We just returned from a much needed visit to my mom in Utah. It's been a couple of years since our last one so we felt like our time had come to return. A friend of mine was getting married so I coordinated the trip around that. Just the girls and I went leaving Tom with a few TV dinners and a semi-clean house. While we were having fun seeing old friends and family he enjoyed quiet evenings at home kids-free. I think it was a win-win situation for all.

While in Utah we...

Played with Grandpa
Rode ponies at Thanksgiving Point and had a blast with Nana
Milked cows at the Treehouse Museum (Jessie was quite a natural, maybe we need to get our own cow?/)
The kids talked to their Papi on calculators in the car.
Jessie got her first little manicure while my mom and I got pedicures.
Swung around with new friends.
Ate lots of fudgesicles at Nana's house.
And rode a horse at Chuckie Cheese's which Tegan seemed to prefer over the pony at Thanksgiving Point.

My husband informed me that it rained the entire time we were away so I was thankful to have a couple sunny days in Utah and then be able to come home to a beautiful, well watered garden at home. Pics of that to come later.

Really?




"Of all the places to sleep this was your best option ha Jess??? " "Hmm."

Because of this



I got this mess...but it was well worth it!


After putting it off for years we finally decided it was time to get more serious about food storage. We have the space now and no good excuses. My awesome friend Kristine came all the way up from Springfield with a van full of cans, the dry packing machine, bags and bags of lots of heavy things, and a couple of the girls friends to keep them entertained. This picture does not really do the mess justice. It looked like a tornado of flour and dry milk came ripping through my kitchen. Regardless of the mess it felt good to get it done. We still have a long way to go, but we've got a start now.

Busy Busy Busy...

These last couple of weeks life has just flown by. I realize much of it is self-inflicted, but regardless it has just been a busy time and some of it was out of my control. As much as I might complain about it, I embrace it. Here's a run down of a few things keeping us busy these days...





Planting our very first garden. I've been looking forward to being able to do this for a long time. We've got sprouts of carrots, peas, and lettuce all popping out of the ground. I'm just crossing my fingers we get a few good crops this year.





Making some changes in our Kitchen. My Dad was kind enough to paint three rooms in our house. I don't think he'll agree to do it again anytime soon. We said goodbye to the southwestern style tiles and with the help of a friend of mine put in the white tile backsplash. We were pretty satisfied with the results.




Got to see some of our favorite people all the way from New York (Hamish,Ellen,Rowan, and Heath). While Jess and Rowan made cookies Ellen and Hamish helped us transplant from their dad's yard raspberry and strawberry plants and a whole slew of other plants that I still can't even identify. I love looking at our backyard now. It was so great to see those guys.


Had visits from some more of our favorite people...We also celebrated Tom's 30th birthday grilling up hamburgers on his birthday gift(so sad I didn't get pictures), mowed our lawn for the first time (desperately needed), rode the zipper at the Cinco de Mayo celebration, and....


Took time to eat some ice cream of course.