Spring Break 2016: Utah

The thought of going through these pictures and posting about Spring Break has seemed like too daunting a task lately, but finally this afternoon after checking a million other items off my to-do list I decided it was go time. That little introduction makes this seem like much more of a chore than it actually is because looking at these pictures of all our fun Utah adventures brings back so many super fun memories I can hardly stand it, but you know how it goes when there are 2,000 pictures looking you in the face!

In full disclosure, I was straight rubbish at taking pictures on this trip. Luckily Ash and Mad picked up my slack in a big way because without their pictures my kids would never even know they went to Utah for Spring Break! Also, because these pictures are coming from all sorts of email, phones, cameras, etc. they are all crazy out of order--and heaven forbid I take the time to organize them! I think the crazy order in this post might just be a metaphor for my life these days.

Excuse me while I travelogue away (although in the interest of time, and sanity, I'll mostly let the pictures do the talking). Follow along if you dare! 

The kids and I drove out to Utah on our own since James still had to work. Basically the nearly 12 hours in the car were occupied by the boys fighting over the ipad, Quinn screaming at the top of her lungs and me trying to decide whether or not my bladder would have mercy on me until the next pit stop. Adult diapers were something I really should have considered. We all sang a hallelujah chorus when we saw Y Mountain in the distance, although Quinny's praises sounded kind of like the same screeches she had been making for the last 12 hours and the boys' sounded like whining. My hallelujah's were full of legitimate praise because there were times when I thought we might not EVER make it!

The boys escaped the car in search for Kai's toys/room/backyard within seconds which left Quinny and I at the car when Logan and Ashleigh came out to greet up. That little baby still favors men to a crazy degree and seriously wouldn't even look in Ash's direction (but jumped right into her Uncle Gogo's arms). We all try not to let it hurt our feelings, but girlfriend is relentless! I love the picture above with the babies in the shopping cart because it was at that moment that Quinny finally, FINALLY, would acknowledge Aunt Ash's presence and give her the lovin' she deserves.

And yes, those two paragraphs describing that one picture is my attempt at being brief. It's one of my talents.

Quinny loved playing in Aunt Ash's jewelry box and stealing all of her necklaces and bracelets. Turns out Quinn might just have a girly side after all! (Sorry baby girl that your Mama doesn't have Aunt Ash's skills...)

This picture cracks me up. It's amazing that pictures even exist where more than one child is looking at the camera! All three of us moms were doing dances trying to get these kids attentions but they simply weren't having it. Except Ever Knight, bless you Ever Knight!

This picture is one of my very favorites! Talmage has been desperate to hike the Y every time we go to Utah but it always seems like our schedules get away from us and we don't have time. This trip we were determined to make it happen so James and Logan got up early one Saturday morning and took the big boys on their own little excursion (sans crazy Quinn, whiny Ever and prego Mama). It was freezing and harder than he imagined it would be, but he was SO proud of his accomplishment and especially liked his hot chocolate reward from Kneader's at the end.

Ashleigh posted this picture on instagram with a caption about hiding your wallets when shopping with me! The funny thing is that I thought I was going way low-key this year and Ash said she spent double the money she usually spends...hahaha! And whoops! I guess the magic of the holidays sometimes get to me, and to James' money! ;)

Ash and I had a sisters date before the Women's Session of General Conference and went out to get our nails done, shopping and then to dinner. It was SO much fun to spend so much one-on-one time with her (even if I did order us a HUGE plate of sweet potato fries as an appetizer totally forgetting that she does not like sweet potato fries!) I dream of the day that we'll be able to hang like this more often, but for now it's just the sweetest memories when it does occur.

James and I also got to go on a hot date to SLC to see our amazing friend Erin Morley sing in The Messiah with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square. She is one of the most talented people I know and watching her sing left me in total awe. We sat next to the Soukup's at the performance and met up with the Allenbach's afterwards and the night left us feeling so grateful for the incredible people our stint in NYC brought to our lives. Do I have pictures of our fun friends? No! Just one of us kissing in front of that gorgeous mountain. This is the view right outside Ash's front door which in James' mind means she lives in the Celestial Kingdom!!!

