Great Times with Good Friends

We invited some friends to join us for a bike ride on the Greenbelt one pleasant Saturday in April. Halfway through the ride, we stopped for dinner at a Thai restaurant. The food was actually very good (or were we just starving after our energetic ride?). We had a great time!

Some of us reconvened for Family Home Evening the following Monday. After a lesson, we played the M&M game. We each chose an M&M and were asked a question that corresponded to the color M&M we had chosen. Where did we live as we were growing up? What was a favorite hobby, etc. Some of the answers were quite surprising.

We're looking forward to a lot more time spent with friends!

Good Memories in Utah

A trip to Utah in April while Jim was in California for business ended up being a bit more stressful than expected but there were plenty of good experiences to report on. Sariah and I had a productive meeting with the wedding planner and florist. The appointment with the seamstress for the wedding dress fitting was lots of fun (after we finally found her home in the downpour).

The University Chorale of which Cami was a member performed in the tabernacle. I thoroughly enjoyed their concert, especially after Cami's friends and I moved up to the very top row so we could see our favorite performer. Chatting with Cami and her friends at Zuppa's after the concert over dinner (for some) and chocolate fondue was delightful. What a great bunch!

Elly and her kids joined me in a "spendover" at my parent's house the night of the concert. Jeff, Suzanne and family had just arrived and all were still going strong when I got there at 10:30 pm.
We finally got everyone settled down about midnight.

I took Maggie and Becca to McDonalds for lunch one day. We stayed for two hours!

Remember the Pinewood Derby cars that Grandpa helped the boys build? I got to watch the actual race. The boys were proud of their cars and were so excited to race them. The anticipation had been building for a couple of months.

They were a little disappointed because their cars didn't come in first place but they won an award!

Pizza with family members to welcome Amelia home from her mission was a little crazy because Becca wouldn't sit still for long. Thankfully, Sariah, Brett, Cami and Boone took the kids out to play so that I could do a little visiting.

April (Snow) Showers and New Neighbors

We returned home from Florida where it had been a pleasant 75 to 80 degrees most of the time to snow flurries! We haven't seen very many warm days since.

The new neighbors who reside in our back yard, don't seem too distraught, though.

Fabulous Florida--Easter Eggs!

As we were preparing to attend church on Day 5 of our Florida visit, we discovered Owen on the porch with his breakfast close at hand.

Jim and I enjoyed attending Tori's ward. Besides benefiting from the messages taught, we made a connection with a friend of an acquaintance of ours and briefly visited with my cousin, Becky (whom I haven't seen for 25 years), who also attends that ward. What a great way to start the day! We came home to lunch and the grand Easter egg dying activity--Owen's first.

His dad showed him how to put the eggs carefully into the cups of dye.




Soon all the cups contained an egg and, before we could stop him, Owen started fishing those eggs out of the dye with his fingers.

After retrieving all the eggs, Owen began playing a matching game. He'd return a colored egg to the cup containing the same color of dye.

I think Owen could have played that game all day but nap time put an end to it.
Later that afternoon, we took Jacob to the airport in a torrential downpour. Thankfully I wasn't driving! When we got back to Tori and Ryan's house, we learned that a tornado warning had been posted for the area in which they live. That made us a little nervous. Some of us even went in the master bedroom closet for a few minutes but no tornadoes ever touched down.

The next and final day of our visit was cool and rainy. One of Owen's friends had a birthday party that morning and I got to tag along. Unfortunately, we were late and missed the Easter egg hunt. We did get to enjoy lunch, visiting with some really nice people and the grandparent's home in which the party was held--a lushly landscaped and beautifully decorated estate on the river. I especially loved having the chance to meet many of Tori's and Owen's friends!

Fabulous Florida--An Easter Celebration Then Back to the Beach

On the fourth day of our Florida visit, first thing in the morning and filled with excited anticipation, we made our way to the community Easter celebration. We were greeted with a long line at the entrance which somewhat dampened our spirits. We thankfully discovered that we didn't need to stand in it to gain entrance. We made our way through crowds of people involved in various activities to try to find our son-in-law representing his dental office. We found him handing out balloons and other appropriate prizes. Jacob and Tori stayed at the booth to give him some much needed help while Grandpa and I took Owen out to play.

We were a little overwhelmed by the crowd at first. Hundreds of people were packed into a rather small courtyard of the local mall. But then we found the bubbles,

...the mostly abandoned art project table,

...and Owen's best friend. Life was good!

Just before we left, the Disney station dancers caught our eye. We couldn't resist joining them for a few steps before heading out to find some Easter treats at the shops in the mall.

Unfortunately, we waited too long to make the rounds. The treats were gone. No problem! After a quick lunch and restful nap, we were off to the beach to soak up some sun.

The best part of the whole day? Getting to spend it with family.