Dallin turns 3... and Dad turns a few more than 3

I love that Dallin and Dad share a birthday!...AND it almost always falls sometime during the Memorial Day weekend!  Perfect time for a party!  We had a cake and ice cream at their house on Friday night to kick off the weekend... and then we came home and did yard work all day Saturday.  Blah, but it needed to be done.
Anyway, we met back at the cabin on Monday for barbecue chicken, dutch oven potatoes, and 7-layer dip!  What else do you need?
I can't believe Dallin is 3!  He has endless energy, runs all day, but can also be the sweetest boy ever.  He loves trucks, trains, and anything else that moves and makes a lot of noise, like him.   When he "plays" with Drew, nothing is cuter.  He loves his brother so much and I can tell they'll be best friends.  Dallin is a very polite boy! He's quick to say please and thank you and shares toys willingly (at least that's what the ladies in nursery tell me, I have yet to see it for myself).  I can't wait to see what this next year will bring!

The Best of May

I thought I’d better document May… ya know, before June is over. I can’t even begin to describe how busy May was! It was the busiest I’ve seen in 9 years working in Park City! Building has been absolutely booming! We had endless contacts, appointments, meetings, designs, bids, follow-ups, late nights, early mornings, you name it! We did a lot of good and finished a lot of projects and made some Park City landscapes a little more beautiful (now if only they would STAY that way)! We had a little help from the rain. It rained a lot! But in a way that didn’t hamper the projects. It would rain in the evenings and on the weekends, like it was a set sprinkler clock that would only go off when we wanted it to. Kinda cool!

Bevan has been an absolute trooper and has made my life so much easier at home! He absolutely stayed on top of all the dishes, laundry, bathroom cleaning, vacuuming, and child care! They had many trips to mcdonalds and the park. There were many hours logged on Netflix and pbs kids. Bevan taught Anna how to ride a 2-wheeler finally. She also “graduated” from preschool. Dallin turned 3 and we tried potty-training. It lasted 3 whole hours before we gave up! Better luck in June, eh?! By the end of the month, I was ready for summer. Bring on the fun! Because it’s been so busy, most of these blog posts will be back-dated, like around the time they actually happened, just for the record!

Maryland 2016

This year, we decided to do something other than our annual mud-season road trip... something a lot easier, like fly with 3 small children across the country, to Maryland!  Because Sharon just can't say no to a bombardment of family.  We felt a little jipped from our trip last time, ya know, during Hurricane Sandy 2012.  But, we felt luckier this time.  Let's go!

The first full day we just chilled and I tried to get my bearings.  It's hard for me to be in a place where the streets don't go north and south, there are no mountains, trees block every view, and the sun stays hidden.  I've never put so much faith into a GPS, ever!  Thursday, we took a little more seriously.  Me, Bevan, and Drew took the Metro into DC and were able to see many of the things we missed last time.  We loved the National Gallery of Art, Portrait Gallery, Federal Triangle, Ford's Theater, and National Geographic museum.  Drew was a trooper and just slept!  We got to be quite good at by-passing most elevators and just carrying the stroller up the stairs and escalators.  He even didn't mind the jerky Metro ride.

On Friday, we drove out to Mt Vernon.  I LOVE that place!!!  We were a little hesitant having to pay what we did, but then after seeing what private enterprise can do to preserve his heritage, it was worth every penny.  So much of what he did was divinely inspired.  He had faith in God and in the nation!  This place made it obvious and you hear from everybody what a "special spirit" was there.  If they brought in federal dollars, they would feel obliged to a de-sensitized country who's trying to rid of "in GOD we trust"!  George Washington believed in being self-sufficient, respecting the land, and respecting God.

On Saturday, we hit up the Smithsonian National Zoological Park (or can't we just call it "the zoo"?).  We saw the FAMOUS pandas the government is leasing from China.  So cute!  The rest of the animal selection was pretty comparable to any zoo, but everyone just comes for the pandas.

On Sunday, after early church, we spent some time at the DC Temple and Visitors Center.  So pretty!  On the way home, we stopped by Great Falls and the C&O Canal.  I just can't get enough of all the greenery and exposed bedrock, which made great climbing for Dallin and Conrad.  They slept very well on the way home.

We couldn't leave the DC area without paying a visit to our long-lost friends, Lauren and Tyler!  How dare they leave Midway for higher education at Johns Hopkins University!  I mean, cummon'!  We just had to come console them (I hope you're reading this, Lauren!)  We went up to Baltimore on Monday, and it was so fun to see their cute house, interesting neighborhood, and lots of one-way streets!  We strolled campus and I couldn't help but gaze at all those undergrads who's yearly education costs exceeds our yearly income.  LOVE private ed!

Our final day in Maryland was spent running around a beautiful lake, ordering "custom donuts" and taking the kids to an amazing park.  Sharon's kids had the day off school so all the cousins were able to play together, one last time!  I really didn't want to leave!  It was so warm and sunny and there were so many things we didn't get get to see.  Oh well, next time!