April 2021

Skiing still happened in April! Wow! It was a lot drier in the valley where we live, but the mountains still had plenty of snow. Paul took the kids on his own.  One run, the three youngest went a different path than he and Matix took, so they waited at the bottom and eventually, down they came with the SKI PATROL. They got lost, and the ski patrol found them and brought them down. It's a funny story now, but I'm glad I wasn't there panicking. 

Laurel came out to visit and take care of me. She's the best. We went out to eat, and to the movies, and sat and talked and talked and talked. She's such a good friend to me. I'm so grateful to have her, always on my side, always ready to listen, always ready to stand up for me, or take control if she needs to, or whatever it is that I need.

Paul booked us a fancy bed and breakfast, where they probably thought we were a couple. It was so fun. Just for one night, lots of good food and a scary movie marathon.

Easter came fast, and Laurel and Hawken made us a fancy breakfast. It was so fun. 

The kids got an Easter package from Grandma Kim and Grandpa Louie, thanks! 

We did a basket hunt, and then an egg hunt for ONE special egg. It was really fun.

We got the kids oysters to open and a little holder for a pearl. They loved it, although the actual oyster opening was gross. 

We walked down by the lake and enjoyed the mild weather. 

We spent lots of evenings in the yard by the fire. The weather was perfect, and the company was even better. Laurel left the next day, and I cried. She is so wonderful. 

Lullaby requested a half a crown braid and wanted it to "hide on the other half", this is what I attempted, and she said it was a good one. 

When I'm feeling bad, or even just sleepy, these kitties find me and cuddle up. I love it. 

Paul got a crazy idea to swap out some of our landscaping rocks for mulch. He thinks it looks better. I disagree, but here we are, 2 tons of mulch later. He's always the idea guy. 

One of our neighbor kids got a little over zealous with his water gun. I had already asked him not to spray our door, so when he did, I called him over to clean up the mess. Stinker. But he didn't spray the door anymore. 

Lullaby made people pancakes, so cute. 

Paul got a gift card to Fat Cats, which is a movie theater, arcade, mini golf, and bowling place. There is a lot to do there. We spent several hours there, just trying to spend up all the money.  The kids had a blast. We did the black light mini golf, then bowling, then to the arcade. So fun.

Great Grandma Berg had an Easter party and just before, Paul took the kids to the bike park near her house. It was windy, but a really nice day. 

The kids loved the Easter egg hunt

Afterward, we kept the party going and went up to Famrington to hang out with the Kovacs and the Ruths. First we feasted for dinner, and made s'mores in the yard. Then, we went on a little hike to see the Farmington Yeti, and then to a pond.  When we moved here, we were visualizing having more hangouts like this. They are so fun. 

I love these pictures my dad had of me as a baby with him and my mom. So sweet. 

Lullaby and her friend Waiklee at Waiklee's birthday party. She had a blast. 

Snuggle kitties, rarely sleep together, so when they do, I have to take a picture. 

If we were Pokemon, Paul would be Squirtle, and I would be Pikachu, according to this silly thing I found. 

Matix is so creative. He made this cookie factory out of Legos for me. I love him. 

The Abbajays invited us to go to Arches National Park with them, so we drove down and had a blast.  They are so much fun to hang out with. We went on lots of hikes and did lots of exploring.  

Richard got a great Air BnB that we all stayed in, thanks Richard! There was a huge bunk room for the kids, a master suite for Jill and Richard, another queen room for us, and Izzy slept on the fold out couch. It was awesome!

Fun in the pool and hot tub! The kids had so much fun here. 

One of the days it got a little rainy and cloudy, so we did the tour mostly from the car. There was a long driving section filled with amazing views. We only stopped and got out a few times. We played musical cars, and switched around a lot between the two vehicles. 

Lullaby fell asleep after a little while. Sweet thing. 

Sully in Izzy's glasses. 

The formations were amazing, even from the car! 

Matix got all the snuggles he wanted from Avia. She's so sweet on the kids. 

We played with my Snapchat filters while we waited for Paul and Richard.  We were dying laughing at some of them. So funny! 

