4th of July Weekend
TJ had Friday and Monday off, so we had a nice long weekend together. Freedom Festival in Provo, a hike to Donut Falls up Big Cottonwood Canyon, and a BBQ and fireworks with family. Hope you all had a great 4th, too!
Memorial Day Weekend
We had a really great, fun-packed weekend. On Friday, we went down to Springville for a wedding reception for one of TJ’s coworkers. The bride and groom are both graphic designers, so of course their reception was so gorgeous. It was also fun just to have a night out and not worry about bedtimes. Usually I’m a stickler about getting the kids to bed by 7 so I can finish work, get in a workout, or let’s face it… just have time to myself! But we stayed up late, the kids were great, and it was a beautiful evening outside.
Made sure to have my shake before the reception so I wouldn’t be tempted by the desserts. 
Big Boy wants to walk everywhere.
Wish we could have taken that car with us!
Saturday we went up to Salt Lake to celebrate our anniversary. We had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, walked around City Creek and Temple Square, and even watched Eva splash in the splash pad a bit.
Photobombed!
She asked me to take her picture there. It was the sweetest thing.
On Sunday we went to church which was nice because with all of us being sick/taking care of sick kids for the past couple of weeks, we had missed a lot of church. Afterwards, TJ’s brother came over for a big dinner.
Then on Monday, I got to sleep in and then we met up with TJ’s extended family for an afternoon at the park. We spent the whole day there playing spike ball, kickball, bubbles, ice-blocking, and just catching up with everyone. What a great weekend!
First time ice-blocking!
It was a HUGE hill. I walked at least halfway down, then started. Way too scary.
Tulip Festival
We went to the Tulip Festival twice last week at Thanksgiving Point. Our membership got us in free so we went once with TJ’s family and once with friends. The place is so huge, I had no idea. Garden after garden, thousands of flowers! If you come to Utah, you’ve got to check out the gardens, even if it’s not time for the Tulip Festival.
Kentucky Trip
I was able to visit my parents in Kentucky for about two weeks in April. It was my mom’s Spring Break so she had one week off with us and then I also was able to meet some of the clients I work with all the time but have never met. I was even there over my dad’s birthday, which was really fun! The weather was amazing pretty much the entire time so we went on walks down the street almost nightly, got to play outside, go to the park, eat dinners outside on the patio, and even play in the sprinklers. It made the trip so enjoyable and relaxing, exactly what I needed to get me out of a funk!
I’ve got a video coming up for our trip and hopefully some zoo pictures from my dad, but until then… here are a couple instagrams!
Temple Square
On Friday, I took the kids up to Salt Lake and met my friend Sarah for the afternoon. She lived in Jersey while we were there and moved back to Utah around the same time as us. It was fun strolling the city together again!
Temple Square was so beautiful. During the conference broadcast last weekend, they showed clips of the square with all the beautiful flowers so I really wanted to go see it in person, even though we went a couple weeks ago with my sister. So much more was blossoming-it was gorgeous. It reminded me of the day we were married, a little overcast (no hail today, unlike our wedding day) but Spring flowers everywhere! I love being able to take Eva to the temple grounds to show her where we were married and show her the importance of the temple.
A Golden Thank You!
I had a wonderful golden birthday! 27 on the 27th! It was so good, I didn’t even cry about getting closer to 30! So many people sent me messages/texts/calls, it really made my day so special, so thank you all! I always like doing a little time warp to remember what I’ve done in years past… so here goes!
And to thank you for being so kind to me on my birthday, I will now show you adorable/funny pictures of me as a kid!
Hoppy Easter!
Wow, what a great Easter! First off, we received a fun Easter care package in the mail from my parents early on in the week. It’s always so fun to get things in the mail, especially holiday themed! Then on Friday, Eva had an Easter party and egg hunt at school, they even dyed eggs. On Saturday, we headed over to TJ’s parents’ house for another egg hunt with all the cousins. It was so funny to see the kids wandering around the yard. We were so confused why they weren’t taking all the eggs and then figured out each of them only wanted certain colors or kinds. Very particular little kids! They each had a giant egg with their picture on it, filled with a little gift from their grandparents.
On Sunday, Eva woke up after 9 (!!!) and was so excited to search for her Easter basket. The Easter Bunny brought her a little candy, bubbles, and some new ballet slippers since the ones he brought last Easter she has now outgrown. He brought Finn bubbles, socks, and a summer tank top to show off his chubby arms. I prepped for Easter dinner and got ready with some Easter music playing in the background, which always put me in a good mood. After church, we had TJ’s parents over for dinner for a traditional ham dinner, and boy, was it yummy, if I may say so myself! We even got outside for a bit to blow bubbles.
We had a wonderful weekend!
St. Patty’s Day
I’ve never really cared about St. Patrick’s Day. We have no Irish blood and we don’t drink. But all month long Eva has been pinching me for not wearing green, so when it was the actual day where she could pinch me for not wearing green, I figured we should do something to celebrate since she wasn’t in school that day. Thankfully some friends at church threw together a cute playgroup activity complete with a scavenger hunt around church leading the kids to gold (candy). Eva really got into, so at the end I said something like, “Wow, can you believe a leprechaun came and brought us gold?! Soooo cool!” And she replied,
Mom, that was just paper footprints on the ground someone put there.
Hmmmm… I guess she wasn’t fooled too easily that day. But her cousin’s lunch was turned green by a leprechaun and she of course believed that story so I think she does believe in leprechauns after all. Either way, at least Finn got to wear this cute little outfit. His name is Irish, so it was necessary that he wear a shirt with suspenders and an Irish looking (?) hat. Seriously… aren’t these kids some of the cutest you’ve ever seen???
A Night at the Opera
My good friend Hannah was in town and I had tickets to see Aida one night, so we headed up to SLC and made an evening out of it. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then walked around City Creek afterwards. I loved walking around a city again, it made me want to go up there more often and take advantage of all the shows and concerts SLC has to offer. And as for my first opera, I loved it. Some of the music was even familiar to me, which always makes those types of things more enjoyable. I can’t wait for my bff to move back here this summer so we can have more girls’ nights like this again!
I am a firm believer in this little mantra, too. Three kids...April 30, 2017 - 9:00 pm by Carlee
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I love the calendar! Great work, TJ.March 30, 2017 - 8:47 pm by Jeanette