February 2022

One of the perks of where we live - outdoor swimming lessons in February. Still blows my mind.

So does the beauty we see on the way to school every morning.

It's Olympics time again! We had a Chinese meal to eat during the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics and had these yummy almond cookies.

Another beautiful sky.

Wagons West! We gave the kids a trip west for Christmas. I decided to drive through the night to get to the Atlanta airport at 3:30 in the morning for our early flight. Thought the kids would sleep in the car. Thought wrong. . . Either way, we made it to the airport.

And then we made it to Vegas.

Some of us MAY have been having a melt down by breakfast time, but I won't way who. (Starts with a T. . . )

The castle hotel and view made up for a little.

But the catnap helped the most.

Exploring the Strip. Reminded me of my childhood visiting Grandma and Grandpa. It was fun to show the kids some of the things I remember most.

Of course, everyone was up bright and early the next day for our trip to Death Valley. It's never bad to start the day in a castle eating chocolate muffins.

Sadly, Carli got a migraine on the drive there, but she and these three were troopers waiting it out.

They were right about the heat in Death Valley!

Exploring the lowest point in the United States.

Looking at the sky in one of the darkest places in the country. Unfortunately there was a very bright moon that night, but it was still fun to check it out.

The sunrise at Zabriskie Point was totally worth it. Breathtaking!

Took a hike to the sand dunes.

Thought we might not survive.

By the skin of our teeth, we somehow made it though.

It's not a real vacation until we find a Costco to eat pizza.

We were so happy we got to see Aunt Aubrey and Baby Jordyn in St. George. And they had a fun, fancy set up for us to enjoy.

Breakfast at Grandma and Grandpa's is always a treat. Look at all those cereal options!

Grandpa's go-to teaching canvas - his trusty pen and a paper towel. These two had some inventing to do together.

When we landed in Las Vegas we learned that Mom had been admitted to the hospital. She was still there when we arrived in Cedar City. We bought her some flowers and the kids heart-attacked her hospital window for Valentine's Day, since they weren't allowed to go in.

I seriously have the best Valentines in the world!

It's not a trip to Cedar without swimming at the aquatic center.

Love the view from both sides of my parents house.

I was happy to make Dad a cherry cream cheese pie for Valentine's Day.

What a neat experience for Janie to get to go to the temple for the first time and be baptized by Grandpa. Man, it was windy and cold that day though!

Grandpa always treats us to SubZero ice cream. Yum! And it was fun to catch up with Christian and meet his girlfriend.

Mom came home from the hospital the afternoon before we left. I was so glad the kids were able to visit with her for a few minutes. You can see in the picture, even though Mom wasn't feeling well, she, as always, had a cute little gift for the kids. They will treasure those indoor frisbees forever.

Oh, how I love this woman. As she would say, I thank my lucky stars all the time for such a good mother. Wish I could be more like her in so many ways.

And I'm lucky to be his daughter.

We stopped at the park in St. George on the way back to Vegas as promised.

On our way home! Can't wait to see Daddy, that's for sure. We wish he could go on these trips with us.

Off the plane and in the car headed home.

My Valentine is the sweetest Valentine.

The day after we arrived home Carli headed out for All State Chorus. What a great accomplishment for this girl! She said it was some of the best days of her life so far. She LOVED singing with other students who love music as much as she does. And it was amazing to hear their beautiful performance.

While my oldest was spending her first school trip away from me, my youngest got the training wheels taken off his bike.

We had such a fun YW activity where the girls did some research on ancestors and then we reenacted old photos. So cool!

Another fun date idea from our book. We watched a movie in a hammock in Sweetheart Circle. Only after the hammock decided to buck us off to the ground though. And then we thought we were going to be attacked by nerf guns by a gang of ruffian college students. It all added to the fun though.