Springy Break

I arrived back home to warm weather, a happy family, and a clean house. Dana is pretty awesome. I really missed him and the little people too:)
He took Monday off so we pretty much relaxed, let the kids play, and enjoyed.
   

For some reason Eli really had his mind set on climbing up onto the roof. I was like, "Ha! I don't think so..." But then he informed me that "Dad" had already said "Maybe" (which means yes to a kid). Since Dana was home that day he figured it would be as good a time as any.
Then from up there they started waving and talking to Emma, who was also up high in her friend's tree a couple houses down, and pretty soon they were all up there. Except for Sadie who was happy to stay on the ground. I was happy to be on the ground too and just yelled a few things like, "How would you like to work up there all day?? That's what your grandpa had to do!" (Got your back dad :)

That night we had FHE.
 

Holly taught a lesson they planned in Activity Days.
 

She read a story and then we had to act out some scenarios of good choices we could make.
 
I can't remember what Dana is charading here, but the activity was really fun!
All the rest of the week it was just nice to be home and sleep a little longer and not have a schedule.

We went on a cousin hike...
 

Well, a "hill climb" might be a better description.
 

But it was still great to get up to the top, find a spot to sit, and eat a few snacks :)
 

Holly actually had a butterfly just come land on her finger! It was just one of those cool moments that happen once in awhile. I was moving in for a close-up and Sadie was moving in to take her turn holding it next, so he flew off. But at least I got this one!
 

One of the days my friend invited the 2 little girls over to play and she let them have a lemonade stand. Then Eli and I walked Scout and got thirsty so we went and bought some lemonade and chatted for a while.



Eli got to go to more sparring- which he's still liking alot.
 

We went and saw "Rise of the Guardians" at the dollar theaters one night. And of course planted our garden Saturday. So we kept busy but it was one of the best breaks I can remember. It might have helped that I started out the break getting a break of my own, so I was nice and refreshed for their break.

I should probably plan on doing that every time.

Girl's Trip 2013

Back like forever ago my cousin Karen got engaged. Miranda decided she for sure was going to go support her. Being the stay-at-home mother that I am, I thought, "Yes. I also want to go support her" :) And then I thought "we" (my sisters, sis-in-law, and mom) should ALL go support her. Utah may not have been our Girl's Trip destination of choice, but there's nothing like a sense of family obligation to get a group of women to get something planned. Of course, I am actually really glad we were able to be there for her special day.

So Thursday before Spring Break Amy, Miranda, and I left AZ. Miranda offered to drive and we payed for gas. A good trade off. Except for when she started talking with her hands and not putting them on the wheel for disconcerting periods of time. Well at least for this SAHM. But she got us to LV and back safely so I guess I accept her reasoning that she's a "really good driver". :)


Thursday night we arrived in Vegas and got to go out to a yummy "Cafe Rio" dinner (sorry Sal) with Jeff and Carrie. And we all "ooo-ed and ahhhhh-ed" over Carrie's cute baby bump. Oh and talked about baby names (this was a recurring topic of conversation all weekend). After we ate we went straight to the airport to pick up our California compadres. Yay! It's so fun to have everyone together! That night Sally and I stayed up really late talking about whatever we wanted. That was one of my favorite things :)

The next morning we went out to breakfast. It was super yummy. Wow, we all look a bit tired.


Then all 6 of us left for Utah. Carrie's parents were so kind and let us borrow their Explorer so we could all ride together. Sally had the idea of doing "headphone singing". Where you put on headphones with the volume on high so you can't hear yourself, and then sing along with a song. There is also the sing and dance option which Randa is exhibiting in this pic:) This game was pretty hilarious and kept us entertained for an hr at least.
 

Carrie drove the entire time, pregnant and all, through rain, sleet, and snow. It was C-C-Cold up there!
 
It was funny because when we drove into Provo we were all pointing and talking at the same time about memories of things that happened here or there. I'm sure between the 6 of us we could easily cover every block in a mile radius surrounding BYU.

Here's one of my personal favorites- if you can see it through the snow. The street of our first married apt. :)
 

Next we checked into the "Residence Inn" and relaxed a little. Then went and got frozen yogurt (which was conveniently next to a Jamba Juice), and came back and went in the hotel's jacoozi (is jacoozi not a word? All spell check will give me is "Jacobi".)- or "spa". Oh and Amy and Randa tried to give Sally and I swimming lessons (since we swim with our head out of water most of the time and are not seasoned in swimming for exercise like they are) but the lanes were too short to get good practice and I decided the spa felt better. But Sally gave it a good effort! Go Sally! Sorry no swimsuit pic to post. I know, big disappointment.

