Finishing off April

A few more things from this month...

I hurt my calf playing basketball.  I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, just a simple layup and landed weird.  I'm not sure how bad it is, but it sure hurts.  The doctor put me in a boot to keep the pressure off of it for a while but it's really poor timing with my race coming up in a few weeks :(

Alice finds treasures all over the floor as she cleans up and once in a while I have to relieve her from choking on them

The boys found a Mountain Dew Mustang and now we can't go anywhere without seeing it!

Snow is still coming and we keep feeling the urge (and following it) to get up to the slopes for another day.  We'll take it as long as it keeps coming!

Liev found a new chair that was being given away on the street and snatched it

Beck still loves Activity Days

Soap handprints on the mirror.  Why?

Along with the snow, there's also blossoms on the trees.  Utah can't quite make up its mind what season it is yet

Beck and Desh aren't too old for mom hugs - thank goodness

 

Cruise Day 7

Our last day on the ship and we spent another day outside by the pool mostly!  We knew our days of relaxation were coming to an end so we took it while we had it.  In the afternoon we played one more game of Sardines and Dad ended up with the best hiding spot - just sitting by the crowded pool with his feet in the water. Hiding in plain sight! We laughed and laughed when we finally found him!

That night we said goodbye to our servers and cooks who have been with us all week and have been amazing.  The food has been fantastic and we have loved the time we got to spend on this fun ship together! What a fun vacation that we'll never forget!

 

Cruise Day 6

Back to sea for Day 6 and we spent the day out on the pool deck soaking in the sun!  Hayley got pretty sunburned on day 2 so she hasn't been able to be in the sun much, but today she ventured back out to hang with us.  We also made our way to the bingo lounge and played a few games before hitting the other game shows happening around the ship.  A few of the boys took a tour with the ship captain and saw all the inner workings of the ship which sounded fun.  We've had such a fun time and have reserved the ship chapel a couple of the nights to get together and play games.  It's a perfect quiet spot for us to gather and we've been invited to bible study more than once since using the chapel! Our day at sea was a fun and relaxing one!

 

Cruise Day 5 - St. Thomas

To get to St. Thomas we only had to go a short way from San Juan, so day 5 we woke up and were already pulling into the dock.  St. Thomas is a really beautiful island with an amazing bay with homes looking over the water.  It was very picturesque to see from the ship.  So beautiful!

We didn't have any idea what to do on St. Thomas but heard of the 99 steps and decided to do that.  It's a pretty little walk up 99 steps and overlooks the town from the top.  It was really fun and not too hard although it was a really hot day so that ended up being the hardest part.  It was even more fun walking down the 99 steps back to town :)

We spent the rest of the day shopping for souvenirs and took a little bit of time at a small beach that was way overcrowded.  We didn't last too long there before we decided that was enough and headed back to the ship.  Overall such a fun day on a beautiful little island!

 

Cruise Day 4 - San Juan

We've been excited about Day 4 of the cruise for months because it was a stop in San Juan for the day!  What a treat for us to be able to be back home for a few hours and enjoy our favorite island!  Watching from the ship as we pulled into the the harbor was so fun for us.  I've never seen the island from that view and it was really beautiful to see the fort from the ocean side.  

Because we knew we were going to be stopping there, we closed La Brisa off for the day and got to spend some time there in the pool and hanging out around the house for a few hours.  Justin and Steph had never been so they were excited to be able to see the house and all the work that had been done.  It was SO FUN for us to be back there with our family!

We didn't have to be back on the ship until 9:00 pm so we spent the evening in Old San Juan shopping and stopped to eat at Bari and of course dessert at Anita's.  All our favs.  Carlos and Laura met us downtown and we got to spend a couple hours catching up with them.  It was so good for my soul to be back there!  Just the perfect day for us to relive some of our favorite spots!

 

Cruise Day 3

Day 3 was a "Sea Day" so we filled our day with anything we wanted!  We walked along the upper deck in the mornings and watched the sun come up and looking out at nothing but ocean.  It's a weird feeling to feel so small in the middle of a huge ocean! 

We also had an epic game of Sardines throughout the ship, ate dessert all day long and loved dressing up and spending a couple hours together at dinner in the evening.  Watching the shows, playing games late into the night and falling asleep to the tv rounded out our day and it was a good one! 

 

Cruise Day 2 - Princess Cays

Day 2 we made a stop at Princess Cays island for a day on the beach.  It was a beautiful day out and we rode a small ferry from the ship that docked out a little ways to the shore.  The island is a private island of the cruise line and had some good food and a pretty beach to lay out.  We stayed out there for a while and enjoyed the sun that we haven't seen for the long winter months!  It was really fun to relax and then headed back once we were ready to get back on the ship.  The funnest thing about a cruise is doing whatever we want to fill our schedule with - so we did!  Dad loved the nightly show and Josh and I found a jazz lounge that we hung out it in most nights.  The best part of it all is being with family that we don't get to see too often!  The best things in life...

 

Cruise Day 1

It's the year for our sibling/adult trip and Papa and Grammie's turn to plan the trip.  They booked us a 7 night Caribbean cruise and, with just a little bit of juggling to get kids sorted out, we all met in Fort Lauderdale to board the ship!  Off we were on a vacation that we all didn't know we needed so much!

