Sunday, May 31, 2015

This and that in January...

Just a few random events this month. First off, Grampy got put up on the Utah Tennis Hall of Fame Wall at the Sports Mall. Roman takes tennis lessons there and the kids were so excited to see Grampy up there!


Our sweet and beautiful Lexy performed with BYU Ballet Theater Co and we all went down to see her. It was all about princesses and fairy tales so we took the girls. They even got to dress up, however, Karoline has decided she doesn't like princesses so she refused. Totally ok by me! Lexy was just gorgeous on stage. It is so much fun to see her dance. I was in awe every time she came on! The girls loved it, especially because they were able to go on stage with the ballerinas and danced away. Lexy and her cute friend were so darling with them and the girls felt so special! I was getting a bit teary with it all!




Ski School

Grammy gave the kids another great round of ski lessons for Christmas this year. Even Karoline started up there at Alta Ski School and had a great season! Roman and Capri only do the lifts now which is just awesome. They gained a lot of confidence which allowed them to progress that much faster. Karoline was such a champ and never complained. She has mastered the Magic Carpet so hopefully will make it on the lift next year. They all did awesome for only 5 lessons.
One quick story for the books. Getting 3 kids ready in snow gear, everything packed, and up the canyon (a good 45 minutes away) can be tough. Thank goodness my kids were troopers and happy to help. Well on our third day up, I had just parked the car when Karoline mentioned that she wasn't feeling good. I told her that she had probably gotten a bit car sick and that we just need to get her out of the car. Unfortunately, we weren't fast enough. I am just about to get her out when she throws up all over…twice. I don't think I will ever be able to eat bananas and peanut  butter again. It was all over her fleece and sweat pants, car seat, and car. What to do?! I only had 20 minutes before they needed to be checked in and we still needed to rent their skis! I was about to turn around, but I had put so much effort into getting them there and she was feeling fine. So, I decided to give it a go. I figured she could just wear her thermals. Oops, her thermals had also gotten soaked through. To the ski shop we go! I threw on everyone's snow pants and coats and raced over. I quickly found some thermal bottoms and a fleece and, despite the ridiculous price tag, was so relieved. We got her dressed and headed over to the equipment. I had gotten to know the guys there and so I felt like I could fill them in on the situation so they could be quick and get us all outfitted in time for our lesson. They were awesome! We had all three in boots with skis in hand in 5 minutes! The kids made it to their lessons and they all had a great time! Karoline made sure to tell everyone she came in contact with about how she threw up bananas and peanut butter all over the car…twice. 
Getting the hang of things...
She is ready!
The twins had so much fun together and were often the only kids in their lesson! Their instructor took this picture on their way down!



Sunday, May 24, 2015

A few days in paradise...

My husband spoiled me rotten with a trip to Hawaii with my girlfriends. We had enough miles for me to fly free and my sister and friends got super cheap tickets so away we went!
Jenn got really sick a couple of days before and we were worried she might not make it. She plowed through, however, and after a ridiculously long day of traveling (3 layovers coming from New York!) made it to Hawaii right before I did. Cheri and Annelise had arrived earlier that day and had fallen asleep. I called Cheri, woke her up, and she came racing to pick us up. It was 11:30PM but much later our time. Funny thing is, that after all that, we stayed up for another 2 hours grocery shopping and talking. It had been so long since I had seen Jenn and I guess we were just really eager to catch up! 
We all woke up early the next morning despite our lack of sleep. We were ready to get to the beach pronto and I literally couldn't wait! Lanikai is a dream. It is my heaven. It is absolute paradise and that day was absolutely perfect. To be at the beach, sun shining, no kids to worry about, talking nonstop with my best of friends, and even taking a nap if I wanted-what can I say? I was loving it!

We stopped for Keneke's for the island's best shave ice before heading home.

We ate at the Shack for dinner on the water. The perfect way to end the perfect day!
The next day we went to Waikiki for some more time on the beach and a bit of shopping.

It started to rain so back to the condo we went for some hot tubbing and extreme picture taking…

Waikiki was a hit the next day….all day. We were at the beach for hours! We even ventured out to the wall where Annelise took some amazing pictures. I am sure we will be put on the cover of some hawaii magazine sometime soon...
This is me trying not to fall off once the wave hit. I know, I am such a natural.
This is only slightly better.
When it was time to eat, we splurged and ate at Duke's for lunch. Eating on Waikiki Beach is a must once in your life! We also got matching headbands...because that's what you do when you are mothers...

The next day was Sunday and so to church we went. I love that many of our conversations throughout the weekend were on spiritual church related topics. These girls are such good examples for me! Going to church was well worth it and we all loved hearing the sweet messages. As soon as we got out…double rainbow! 


We then hiked up to Makapuu for our final Hawaii activity. It was awesome! Annelise was amazing as she made it all the way up at 7 months pregnant!

The tippy top was windy!

It was such a great trip and I will always love these ladies. I love them for their kindness, their listening ear, their encouragement and support, and their willingness to make our friendship a lasting one. We are all so busy in this stage of life and Jenn lives clear across the country, and yet with the effort made, we continue on as such good friends…and sister!

St. George for MLK Weekend

Martin Luther King Day was upon us so why not take advantage of a three day weekend and head to St. George for some sunshine. The kids loved getting out their EZRollers they got for Christmas and had so much fun zipping around on the tennis courts. We made a trip to Thomas Judds for some ice cream on a beautiful afternoon for some yummy ice cream and treats.  The weather was perfect for a day of hiking up Snow Canyon. We hiked to the arch and then on to the big cavern. Love getting outside in the middle of January!
Judds for treats...


EZRolling fun!
Hiking up Snow Canyon
Love these two hikers of mine...though Clara is more of a rider than a hiker!

New Year's Day


Let the sledding continue! New Year's Day was the perfect day for some more sledding at our park right down the street. Karoline and Roman were speed demons going down head first and trying to figure out how to tackle the running start. Capri had a blast as well, just a bit more cautious like her mom! She even found a friend. Cousins, Grandparents, Uncle Jon, and friends…it doesn't get any better than that!













Lake Tahoe

Mindy and Tyler were spending the holiday at their family home in Lake Tahoe and invited us to join them. Tanner and Drew were there along with Keith and Susie. We spent a lot of time sledding and being outside in the beautiful mountains. Their home is incredible and perfectly cozy for such days. 
The first day we sent to a sledding hill close by and the kids had a blast! There wasn't a lot of snow but we found a great little hill and had parents standing by to prevent any bad spills. Clara loved being in the snow…until she got her bare foot in it! She was a trooper though and we all had fun!
We spent one day driving to Reno for some fun at Circus Circus and a movie. Circus Circus was just that-a complete circus…and a dirty one! The movies were all sold out so we ended up going to another town to see Into the Woods and grabbed some grub. The next day we went to the ski resort and took the tram to the tippy top. We had a spectacular view up there! Everyone was feeling adventurous and decided to go ice skating on the rink up on the top. I thought it might be too windy…and it was…but the kids had a great time while they were out for those 25 minutes. Tucker was  a champ and took turns with each of them. Never again will they be able to skate in such an amazing place so that is pretty cool!
Overall, the kids loved being with their cousins and grandparents. It was nights like our last one that I loved, the adults talking for hours once the littles were in bed!
The kids playing right outside our door of the Allred's home...


Lilly was such a sweetie with my kids and she loved Clara!
On to sledding on the big hills...


These two, Naomi and Koko, had a blast cruising down together...they have no fear!
Tucker thought he was pretty awesome going down like the kids!
 Such a great crew!
Thank you so much to Mindy and Tyler for the invite!