Spring Break Overload.

I'm determined to catch up as quickly as possible on the past month+, so I thought I would just pack it in. Before I start, I'll quickly share the past 36 hours, 16 of which were spent driving to and from Utah, 5 were spent sleeping, and the rest of were spent packing, loading, cleaning, visiting, and eating.

 Both Lolo and I felt like it was literally just yesterday when we were moving her in.
Her first year of college flew by.

Remember her temple view and how it was somewhat obstructed/overrun with construction during the course of the past two semesters (reminder here)? Well, it's back to being a beautiful green field... with an annex (or something like that) to the MTC underneath.

It was a smooth and easy move, since we were loading it all up and bringing it home. I could tell Shilo was torn between sadness (to be leaving - especially a lot of her friends) and excitement (to prepare to leave for her mission).  Since she had plans with friends that evening, and Britt and Austin had plans with friends that evening, I stopped by to whisper with Lynnea - still recovering from her tonsillectomy - and to go to dinner with Tay. Afterwards I headed out to Eagle Mountain for a quick night's rest (I was only able to see a sleepy Scarlett for a few brief moments - she may have thought she was having a bad dream, since I'm not her favorite person... yet). Lolo and I drove home today, and I've already made good progress on getting her college gear cleaned up and ready for storage.

Now back to Spring Break.

We started it off with Lex going through the temple for the first time.

Lolo, Mar, and Jason's sister Tierra joined us afterwards for pictures.

 (Thanks, Austin, for being the only one looking at the right camera. Haha.)

That evening we attended Lexee's Bridal Shower given by her Aunts Angela and Robyn, and Grandma Syddall. Adorable decorations, delicious food, and great company!

It was fun to have so many sisters, cousins (including first cousins once removed), friends, aunts, grandmas, a niece, and a future MIL and SIL come and celebrate with Lex.
Doesn't she look happy?

The next day Scarlett crawled for the first time, thanks to those yummy mint m&m's from Lex's shower the night before.

Miso happy that Wonderful Sweet Scarlett saved it for GiGi and Little Billy!!

I love that sweet girl, even if she doesn't reciprocate the feeling right now. That's the bummer of being a grammy that lives far away. Scarlett... tolerates me.

(This is exactly what I mean... can you just see the look of toleration?)


We had a few fun family dinners...
The first Monday night we were going to have fish tacos at Taylor and Lynnea's home, but their electricity went out before we got there, so we deferred to Coneys (yum).

Since we had all the stuff for fish tacos, we made them the following night at Britt's.

 I will be posting my new favorite fish taco recipe on the family recipe blog... soon.

I love it when we all get together to prep and cook dinner - it is a great time for conversation.


On Thursday morning, Bill, Mar and I headed off to WY to The Barn.
It's kind of all about the food there, too.

Someone had the brilliant idea to climb Flat Top - the mountain just behind the farmland behind the farmhouse and The Barn. I've climbed it once before, you know. About 10 years ago. With Taylor and my mom and dad in borrowed old-fashioned-dress-up boots from the DI.
I don't recall it being that difficult.
Hah.

 The pictures make it look deceptively fun and adventurous.
It was a HARD hike, and we were ill-prepared.
(Honestly, I thought because I had my gym shoes it would be exponentially easier than last time. Hah.)

Things we learned:
It could take you 4 hours round trip to hike Flat Top. You might want to eat before you go.
It's a good idea to take a water bottle and to wear sunscreen.
(My brother Marty had brought one solitary water bottle... by the end of the hike we were all passing it around and refilling at the spring at the base of the mountain.)
Coming down can be hazardous, and the shortest looking route is not necessarily the fastest (or safest). It's also a good idea to listen to your wife, (Bill). {wink}
We can do hard things.

This final picture is also deceptive. We were exhausted, dirty, had rocks EVERYWHERE (Mar and I slid down the entire mountain on our behinds), and some of us might have been bleeding. Dehydration, starvation, and sunburn were other possible side effects. (My nose and forehead would be peeling just in time for the wedding... how nice.)

We said good-bye to one cousin,

and hello to others.

We celebrated Lincoln's 7th Birthday...

Girls on wheels. Girls on wheels going away. Girls on wheels going away fast.
(a modification from a Syddall classic, Bears on Wheels)

This guy is a Lego Master.

Bill headed home to CO Saturday afternoon to fulfill his work and church responsibilities.
The girls went to the General Women's Meeting...

...then we played and had fun.

(See those crazy marks on the top left of the picture? That's why we needed a new point-and-shoot.)

We attended church in Afton on Sunday, then headed back to UT on Monday.

The following week is a bit of a blur.
Britt and I shopped for wedding shoes and jewelry for Lex.
Jill and Hannah came in on Tuesday.
These cousins had some quality hang-out time, including a trip to Lagoon by themselves. Yay!

We celebrated my brother Marty's birthday by making him a bunny cake - he had those frequently growing up.

We re-enacted a photo from 40 years earlier...

(yes, we are a bit nerd-ish)

We hoped Shilo's mission call would come, but it didn't.
We listened to General Conference.
I took my kids out to lunch in Provo, then grocery shopped for Shilo's final few weeks of school between sessions of Conference on Saturday.
Mar and I made the trek back home on Easter Sunday.

Whew! That was a good, long Spring Break.
Next up, a good, long wedding post.