50th Golf Trip

Jim turns 50 years old this year! exclamation point.

And since every week of this year is jam packed from here on out, we celebrated in March by going on a golf trip to St. George. 

I didn't golf. Jim and his friends golfed. To be clear. 

Thursday when we got into town we went and visited Sharley and then we visited G and G. 

We looked at all of J Glenn's model trucks/trailers he makes out of POPSICLE STICKS, and looked at his guns. It was fun to have Joe and Lisa hear all the legendary Glenn stories about getting robbed twice while living in Wells NV etc. 

Jim golfed all day with his buds,

like long lost Micah.

Me and Lisa and Whitney hiked to Hellhole. 

Then we went to the new temple. 

We new Laura was working, so we hoped to run into her while were were there. 

I didn't realize how HUGE  this temple is. So immediately I realized we would have to get real lucky to see her.

But right as we were walking up the stairs, there she was standing at a doorway! 

Saturday Jim golfed with is long lost buddy Derick, who is now a fabulous oncologist in St. George. 

Sand Hollow. 

We didn't get sunburned. 

It was so hot and so fun!
Jim golfed 4 days in a row. 

Don't ask me how. 

 

K is for There Would Still Be More

...there would still be more!

and more! 

to be thanKful for.

(that's from a song learned in primary this month).

This year we flew to St. George for Thanksgiving. I am so thankful for easy, free flights to see family.

It was stress free, pretty wide open flights, we all sat together and the flight attendants gave us free snacks. 

They treat us like royalty, and the kids sat together and did their own thing. 

I'm thankful for family to spend the weekend with. 

I'm so thankful for all the dogs - the house full of the sweetest dogs. 

There was Murphy of course, but we were also dog sitting Morgan's dog and Grandma Cook's dog. 

Those two big dogs are the best dogs ever. 

Murphy has such a tender heart. He literally hugs you when you sit/stand by him. He makes each one of us feel special and loved. 

That may seem silly and whatever, but I am positive he feels the sadness that has been in this house for 4 years, and he has become the best therapy dog. He was always a great dog, but this trip specifically he was so attentive to every person. So many hugs and so much love. 

Dogs just know things that are invisible. 

I'm thankful for sunshine and healthy bodies.

Thanksgiving morning Sharley took us to these stairs to get some exercise. 

Jamie and her girls also met us there. I only did three laps, but the other kids and Jim and Sharley did 6 laps. 

I am not kidding when I say we were all hobbling around SORE in the calves from this fun activity. 

I loved it. 

I'm so thankful for good food.

I'm thankful that Sharley has found a special friend (boyfriend!). She is so so happy and is having so much fun, and I am so happy for her. It feels so good to hear her laugh and play and joke. 

I'm so thankful for my kids and their unique personalities. 

It's truly miraculous that each child could come from the same set of genes and be so completely different. 

Avery is so wise,

Evan is so playful,

 Andrew is so quirky. 

Teddy is so playful too. They are a good team. 

I'm so thankful for the Christmas season.

Lights and excitement and traditions. 

My kids are so excited to watch Christmas movies and do all our traditions. It's such a fun and fast month. 

I'm thankful for the memories Jim and I have of our lives in Southern Utah together. 

My college years were some of my favorite and Jim was right there in it. 

I'm thankful for the temple. It's so good. 

I'm thankful for hikes, and SUNSHINE. Did I already mention the sunshine?

Sandstone and views and memories. 

Evan remembered this hike from about 10 years ago. Little Andrew bonked his head on some rock outcropping that day.  

It was a fun, fast trip.

Puzzles, so much food, cousins, dogs, always a full belly, Grandma and Grandpa, rolls, swimming with Damon, shopping with Reese/Sammy.

New Years in St. George

We made a quick trip to St George for New Years. 

We haven't been there in so long! 

Look at that blue sky. 

We of course went to Pizza Factory, then on the drive back to G and G, we drive to the old neighborhoods and see whats changed and what's the same.

We drove up to Jim's childhood home and there was a "little library" out front with a give and take puzzle edition!

How awesome is that? 

We got three, and ended up working on the zoo animals one. 

It was a fun one!

For new years eve we visited the Funks, then drove to the top of a hill to watch some fire works. 

It was about 10 at night and we decided we would go eat some In and Out. 

It was delicious.

Then we hung out at G and G's, working on the puzzle. We really tried to finish before the new year, but we didn't quite make it. 

Every night we stayed up super late. We were only there for two full days, book ended by travel days, so we enjoyed every minute that we could.

Andrew was our scheduler. He made a list of the mandatory activities both days - things like: 

visit Murphy, 

visit Grandma Cook in Cedar,

 visit SUU,

swim, 

hike up the hill...

he kept us on schedule. 

We don't come back to SUU often, but when we do, our heads explode.

Jim and I just cannot get a grip on the amount of nostalgia. 

I just can't even explain it. It's the thickest, richest feeling.

I'm so happy Jim was a part of those four years because they are my most favorite time of my life. 

Zion!

 

V is for VISITORS

I feel so lucky that we were able to go to St. George for Thanksgiving this year. 

We woke up so early and flew down as the sun came up.

The plane was pretty empty, so we got spoiled with lots of room and lots of treats from the flight attendants.

Renting a car is always the worst unknown, and this time it was insane. Two hours of chaos later we were on our way to The Funks. 

We just dropped in to a warm, smell good house full of food and family busy cooking all the meal for us. 

We ate and did puzzles and watched movies. 

Lots of pie. Pie is my favorite. 

The next night we went to the desert Christmas lights. 

Saturday Riley had a booth at the Farmer's Market, so we went and bought stuff and helped her clean up when it was over.

We met up with Rob and Mary and ate pizza, 

and watched the live nativity. It was cold, so good thing it was super short and sweet. 

I would say the highlight of the trip was playing with their dogs. haha

Such sweetie pie dogs. 

Murphy would tuck us in and wake us up in the morning. 

Koda didn't mind that we were having a good time with other dogs behind her back...

We cheated on her, she cheated on us. It's all good. 

haha She loves Kyle so much. Kyle is her boyfriend. 

It felt so good to be with family. It feels like there's never enough family time. 

We needed

 one more day with the Funks

one more hour with Rob and Mary.