Back from Utah!

I just got back Sunday night from Utah. My sweet hubby let me take a time out and visit family for the weekend. I stayed with my brother and his wife... She rocks!!! We went shopping, out to eat at my favorite Cafe Rio with sisters (Shiloam, Cindy, Emily, and Kim), saw Bride Wars, did some more shopping, played games, watched movies at home, went to Gardner Village to shop some more, and played some more games! It was a perfect time out for me. I rested, rejuvenated, kicked some butt at Bananagrams (although mine was kicked at Rook), and had a great time all together!

On my way to Utah I ended up sitting by a guy a went to a few dances with in high school. It was so random! We chatted and caught up with each other and friends we still keep in touch with. On the way home... I was walking through the Salt Lake airport feeling a little hazy when someone gently grabbed my arm. It was my friend, Roslyn Graham, from Nampa. What a coincident! I actually talked to her that morning about our party we're having soon and she told me she was flying to Utah in a few hours. But seriously, what were the chances I would actually run into her... in a different state? Andy always teases me that we can't go anywhere without me running into someone I know, but this is a new one even for me.

My sister-in-law, Cindy, also sent home a few items for my girls. They look so cute in them! And this is what they had to say...

And since the video was a little dark, here are a couple pictures

Please keep in mind that I just got home... hence the crazy hair styles.

The girls LOVE the dresses!!! Katie wants to sleep with hers and couldn't hardly stand still for me to zip it up. Every day they ask if they can wear them. Thanks Cindy! (And Cindy's parents for bringing them back from Vietnam.) You're too kind!

Andy also wanted me to add a few things about how nice he is... on the drive home from the airport he said, "You better know how much I love you! How many husbands do you know that will go and pick up their wife from the airport during the Superbowl game?!"

... And today I had to exchange my running shoes (ugh). While I was searching for the box I couldn't find the receipt. I knew I had it in our room before I left for Utah and then it was no where to be found. I called Andy and asked where it was. His reply was he didn't touch it. Let's just say he got an earful. I was able to exchange the shoes, but when I was getting ready for bed tonight... I came across the receipt. Whoops! Yes, I apologized and Andy said, "You better post that on your blog!!!"

Camping at Silver Creek Plunge

Katie loved sitting in the walker with water or juice and let it run down her chin and belly.
After she was done with the juice I took off her shoes and her toenails were dyed red. One less set of toenails I have to paint. :)

So Silly!

Along with decorating their visors and sunglasses, Sammy and Ashley got some fun little fans that light up when turned on. They loved them!

Cutie Pie Courtney... I think this trip was the first time I've seen her break away from her Mom.
This is just a bunch of us around the campfire after the big rainstorm in the morning. Notice Sammy eating the muffin on the right? She asked me if I wanted some... I told her, "No, thanks." She said, "It's chocolate," in a peer pressuring way. I again told her, "No, thanks." She then said in her pressuring manor, "It tastes like cookies." Merridy busted up laughing at that point. Where does Sammy get that from? :)

Sammy with her Uncle Adam. She loved riding around with him.
Ashley was playing in the nearby creek and decided she wanted to get her head wet. Of course we laughed and then she loved being the center of attention... so she did it over, and over.
During the day I had a few activities for the kids. This particular one was decorating silly sunglasses and visors. How stylish are these cute girls?
Since the swimming pool was ridiculously expensive, Brigetta brought up a kiddie pool and filled it with cold water. That was a big hit during the heat of the day. (Katie, Sammy, and their cousin, Jessica.)
Katie, you're a little young to drive by yourself.

This past week the girls and I went to Silver Creek Plunge with my side of the family. The first day was great! We played, we ate, we played, we ate, and we played some more. Even the night was better than I expected. We all slept very warm which was a huge improvement from the previous years. The second day was still fun, but it rained a lot. It would rain for about five to ten minutes, (just long enough for us to rush to get everything put away and out of the rain) and then it would stop. The night was much harder. Katie woke up and wouldn't go back to sleep for about an hour. After that there was a huge thunderstorm and we learned how great our sleeping bags and tent are. We all stayed warm and not a drop of rain got in the tent. Everyone stayed dry with the exception of Shiloam... she got soaked! After that I decided I had enough! My family was so great and asked if they could keep Sammy and Ashley till Saturday. So Katie and I packed up a few things and went on home to see Andy.

Las Vegas

Andy and I recently took a trip to Las Vegas and had a blast! Andy went for business... me for pleasure... we're such dorks... we went there on our honeymoon and came home with only one picture. (Our camera broke and the picture we have is from the Tournament of Kings at Excalibur) This time around we didn't take any pictures of us. Oh, well. It was still fun and this is what we saw...
We stayed at the New York, New York Hotel and Casino and right across the street was Coke World and M&M's World.

(This is the hotel we stayed at) We went to the Hard Rock Cafe and they sat us in a booth that was right next to a guitar signed by all the members in the Smashing Pumpkins band. Way cool! We also saw the Tournament of Kings again at the Excalibur and sat on the front row... but didn't get a picture this time.

Girls Retreat 2008

Every year my sisters, sisters-in-law, and mom have a girls' retreat. Brigetta planned it this year and we went camping in Cascade. Lovely Kim and Cindy!
We also went on a mystery murder train ride... Three Strikes You're Dead. As a souvenir we all had the cast members sign baseballs for us and all of our shirts have our names and a number on the back. Go Crazy 8!
Shiloam, Shiloam, Shiloam... she gave us such a good laugh... we told you to get out of the pool!
Go Crazy 8! These were two of the cast members. The girl on the right was the trainer, and the guy on the right was the dung beetle mascot gone FBI.

While in Cascade we went to a nearby hot springs which was really fun. Merridy and I sat by the pool and watched Mom and Cindy barrel race Brigetta and Shiloam (while trying not to drown them).

This year at our annual girls' retreat Cindy had a funny idea to try synchronize swimming... this is what she came up with. Enjoy the laughter.