Celebrating Easter

Easter was early this Spring, March 31st. We were lucky enough to have warm and dry weather. Watson is now old enough to have a real conversation about what it means that Jesus continues to live and because He died and resurrected, we will too. I love to hear his 3 year old logic--something about how Jesus saved all of his friends. It works. He knows the truth about our Savior. I'm grateful for the One who is over all and makes sure things will be fair, in the end. I'm grateful for loving teachers and leaders that teach me and my family about why we follow the Savior and how it will bring peace to our lives. I'm grateful for this special time of year when all comes back to life after a long and hard winter. (Again, we miss Chandler this holiday, but he is always in our thoughts and prayers.)

I'm also grateful for the fun Grandma Nettie creates as she continues our childhood traditions. The Easter Bunny visited her house the Saturday before Easter. He always finds good hiding spots for the baskets and makes sure the kids have a great egg hunt.
And, of course, EVERYTHING is more fun with all the cute cousins.

Warmer Weather and Family Bonding

We were SO, SO excited for Chandler to come home. He had left to Florida almost three months ago and we missed him so much. I don't know that I looked forward to Spring Break this much before! We met him at the airport on Wednesday night at 9 and made our way to warmer weather in St. George. We spent great time together, getting reacquainted and connecting. Chandler was excited to be home and a bit tired from traveling. During our stay we ate great food--we love Bear Paw Cafe for brunch. We had so much fun hiking in Zions National Park. Watson was  a good sport and kept up most of the time. The boys (meaning Scott, Chandler, and Watson) loved playing by the water, skipping rocks and trying to make the biggest splash. I've discovered boys can be happy just about anywhere if there are water and rocks. We spent hours doing this. We had a great time swimming at the hotel and staying up late. After our three day trip we headed home. Chandler had a good time with friends the rest of the break and we fit in more family time with fishing and lots of family dinners. The week went by so quickly! It was hard to see Chandler leave again. We love and miss him. He really is such a big part of our little family.

 We stumbled upon this funny little gift shop with a ghost town. The boys ran around and explored each little building and fed the animals carrots. 

 We decided to be a bit adventurous by renting a Razr and goofing around in the sand dunes. Scott and Chandler had a great time. Watson and I were with them for half the time as the sunny weather was deceptive about the actual temperature. We were freezing. We opted for a movie while the other two went back out for their own adventure.

Our drive home was quiet. It seemed we wore out the two little guys sufficiently. I think a family trip is a success if the kids fall asleep on the way home. As a side note, I had a funny conversation with Chandler about the difference between a trip and a vacation. I said a trip is what you take with your family. It requires work and preparation and typically isn't restful for the parents. A 'vacation' is when Mom and Dad get away to some place they don't have to think about or prepare meals or direct activities. I like both, but usually after a 'trip' I'm ready for a 'vacation.' 
I'm grateful we had this time together. It was a great blessing for our family.

Some Love

This year Valentine's Day was filled of tender hearts and love. Thanks to Challey, I got some time to be creative making yummy sugar cookies. Watson got a little "friend" to push around. We had plenty of sweets around here. Sweet Scott brought me flowers and my favorite chocolates, See's toffee. We enjoyed a quiet night with our little family, eating dinner together and playing games. I love Valentine's Day and the moments we have to openly express our love for each other.

One of The Best

We were so lucky to plan a little vacation with our best friends, Bill and Sadie Pierce. Last July we made a plan to take a trip together in January 2013. This plan led us to Cancun, Mexico. The Pierce's generously shared a little condo with us and we had so much fun! The day we got there we checked into the Mayan Palace Resort in Playa del Carmen. We explored the area a little and ended up at a local hangout called Cheesters. The rolls and pasta and salad were phenomenal. The best part was talking to the owner, a certified diver, and getting tips for the best places to snorkel. It was a great spot to start our adventure. We then loaded up on breakfast and groceries at the nearby Chedraui. We were ready!

