Sundays by the Fire

I go to my parents' house nearly every Sunday night.  I have done this ever since I moved out on my own (this started when I lived in an apartment and my parents would let me bring my laundry to their house). My parents have a great back yard and, several years ago, they built a fire pit.  In my opinion, this was the best investment they ever made.  Once the weather gets warm, they build a fire just about every night and I get to enjoy them on Sundays. I can't tell you how much I love sitting by the fire with my family during the spring and summer.  We talk (and laugh) for hours and, when Sean and Tashena are around, we make s'mores.  My Mom has the fixings for s'mores on hand at all times!

We had a wonderful fire last Sunday and I look forward to many more this summer.

It is one of my favorite summer traditions!

Tulip Festival 2014

On Saturday I attended the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point.  It is something I love and look forward to every year; a ritual of spring.  This year, however, I waited until the final day of the festival because of other commitments.  I should have known better.  It was really crowded and I am not a fan of big crowds.  It was worth it, though, because the flowers were gorgeous and the weather was spectacular!

There are over 500,000 tulips in the various gardens at Thanksgiving Point!  I think I took a picture of every one of them!

After I saw all of the tulips, I ended up at the waterfall.  It is my favorite place at Thanksgiving Point because it is so peaceful.  Even though the gardens were much too crowded to my comfort level, I ended up having a lovely time...that is until I wandered aimlessly for 20 minutes through the overflow parking lot looking for my car!

Easter 2014

Easter weekend was absolutely wonderful!  Lots of sunshine, family, food, and fun!  Saturday morning Marilyn and I colored Easter eggs with Sean and Tashena.  We tried a new technique involving shaving cream and food coloring which ended up being extremely messy but we did end up with some beautiful eggs with two colors swirled together.  Sean spent more time playing with the shaving cream than he did coloring eggs!  After our egg adventure, we took the kiddos out for lunch.  Whenever they get to pick the restaurant, it is always Chuck-A-Rama so that's where we went.  Then it was time for presents!  Marilyn found those adorable bags on Pick Your Plum.  They were a hit!  The rest of the afternoon was spent outside.  Sunday morning Sean and Tashena had an Easter egg hunt in the back yard and found their baskets.  The Easter Bunny brought Tashena a longboard and Sean an impressive Amazon gift card (He is currently obsessed with spy gear and he had half of his gift card spent that afternoon on toys from his Amazon wish list.)  I think the Easter bunny has become considerably more generous since I was a kid!  Then my brother-in-law Trent fired up his griddle and we had French toast, bacon, and sausage for Easter brunch.  It was absolutely delicious.  I think food always tastes better outside.  After another afternoon spent outside, we had an Easter feast.  Kristine made Chicken Cordon Bleu in the dutch oven and it was so good!  We spent the rest of the evening in front of the fire pit with three different pies picked out by Sean from Village Inn.  I had the Lemon Supreme!  Yum!   As we lingered by the fire we all wished that the day would never end.  I love spending time with my family and I love being outdoors so it was the perfect Easter for me!

Note:  Go here for the recipe for the Lemon Chick Cookies.

Spring Break 2014

This year I had an entire week off from school for spring break!  I decided to take a road trip down to southern Utah and it was a lot of fun.  The weather was absolutely beautiful (while it was rainy and overcast in Salt Lake).  I spent a day visiting Zion National Park.

Zion National Park is one of my very favorite places on earth.  I thoroughly enjoyed wandering around.

On the way home from St. George, I drove along Highway 89 and visited Bryce Canyon.

The formations are always beautiful but I especially loved the contrast between the red rocks and the snow.  However, it was extremely cold.

The week before spring break was very hectic at school since my Student Body Officers were sponsoring Spirit Week and it was the end of the term with a lot of grading to be done.  It was so nice to get away from my daily routine and relax!  It was definitely a much needed break!