A trip to Lehi Bakery to visit our dear Crystalyn and eat her family's perfect donuts was a must and the best. She spoiled us with a tour of the bakery, warm freshly glazed donuts and threw in a few of her favorites to the mounds we requested. I'm a donut fanatic and have had some of the best from around the country, but I kid you not their chocolate bar (my donut of choice) was THE BEST I've ever tasted. They have just the right amount of chew to them and they use real chocolate frosting on top. I want another one more than I can even tell you right now. Just yum.

James was just looking at this picture over my shoulder (while massaging my back, because it's hard work to be pregnant and to blog simultaneously) and said, "That's such a good picture. I just wish Chase and Meghan had been there too." Amen to that! This was at the Museum of Curiosity at Thanksgiving Point which was two thumbs way up.

This is the view out of Ash's back window. Like whoa, amiright? James and I were driving down their street and all of a sudden he was all, "God must love me so much because LOOK AT THOSE MOUNTAINS!" James loves the mountains like I love donuts. Enough said.

This little bunny really loved that she got her own big bag of graham cracker bears in her basket. You should have seen her going to town on those!

After church on Easter Sunday we went down by the river to take some family pictures. Quinn had been throwing up the couple days prior (and a few more family members went down for the count that night and the next day) but this moment by the water with my little family was just bliss.

Baby bump at 30 weeks!!! This is the biggest by far I've ever been at this point, but this is my fourth baby so it's probably just as it should be! I really love my cute bump and this part of pregnancy so I'm trying to soak it all up. 

I don't think this picture needs any explaining, it's by far my favorite picture in the world right now!!! Let's just say we were admiring each other's assets! ;)

We absolutely could not keep this girls shoes on the whole time we were in Utah. All of a sudden we'd notice she only had one shoe on and we'd find the closest spare we could to fill the void. Mad and I laughed so hard when we saw this darling picture she had taken and then noticed the mismatched shoes. Oh well, it's a great story!

The triplet pictures above make me so happy. I know these babies must have been best friends in heaven and it was no coincidence that they all blessed our family in the same month. I'm so happy we've been able to get them together so often and I hope they'll always know how much they're loved.

James wanted to make the trip back home less of a grueling drive and more of a fun experience. Quinn threw up for the first hour of the trip and T threw up for the last two hours of the trip (fun!) but in between we really did have a great time. We decided to drive the 3 mile loop in Kolob Canyon and it did not disappoint. Sure, Ever refused to get out of the car more than once but the rest of us were awe-struck by the beauty of the red rock. Someday soon we hope to visit Zions and Bryce and the Grand Canyon and Lake Powell, but for now this offered a great vista and was right off the freeway. #winning

Bare feet and crazy hair is basically Quinny's recipe for success! And Daddy...he is most definitely on her need list!

Shake Shack for lunch on the strip in Vegas was also a win. Sure, we have a Shake Shack in LA now but there are McDonald's everywhere and that doesn't stop people from driving through, right? It was at this point that we realized Talmage was going downhill so our stay was short, but I'd consider this a successful first visit to the strip for my favorite four up there!

I wish Spring Break was every week and we could party with our fun family more often. Thanks for being such a great hostess Ash! As always we had the best time with you and yours!

I think I chose that good part

My boys are all about April Fools jokes today. It actually started yesterday when I was walking T home from school and he said, "Guess what Mom, no homework today!" and in the very same breath yelled, "APRIL FOOLS!" (The things they learn at school these days...) He started laughing hysterically while Quinny laughed along (because she adores Talmage like you can't imagine) and Everett stared at him blankly like, what the heck has gotten into you? The next block brought a long explanation from T to Ev about how on the first day of April it's really funny to say or do tricky things and then yell April Fools as loud as you can. Ever thought the idea brilliant and so they used yesterday as a practice run and today they've been all about it. "We ran out of milk for our cereal, APRIL FOOLS!" "I don't like tomatoes in my lunch anymore, APRIL FOOLS!" "I think it's crazy hair day at school, APRIL FOOLS!" Luckily it's all been tame and silly, and both boys think it's the funniest. There was a line drawn in the sand, however, when T mentioned that they should take out the cream filling from an oreo, fill it with soap, and try to feed it to a friend. Ever's face squished in disgust and he put one hand on his hip and said, "Dat. is. so. wuuuuuude! Dey would eat dat oweo and it would be disgusting. How about we just give dem a good oweo? You don't want to waste a good cookie." T thought about it for a moment and then agreed that the soap idea was not a good one. I laughed so hard over T's sneaky ideas, Ever's animated reaction, and their agreement to go back to the drawing board for a new trick. 