 I'd like to take a moment here to say that for some reason I decided my camera phone would suffice on the trip and regretted it the whole time. I could of had way better pictures. Next year. I think we are all in agreement that it should be an annual thing.

Saturday was Karen's special day. Her temple sealing was beautiful. She and her husband were beaming and the Spirit was so strong. The temple is just such a special place.
Here they are!
 

I was only able to take 2 pictures after they came out because it was like -10 deg. with the crazy wind chill and my hand was shaking and I think my phone was also in shock because it wasn't doing anything when I hit the picture button.

Waiting our turn for pictures...
 

Then they sent us inside to wait, to which we happily (and hastily) obliged.
 

I may or may not have to answer to taking these 2 pictures one day. Temple waiting room. I don't know what do you think? All of my sisters were just short of being appalled and/or disgusted. Carrie was a sweet sister-in-law and was still nice to me afterwards. Best picture of the whole weekend though- artistically speaking.

After a few shivering family temple pictures we went to the SUPER yummy luncheon catered by a Brazilian restaurant. So awesome for me because I could eat like 60% of the food! And it was delicious. Then we went to BYU Bookstore and the good ole University Mall where we scored on an awesome shoe sale. Miranda has been wanting boots for like 4 years but has never bought any. They had buy one get one free so she now has TWO pairs of boots :) I got Emma and myself some TOMS wannabes since we can now share shoes. Then we rushed to the reception.

The Swan Family
 



Finally we cut out a little early and got to spend a little time with the other Swan Family at Zupas :) I wish I would of taken a picture there.

The rest of the trip was pretty much just heading home except Sunday Carrie's parents had us all over for dinner. They were so kind and welcoming and we added one more yummy meal to our trip's menu.

All-in-all a wonderful success. I got so lucky in the family dept. I love you guys and can't wait for next year!

Our House...and other dirty news.

I'll just skip straight to the dirty news since I know you're curious: We planted our garden yesterday! Friday night I realized (assisted by the March heat wave that came through) that it needed to get done ASAP. So yesterday we spent most of the day weeding, mixing dirt, shoveling, getting a few ant bites, and planting. The kids all pitched in and we all feel proud of our pretty plants. And our gnomes are glad to have some living plants to tend to.

I'm trying an Anaheim chile pepper plant this year. And I have basil, thyme, and oregano nearby. I love having fresh herbs- wish I had room for more.


One yellow squash, 2 zucchini squash, and 2 tomato plants.
  

Dana replaced most of our rock in the front with wood chips.
  

He was planning on cutting the dead parts of our vines but then we saw a little friend had decided to make a  home for her babies there at the top. So I guess we'll have to hold off awhile.
 

I love Spring! It's so fun to watch everything growing and blooming. We have a couple perennials in the front that not only grew back this year but one bloomed! I want to plant more of them but I need to figure out what they are. Any ideas?
 

Here are my thoughts on our house lately. After we lived here for about 5 years or so we'd every-so-often bring up to our kids, and each other, the idea of moving. When would be a good time? What would our ideal house look like? Probably questions everyone ask. I'd always imagined that when you talk about upgrading your living space to kids (i.e. getting a pool maybe??) that the kids would start jumping up and down and squealing the way kids do when they're excited. But pretty much every time we've even whispered a word about it the opposite has happened. Pained cries of "No mom!" and other such laments. Emma seems to be the main instigator and insists that we just wait to move until she goes to college.

Now, as if the kids aren't weird enough, lately I'm starting to wonder if I'd be able to sell our house. Am I crazy or what? Is this normal? I've never really heard of people not wanting to sell because they feel too sentimental about it. It's just that so much laughter, tears, and memories are wrapped up in this place. Emma was 4 when we moved here, Eli just 2, and Holly and Sadie were brought through the front door as newborn babies. Every tree we plant, every upgrade we've made that we've saved up for, have started to make me feel a little attached. It's pretty ridiculous overall. I know we'll be just as happy (or happier since I know for a fact our next house won't have a dishwasher and fridge that reside directly across from each other) in our next house. I'm just starting to think it may need to be sooner than later because I can see that the longer we live here, the more painful it will be. Then I wonder if we could not sell this house and rent it out...but then I think about saving the 20% down and realize that we'll be able to do that about the same time we pay off our 30 yr loan we just refinanced.

So, not an announcement of moving, just thoughts. Do other people feel like I do...besides Steve Martin on "Father of the Bride"? (man I love that movie. I should break out the old VHS tonight. Then watch "Top Gun" afterward:)

Next up: Girls trip and Spring Break adventures:)