R + R in the DR

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Dano and I enjoyed a romantic getaway to the Dominican Republic in honor of our upcoming 15th Anniversary {in 2.5 months}!  Just the two of us, for some Fun in the Sun!

Checking in at the Lifestyle Tropical Beach Resort...

Clear Blue Skies               {check}

Swaying Palm Trees       {check} 

Pina Colada in my hand  {check}

It's gonna be a good week...

The accommodations...Where Dano actually slept through the night...every. single. one.  

That alone equals vacation success!!

A late afternoon sprinkle means getting cozy in a beach hut...I could nap all day in there!

He makes the balancing act look so easy! 

 Cofresi Beach...Just a few steps from our patio

The local Wallmart...This cracked us up, so we bought our souvenirs here

The locals, making music with drums and cheese grater-looking instruments, dancing their hearts out, and smiling...the Dominicans smile { a lot }

BFFs

We loved the cultural show at the resort.  Gorgeous Dominican guys and girls in fantastic costumes and makeup...singing and dancing...their music and energy is so fun and contagious

Dano competing in Beach Olympics.  For his event, he had to guzzle a beer,  spin around a ball 10x, then run.  He did well, right up to the "run" part...He ran alright...straight into the ground!  He's no spring chicken anymore, and that was a serious reminder.

We literally sat right here in our pool loungers and just relaxed everyday!  I read two books, we rested, people watched, laughed and missed our kids just enough.  

It was a perfect getaway...Loved the island and the people...Muy Bien!! 

Mother's Day

How I spent my Mother's Day...

 It was quiet and relaxing {and warm}

I didn't miss the internet, or TV, or dishes or DRIVING

I did miss my kids, however {a lot}

The break from my routine was wonderful though and I didn't take it for granted!

Thank you to Gma and Gpa for being brave enough to take the tribe for us!  After returning home I asked my mom how it went, and her exact words were... 

"We had a blast! I drove and drove and drove!"  

Ya, the two-page schedule I left her with was no joke...She's a rockstar!

Mother's Day dinner oceanside

I hope all the wonderful mothers I know enjoyed a perfect day...You deserve it!!

a night to remember

Chance made the decision to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

He enjoys attending church with grandma and grandpa Day, and thought it was pretty cool when his big brother, Makai, started passing the sacrament on Sundays...something he wants to work toward. So he started taking missionary discussions, and was baptized 4 | 15 | 2012.

We packed the house...I'm talking the crowd was so big, we had to hold it in the chapel! This made me a nervous wreck, because I was giving the opening prayer {and let's just say I'm a little out of practice in that arena.} The program was fantastic though...Aunt Hailey came all the way from Washington to give a fabulous talk on the Holy Ghost, Sister Brandt {Chance's teaching missionary} spoke on Baptism, Grandpa Day did the Baptizing, some generous ward members did a musical number; and G&G Day finished up the program with remarks that were so touching, Chance was on the stand sobbing. He is so tender-hearted...He had most of the audience choked up just because he was choked up!

We had so much support from friends, family, neighbors and ward members from my parent's ward and our Draper ward, it was unbelievable and humbling. We are blessed in countless ways and so grateful to be surrounded by such loving, supporting people!!




Our handsome Man of the Hour



World's Greatest Grandpa was a good choice to do the baptizing

spring break

The kids were out of school for a week for Spring Break, so four of us headed to Palm Springs with G&G Day. Dano and Chance stayed behind for baseball, then we all met up in St. George for Chance's first Super League baseball tourney.




While I worked poolside (not a bad set-up), the kids spent their days in the pool. The weather couldn't have been more perfect! It was so nice to take a break from our regular routines!!



After a few days in the Southern California Desert, we drove to Southern Utah for Chance's baseball tournament - they played 2 games in Mesquite and 2 games in Santa Clara [they ended up splitting 2 wins :: 2 losses.] The weather in St. George wasn't as nice as it was in Palm Springs, but a heck of a lot nicer than it was in SLC...It snowed on April Fool's Day! Needless to say, we were grateful to be elsewhere!!



In between baseball games, we visited with The Mayfield's {a very special couple of grandparents to Dano} It was great spending time with them and introducing the kids to them. They are fantastic people, and we look forward to our next visit...Perhaps when their new home is built {on the lot behind us.}

roll the dice

We host a Dice Party every March in honor St. Patty's Day. We play Left Right Center with 1s and 5s, and it can get very exciting. If you haven't ever played this game, I highly recommend it...It's a riot!



Festive Guests



Some of the gang gathered around waiting for their turn to roll.



Pile 'O Money...That's what winning two rounds looks like the next morning ;-)
Dano isn't Irish, but he was the lucky one this year!

midsummer night's dream

Ms. Larson's 6th grade class performed Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream

Makai (far left) played the part of Lysander

It was fun to watch...He had a lot of lines and did a great job!
His whole class was really good...They had fun costumes and a great backdrop!

Chinese New Year

Chance is still going strong in his 3rd year of learning Mandarin Chinese for half of every school day. Draper Elementary celebrated Chinese New Year with a Mandarin Chinese program. First, second and third graders performed cultural songs and dances. They made awesome masks and a huge dragon. I am amazed at every parent-teacher conference at how awesome it is that my 9-year old is speaking a foreign language. He and his teacher communicate back and forth, then he translates for me. SO impressive!!

sweetheart's

Tanner & Cassidy
Alta Sweetheart's 2012



Tanner was excited and anxious to be going to be sweetheart's with this darling girl, Cassidy Featherstone! And did she ever treat him to a wonderful date and dance! On Friday night they bbq'd at a friend's house and went to a Jazz game. On Saturday, she picked him up in a giant white limo (that Bruno Marz had recently ridden in - very big news to that group of teens, apparently) and they went for dinner at Christopher's in Draper. He had a blast at the dance and made new friend's within his group. So glad my handsome boy is enjoying his Sophomore life!!



Such a cute couple...Loving all that purple (my fave color)
And how gorgeous is her corsage?! Nice work, T-Bone!!

13.1

Half Marathon number 4...Palm Spring 2.12.2012

3:02:27

I've never run during a half before, but this time I was ready to
run for as long as I could. At 4:00 a.m. race morning, I woke up with
severe stomach cramps and the D's...too much information, I know, but I
I was freaking out! How was I gonna go 13.1 when I couldn't even get
off the toilet?! Well, with nothing in my stomach (except Immodium), I
did it! I cried, I stopped four times at port-a-potties (traumatizing),
and I only managed to run 6.5 miles, but I finished, And that makes me
happy enough. You can see what the repeated stops did to my time, but...

SLOW MOTION IS BETTER THAN NO MOTION!





The End!

Hailey and my parents did the 5K with the girls in strollers.
They had a great time, and are looking forward to the next one.



High-fiving the fam at mile 11

I'd rather be in Palm Springs

After we arrived in SoCal, we had some time to kill before grandma's flight arrived, so we took JJ to see the beach. We realized she was only six weeks old the last time we went to the ocean.


We strolled along Sunset, collected shells, walked on the pier and watched surfers at Huntington


We enjoyed the gorgeous view in Newport, read about the Gray Whales migrating during Dec-April, then we spotted whales and dolphins not far from the shore! I was jumping and clapping when I spotted them...you would have thought it was my first time to the coast!

Later that night we drove to the desert, and Hailey & Tatum flew in, too!

In Palm Srings we...


Splash in the hot tub before breakfast...


Take time to stop and smell the flowers...


Go on pretend safaris...


Get plenty of pool time...


Chase bunnies in Papa Mike's golf cart

I'm pretty sure it doesn't get any better than Palm Springs in February!!