Kesley turns *8*

How did my lady grow up so fast?  I was just reading last years post that was all about her "birth" day...such a lovely memory.  She's been a calm, sweet, thoughtful lady--most of the time. 

This year she seemed to start that transition into pre-teen.  Sad but fun and exciting at the same time.  Brent and I get a good laugh when she locks herself up tight in her room and cranks her music so loud we can hear it up stairs.  We sneak down and listen to her belting out Taylor Swift and The Sound of Music all in the same morning.  She puts on her lip gloss and carries around a purse....full of Pet Shop animals!  She sits down and does her homework--all by herself without being asked, but still can't fall asleep until Brent or I come pull up her covers and tuck her in--kiss included. 

She is a tender heart.  Sometimes she tears up while saying her prayers.  She doesn't want to talk about it, but she knows it's the Spirit.  She also teared up while talking about her best friend at school who happens to be a little black girl.  Learning about Martin Luther King and the fight for equal rights was a hard day for her.  "But Mom!  Mikkiel is black!  And she is my BEST friend!!"  I love that lady.

We had a few ideas for her big day on Saturday, but at 9:30 p.m. Thursday night our friends, Chrissy and Charles, invited us to St. George for a quick weekend getaway.  We left the final decision up to Kesley, not wanting to take anything away from her big day, but when she gave the thumbs up Friday morning--we packed up and headed out for a very quick but SUPER FUN adventure!
Kesley woke up on Saturday to a lovely, brisk spring like day.  After a pancake breakfast we headed up Snow Canyon for a small hike through some red rock.

After hiking, we headed back to the house to swim.  This pool was as cold as any polar plunge can get--but these kids seemed immune to the cold.  They would float around on these rafts and then warm up in the jacuzzi.  I jumped in once--and it took my breath away!!  It was SO COLD.--but that hot tub is still calling my name...

We had such a great time just hanging out, eating good food, playing ball, riding in the jeep--it was the perfect day. 

The night ended with an ice-cream cake and the BEST present ever!  Josee gave Kesley a Chinese lantern--just like the ones on Tangled.  Definitely a highlight of the trip!

 Brent and Chrissy filling the balloon--that almost took out baby Francis!  Note to self: Do not attempt when windy!

Her day ended when she fell asleep in the middle of the movie--sun kissed and exhaused from a wonderful day.  Beautiful lady.  Happy Birthday my sweet, sweet Kesley.

The Stay-cation

Well, we are 2 days into our STAY-cation.  (We are using this word as much as possible for the next few days...partly to be annoying, partly to remind ourselves that we are actually DOING something!)  Our plan was to head to Vegas this weekend, but instead we opted to stay home and spend our gas money on things around here that we never do.  Friday, we picked the kids up from school and went swimming at the Legacy Center--with their water slide and kid friendly pool--then ate at our favorite, JCW's.  Today we headed up to Soldier Hollow and went tubing.  Our friends from Vegas were here this weekend (part of the reason we opted to stay home) and they came with us.   SO FUN!

I never post pictures of me--probably because I'm always the one taking the picture.  But ya--I exist.













Jenna was exhausted about halfway through--I thought she had fallen asleep, but it turned out she was just a really good faker!  So realistic! We did love us the tow rope that took you to the top of the runs everytime.

This is just before our last run--everyone is tired, but trying to please me and pose for a picture.  p.s. I hate my hair...and why do I FEEL 20 years younger than ILOOK in pictures????

Kesley and Audrey--cute ladies.

After tubing we headed into Heber and ate at Dairy Keen--good burgers and shakes.  Then we headed to the Homestead to swim in The Crater.  I'm not sure if it was exactly what the kids were expecting--With all the scuba divers underneathe us we couldn't jump off the dock or anything.  And everyone HAD to wear the stupid yellow life jackets that buckled between the legs...not ideal.  It was kinda like floating around in a bathtub for 40 minutes--but it wasn't a bathtub at home, so I guess it was fun... 

Kinda hard to get a good picture with all that STEAM!

Valentines Day

We had a lovely Valentines Day.  Mine started at 1:30a.m. when Jenna came running into my room.  I had snuck a balloon and a little bag of goodies into each of their rooms after they had fallen asleep, and she woke up and saw, "something is ON my ceiling! No, really!  ON my ceiling!"  She had a good laugh when I walked her back to her room and turned on the light. :) 

Brent and the kids surprised me with new perfume and a yummy dinner in the "SMITH BISTRO" complete with candle light, menu, chocolate dipped strawberries and great staff.   It was the first time I've ever had to break up a fight between the staff while being served--but it was awesome!