Spring in Utah

This is what we woke up to this morning MAY 24th...SNOW. You never know what kind of weather you will get during the spring in Utah. We had mixed feelings about the snow at our house. Zach and Ryan were not happy because this meant yet more cancelled baseball games. Jason and I were not happy because we were worried about our garden and flowers that have already been planted. But Owen was thrilled. He got his snowpants, boots and gloves on and went out to play. How often do you get to build a snowman in May?

Spring Soccer

This spring Owen finally got to play his first sport. He's been to many soccer, baseball and football games to support his brothers, but now they get to come support him and he loves it. Jason so kindly decided to coach Owen's team, but I don't think he realized how much patience it would take to herd 11-4 year olds. After the first game of trying to tell the kids where to stand and what to do he found it easier to just physically pick them up and move them to the correct spot. It's been a lot of fun watching Owen get so excited about "making scores." It's also been fun to have his cousins Luke and Ethan on his team.

playing defense

Tulip Festival

Grammy took Owen and I, along with Jenny and Chase to go see the beautiful tulips at the Thanksgiving Point Gardens. It was a little bit chilly, but the boys had fun running around the grounds while we enjoyed the thousands of blooming tulips. We didn't actually make it to the gardens during the official festival, but the tulips were still in full bloom when we went. After our walk around the gardens Grammy took us to the Trellis Cafe where we ate a yummy lunch. Thank you, Grammy for a fun day.

Braces! Phase 1

Unfortunately for Zach he will probably have to have braces twice. This first time is to fix his underbite, crossbite and expand the roof of his mouth. The second time (if needed) will be to straighten his teeth. Luckily he was excited to get them. I'm not so sure the excitement about them will last.

Before

Getting ready!
During
After

Family Vacation (1 of 3)

We have been wanting to take the kids on a vacation for some time, but we always have some sport that the kids are playing that we can't miss. We finally found a week that only one baseball game was scheduled so we took advantage and headed to Newport Beach. We decided to give the kids a big thrill and fly (they have wanted to for so long). In fact, Zach has told me more than once that he is the only 10 yr old that has never flown on an airplane. They loved flying and it was nice for Jason and I to only have to keep them busy for 1 1/2 hours instead of 12 hours. During the flight Zach and Ryan got out their DS's and started "texting." A couple of girls on the plane got their DS out and joined their chat. Zach was a little put off that "some girls just joined their chat." But Ryan was thrilled. His opening line to the girls was "Hello Ladies!" The "ladies" kept Ryan and Zach entertained for the rest of the flight.

The first thing we did when we got to Newport Beach was go to the beach. The weather report had said that is was supposed to be warm and sunny. It was not. But the kids loved seeing the ocean for the first time and the cold weather couldn't keep them out of the water. Even though it wasn't as warm as we would have liked we had a fun time searching for sea shells and playing in the sand.

Family Vacation (2 of 3)

The second day we were on vacation we went to Knott's Berry Farm. Zach and Ryan LOVED it. There were no crowds and lots of thrill rides to keep your heart racing. There was a couple of rides that Ryan was not sure about but Zach tackled everything. Owen was too small to go on most of the rides, so while the older boys were on a ride Owen got a treat. He ate a lot of treats that day.

They did have some kiddie rides. Ryan was a nice brother and took Owen on this one.

The next day we went to Disneyland. We hadn't planned on going, but at the last minute decided to go. Since we hadn't planned on it we only went to Disneyland and not California Adventure. The older kids (and Jason) did NOT love it. They wanted more thrill and less frill. It was nice for Owen because he could ride almost everything. They all did love Space Mountain and we had fun as a family on Splash Mountain, but I think that may be their one and only time at Disneyland.

Family Vacation (3 of 3)

We drove down to San Diego and went to the Zoo. Our favorite animals were the Polar Bears; we watched them frolic for almost an hour and a half. They were so entertaining wrestling with each other, playing with balls and cones and jumping in the water.

We did have a couple of sunny days that we spent at the beach. We tried to get Ryan to boogie board but he wouldn't go far enough into the ocean to actually catch a wave. He thought he was boogie boarding, but really he was just sand boarding, but he still had fun. Jason, Zach and I braved the freezing cold water and caught some waves. Jason and I endured the cold but sissy Zach had to have a wet suit! It really was cold.

Owen loved the beach and found some friends to help him collect seaweed to put in a hole.

Our last day in Newport was a Sunday so we decided to go see the Newport Beach temple. The grounds were beautiful. Jason took the opportunity to talk with the boys about the importance of temples and of the special and sacred things we do inside. It was a good teaching moment and made me grateful for my wonderful husband who teaches our boys.

We spent the rest of our last day playing at the beach. It was nice to just relax and be together as a family.