Disconnected- and lovely. :)

We had the opportunity to go spend some time with my cousin for Memorial Day. We honestly had one of the best weekend's we have had for a VERY long time. The cabin we stayed at was not close enough to a cell phone tower, so we were totally disconnected: no phone, no computer, no Internet. This is something I need to do more often. As you can see this cabin is still in the works. They bought the land several years ago, and as a family have been working on it. Josh is ready to pack up and go help them work as often as they'd let us be up there. :)

For "Date Night" our hubby's arranged for us to shoot shotguns at clay pigeon's- and miraculously I even hit a couple! (Josh and Chuck are pictured here.. they were way better than Katie and I.)

We had a few pretty intense rain/thunder storms. Lightning actually struck close enough to the cabin that we saw sparks. :S And we lost our generator power for a few minutes too. It was a bit tense for a couple minutes, but we were all safe!

We got several rides on the 4-wheelers. The rest of date night with the boys was them taking us for a ride on the 4 wheelers. I have a really bad impression of 4 wheelers due to a past experience, but I was brave. And had a great time riding with my very responsible, and not crazy Husband. :) (This picture was of Chuck's Dad- my kids are still calling him Grandpa Bert)

Grandpa Bert was kind enough to bring a friend snake for us to observe for the duration of our trip. The kids were kind enough to try and feed him some goldfish crackers. I'm not sure the snake appreciated them, but at least the kids were trying!

Here is a cute picture of Katie's youngest. I LOVE his red hair!

(sorry it's sideways... not sure why it's like that. )

These girls had so much fun, and I know that my big helper is lonely and bored without her cousins. :)

The kids all got along really well! It was so fun to have them get to know each other better. My kids keep asking when we'll get to see them again.

Another 4 wheeler ride. :) Tenderheart and his double-mallow cookie smore. :)
Our cute dragonfly friend.
She found him out on the pond.
Tenderheart's favorite activity was rowing in the pond. He and an 8 year old snuck away into a canoe- and lucky for us they navigated the pond without tipping it!
Home made teeter totter. :)

We had a GREAT weekend- and are grateful to those who helped us have a weekend away from our stresses. We feel very refreshed and want Katie and Chuck to know how much we love and appreciate them! We are already looking forward to our next get together- whenever that may be.

65 degrees and Sunny

The past few weeks have been the most ideal weather! I had a few opportunities stack on top of each other, and have been insanely busy. Somehow, I've mustered up the energy to keep up with all the life has handed me- which has been a huge blessing. In the past, I would have caved under the pressure.

My Mom's yard has been blossoming!

(yes, I do realize this is a weedy dandilion- but they are vibrant and pretty in a way!)

Josh and I have been being more diligent about going to the Temple. Thanks to our good friends, for going with us. It's something we really look forward to, and have felt blessed for being there! We are excited about the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple that will soon be finished. We both are scheduled to help at least one night with the open house, which should be a neat experience.

We took a day trip to my Grandparents home up in Idaho. Leaving the valley for a day was a needed break. While it was nice to be in thier home again, it made me miss my Grandpa. Although my Grandma has suffered a stroke and isn't able to communicate as well as she used to, she is a strong woman, and I admire her strength, and faith- she knows that Grandpa is in a better place. I'm so glad that they were able to live a long good life together.

One of our dear friends from high school recently lost his wife to cancer. She was only 29. He's aching miserably- and I can't blame him. It's just hard to know how to help him, or if anyone really can help him hurt less. I know time supposedly helps, but really that's not much for consolation is it? Luckily, he seems to have strong faith. That there is a bigger plan than just life here on earth. I pray that is faith can carry him through the rough time he is experiencing.

We are STILL waiting to hear if we got accepted to the Nursing program through Josh's work. But we think that we may have been approved for a small pell-grant that will cover at least some of our expenses this fall if we just go with SLCC's program. Either way, we are couting down the time until we don't see each other much. We are going on at least two little trips this summer, and hoping it is just a relaxed very quality-family-filled few months.