Portland Trip for Work- just Cade and I!

Denise from EBS needed Cade to fly to Portland to train her new sales team on Fishbowl. So luckily she wanted me to join! It was the first time we have left Lucy and that part was stressful. Lucy still screams at night often (sometimes for hours at a time, and it's never consistent so you don't know what to plan on), so I was so worried leaving her with Grandma (my mom). But we left anyway and we had a FABULOUS time together.

I fell in love with many things about Portland. The city was fun to visit, but overall it was like most big cities- dirty and crowded and too much traffic for my liking. But I'm glad I adventured by myself. Alone time is just what the doctor ordered.

We got in to Portland Thursday night pretty late. Friday morning Cade went with Denise to EBS to work all day and I got to play all day!!! It was great! I just looked up on google some things to see and do and took the rental car out by myself.

First I went to the Japanese Gardens. It was beautiful and peaceful and I loved walking slow, being still in God's creations. I walked around with a tour group for a little while and also brought my journal and sat on a bench for a while and wrote in there.

After the gardens, I looked up on my phone best places to eat around the Pearl District (which was 15 minutes from the Gardens). I found the Garden Bar and knew that was my cup of tea! I finally found a place to pay for parking and as I walked to the Garden Bar to eat, I passed by the biggest book store I've ever seen- Powell's City of Books. Apparently it's pretty well known around the world. So I ate lunch at the Garden Bar...I ate the biggest salad I could. And loved it. Then I walked around that book store for over an hour and just read children's books and found some to bring back for the girls (of course Reese got a book called The Skunk). I went back to the hotel for a short cat nap.

At 4:00 Denise's husband Ryan, whom I had never met, came and picked me up from the hotel and took me to the office of EBS where Cade was working all day. I got to meet a bunch of people from there and then we went to the nicest restaurant that overlooked Portland called The Guest House. The food was incredible and the view was amazing. Everything about it was amazing- except for trying my first oyster....yuck!!! But Denise was paying and so I had to try one for her! I told her kindly that it tasted like what I imagine the bottom of the ocean tasting like. Salty and slimy. I WON'T be having one of those again.

Saturday morning Cade and I just took in easy in the morning. We packed up and headed to Denise and Ryan's house at 10:00. Then we headed to the harbor and got to walk along the _____ River. It was a perfect morning. We actually got the only two sunny and gorgeous, non-rainy days they had seen in weeks. The sun shone just for us! We walked around for a while until this cute restaurant opened up at 11:00. The food was of course yummy. After we chilled at their house until we had to go to the airport. It was a quick buy very fun weekend! And Lucy only screamed all night ONE of the two nights for Grandma :).

Side note: I HATE flying. I really do. Every time I do my mind races about all the ways I could die and how many things I have not done in life and how bad I would feel if my children were left without a mom on earth............and then we land safely and I wonder how I cheated death yet again. I always swear I'm never flying anywhere again. And then I do.

Gma/Gpa Close Visit, Ward Dance, BYU Friends, YM, B-Ball Game

A bunch of random things in one post :).

The Close's came to visit!!! Cade's dad had some time off work and Grandma is now retired so they came up to visit us for a couple days. They were too excited to give us a couple gifts. Cade got his first gun! He was extremely giddy...like it was "Christmas morning and he had just won a trip to see Star Wars in the making" giddy. It was great. My gift was a necklace made from a diamond watch of Great-grandmas. It is gorgeous and very thoughtful of Tammy. She made identical ones for both Tara and I.

We had fun with them. We took them to the Bean Museum in Provo, got yummy food, and went to "Beauty and the Beast". We love when they come see us.

Our ward had an adult dance in March. Cade was asked to teach hip-hop at it and I'll admit I was pretty smitten all over again. He has got some moves and I loved having him as my date :). Maybe he shouldn't do the worm though if we want more children. :). Everyone was very impressed...espcially with his moon walking.

We had some of our BYU friends over for a Sunday dinner. These girls were all ones that I served with in two different Relief Society presidency's at church. The families were Kjell and JC Crowe, Rachael and Gavin Goodwin, and Ildy and Braden Cline. It was so fun to catch up! 6-7 years later and we have 12 1/2 kids!

Last summer Cade got a different calling with the Young Men- 1st counselor in the presidency- so over the teachers. He has been busy with it but not too bad. He really enjoys it and wants so badly to change lives and really do the best he can (that's kind of a habit of his- doing his best). 

Cade got to go to a March madness play-off game with my dad and brothers. He isn't quite into basketball as the others are but he had lots of fun being with them and seeing their excitement :)!

