Bits of Sunshine and Other Good Things

So, it is Spring.  The last day of school is on the horizon and we couldn't be more excited.  I am filling up my calendar with fun stuff like it's nobody's business.  Can't wait for Summer Vacation!  But, since life is about living in the now, we won't let any grass grow under our feet while we wait.

We finally got a chance to try out the paddle boards and kayaks that the kids got from Santa.  Saturday, we headed over to Willard Bay and gave them all their Maiden Voyages.  I love the little kayaks.  Gage was able to fly across the lake in his.  I was so impressed with his maneuvering skills.  Ollie loved his boat.  He didn't do much paddling about, but he sure had fun floating around with the push and pull of the waves.  The girl's had fun on their stand up paddle boards.  They are a little bit more wobbly than the one's we usually use of Ryan's, so it took a bit of adjusting!  But, they are going to be super fun too.  I love being active, out in nature, and with my family.  All good things, all good things...

I got to go to a conference last weekend for Bloggers.  It was hosted at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City.  Holy Moly Batman!  What a beautiful place to stay.  I shared a room with my sister Jenn.  It was fun having some time to just be sisters.  We had a nice dinner in the ballroom.  I got a FISH BONE stuck into my tongue.  It was rather embarrassing.  I had to excuse myself from the table to go pull it out.  Um.  Not my best dinner experience.  But, we got a good laugh out of it.

I loved doing Facetime with my little family at home.  I got to talk to them before they went to bed.  Natalie asked me, "Mom, is it morning where you are?"  Like I was in a different time zone.  Salt Lake IS pretty far away.  ;)  When they asked why I was gone, I told them, "I am a conference to learn how to be a better blogger."  Gage said to me in his cute soft voice, "Mom, I love your blog posts."  And the other's piped in, "You are already good at blogging!"  It made me cry a little bit.  They were all so cute and supportive!

After dinner, we dressed up fancy smancy and went to a Garden Party.  They had the local singer Mindy Gledhill perform.  We sampled some mixed drinks (non alcoholic of course!), tasted a plateful of fancy desserts, and chatted with our Get Away Today friends.  We crafted flower crowns and took pictures in the photo booth.  Jenn and I laughed our heads off at our photos.  We looked the same in every shot.  It was the most non creative photo booth session of all time.

When we got back to our room, the lights were dimmed, our beds had been turned down, we had chocolates on our pillows, white plush robes were laid out for us, and soft relaxing music sounded from the nightstand speaker.  It was such a lovely welcome.  I was seriously spoiled with the luxury.  We laid in our nice, soft, clean, comfy, top-of-the line, fancy hotel beds and talked a bit before falling asleep.

The next day, we enjoyed a fun conference with classes, keynote speakers, and fun giveaways.  I learned a lot of great stuff about blogging.  I was glad I got to spend some time at the conference and that I got to be there with Jenn.  Everything is better with a friend.

Friday night, We attended the Young Women fundraiser dinner and got some fun prizes from the auction.   Gotta squeeze in my church calling sometimes too!  :)

Saturday morning, we left early for a dance competition.  It was the last competition of the year!  It was bittersweet.  I sure love watching my girl's dance.  I feel like I am a mother to all of the girl's and it makes me so proud to see them perform.  Libby was seriously adorable.  That girl knows how to turn on the charm.  It is a treat to watch her on stage.  Natty girl is so cute too.  She is getting more and more flexible and she has beautiful dancing legs.  Her class was at their best!  I was so proud.

After the competition, we drove like a speeding bullet...I mean, we carefully and lawfully headed to the Mexaplex in Ogden to meet the Belnap crew for a movie!  Brent thought it would be fun to take all the girl's to the Cinderella movie.  The group grew to include some of the boys too!  It was Oliver's first time at the theater and he was a little bit wiggly.  But, he made it through without too much distraction.   After the show, we all went to Chuck A Rama for dinner.  The kids were in heaven.  They got Slurpee's to drink.  They visited the dessert bar.  They found goldfish crackers and french fries.  Needless to say, it's a good thing we don't go very often!  But, it was great fun.

Nobody wanted to say goodbye, so we continued the party at Granny B and Grandpa's house until late in the evening.  It was a great day!!

The boys and I have been loving the nice weather.  We took a fun hike with my mom.  We went to the dinosaur park and then out to lunch at The Oaks!  We met cousins Woody and Pepper for a playdate in my parent's backyard, we went for a bike ride and Ollie is really getting the hang of his scoot bike!  So many fun adventures.

On our hike, I kept saying, "Look at how beautiful the yellow flowers are!"  After awhile, Gage asked me, "Mom, do you want to take a picture of them so that you can see them forever?"  It was such a cute suggestion.  I made sure he was in the picture too so I could remember his thoughtfulness.  Love that boy!

Ollie and Pepper on a blanket!  They are so cute together.