SURPRISE!

I just have to start out by saying that I have the best friends around. Really.

Thursday night, Amy had planned for her and I to go out to Crown Burger...one of my faves! It might have been because I was whined to her about how I wasn't doing anything for my big 30. Being as awesome as she is, she planned all of this. 

 

We showed up to Crown and she was acting a little weird. She was driving really slow on the freeway, took a long time in the bathroom and also took a while ordering. As we were ordering, I felt someone standing really close to me. I turned to look and there was Megs face and then I looked around and saw all my book club friends. Totally surprised!

 

I even got fun gifts. Such generous and good people. 



I Love this group so much and I am so thankful to know every single one of them.

 Following our dinner, Amy took me to Nordstrom to buy me a birthday gift. We were excited that Ginger could join us too. She bought me the cutest Toms that should be arriving in the mail.

 

Seriously, best surprise night ever. Love you all!

GRADUATION!

The day is here. Graduation. Luke looked awesome and I was a very happy{dare I even say proud} wife. The ceremony was long and I thought it was so funny how everyone waved at their graduates as they spotted them coming in (reminded me of a primary program) Cade, kept us entertained and we loved spotting our graduate.

 It was a long ceremony and it's safe to say we were pretty bored. Holly even started reading her scriptures. Amy and I tried to take pictures of us looking bored and Cade kept sending us the funniest texts.

I loved taking pictures of Luke all dressed up in his cap and gown. 

 Love this man.

Rodizio Grill. As always, we miss those that weren't able to join us.

A few things we don't want to forget...

-Luke found his friend, Terrel who also graduated

-All Amy wanted to try was the Winder Wonderland at Rodizio. She saw it on their billboard. The waiter was nice enough to make it just for her.

-Cade would not stop hugging my mom when he saw her.

-Gimley the red-headed-long-bearded-graduate

-Luke wanting us to boo for him when they read his name instead of cheer

 

Congratulations, Luke! I am so happy for you. All those long nights of studying late, being away from your family, missing special events, sacrificing your time and money has finally paid off. You are such a great example to me and especially to Oliver. We love love love you and thank you for all your hard work.  You're done!



While these parents are away...

...Oliver will play.

 

Since Luke and I were away last weekend, Oliver got to stay with the Jensen's and since it was Oakley's birthday, he got to be a part of the celebrations.

Dinner at Cafe Rio.

Ice cream and Root beer floats

 

Long walks around the neighborhood.

 Amy said that by the end of the long walk, he was so tired and even told her that his legs hurt. I believe you, bud. 

But it looks like he was rewarded with a Popsicle...

 and a nap.

They were nice enough to take him to his soccer game...that ended up getting cancelled.

Playing games.

 I think...

And playing games...in the closet....under the stairs...with his BFF, Andrew

 

It's so nice to be able to go on vacation and not think twice about the safety of your child and know that he is in good hands.

 

Thank you so much, Jensen's. You guys had a part in making our vacation so awesome.



Graduation Getaway

Luke and I were ready for a vacation getaway after he finished his finals and after I have been dealing with some personal things. We decided that a trip to St. George and Vegas was just what we needed. We left Oliver with Jensen's and we took off.

The drive down was so nice. Luke and I talked the whole way down and didn't even listen to any music. That, in my opinion, is the best way to travel.

 

Benjas sushi was the first stop. It was fantastic and I think we broke a record for getting in and out of there in under 30 minutes.

We stayed up late watching Life of Pi and then slept in as late as we could. In the morning we were greeted by this lovely view and had a delicious breakfast out on the back patio. It was heavenly.

 

Later that day after some shopping, we headed down to Las Vegas to meet up with Mandi and her family. We went out to dinner that night with them where they took us to the Foodie Fest. Luke and I had food from the Maine Lobster Lady, Tornado Potato, and Funnel Cakes. It was delicious.

 

The next morning we woke up early to head down to the old Las Vegas strip and run in the Bubble Run 5K.

 

Mandi and I dressed up in our towel costumes. They were a hit and we were even stopped on several occasions to get pictures taken with people. I sort of felt like a celebrity ;).

The race itself was so much fun. The bubbles, the people, the famous landmarks, the pictures.

After the race we got to play in the bubble machines. It was pretty fun. I loved running in this race with Luke and Mandi.  Thanks Mandi for letting us stay at your place and for hanging out with us.



