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.

Good Things To Come.

There are so many things to catch up on, but today my thoughts are with Jason and Lex. They left to drive to Austin, TX last night around 10:30. They had timed their trip perfectly so they could get moved into their apartment today, with extra time JUST IN CASE there were some hiccups. Bill and I had spent the day yesterday helping them sort wedding gifts, deposit money, consolidate gift cards, return duplicates, wash laundry, pack, and load up their little Volvo in preparation for their 4-month summer-sales job in Texas. The anxiety in the air was occasionally thick enough to cut with a karate chop.

I thought it was about time for things to go smoothly after their arduous trip from their honeymoon-in-Mexico to Utah (including a long, long delay in Houston, and an arrival time in Salt Lake around 4am), then driving from Utah to Colorado on Friday. On that particular day there was a late start for schools here in Parker due to SNOW. As I listened to the news that morning, I heard that I-70 had been closed in both directions because of accidents. "Be sure and take I-80," I told Lex before they headed out after a few hours of sleep at Grandma and Grandpa G's. Unfortunately, none of us looked up the conditions on I-80. Poop.

Lex and Jason arrived in Rock Springs only to discover that I-80 was CLOSED from Rock Springs to Cheyenne. That's pert near the entire width of Wyoming. They weren't sure WHY the freeway was closed, (you can see and hear why here... I'm warning you, it makes your tummy and heart hurt - there was another 59-vehicle crash yesterday in the same general area... dangerous road!) and after waiting around for an hour, decided their best course would be to turn back and go on I-70. They stopped in Provo to have dinner with Lolo around 7ish, before starting on their journey once again. 

I do not drive at night if at all possible. Jason, on the other hand, seems to prefer it. I was so worried about road conditions over the mountains, I texted every hour or two to see how things were going. It wasn't until later the next day that Jason told us he had never been more nervous and sure of impending death as he was when they exited the Johnson Tunnel and started making their way down that darn 7% grade to Denver. It was slick, snowy, and icy.

They arrived in Parker around 5am Saturday morning. Yep, that was the day of the Open House.

Let it be written that the early days of their marriage have not been as smooth as butter.

I believe, however, that the honeymoon was fun and relaxing. So, Lex and Jason, here are a few reminders that sometimes things go well. Sometimes life is easy-going and kind. 

 Sometimes you might get a farmer's burn... or forget a hair tie and brush... but overall, life is good.

Most times, however, there are bumps, potholes, rocks (+ rock-chips), and icy patches in the minutiae of day-to-day living. That's the purpose of life: to show our faithfulness in how we react to those stressful, anxiety-ridden, exhaustive, nail-biting times.

I know I've posted this before, but it's really the first thing that came to mind as I've texted with Lex about their stresses since arriving today in Austin (no, they don't get to move in today... no, they won't have any furniture for a while... no, things haven't gone as deservedly well as they should). Hopefully it will give Jason and Lex a ray of hope in good things to come!

Chin up! Things will get better!

Love you guys.

Post post: Lex texted me and told me they were able to get into their apartment tonight. Yay! Let me just say, I BELIEVE in the power of a mother's prayer for her children. ALSO, I had to add this precious clip of Wonderful Sweet Scarlett:

I hope her mama and daddy don't mind that I shared it! Love that baby girl!