Are you ready?

I chose a couple favorites from our visit to Utah. It was a good visit--lots of fun times with family and friends. I didn't get to see everybody on my list. There was no special order, I just couldn't fit as much in as I would have liked. I am especially sad that I didn't get to see my best friend Connie. She is the greatest, though. Totally understanding, and that is why she is my BFF. Mmmwa!
The kids were thrilled to get snow several times during our visit. I didn't expect them to miss the snow so much!

They LOVED being at Meme and Papa's place with the cousins...

Meeting new cousins was so fun

And meeting new friends was fun too!

Lester let us stay at her place. The kids kept arguing about whether it is our house or our cousins' house. They didn't seem too weirded out to be in our house with Lester's stuff, though. We were all right at home. One night they spent some time doing the Wii Michael Jackson style.

Augi no longer wants a new sibling...now she wants a puppy. Me too!

This is what the visit was all about. It is difficult to see my mother so sick. But, she was in good spirits and the kids didn't notice a thing. They were just excited to get that grandma attention.

Augi was in heaven hangin with Jaidin.

Proof that Chelsie does actually read. At least she pretends well.

The Boyz. You thought Augi was in heaven with Jaid? Em was over the moon following Tanner around.

The gang was back together. They didn't see each other for a year and it was as if a day hadn't passed. I love these kids.

Grandma Valerie forgets to drink water, so she had to spend a few days in the hospital rehydrating. At least the views are beautiful.

We got to see our all time favorite neighbor, Dave. His birthday is the day before Em's and they are just 87 years apart.

Here she is being sweet again.

Em started a habit of grabbing his weebee and bottle and lying down with Papa before bed each night. Who knew boxing and American football could be a great sleep aid?

No trip to Utah would be complete without a visit with Tammy and Bruce.

And a roll on their Luv Sac

Ole' Man Chris reading to the boys.

Aaagggg! So sweet!

Meme!!!

Jared, the stinker, pulled faces in all of our pics. So, you only get a side shot of one of my favorite cousins.

Luckily, Grandma Farr was very lucid during this visit.

You gotta love Em pulling his super hero moves on Tab.

I tried so hard to get a pic of the front of these 3, but I couldn't get them to turn around. I'm digging Augi's rolled up leggings.

It was a wonderful visit. The roads were big, the stores were big, and our crowd of friends and fam was big. But, at the end, I think we were all glad to be home. England feels like home now. I looked forward to being back to work, Augi was thrilled to be back at school, and the boys jumped right back into their routine. We have a vacation coming up to look forward to. However, despite feeling happy to be back at home, we need visitors. Please come. We miss you already.

Hop, Skip, and a Jump

Do you know what a Hoppy Taw is? Well, I was recently teaching Augi to play hopscotch. We were using rocks and I told her we needed to find a Hoppy Taw. I looked them up online and they were a bit tricky to find. I mentioned it to some girls at work and none of them had a clue what I was talking about. They teased me and told me that a Hoppy Taw is a Utah thing and they suggested it is a play on words "Hop Utah" = Hoppy Taw. I was skeptical. I found one on Amazon and ordered it.
Well, I got it today. It came from a toy store in...Salt Lake. Guess where it was made? Murray, Utah. Hmm. Who would have guessed that Utahns invented the Hoppy Taw? Well, I am giving a little piece of my Utahness to Augi. She has her own Hoppy Taw.
And...we will soon make the Hop Skip and Jump to the land of Hoppy Taws. See you then!

Last Minute Stuff

I haven't felt much like blogging. Life is just moving along too fast. There are a lot of things in the works, but the sun is still low in the sky and my mood is still quite low as well! I know I won't blog much over the next few weeks, so I thought I had better say a few things.
Augi went to a birthday party recently and I walked over to pick her up. On the way home, she was talking about her plans for her life. She is confident she will be a veterinarian. How many children should a vetrinarian have? 2, according to Augi. I have constant feelings of guilt about bringing her over here. She is so often homesick. But guess what she said? "Mummy, I will bring my children to England too. I will even take them to new places that I have never been." It was as if she told me to stop worrying. She is happy.
More words of wisdom? She told me that the most important thing a mom can do is just be sure to tuck her children in at night. I just hugged her. It was the best thing she ever could have said to me. I love her so much.
Em. My Em. Enough said? When I ask him for a kiss, he tells me--"OK, but not too much!!" And if I give one too many kisses? He yells and wipes them off. Such a boy. Despite too many kisses, he told me that he wants to marry me when he gets big. Hee hee. I'm hanging on to that one!

Em is always willing to play the patient if he can get a few minutes of Augi's attention. 

 One of Em's favorite games: Pretending to be a snarly monster or some other creature under the rug.

 Rare shot of Augi allowing me to put pigtails in her hair. She looked so super duper cute.

 Greatest Daddy in the world...he helped them make kites on a windy day. They played outside for over an hour. Even the neighbor girls copied us and came out to play.