player's showcase in las vegas

I got to take Emma to another soccer tournament this month. Instead of renting a camera lens, this time I rented a car. Interestingly enough, the car cost about the same to rent as the lens. What? We left on Thursday afternoon. Once again, I was amazed at how enjoyable a car trip can be with just a 14 year old. Certainly its a lot easier. We shared a hotel room with a teammate and her mom. The hotel was a lot nicer than the one in Mesquite and consequently a lot more expensive.

Emma and Annie show off their scraped up knees and fabulous soccer tans.

They lost 3 of their 4 games unfortunately and we think Emma probably got a concussion in one of the games. She should have stopped playing but she didn't tell anyone that she had blacked out. They also had to play their last game on Sunday which was nobody was happy about. There were a few girls who went home instead of playing so they ended up with no subs on a hot day. After the game, I made Emma and her teammate go into the first LDS church we saw so that we could take the sacrament. They were embarrassed to be in their uniforms but of course that didn't really matter. We were totally entertained by this 4 year old boy in the foyer. He said, "Mom, I'm just so happy" as he was bouncing around. We found him totally hilarious but I sure felt sorry for his mom. After that, we drove home, making it back around 8 that night.

spring break in st. george

We joined the masses that fled south to St. George for Spring Break. We stayed in a 3 bedroom condo which gave us plenty of room to sleep, a kitchen to prepare meals, 2 TVs, and a beautiful view from a large balcony. We drove down on Wednesday. I think 4 hour drives are just about perfect!

On Thursday we went to Zion National Park to meet up with Heather, Katie and Grandma and Grandpa at their campsite. We did the Riverwalk at the Temple of Sinawava which was a good "hike" for our large group of varying ages. Sitting at their campground afterwards, watching the kids dig in the dirt, just solidified my feeling that I am not a camper! I was quite happy to go back to my condo with running water and technology.

We did a lot of screen-watching--TV, movies, computer games, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. I read a few books. And then we (well, everybody but me) did a whole lot of swimming.

We saw lots of familiar faces from home including our neighbors across the street. We met up with them at the pools a few times, traded kids for movie watching, and had a BBQ with them and another family who lives up the street from us. They were even generous enough to let us take out their ATV for a ride. Dave feared for his life but Emma loved driving.

We left for home on Sunday morning. We listened to General Conference on the radio on the way. In between sessions, we stopped at Cove Fort to appease me, the history-lover.

Annie dancing with her reflection

It was a really nice week and I was definitely not ready for the break to be over.

land of the sun

We headed down to Arizona for a long weekend to keep my parents company. They were there on babysitting duty while Dana and Rob were in China. We came on Friday and left early Tuesday morning. Not a lot of time to do anything too exciting. Just lots of cousin time which is exactly why we came.We spent our time...

--feeding children then cleaning up after children
--giving Lauren lots of baths since she only knows how to have blow-out diapers apparently

--playing the Wii or watching shows on Netflix. Dave started watching Stargate Universe at night after the kids were in bed. I watched movies on Dana's computer. Good chick flicks like Morning Glory and Persuasion.

--having a proper afternoon tea

--getting pampered at the Linder spa

--going to church
--eating as many popsicles as you can get your hands on

--playing at the park, eating pizza, holding puppies

 --playing in the backyard

--playing in the pool. For Dave, this meant sitting in the backyard and playing Angry Birds on his phone.

Our drive home was not nearly as uneventful as our drive there. The way home included a missed turn and consequent detour plus lots and lots of throw up all over the backseat. We were glad we came and got to see Mom and Dad and our AZ cousins. We will be back but definitely not in the summer!

