The Strongest Man Alive

Many of you know that Kevin and I recently took a quick trip down to south-east Texas to visit my PawPaw who has terminal cancer. It was one of the hardest weekends of my life while also being one of the most rewarding weekends of my life. I knew I needed to get down there to say my goodbyes to the strongest man I have ever known. PawPaw is technically my Dad's uncle, who helped raise him until he was 12. He never knew his biological father, but PawPaw or Uncle Buck as he is known, filled that fatherly figure in my fathers life and the grandfather role in our life. While it was so hard sitting with PawPaw in his hospital room, it was wonderful to talk with him while he had his voice box on about memories and stories. It amazes me a man 88 years old can have such an amazing memory, including remembering everyones phone numbers. Some of our memories that we discussed were:

Riding on the riding lawnmower, thinking it was the coolest thing ever!

Swimming in the irrigation ditch while my mom was napping after she told us we couldn't but PawPaw said we could!

Riding the "horse" with his legs propped up on the bed, trying to buck up off.

Swinging on the tree swing with Mimi (Aunt Mary) who passed away over 15 years ago

Miss Mrytis, PawPaw's wife for the last 15 years. She is the sole reason he did not die of a broken heart when Mimi died. We owe her so much.

It is hard watching the strongest man that you know lay in his hospital bed and cry, just wanting to go home to his famous garden. Or to repeat over and over, what a good life he has had. As hard as it was to sit there and hold his hand and rub his head, it was one of the best weekends of my life. I am so blessed to be able to call this man my family. My prayer is that he will not be in any pain or discomfort, whatever that may mean.

3 Things I Love Today!

In case you were wondering...

#1-My Daddy's Improvised Cinnabon


Everyone knows I LOVE having my parents live 2 hours away (that's a given) but it is sooo much fun to spend more time with my Daddy. He is the sweetest thing in the world and we all get a kick out of him and his little quirks :) The latest is his morning creation that goes perfectly with either a Diet Coke (me) or a fresh cup of coffee (Papa).


First, toast an English Muffin and lightly spread with butter
Second, add a layer of Betty Crocker Cream Cheese Frosting
Third, generously sprinkle STRAIGHT cinnamon on top


This creation is the best so far, IT IS SOOOO GOOD!!! And my mom and I think it's not as fatty as a Cinnabon. :)

#2- My Handy Manny Husband

This has been on the "Someday" list for a loooong time....adding shelving to the boys closet. Since we built our house and moved in in only 4 months, a lot of things were left to do once we moved in.....don't know if that was a good idea :) We can finally mark this off the list. For only $200, we got to Extreme Makeover little boy closets.

Troy's Before

Troy's After

Colt's Before

Colt's After

#3- Glitter Toes!!!

Yes, they are back! I had Glitter Toes last summer and loved them and didn't realize how much I missed them until this week when I got new ones! If you don't know, it's acrylic toe nails with glitter mixed into the acrylic so they last about 2 months with NO paint chipping off!!! We had the cutest little family move into our neighborhood a few months ago, the Barclays, and she just opened up the cutest salon in her basement. So I can get glitter toes done whenever I want! :) amongst other things. Stephanie Barclay grew up 10 minutes from me in North Dallas and her husband Scott played baseball against Kev in high school and were friends. (2 Sanpete boys marrying 2 Dallas girls) We have so much in common. It's been fun getting to know them. Here are my toes, Troy was with me when we did them and he REFUSED to let me get any color other than Gold....I was sooo indecisive that day that I just did it. And I love how they go with everything!

In case you are a local and want to go see Steph, here is her price list and what she does. You can call or text her at 435-851-6440

Haircuts

Women’s Haircut $15

Women’s Haircut and Style $18

Men’s Haircut $10

Children’s Haircut $8

Color (includes haircut and style)

Partial Weave:
*Short Hair $40
*Medium Hair $45
*Long Hair $50 and up

Full Weave:
*Short Hair $50
*Medium Hair $55
*Long Hair $60 and up

All Over Color: $35 and up

Hair Removal

Eyebrows $10
Underarm Sugar $13
Lip Sugar $7

Nails
Glitter Toes $25

Our Day with Thomas

A parenting "MUST" that I learned very quickly: What you do for one kid, you have to do for another. Since Troy got to go visit Thomas the Train when he was 2, we knew Colt would love his own visit. We brought along Papa and Cookie, and Uncle CJ who was in town visiting, JUST what he wanted to do on his 2 week vacation that he gets once a year. We had a blast, with EVERYTHING Thomas!

A little Sir Topham Hatt....

a little petting zoo....



a little tattoo parlor....

A little ride...

And a LOT of Thomas!

The Sweetest Family in the World....

I am sorry I have been a little "out of it" lately in the blog world...the only thing to blame is a little thing called Facebook :) I have been pretty much addicted and while it is sooo fun, I still want to keep my blog up and going. There is nothing like looking at blogs to see everyone's individual personalities. A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to have an amazing photo shoot by Jenny Wheeler. I was blown away by the results, most of you have already seen them but I had to post them again :) I love how our personalities shine in the photos...to me that is all that I wanted to accomplish in the shoot. Jenny was amazing to work with and I HIGHLY recommend her to anyone who lives in Utah. This is the start of MANY photo shoots with her.

Here comes Spring!!!

We had a fabulous spring break and Easter weekend! Easter weekend was spent with my parents in Salt Lake, we had a fun dinner with amazing food on Sunday and it was fun to have both of my grandmas there with us. We did an egg hunt on Saturday morning at my Grandma's assisted living center and I couldn't believe how huge it was! It was tons of fun and it was so fun to see all of the great grandmas and grandpas with their big smiles!

A beautiful Easter Sunday

Thank you for the ties and shirts Cookie!

About to start the egg hunt

Friday night was a special night for my good friend an co-worker, Megan. She married her longtime boyfriend who is also a co-worker so it was a lot of fun to see everyone from work at a wedding. We went with our friends Shane & Michelle and their 2 youngest kids, Gabe & Abby. Meggy was smart and had a coloring station for the kids at the reception and lots of candy :)

I actually got to have 2 dinners in one week with Shane and Michelle (once in St. George and also before the wedding) and since we weren't on a business trip, it has to be a record! I love them so much!

We spent Wed, Thur, & Friday in St. George with 10 mom's from our neighborhood and our kids. It was crazy and sooo much fun! I can't wait for next year! There were lots of laughs and lots of fun memories! Outside the St. George Temple.

Colt & Cadee Alder...doesn't it look like a prom picture! She is only 2 months older than him.

We found an awesome skate park and took the scooters and helmets...no one got hurt and the boys loved it!

KJ, Kasen, Troy and Colt. This was the best pic out of the 10 that I took....impossible!

Riding Kiddie Carts. Colt couldn't push the button and steer at the same time so guess who got to ride on the back and help!!