 Scott and Bill couldn't wait to get in the water in Playa del Carmen. They snorkeled with a school of tuna and "almost got killed" by dive bombing pelicans fishing.

Day 2: We spent the day snorkeling at Yal-Ku. We saw all kinds of fish, a couple of giant tortoise and lots of colorful coral. We also shopped a little in Akumal and ended with a delicious dinner at La Buena Vida. It was fantastic to relax and enjoy the beauty of Mexico.

 Day 3: We decided a good Sunday activity was touring Chichin-itza. We did attempt to attend sacrament meeting, but missed the beginning and middle. On our drive out to the famous Mayan ruin we saw little shacks and ate a roadside snack. We had a wonderful tour guide at the Ruins. He explained so much about the lost people and their possible daily activities. It was amazing to consider the science they accessed in spite of no current technology. After leaving Chichin-itza we found the little restaurant our tour guide recommended in Piste. The buffet was interesting and definitely authentic. 

Day 4: We wanted to experience some culture of the area so opted to visit Xcaret. It was amazing. We swam in underground rivers, bought Mexican pottery and jewelery, saw different animals and enjoyed a fantastic celebration dinner and show. It was a fun place to be for the day.

Day 5: Our adventures had worn us out a bit and our Resort was beautiful. We decided to spend some time poolside in a lovely Palapa. We read, napped, got massages and pedicures and ate lunch. It was so relaxing. No pressures, no kids, no obligations. It was  wonderful. Later we explored Playa del Carmen again and tried some 'cowhead' tacos. We finished with dinner at El Fogon...so good we ate there one other time this trip!

 Day 6: Bill and Sadie suggested we visit the ruins in Coba. These pyramids were open to the public for climbing and exploring. Again, I was amazed at the ability the ancient people had to construct these massive structures. Their history definitely seemed to be in line with the Lamanites. It was very interesting. We also visited amazing cenotes. These are cave like openings you climb down to with fresh water from underground rivers. The water is clear and deep and cool. The coral is beautiful. Many of them were just scattered around and you paid a small fee to the lone man monitoring the lighting of the cave. One cenote had little diving platforms, one at 15 feet and another at 35 feet. I braved the 15 footer, Scott, of course, the 35 footer. It was amazing! We wore ourselves out sufficiently and ended the night with yummy dinner, again at El Fogon.

Day 7: On the advice of the Cheester's owner, we took a little ferry out to Las Isla Mujeres. It was a cute little island. Unfortunately, our good luck with sunny weather ended and it rained most of the time we were there. We made the best of it by touring the island with a golf cart and laughing as we off roaded unintentionally. We ended the night back in Playa del Carmen with Smoothies and Ribs, and salads from Cheester's. 

Day 8: We ended our sweet vacation with lunch at a little street cafe and parted ways at the airport. 

The best part of our vacation was spending time with Bill and Sadie. We love them. They are such good people. We are so grateful to know them and look forward to spending time with them again. 

It was so fun to get away and enjoy time together, especially after the challenges of the previous year. Thankfully, Watson had just as good as time as us with Natalie, my mom, and my siblings. We are so blessed.

Some Fun

I thought it would be fun to make the boys a little gift to start off the year. Watson and Dad loved them. I sent Chandler's to Florida with lots of love from home. I got a double thumbs up!

Our new SUNBEAM!

Look who has graduated to Primary! He was so excited to become a Sunbeam, you can see it shining in his cute little face. We so love him!

Lucky Number 7

January 6, 2013, marks SEVEN years of our marriage. I can't believe it! It seems like not so long ago we made sacred promises in the Jordan River Temple. But, here we are--time has moved forward quickly. I'm so grateful for Scott and his constant loyalty and love. I feel so blessed to be his wife and companion. We have been tremendously blessed this past year in finding ways to communicate better and love more. The last few years have been "exciting." I look forward to many, many more together as we continue to created a grateful life.

We celebrated our anniversary with dinner at Bambara, the restaurant in our honeymoon hotel. And Scott surprised me with beautiful roses. It was great to be together and continue to plan for our future. I love him.