'adventures' with cousins (6/23)

A trip to Omaha was highly anticipated by the kids and carefully planned by parents who wanted enough space for comfort in our new environment before returning to familiarity. It was such a fun reunion with friends and coworkers but mostly family! We spent time in the temple together, after dinner walks as is customary, plant shopping - also customary but really enjoyed goofy fun together at Adventureland provided by grandparents who treated us to time together.

 

 

Party Barbie (10/23)

Just when I thought I was done doing costumes, we moved to Mesa where it's normal for teenagers to roam the Halloween streets. And honestly, I wasn't mad about it. Loved the chance to do one more costume and have another chance to shower love with crafts and parties! I enlisted David's help to create the box and spent hours wrapping it in pink. I think Party Barbie turned out pretty perfect!

 

hustle bustle season 2022

Holiday highlights: hiking out of bounds, oranges; cousins; mummifying gramps; temple lights; dirt biking & shooting in the desert; go-karts; and a little bundling up. (So much hustle that we managed to rush a Christmas card out but didn't get a pic of it!)

 

hustle and bustle 2023 edition

highlights from our holiday: advent calendars; the work christmas party at the train station; mesa temple lights; a Christmas puzzle; caramels!; new electric scooters; candycanes on the boat; shopping!; installing pickleball court lights; a visit to the Sphere on the way to George; a little goofy golf; reuniting with Mandy from college; and, always, frisbee!

Sedona (12/23)

Dave and I headed north to Sedona for our 20th anniversary. It was a great getaway for us (and we felt like it was a great chance for Kindin to be in charge at home). We enjoyed seeing all the unique things - a beautiful hike, walking a labyrinth, a trolley to the Chapel of the Holy Cross, omelets & Sedonuts, Tlaquepaque Village, and time reflecting on everything we've done together over 20 years. The laughter, a recent move, our 3 amazing kids, and some hard times too. David surprised me with a diamond band that he'd picked out by himself and without my knowing. I was shocked and it will forever stick out as a most memorable gift!

ozarks shootout (8/23)

The yearly lake trip we share as Omahomies moved locations due to Neeley's recent back surgery. Instead of Lake Lotowana, we ended up at the Lake of the Ozarks in a cozy vrbo. Situated on the main channel, the dock wasn't idealic for our typical afternoon floats but we ended up having the perfect view of the boat parade during the annual Shoot Out. Unknowingly, we had scheduled during the yearly boat race and it was truly something to witness! There was a constant buzz of racing speedboats with entourages of helicopters. We learned that speedboats can reach 246 mph and that some tricked out pontoons could cruise at 142 mph. What a great coincidence!

escaping a consecutive heat wave (7/23)

There have been way too many days of plus 110 degree temps in a row this summer! And we are hot! So we decided to tag a trip to Flagstaff onto the end of the Jack's FSY camp. 

It was a great chance to be outside again and enjoy some new places. We went on a hike, strolled downtown, went shopping, swam for hours, and hit up the H2Whoa waterslides on the way back home. I'll never regret a quick getaway as a family!