More views from the car. 

Out to eat with Pops and Avia.

Solace finally lost his tooth. He had asked Pops to pull it out, but chickened out initially. Then the next day, Matix, our resident tooth puller, got it out for him. Yay! 

We FaceTimed with Ash and Ranger, which was awesome. 

Snuggles and wild hair after a pool day. 

Doughnuts from Paul for breakfast. Yes please. 

Caught snuggling again. My kids just eat up all this attention.

Watching a movie in Avia and Pops bed, so fun!

It was a great trip and so much fun. I love them, and I'm glad they're in my life. 

Goodbyes are always sad. We miss you! 

Then they texted us this, as they were traveling back to Colorado, and we were headed on to Canyonlands for a few days. 

Beautiful cloudy sky, headed to see a little more of Arches and then on to see the Canyonlands. Lots more hiking, exploring and rock climbing there. 

Solace fell and scraped his back, poor thing.

More hikes to see more arches and other cool formations. 

It was cold and windy, but the more hiking we did, the warmer we felt. So we switched back and forth with wearing coats or sweatshirts to just t-shirts. 

We met up with Ryan, Megan and Cora in Canyonlands and they came to our hotel there for a swim. It was fun to see more familiar faces on our trip. 

We spent another few days exploring and hiking around. The kids LOVED all the nature time, and I loved having them around more again. It made us think more of homeschooling again so we could do more of this. 

The last hike we did there had the most beautiful views! We couldn't believe how far we could see!

When we got back home, we celebrated Swishy and Snow's birthdays. Swishy is 11 and Snow is 3. Sweet things. We love our pets so much. 

Liesl was in Utah for a few days, doing a modeling job. She didn't have a lot of free time, but we were able to sneak her away for a dinner one of the days. We took her out and had a great time chatting and catching up. We love all the Liesl time we get.

Paul spoke in church, but it was on the week that our family was supposed to be at home. So we watched him from our meditation room, rather than in the church building. So weird.

Another Sunday at Great Grandma Berg's house. We love to go there and hang out with her. This time, Paul and Hawken worked on fixing a toy of his. It required welding, and she had all the right tools. Thanks Grandma! 

I found this great desk on KSL and when I picked it up (for $20!!!) I realized it was an original Henry Link Bali Hai desk! They are much more valuable than what I got it for. I did a little cleaning up, and repainted it in a lavender color called "Sweet Juliet", and put it in Lullaby's room. It looks great and she loves it. I'll have to get an after picture of it sometime.

Robin got these laminated obituaries for us and mailed them out. So nice.

Hawken lost another tooth, and pulled it out himself this time! Woohoo!

Lullaby went on a field trip with her classmates, and one of my friends was the volunteer for the group, so I got lots of pictures throughout the day. Lullaby had a hard time on the bus, and cried about Grandpa Chuck. My friend said all her her friends gathered around her and hugged her until she felt better. I love that she has such good friends. 

One of the treasures we got from my dad's house was this light bulb with the Mason symbol. It glows a weird pink and Paul thinks it's pretty cool. 

Hawken's reading group in his class at school. 

I took the kids to a park that was rated top 100 in the nation. It was pretty fun, with lots to do for both big and small kids. 

Pumpkin is the worlds cuddliest kitty. She loves to be loved. 

Matix and his school group met up at our house to work on a project that involved spray paint. They were all excited that I let them use the can on their own. 

Solace's new favorite funny face is to roll his eyes back until all you can see is white. He had scraped up his nose, so the scary face was extra wild. He loves to get a reaction out of people. 

Solace's friend, Charlie, came over for a play date and they jumped on the trampoline the whole time. So fun. 

More kitten cuddles for this girl. 

Our neighborhood is so full of kids, we love it! They always have someone to play with. Here's a little video clip of the small group that gathered when Matix knocked on two doors to see if anyone wanted to play basketball with him.

Solace got another hair cut. I love his hair long or short, and he was ready for a cut. He wanted it short but still curly. So this is what we got. So handsome.