After we got cleaned up we headed to Raising Canes. It was so delicious. We each ate a Caniac which if you don't know, it's a lot of food.

We shopped a little more in Vegas before leaving and to walk off our large meals. We may have even been waddling. Luke bought himself a hat he had been eye balling and I bought a skirt and shirt. We didn't have much shopping luck which is totally fine by us.

 

The rest of the trip we relaxed and it was wonderful. We took long walks on the golf course in the evening. Luke found 10 balls, I found 22. I laid out in the sun while Luke napped in the shade. We watched more movies and stayed up late and ate our little hearts out.

 

I love this man and loved spending a nice long weekend with him. It was perfect and one of the best trips ever. 

And thank you to Trent and Amy for watching Oliver while we were away. It's so nice to know he was in such good hands... and that he was getting plenty of exercise. 

While the parents are away...

...These kids will play.

 Trent and Amy headed to California to run in the SoCal Ragnar this past weekend. Luke and I got to watch their kids while they were away. It was a crazy crazy weekend, but we all had so much fun.

Thursday night we had soccer games for the boys and Oakley. They each scored a goal for their winning teams and the final score for both teams were 6-2. They wanted me to make sure that I mentioned that.

Thursday night we had some visitors. Jodi, Clay and Hallie stopped by to have dinner with us. It was so fun to visit with them and the kids loved playing with Hallie

Goof balls.

 Friday after school we stopped by Luke's work to visit. Whenever we go to visit, the kids usually make a poster for Grandpas door. Since he was also running at Ragnar we made him a team BONK! poster. I helped them make some runners but they named them. They decided to make Mike the distressed runner.

 Saturday morning was chuck full of soccer games. All six kids had a game and luckily, they were every hour from 9-12 so we were able to go to every ones game.

 

The boys were first. I love watching them and they are getting so good.

 

 

Supporting each other in the rain

 Paige and Morgan were up next. Luke took them and we met up with them after the boys game was over. He said that they got on the field, Paige scored a goal and they called it quits. It was freezing and pouring.

Up next, Oliver 

This was his first soccer game. We were all guessing what color his team would be. None of us thought it would be green.

 

And it went exactly as we thought a 4 year old soccer game would go. It was funny.

 

And finally Oakley. She kicked some serious soccer balls. A lady on the opposing team said to me "Wow that girl is so tiny, but she is a such a fierce player". I have to agree.

After soccer, we were all hungry and so we took a little trip to McDonald's. We had such a big group so Luke was a good sport and ate alone at the neighboring table. I think he secretly enjoyed it.

 

 That night we took the kids to the nickel cade. They each got their own cup of nickels and they got to spend them however they wanted. They finally found a game that was fun and gave them a lot of tickets.

Ticket counting machine 

 Picking out their prizes. This took about half an hour and they mostly ended up picking candy.

They were already talking about going the next time and how they are going to save up all their nickels. 

 

Saturday night we decided to go rent a movie. 4 of the kids wanted to go with me so we loaded up and headed down the hill. The kids saw that I had my wallet with me and started to ask why we need a drivers license. I told then that you have to have one to drive and that if you get pulled over by a police man, they will check to make sure that you have it. Not even a minute later I spotted a cop. We saw each other as he was passing me and then I saw him flip around and follow me. I told the kids that I thought I was about to get pulled over so I told them to sit flat on their butts and to be good. They were really good. The cop pulled us over for having too dark of tint on the car. I was so scared that he was going to ticket me for not having any of these tiny kids in boosters. Luckily I got off with just a warning and these kids got a first hand experience as to why we have drivers licenses.

And finally on Sunday we all got ready to go to our church because of mine and Luke's callings. The kids were excited to go to primary with me. I had practiced singing time with them and they wanted to do it again. By the third hour, we were all done and keeping them entertained and quiet was hard.

  After church we headed to "Rocket Park" for a picnic and to let the kids burn some energy. It was perfect.

The kids chicken fought and it was so funny.

Luke also played tag with them for about an hour. They loved it and then he bounced them all on the flobby bridge. I loved sitting back and watching them. Bless Luke for entertaining them.

That night, Trent and Amy got home and Luke, Oliver and I headed home. It was so quiet being in our own home and I genuinely missed not having all six kids. I've said it before, but I sure do love those little squirts as if they were my own.