April fools day is funny and my boys are the best, but really I sat down today to write about cutie Quinny. We spent our Spring Break in Utah so this week I've spent a lot of time playing catch-up. Laundry, bills, cleaning, organizing, planning, shopping, doctor's appointments and other to-do's have filled my days and nights...and nightmares! In theory Quinn and I share a lot of alone time while the boys are in school but in reality that time is usually spent scurrying around at neck-breaking speeds trying to get things accomplished before the after-school rush ensues. By Wednesday Quinny was desperate for fun and attention. She followed me from room to room as I tried to put away laundry crying, "Sooos, a-sigh. Peaaaaas!" (Translation: Shoes, outside and please!) In an instant I put down the laundry, scooped up my baby, and we headed out for a morning of fun at the park. She insisted on wearing her necklace and shades but I drew the line at the backwards Yankees hat she wanted to wear--it was her first time in little mullet piggies for goodness sake and I couldn't have her covering them up! From the park we headed to pick up Ev, and then it was time for lunch and naps (Quinn in the kids room, Ever in mine). Before long we were picking up T, racing to get our homework done and dinner started and then rushing off to the boys' gymnastics class. We got home at the exact same time James arrived home from work and all the way up the elevator I explained to him how crazy the afternoon was, how Quinny needed me all morning, and basically how our apartment still looked like a bomb went off with suitcases, laundry, toys and junk everywhere. He opened the door and quickly realized that I wasn't kidding, it was ugly. But then he turned to me and said, "You know what, I think you chose that good part." His words and confidence in my decision really touched me, and I've thought about it a lot the past couple of days. James, of course, was referencing the scriptural account of Mary and Martha who were both trying to serve their Savior in different ways (which were by all accounts both good ways) but Mary's approach of sitting at the Master's feet was better than Martha's approach of fixing dinner. It reminded me of a favorite Conference talk I hadn't read in ages, but found once more, called "Choosing Charity: That Good Part" by Bonnie D. Parkin. My favorite passage says:

          "Like Mary, I hunger to feast at the Savior’s feet, while, like Martha, I need to somehow find the laundry room floor, empty my in-box, and serve my husband something other than cold pizza. I have 15 grandchildren whose tender little spirits and daily challenges I want to better understand, yet I also have a slightly demanding Church calling! I don’t have lots of time. Like all of you, I have to choose. We all are trying to choose the good part which cannot be taken from us, to balance the spiritual and the temporal in our lives. Wouldn’t it be easy if we were choosing between visiting teaching or robbing a bank? Instead, our choices are often more subtle. We must choose between many worthy options."

Don't you just love that? With so many little kids with so many activities, a busy husband, my church calling and school responsibilities, running a household plus my desire to still know me in the mix of all that it is so hard to find that good part because it's almost all good! It's about finding the best in a good, better, best situation. My inner-Martha is a force to be reckoned with and oh how I love an organized space and a to-do list chock-full of checkmarks, and frankly I know that serving my family by cleaning and shopping and cooking is showing love. But on this occasion I'm glad that my Mary won and I showed my love for Quinny by pushing her on the swings, collecting mounds of sticks and cheering as she slid down the really big slides. I agree with James, I think I did choose that good part. I hope I remember to do it more often.

"Sooos, a-sigh. Peeaaasss!"

One thing I hope I remember about Quinny is how fun she is to take to the park. (On the playground she makes me a nervous wreck because she has no fear, but at the park she is a little dreamboat.) She notices EVERYTHING! She picks up sticks and rocks, she barks at every dog, greets every fellow park-goer and chases every squirrel. She giggles and screams when an airplane or helicopter pass overhead and she desperately tries to join any sports practice happening nearby--regardless of the players age. She makes new friends by naming off their body parts, "Eye! Nose! Bewy!" (Belly button, and yes she tries to lift up their shirt!) and there's not a snack known to man she is not wanting to and willing to share.  She's a firecracker that one, and I love her so much.