Jam-packed May

These past few weeks have been jam-packed with something almost every day! I would be nieve to say that summer will be relaxing, because it never is, but certainly the tightness of our schedules loosen up, and I'm looking forward to that!! Connor and I ran a 5K together. Connor took 4th!
Connor participated in the Hope of America program.
It is absolutely inspiring!!

Connor and his friend following Hope of America.

Alyssa participated in a Renaissance Festival at school. It really was amazing!

We had the pleasure of having Sean and Melissa's kids stay with us for a few days. Love those kids!!

Sean and Parker "rolled" this thing all over our back yard with the kids trying to stay upright in side! I've never heard more giggles! Funny side note: our home teacher gave this to us for free, his kids were older, and I accepted it to be nice however, secretly plotting to take it straight to the dump. 5 years later, it is something my kids have used over and over and OVER! Who knew! Ashlyn participated in a children's choir this past Spring, and they had a darling concert!

I don't know if you can tell, but Ashlyn has the pink poka dot headband. (to the left of the director). They were all supposed to wear just black and white, which was extremely stressful for Ashlyn. So I agreed to let her stick in that headband....funny girl!

Love Being a MOM!

Happy Mother's Day!! I had a wonderful weekend, did you?

In fact, the Mother's Day love came extra early when my Parker boy treated me to a wonderful dinner with his Deacon's Quorum on Wednesday. The boys had spent their previous weekday activity reviewing proper etiquette, so they were prepared to treat their moms with all the respect and love they deserve. Around 6:40pm (started at 7:00pm) I was in the bathroom finishing my hair and makeup. When I sprayed that last burst of hairspray, Parker smiled with a slight nod of his head and said, "lookin' good!"

Smiling, I thanked him and returned the compliment. He then took my arm and escorted me out of the bathroom and around the house as I gathered my keys and coat so we could head to the church.

He opened all the doors, pulled the chair, placed my napkin on my lap, and engaged me in a nice conversation, "so mom, how was your day?" We had a delicious dinner, and each of the moms had the privilege of sharing something we love about our sons. It was one of the funnest evenings ever!

So proud of the young man Parker is growing up to be!

We took home a red rose and a small box of chocolates. :)

We had Karl's family over on Saturday for an early Mother's Day celebration.

(Me, Karl's wonderful mom, Eleanor, and Lisa, Karl's brother's wife...love her too!)

Mother's Day morning in bed! Taylor wrapped my presents 2 days prior, and was simply tortured that he had to wait for Sunday for me to open them.

The kids and Karl treated me to a delicious breakfast out on our patio. Beautiful morning!

We quickly opened presents before church. I got a bunch of gum, sour patch kids, 'cause I love them! (no wonder Taylor was anxious for me to open my gifts...) A really NICE pillow that I needed, and an armband to hold my iTouch for when I run.

Parker ran home from church and had a big plate of fruit waiting for me for lunch! After church, while the kids were playing in the backyard, Karl and I went for a very relaxing scooter ride through Alpine. It was sweet to see all the families gathered in their backyards, celebrating their moms!

On Sunday I hosted my family for dinner and dessert. We girls didn't lift a finger! I assigned my brothers and dad various food items to bring, and they came through with flying colors! We provided some rice and Italian Chicken and it all worked out.

(L-R Melissa (Sean), me, mom, Stephanie (Nathan), and Melissa (Aaron)

More Zion...

Here are some Zion pics from Karl's camera. He always takes pictures that make my kids look like they're on the edge of something, just to scare me. However on the hike to Angel's Landing, they REALLY were on the edge, for most of the hike! I did it once, probably never again...:)

"I...can't...hold...on..much...longer...!"