St George Getaway

Mom had a 3 day class down in St. George for work. Lindsay and I put the idea out there that we'd like to get away with her. So, off to St. George we went. It was nice to just do whatever we wanted (i.e. sleeping, computer time, reading, shopping, etc.) Lots of fun times were had and it was just what we needed.

Poor Mama having to go to school though was kind of sad. We dropped her off for her first day at 'school' and gave her the proper 1st day of school ritual. As she's walking up to the doors we were yelling out "Good luck on your first day. You're getting SO big! Play nice with the kids. Eat all of your lunch. Etc, etc." It was hilarious and some of the people turned around laughing.

Then when we picked her up, we had to extend a warm greeting that went something like, "Did you play nice with the kids? Did you eat all of your lunch? Did you have fun at break time? We're so proud of you!" Of course, yelling it out the window again.

I confess that when I get away from kids, I basically act like one. It's my downfall because I really do become very immature. (Maybe that's why I have such a small select group that I do anything with. Perhaps the rest couldn't handle me?!)

Just have to say that I love their 'pineapple' trees down there! I don't know what they're called, so that was what I decided to call them because they look like a giant pineapple. Seriously, they're neat...although rather prickly.

We have been playing a game called 'Pounce' ever since I was little, like 10 years old little- young enough that I even remember playing it with my Great-Grandma Johnston. I have many memories of playing it with my Grandma Parrish and her telling me frequently that she 'hated me' when we were either losing or I made a move from the opposite team that she didn't approve of. :) So anyways, it's just our family game that we love to play. (Shaun and my brother-in-law Mark just tolerate it, but they're pretty good sports.)

Lots of rambling, but had to give some history on the game. So of course we remembered to bring Pounce cards (played with Rook cards) but our room didn't have a decent table to be able to play. Mom was bummed, but Linz and I got this bright idea to take our game next door to the Denny's. So that we did. Around 11:00 pm we head over to Denny's and ask them to put us as far away as they can from other tables and voiced our intentions. The other thing about Pounce is that we get really rowdy and sometimes don't say the nicest of things.

Our waiter was very accommodating and we had a little late night snack and then it was time to break the cards out.

At some point before we got real focused on the game we started into our sillyness. Linz decided to take it a step forward and started lurching around the area we were seated at and was doing some ridiculous dance that just had us hysterical. I'm quite sure they all thought we were crazy, but we had a blast.

Somewhere around 2-3 am we decided it was time to call it a night and headed back to our hotel.

When I got home they had arranged a Welcome Back party for me complete with yummy pizza awaiting my arrival! I am so grateful to Shaun that he is so willing to let me have 'my time'. And many thanks to my mother-in-law Brenda who helped in getting the kids to and from school and watching them until Shaun got off work.

Lots of fun times were had with our getaway and hopefully we can start making it a tradition to get away more frequently. It's just nice to regroup!

Disclaimer

Just thought I would add that I stay more motivated when people actually comment on the posts!! :) Makes me see that people actually take time to read my complete randomness. Truly, this blog is ultimately an online scrapbook for our family, but I do love to hear from all of you!!!

Party Time for Hollie

Hollie had a water party with her friends. We played in the sprinklers, put the sprinkler under the tramp, tried doing a water pinata (note to Family Fun Magazine- it didn't work work as stated) and cake & ice cream! It was a lot of fun.

Friends who joined us:
Lacie, Shaylee, Kassi, Karli, Kyra, Kambri, Haddie & Zoey

Then on to the family party that night!

Thanks to Aunt Sissy who custom-made the cake according to Hollie's request.
It turned out great!

We were lucky that all of our family was able to attend except for Uncle Mark & Uncle Chris!
She got lots of fun presents and the main theme of the day was 'Justin Beiber'! :)
And her long-waiting gift...her bunny she got from Uncle Adam. She's been asking for a couple years now for a bunny and I kept vetoing the idea. Unbeknownst to me Shaun & Uncle Adam had a conspiracy against me!! She named him/her Lily Rose and she is cute!

9 things about Hollie:

1. We love to hear her sing. I mention this a lot, but her voice is THAT good!
2. Her creativity. We never know what we will find her into or doing.
3. She loves to shop, most especially with Mom.
4. She has a way of cheering up people, simply with her cute personality.
5. She loves anything to do with horses & Justin Beiber.
6. She loves to play house, barbies, or store.
7. She is very impulsive. She wants to please, but sometimes goes about it backwards. ;)
8. She loves doing anything crafty or art/drawing.
9. She is very caring. If someone is upset or in need, she is very attentive to their needs.

Happy Birthday Hollie! Another great year watching you grow into a young lady!

Our Little Singers

The kids and I were all downstairs doing our various things and Taylor was listening to music on youtube. We all kinda started singing and then Hollie & Taylor started singing this boy/girl combination song together. They sounded SO good. They have both got such talent with music. I had to take pictures, if for no other reason to capture the moment of them being within 2 feet of one another and getting along! :) Then the 3 of us sang together a bit. I've decided we need to start doing that at the piano together. I used to love sitting at the piano and singing with my friend Brittany, and Lindsay & Chris when we were younger.

Little Miss Kambri was busy doing something of her own- playing dress-up. What a fun time it was for all of us.

New Family Additions

We are the proud new owners of 3 furry little bunnies!
Hollie got one for her birthday from Uncle Adam (a surprise that Shaun was in on, unbeknownst to me, as I had been saying no bunny for months!) Well, it wasn't good enough for just one...they had it covered and Kambri got one as well.

Then Taylor wanted one. I told him that we would wait a few weeks and see if the newness of them had worn off by then before we added ANOTHER bunny to our family.

I come home from Lindsay's house a few nights later and the girls go out to check on their bunnies and they come running in. "Mom, there are THREE bunnies." I knew right then and there that my dear husband had went and bought Taylor one.

Totally vetoed on the whole bunny thing. However, I must confess, they are cute and they are really enjoying them.

Kambri named hers Snowball. Hers is the smallest and the most friendly.

Hollie named hers Lily Rose. (I should note that we have no idea if they're boys or girls.)

And Taylor named his Alexander.

Shaun is quite the handyman and built the bunnies a nice little cottage that you can see in the back corner. :)

Welcome to our family little bunnies!