The big 3-0!

My birthday was on the 7th. I'm not gonna lie, I was not looking forward to this one, it was a little strange turning 30. I just feel like once you turn thirty, you are in a whole new category of life. You know, when you read fashion magazines and they separate styles by age: In your twenties, wear this. In your thirties, wear this, and so on? Well, you just can't get away with as much once you turn thirty. (And not just fashion, a lot of things.) Plus, ten more years and I'll be forty!! That just seems crazy to me. Oh well, enough of that!

I did have a fun birthday despite the number. I had some friends from work take me to lunch, and Adam surprised me with a BBQ party with Matt, Jordan, and their kids. It was great. Thanks everyone.

The Daines family visit

Our good friends, the Daines family, came to visit May 5-9. I always look forward to their long- awaited visits. We always have a grand ol' time while they are here and I always feel like I'm on vacation as well. They moved to Pasadena, California so Matt could attend Architecture school in L.A.. Matt & Jordan have always been so fun to hang out with because they are always game for anything, even if it is the spur of the moment. They are laid back, never flaky and I love that they are willing to put their kids to bed at our house temporarily, so we can stay up late to watch movies, chat or just enjoy one anothers' company. And when the party is over, they drag their wee ones out of bed and transfer them to Matt's parents home. Luckily their children are easily transferrable and allow this. :) We just keep hoping that by some miracle they will end up back in Logan, with a killer job for Matt........... we can keep wishing, right?

Claire and Ryder are just 3 1/2 mos. apart in age and play so well together, it's always good to see them reunited.

The kiddies

Stella and Lila are 2 wks. apart in age and are quite entertaining!
(see last two pictures below)

The mama's

The dada's

jumpin'

We were encouraging Lila and Stella to do that clench the fists, grit the teeth, and make grunting noises until you are blue in the face thing that kids this age do so well. Adam would say: Lila go....... Stella go, and they just kept taking turns. This carried on for quite some time, I was afraid they were going to burst every single blood vessel in their little eyeballs. It was pretty funny as you can see.

The annual "spoil the kids" trip

Every spring, we (my Mom, Sisters and I) try to take all the grandchildren on a weekend trip (we went the last weekend of April) to the Salt Lake City area and visit as many kid oriented attractions as we desire. This time my Dad surprisingly tagged along (thanks for being patient and putting up with the chaos). On this particular visit to the area, my parents hooked us up with a condo in Park City. We all arrived on Friday at different times. On Saturday we visited The Dinosaur museum, the Aquarium, the Lion's House Pantry for Lunch, then the Clark Planetarium for a 3-D ocean movie. On Sunday we decided to take it easy, (a change from years previous) we slept in and went swimming in the condo pool then headed home. Previous years, in addition to what is listed above, we've visited the children's museum, the zoo, Thanksgiving point, and the fountains at the Gateway mall (we just let the kids strip down to their skivvies and go crazy). It actually rained and snowed most of the time we were there, so this was not an option, bummer.

Claire, Robi Ann, Riley, and Stella excited and ready for the action.

This was probably the kids' favorite part of the Dinosaur museum, we had to pry them away.

How many children can you fit on a small dinosaur statue for a photo?

SHARK!!

L to R: Robi Ann, Rhet, Claire, Riley, Stella, Keeler, and Lily
(only one grandchild missing, Treasure decided to go chop wood with his Dad, crazy kid)