A Visit from Brian :)

Brian was able to get his Cross-Country flight to Phoenix.  It depended largely on the weather as the cockpits in the jets heat up.  It was in the high 80's (F) and then we had a lovely cold-front come in the very day he was set to fly out, which dropped the temps down into the 70's.  I felt like it was a blessing from Heavenly Father just to me since he knows how much I love and miss my Brother.  We enjoyed spending a fun weekend with him.

Puppy luv

My Aunt Holly & Uncle Marc got a new puppy and it is adorable! Grayce fell in love.  

There's a smudge on my camera that looks like a fuzzy spider sneaking up on her on the left -kinda distracting -sorry about that.

Mother's-Day-Photos

My Mother-in-law has to do dialysis three times a week and she says it is freezing in the clinic, so I made her a photo blanket of the boys when they were babies to take with her.  It ended up being gi-normouse and would be weird to take places with you, but she loves it anyway and keeps it hanging in her room instead.  The last time we visited she requested I make her a new one with Grayce in the picture.  Her health has not been so good, and it has been on my mind to get one made for her, but you need a high-def picture to be able to do it.  So I scheduled a photo shoot with my very talented friend Mary.  

It was supposed to be just pics of the kids, but she made me be in some too, and I'm so glad she did.  It ended up being like the best Mother's Day gift I could have given myself as well.  The sweetest thing was a tender mercy from the Lord.  On a day when I was feeling very low about my abilities as a Mother, Mary (totally unaware of how I was feeling) posted a photo of me and the kids with some very kind words on FB.  Some dear friends commented on the photo as well, all complimenting me as a Mother.  I know none of them can truly judge whether I am doing a good job as a Parent or not, but I felt like Heavenly Father was letting me know in His way that I am doing a good job and not to get so down. And the photo blanket is due to arrive at my in-laws on the 6th -just in-time for Mother's Day. 

The beach.

 It got chilly as the sun set, so we put Reese's extra sweater on Grayce. 

She looked like a little (Star Wars) ewok wandering around on the beach :)

A common question they like to ask new sisters in Relief Society is,"What's your favorite...the beach, mountains, country, or the city?" Initially as I pondered my own response, I thought "I love the first three equally!"  But the more I think about it, the mountain would have to have a stream running through it, and the country a canal or something because I am drawn to water.  Just hearing the sound of water calms my soul. That being said, Edward's response to the above question would be immediate, "The City".  He loves to pause a movie whenever a beautiful city skyline is displayed and comment on how spectacular it looks. He loves walking/driving around a city exploring the shops and restaurants -which tends to bore me.  I love hiking...anywhere...outdoors -which is so not his thing.  So I guess it's true when they say opposites attract. 

It stresses Edward out coming to the beach.  He never learned how to swim very well, so is not fond of the water, and he hates that sand gets everywhere and  in everything.  Understanding this about him, I am grateful that he makes the sacrifice to visit the beach at least once on our California trips.

Disney land!

 

Some of my friends took their oldest daughter to Disneyland as her requested graduation present.  The pictures they posted on FB were adorable.  In talking to her afterwards though she said they all had the flu and spent half of the day either in their hotel room, or in the Disney restrooms puking.  I love Disneyland, and although it's ridiculously expensive, I also think it's so very magical! That being said, we had our fair share of drama on our trip.  Reese woke up the first night with an ear-infection and had to go to the Doctor the next morning, Grayce had pink-eye, and Hayden split his lip open on the coffee table in our hotel room on the last day.  My favorite thing was going on the Star Tours Star Wars ride with the boys.  They thought the whole thing was real and that we "almost died', but wanted to do it again Lol.