Life Through My iPhone Lens

This is quite the review of the last couple of months.  I finally decided to clean up my phone and it's hundreds of pictures, and knew I needed to document some of these wonderful events.  So grateful for the fun and adventures I get to share with my family.  Returning to the motherland and our fabulous families has already proven to be 100% worth it.  Prepare yourselves for some low-quality photos of some high-quality fun.

At the beginning of February we visited the ice castle in Midway, Utah.  After Taylor and Lacee's wedding festivities we hopped in the car and met up with the Hansen/Short clan for a night swimming at the hotel, eating at the Dairy Keen and catching a glimpse of two little girls' favorite Disney characters.  The girls loved it and are still talking about their chat with Olaf.  And really, I think after 10+ years it's time to retire that hat of mine.

February also brought a quick weekend in Pocatello (every time I go there I say I am going to Idaho.  Too bad I am already in Idaho) for a baby shower for my lovely cousin, and some party time with the Hansen ladies.  Joni got her hair done while sleeping, a talent she continues to perfect; while the rest of the time was spent shopping, eating and most certainly laughing until someone peed.  Oh, I love this family of mine!

Other February moments of note:

• Weather that allowed a walk/ride around the neighborhood.  This photo does not depict the mother carrying the scooter and pushing the empty car for the majority of the trip.  It seemed like a good idea in the beginning.
• After eight years of marriage I finally made borsch (borscht?).  Ryan loved borsch while serving his mission in Ukraine, and has always wanted me to make it for him.  Due to my lack of confidence in the kitchen (and beets!), I always politely declined his invitation.  However; thanks to a young women activity that he was helping with I put on my big girl panties and conquered those beets with pure success.  And what little girl is going to pass up "pink" soup?  Not the ones at our house!
• This one time my kids ate Target popcorn and Sprite for lunch.  And that was it.

And then it was March.  We started things off right by celebrating our eight year wedding anniversary.  That sort of feels like a long time, but I sure hope we get to look back one day and realize how short it actually was.  I am so very grateful for my better half.  I am completely aware that I am lucky in love, and I try very hard not to take that for granted.  Thanks to some kind grandparents we were able to escape for an overnighter, and once again found ourselves in Midway.  I guess we like that place this year.  We spent our time shopping at the outlets (mostly for the kids), talking (mostly about the kids), swimming in craters and eating yummy food.  Our bed and breakfast served an amazing brunch before we checked out on Sunday, and I realized I love Eggs Benedict.  Besides the fact that I left my entire toiletry bag in Idaho, it was a perfect trip.  And thanks to Super Joni, I ended up with everything I needed including a brand new, darling makeup bag to put it in.  If only she had a pair of high powered (like -8.75) prescription glasses all would have been right in the world.

Another Saturday in March (wait, it's still March, right?) was spent in Idaho Pocatello taking a photography class from one of the best in the business.  I think I learned a little bit, but I have lots of practicing to do.  And no, I won't be starting a business any time soon (or ever).  Ryan had to work that day so the girls ended up tagging along to Poky where they were loved on and entertained by Aunt Taigen and great Grandma and Grandpa Gunter.  They went to the dollar store, the park and Pizza Hut, so basically they had a horrible time.  The last three hours we were there were spent on that couch, reading and re-reading every book in my grandparents house.  Again- living in Idaho is the best.

And, of course, March means celebrating the birth and life of my dear old dad. It was really wonderful to be able to celebrate it with my family this year.  We started the day in Twin Falls where we looked at the special book full of stories and pictures of my dad and his great life.  We also watched the tribute video from his funeral, and sang a little happy birthday song.  After that the girls and I took off for Arimo where we met the rest of the family for a few graveside pictures and a Jimmy John's picnic in the snow.  It was freezing so we decided Lava Hot Springs would be a good way to end the night, even though I am sure Lava was one of my dad's least favorite places.  I still think he would have approved of our celebration. 

I decided to extend my trip and head to Utah where I was able to meet up with my dear friend Heather and her girls.  Heather was one of my closest friends in Ohio, and we have not seen each other since graduation almost two years ago.  I seriously can't believe it has been that long, because thanks to social media, phone calls and text messages it feels like it's only been a month.  Then I take a look at how much our kids have grown (or the babe I just met for the first time during this visit) and I get a little sad and wish we could be next door neighbors forever and ever.

And while I played with family and friends in Utah, Ryan was home cleaning up this disaster.  On Monday Twin Falls experienced crazy winds all day long.  In the morning we noticed a large pile of corn husks had made it's way from the farm next door and into our flowerbed, and joked that it was going to be lots of fun to clean up.  Well by the time I was ready to leave at 4:00 pm that large pile had turned into a heaping mess.  It was completely bizarre and I still laugh hysterically every time I look at this picture.  Ryan was able to take one truckload to the dump on Tuesday morning before work, but had hardly scratched the surface of the 5 foot pile.  He returned home at 8:30 pm that night to find a dozen garbage bags full of husks and a large portion of the mess cleaned up.  We have no idea who performed this act of service, but it was a great reminder of the goodness that still exists in the world.

So that's a little bit of our life lately.  It's not everything, of course.  It doesn't show the numerous tantrums, late night tears shed over life's disappointments, or hours spent working on teeth or teaching the basics of nutrition.  It doesn't accurately depict the amount of times we have listened to the Frozen soundtrack, the messes made, or the laundry done.  But I am glad we have had so many happy, lovely moments to get us through the regular, not so wonderful ones.  It's a very happy life.