12 on 12 | march | arizona edition

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1. The kids spent a lot of time out in the backyard. Slade was thrilled to be in short sleeves and shorts again.
2. Grandma and Sawyer played a little baseball.
3. We went to Anthem's city park to enjoy the beautiful weather and a picnic lunch.
4. Pizza for lunch!
5. Anne was tired, grumpy and prone to wander. Emma to the rescue!
6. Sawyer took this very close picture of me.
7. So fun to see Emma laughing with her cousins.
8. A lady had four puppies at the park which she graciously let the kids play with. Nathan was in puppy heaven.
9. It was a lovely 80+ degrees outside. Perfect for picnics in the park but swimming? Our children could not resist the pool. Brrrr.
10. Emma and Avery had a British afternoon tea, complete with proper attire and accents.
11. You can't really tell from this picture but all the kids were sitting out in the hot tub in total darkness. Dave was reading with a flashlight. Water is so irresistible.
12. Sawyer and Jane played Guess Who before bed. Over the course of our visit, that game got good use. Who knew it was so entertaining?

boston part 2

Sunday, October 10
After church, Dana and I went on a drive. When I told her I'd never been to Sharon, Vermont, to the Joseph Smith Birthplace we went there. It was about a two and a half hour drive but it was full of beautiful scenery and good conversation. And where else can you see "Bear Crossing" AND "Moose Crossing" signs on the side of the highway?

We arrived in beautiful Sharon, VT, mid-afternoon. The setting was so peaceful with the fall colors and choir music played from speakers. Apparently, there was a larger than normal crowd so the tour was a little odd but still interesting. Dana probably had a totally different experience than me since she was busy talking with friends from her home stake and dealing with Lauren's diaper blowout. Fortunately for us, Dana's friends offered to share some sandwich fixings so we got to have dinner on the way home.

Monday, October 11
Columbus Day. Dana's kids were out of school so we joined the throngs at Honeypot Orchards to pick apples. It was a little too crowded to make it the magical experience it could have been but we still enjoyed it.

After apple picking, Dana and I took Emma and Avery into the city to see So You Think You Can Dance. I hadn't watched much this season so I wasn't personally invested in the show but it was still full of fantastic talent. Afterward, Dana gave in to Avery's pleadings to stay and wait for the dancers to come out. Emma and I were both not very happy about this decision. I can admit now though that perhaps I was wrong. It ended up being really fun. Emma had her sparkly sneakers signed by the two dancers who performed a dance called "Boogie Shoes." She promptly scrubbed it off the next day but it was fun for the moment.

boston part 1

Thursday, October 7

Emma and I left mid-morning for a week long visit to beautiful Boston. We were flying on stand-by which meant cheap(er) flights but no assigned seats. When deciding on travel dates, it never occurred to me that Columbus Day would be a heavily traveled holiday weekend. In the west, no one celebrates that holiday. I guess it is different in the east. Add to that the fact that we were traveling to New England in the peak fall season and we had a CRAZY day of travel.

We had no trouble getting on the Salt Lake to Phoenix flight but it was all downhill from there. Every flight was full. Every flight had several stand-bys ahead of us. We miraculously made it onto a flight from Phoenix to Charlotte even though we were number 19 and 20 on the stand-by list. Sadly though, our luck ran out and we got stranded in Charlotte overnight. To make matters worse, our bag had been sent on to Providence since that was our original final destination. We got a very cheap, very sub-standard hotel where the front desk clerk yelled at me. No pajamas. No tooth brushes. No clean underwear. We still managed a few hours sleep before getting up at 5:00 a.m. (3:00 a.m. Utah time) to try and catch the first flight to Boston.

Friday, October 8

We made it onto that first flight and arrived in Boston at about 10 a.m. After talking with a very nice woman in baggage, we arranged for our suitcase to fly to Boston on another flight so we could pick it up later. Dana picked us up from the airport and we headed out on our first adventure: the quaint, coastal town of Rockport.

I had fun making Emma pose in front of the cute and colorful shop windows.

We wandered through the shops and let the girls try on the accessories the boutiques had to offer.

Emma was willing to try any seafood including lobster and clams. I was too cheap to let her. She got New England Clam Chowder instead.

We made it back to Dana's in time to meet Avery coming off the bus. Such a happy reunion.

Saturday, October 9

We took advantage of the great weather and a free Saturday and went to Six Flags New England. Usually at amusement parks, I am the one sitting on the bench holding the baby. Dana got to play that role this time. I got to play the role of thrill-seeker and ride all the big rides with Emma and Avery. We stayed the whole day. Just as we were leaving, a fire broke out in the Haunted Mansion. No one was injured but it made for an exciting end to the day to see the flames leaping up from the building.