Easter 2017

Easter- April 16, 2017.
I love our Easter traditions! Of course there is egg dying sometime the week before Easter. The girls are getting better at being able to dye eggs without giving me a heart attack. Then we always do our Easter egg hunt on the day before Easter (Saturday) and the girls really look forward to that! Lucy actually understood that there is something yummy in those eggs and loved having her first jelly beans...couldn't get enough....just like mom. And then we do our traditional waffle breakfast and watch the sunrise on Easter morning. We love this tradition because we really try to talk about and emphasize that Christ is the light of the world and all good things come from Him. And because of His resurrection we can live together forever as a family. It was a great Easter!

Girls Weekend in Park City!

This whole thing started last fall when Cade mentioned about me having a girls trip for my 30th birthday. It was a fabulous idea of course but Lucy was still nursing and I told him I would rather wait until I could go somewhere by myself. Then Kristen and I were talking and she mentioned she really wanted everyone to meet their new baby Eva in case they weren't able to keep her (they are foster parents). So she talked Andrew into letting her come to Utah and we planned a girls trip around it. Thankfully that weekend worked for all of us girls!

Kristen flew in from Santa Barbara on Thursday night. Then Friday all of us girls met up in Park City around noon. We ate at a wonderful healthy place called, "Vessel Kitchen" and it was amazing. Then we did (too much) shopping at the Outlets. I don't normally like shopping all that much but being with my mom and sisters made it really fun!

Then we went to our house and checked in there. We did a VRBO and the place had 4 bedrooms and was very spacious for all of us. After we got settled there we went to Downtown Park City and ate at a Mexican Restaurant called "Baja Cantina". Then we went back to our place and sat in the hot tub for a long while. It was a fabulous first day!

The second day we slept in and made breakfast. Then we all went to a spa and got pedicures. The massage chair was my favorite part :). Afterwards we went and ate at a grill for lunch.

One of the last things we did was go to the Olympic State park and walk around the museums. We were too late to get a tour but the museums were still cool. Then we went back to the house and played games together. I LOVE playing games so that was naturally one of my favorite parts of the weekend :).

Then Stephanie and my Mom when home first before the snow storm was supposed to arrive. Kristen, Jennie, Boose and I went to a pizza place and had dinner. It was so yummy. But then the storm came! We made it to the house safely without me freaking out too bad (I absolutely HATE driving in the snow). Jennie had to drive home through the canyon in the huge snow storm. She said it was pretty bad but made it home safe. Kristen, Boose and I slept over Saturday night and attended a church in Heber City on our way back home. It was SUCH a fun weekend! I hope we can do it more often in the future!

Sisten came over Sunday after church to say hi to the girls and before we took her to Nathan and Steph's to have dinner and sleep over there. My Reesie Roo is completely obsessed with babies and LOVED having Eva over for just a bit to cuddle and hold. It was a wonderful weekend and very needed for bonding time!!! I love the women in my life!

Spring Break Stay-cation!

April 3-7, 2017
We went to Disneyland in February so for spring break we stayed here and planned some fun activities to do! I was very excited to do some activities with my beautiful girls and got a glimpse of the fun we will have this summer.

On Monday we had a "storytelling festival." The girls love to write and illustrate their own books. So we all wrote our own books (or scribbled for some) and then made the bunk bed into a fort. Then we shone a flashlight on the person who was telling their story. Simple activity but we had fun :).

Tuesday we had a makeover! I did the girls nails and make-up and Nora was especially excited about make-up. I love having girly-girls. Then for lunch we had a pizza picnic in the living room. Throw a blanket down and it makes eating a meal more fun!

Wednesday was especially fun! We invited Grandma over for a tea party. So all morning we got ready for our tea party. The day before we had made our hats. But we made fresh lemonade, little sandwiches, cookies, and veggies and fruit. Grandma came and we ate our yummy food and sang songs with her. It was super cute.

Thursday we got on our pants (doesn't happened around here too often) and went up the canyon for a Bear Hunt Scavenger Hunt. I made a checklist of things the girls had to do (i.e. walk across a fallen log, find 3 different kinds of bugs, slide down a rock, etc.). I was reminded how much time we need to spend up the canyon after Reese and Nora FREAKED out overtime they found a bug and especially when one would touch them! We walked through an area that had box elder bugs flying all around us and it was hilarious. SO much screaming and running going on! Ahhhh, yes. Did I mention I love having girly-girls?? But I am also determined to make them love the outdoors and being adventurous :). After the canyon we went to Sodalicious for yummy cookies and popcorn. It was a good day!

I sure love spending time with my girls!!!