The first day is always just a settle in day and we got our rooms, luggage and nap in before we met for dinner that night.  After flying all night a nap was important and we took advantage of the time!  Looking forward to the week ahead and all the good times to be had!

 

Prom 2024

Rease got asked to Prom by her good friend Colin and she was so excited to go with him.  We had so much fun picking out her dress and we found this AMAZING sequin one that looked stunning on her! It was just what a prom dress ought to be :)

What a fun day to help her get ready and see her off to the dance.  We laughed at the fact that her dress barely fit in his Mini Cooper, but off they went and had a great time!  He is such a nice boy and she had so much fun with this good friend of hers.  What a beautiful night for all these beautiful people!

 

Young women happenings

The fun things we get to do as young women in the world...

Temple trips, service projects, painting activities, temple open houses and so much more!  How we love these amazing youth!

 

A visit from Carlos and Laura

We had the absolute privilege to welcome Carlos and Laura to Utah to spend a few days with us this week!  They have been wanting to come to visit and the opportunity came up for them to come for general conference and a mission reunion for Laura.  We got busy making plans to do everything they wanted while they were here.  We had tickets to Saturday general conference which was amazing.  We haven't been to the conference center for years and it was so fun to go back and be there with them.  We took a quick trip down to Manti to see the open house - Laura received her endowment at that temple years ago when she was a missionary so she was really excited to be able to go back and see it.  We even got a snow storm in while they were here which was a little unexpected but fun for them to see!  It was such a fun few days for us and we hated to see them go.  But absolutely LOVED every minute they were here!

 

Field trip to the aquarium

Desh invited me to be a chaperone for his field trip to the aquarium this week.  I love being with my kids and being a part of their class and the fun things they do!  We had a cute little group of kids with us including his best little buddy Ike.  We loved looking at all the cool thing and especially hands on in the wave pool touching the anemone and other sealife.  Such a fun day for all!  

 

Rease Quarter 3

 

Rhen Quarter 3

 

Liev Quarter 3

 

Keen Quarter 3

 

Beck Quarter 3

 

Desh 3rd quarter

 

A wrap up of March

Our month ended on a good note with lots of fun to be had:

A powder day always calls to us and we respond! The skiing has been so good this year!

Alice getting all tangled up while trying her hardest to clean up around us

Desh loves his Activity Days group

And a 20 miler in the books

Bring it on April!

 

Easter Week 2024

 

Manti Temple Open House

The Manti Temple has just opened after a few years of renovations to restore it.  The open house is this week and we took the whole family while we had a few days off school for spring break.  It was BEAUTIFUL and so fun to be able to walk through this amazing building.  Its so awesome for the kids to be able to see it and feel of the spirit in these buildings.  

We overloaded the golf cart carrying us back to our cars and the kids had such a fun time hanging with cousins for the day!  We loved our trip to the temple today!

 

Track for Rease and Rhen

Spring track just got underway (even though it's still pretty chilly!) and Rease and Rhen are both excited to be a part of the team.  Rhen is running the mile and 800m and Rease has started throwing the shotput.  It's so fun being a part of this team and watching the girls learn to do something new!  Here's to a fun long season with lots of success!

 

Mid-March round up

A handful of things happening around here...

Desh got sick and can't seem to stay warm.  No better place to warm up than laying in the shower!

One of our fav girls that we play ball with left on her mission this week - we're going to miss you Izzy

Beck and Desh being troopers at long nights of band concerts for their siblings

Tilly with the Drip

And smack in the middle of marathon training - these are long run weeks!

Lots of snow still falling and we aren't complaining

The boys taking trips to the hot tub while the rest of us are at Young Mens/Young Womens on Wednesday nights.  Not a bad place to be!

Rhen being crazy

Tilly being a begger

And Desh tired and numb after a trip to the dentist

Life keeps plugging along around here without even asking us if its ok...

 

Liev's band concert

We got to hear this boy perform again and I love seeing the improvement this beginning band group has made!  They are sounding so amazing! 

 

Rhen's 15th birthday!

Rhenny girl turned 15 today and I can hardly believe it!  She is THE BEST and we love seeing the person that she's growing up to be.  

15 year old stats from Dr. Erickson:

Height: 5'9" - 98%

Weight: 147 lbs - 87%

My favorite things about 15 year old Rhen:

1- Rhen is sweet as can be, but also has a spicy side to her too!  She is willing to help, quick to say I Love You, and once in a while will spend 3 hours cleaning her room just to surprise her sister with a clean room.  But Rhen is not afraid to speak her mind and does her best to squelch the drama that tends to surround her group friends.  She hates people that are "fake" and wants all the world to see things through clear eyes.  It's her goal in life to have peace and fun surround her!

2 - Rhen is an excellent student and works really hard to get straight A's.  She has taken some hard classes and still seems to be able to keep up with things and keep her mind about it all too.  She loves school and loves learning new things.

3 - If I could attach a video as a picture, I'd let you all see a video of Rhen playing the piano and you'd be blown away.  She is a pretty amazing pianist and has worked so hard to get there.  She practices for a couple hours at a time when she can and her hard work has paid off.  She is in the process of finding a new teacher that can take her to an even higher level and she loves performing and sharing her talent on the piano.  I love hearing her play and hope I get to hear her for years to come!

Happiest birthday my dear Rhen!