Birthday Boy

Somebody had a birthday....and his name is Joe!! My honey turned 38 this week. We celebrated Friday night by eating Korean food with family and friends. If you haven't eaten at Sam Hawk in Provo, I highly recommend it. (660 North Freedom Boulevard) Yummy!
After dinner we took a long drive to try and give our stomach's a rest and then we ended the evening at Magleby's (now located in Springville) and ate some delicious desserts!

Isn't Joe just a cutie? We've been married 15 years and
I love him more now than ever.

Thanks for sharing the night with us, Mike & Susie!

Now that's a chocolate cake!

We sat and analyzed this picture on the wall as we ate our dessert. It's surprising how many laughs/comments you can come up with. We named the person on the chariot "Pat." We could never decide if it was a man or woman. I voted man, the boys voted woman. What do you think?

Hope of America

Our sweet Kelsey participated in the Hope of American Student Showcase this week. It was held in the Marriott Center at BYU. Morgan also got to perform in this a few years back and it's quite the inspiring production.
Thousands of 5th graders from Utah County demonstrated their patriotism through song and dance. Our Kelsey was in yellow and was at the top of the flag. In this picture (below) she is in the top row, second inside from the aisle (next to her good friend, Dessa). They were obviously jamming on this song with sunglasses on.
Kelsey's grandparents, Carol and Lynn, are always so supportive. They joined in the fun of the evening. I think Lynn's favorite part was watching Jean's Golden Girls. I haven't heard him "hoop and holler" that loud in a long time.
Jean's Golden Girls is a group of more than 100 women between the ages of 50- and 93-years-old. This sweet 93-year-old ended the show with her own dance and splits. Crazy huh? I didn't get a good pic of her that night but found this pic online. Those splits have made her a local celebrity.
Morgan had to miss a "mandatory" girls' camp meeting to attend. (bummer). I told her Kelsey sat through her performance a few years back and now it was payback.
Jake wanted to act miserable but truth be known I think he enjoyed it. Here he is doing the wave.
It was a long but enjoyable evening and I was inspired to be more patriotic, more grateful and more willing to serve. Good job Kels!

Nursing School - Gal Pals

Annette, Wendy, Leslie, Mel, Suzette, Heesoon

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to go to a baby shower for my girlfriend, Leslie. Leslie and I went to nursing school together. It was SO GREAT to see the rest of my school friends. I MISS THEM! It's strange to grow so close to people, seeing them on a daily basis, and then "poof" we disappear into our own lives and careers. Makes me sad.

Anyway, it was a fun visit and I can't wait to get together for lunch soon. Love you guys!

Spring Break in Moab

We headed to Moab's Arches National Park for our spring break and can I just say "WOW!" How have I lived here 10 years and never partaken of this beautiful wonder?? We had such a good time hiking and taking in the scenery. We are thinking this may need to become a new spring break tradition. The weather was perfect, Sunny and Warm!

Half way through our first day of hiking, Jake decided he couldn't go any further since his feet hurt. This is the first time mom noticed that he only packed one pair of tennis shoes and they happen to be the shoes he wore the beginning of 2nd grade (he's a 3rd grader now). I didn't even know those shoes were still in his closet. Our hiking was pretty much over that day. There are no Famous Footwear, Payless Shoes, Target, etc. (you get the idea) in Moab so we had to settle for the good ole Dollar General store. Jake got a $1 pair of flip flops (still slightly small) and a $7 pair of shoes that made him look like Don Johnson in the 80's playing Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice. True Story! Between the shoes and his recent growth spurt that caused ALL of his pants to be about 2 inches too short, I kept giggling every time I saw him. He was truly a sight to behold. Hey, he looked awesome and at least he was back to hiking. These are memories I will always cherish.

Fishing

Continuing with spring break entertainment, Joe got creative once again and took the kids out fishing. Don't the pics just scream spring break?!? He was told that Strawberry Reservoir was no longer frozen over. As you can see, they were correct. At least a good 10 foot x 10 foot of the lake is no longer frozen over.The kids had a fun time and there were lots of fish to catch. The girls even baited their own hooks and removed the fish from their lines. Pretty impressive.

Thanks honey for being so good to our family!

Jake was so excited to go fishing that the night before he didn't fall asleep til after 11:30 pm. He was so tired and frustrated after 10 minutes that he went to the top of a hill, plopped himself in a lawn chair and promptly fell asleep. Apparently, his chair eventually tipped over and he slept right through it. Morgan had to go pick him up as his face was in the snow. The girls are still giggling about it.The only "downer" for the day was the accidental omission of sunscreen. With the snow and cold the kids and Joe forgot that the sun still burns whether it's hot or cold. Here is proof of the burns 2 days later.

1st day of Spring Break

*Warning: poor quality pics from cell phone.

First official day of the kids' spring break and what do we have? Cold weather/rain/snow....blah!! So Joe got creative and headed out with the kids to the Hill Aerospace Museum.

Can't tell if that's my son or a test dummy. (j/k, kinda)

Kelsey was obviously in deep thought with all she was learning.

The kids were in good spirits even with the yucky weather.

The forecast is looking good for this weekend. That's because we're heading out of town and away from this garbage. 70's and clear skies....Moab, here we come!