without having to chase kids, it was so relaxing! We all missed our kids though, and Erin inspired the "Miss You" message to send our families.

That night we ventured to Old Town for dinner. Once again we tried to eat at the Old Town Mexican Cafe, and once again it was so busy, so we crossed the street and ate at Fred's. Once again, it was delicious!

Can you tell I got a little bit of sun? I really am good at protecting my childrens' skin, just not so much when it comes to me. My face and neck are red... but you should have seen my legs. They hurt for many days. I always say I will do better next time... we'll see.

Mike was smiling! We had to capture that image.

The next day was Sunday, and Lauren and I went to church before the graduation. It was almost comical as we drove around. Lauren lived in San Diego many years ago for awhile, so she mostly knew her way around. I was driving and trying to listen to the GPS while Lauren tried to tell me where to go... it made for a confused and frustrated driver and passenger. Eventually we got there (after turning the car around many, many times) and got to witness Miss Heather receive her Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Studies from the College of Education at SDSU. I'm so proud of Heather! She has worked hard and long to finish this degree.

We went to Balboa Park for a lovely lunch. Heather opened some gifts (the beautiful denim quilt was made by Grandma Cole) and read letters from all the siblings. It was the day of the solar eclipse... some kind, science-inclined people were there with glasses and a telescope that he let hoards of people use to look at the eclipse.

We ended the night at Sunset Cliffs. We had hoped to see a great sunset, but it got really cloudy and overcast. It was still soothing to be near the water again. My family was laughing at my dress because it was so flowy so I started spinning around and it made my mom laugh so hard. I am sure these photos don't capture the hilarity of it all, but it was funny. We stopped for a milkshake at Hodad's. Heather and I cracked up when a youngish, drunkish guy stopped in front of me and looked me up and down and then asked, "How you doin'?" Heather texted "Lisa just got hit on" to Ryan who later told us that he read it and thought it said "Lisa just got hit by a car." I still think it's funny that Ryan finds it more likely that I would get hit by a car then get hit on by another guy...

We had such a great time. Heather was so grateful that we made the effort to go. I loved that Ryan and a few good friends took care of the kiddos so I could escape for a few days. I loved that driving to California in our Prius costs so little money that we could do it! I loved that Heather was so happy that we were there and that we could share her special, amazing occasion.