Mesa, Hoover, and Whatever Else I Decide to Write About

I have become the worst blogger. I'm bad at writing in a journal so I knew the novelty would ware off from blogging and I would slack....and it's worse now that I am a facebook addict. And also there is this cute busy 1 yr old that doesn't allow me to sit at the computer for very long because my attention isn't on her. So...blogging is ...sparatic.
We have been busy though and having fun and just hanging out. These pictures are going to go backwards in time because that is how they download and I'm too lazy to fix it. The picture below is my two boys with the Sunday funny papers. Parker can't read....but he loves the funny papers. They were so deep into thought....I had to capture it. Utah weather has been true to form in that you get a nice warm spring day and within hours there can be snow on the ground. That is how it has been lately....or at least freezing cold rain. But today is Sunny and I took the opportunity to get some pictures of the kids in their Easter outfits. I'm so lucky that my mom has a blue house because it made a great background. Parker is a silly goose. And it is hard to get a picture of him these days because to say..."smile" sends him into a silly goofy posing session and I'm lucky to get a couple of descent shots in.

This is the ultimate Penny face. She loves to crinkle up that nose and show off all her teeth and make those eyes smile. She was having fun laughing at her daddy standing behind me.

I am so lucky. I know I keep saying that and it is a repetitive theme to my blog page.....but when I think back at 6 years ago....I just can't get enough of pictures like this. Penny is growing up so fast on us. She is quickly moving from that baby stage to cute little girl stage. It breaks her daddy's heart.

These next pics are supposed to be of "Fort Utah." It is in a park in West Provo area. There is also a monument which names the top men that were called by Brigham Young to come and settle the Provo area. My great great great grandfather's name is on that plaque along with his brother. Isaac and John Higbee. Isaac Higbee was the first Stake President of the first Stake in Provo. His picture is posted in a building on 600 or 700 North on the West Side. Ryan and I were in that ward building when we first got married. Anywho...I took the kids on a road trip to find this park and take some pics for my mom and we played for a few minutes at the playground.

One night when Ryan was bathing the kids, he burst into tons of laughter and this is what I found when I went it. Ryan loves to make her hair do funny things especially since it is so long...although when dry....there are so many curls it is hard to tell how long it is. She has no clue why we are laughing and throwing such a fit while she's in the tub.

One of the nice warm days....my neighbor and I went out with the kids and enjoyed the sun. Penny was a good sport to keep her hat on. I want to protect that gorgeous skin of hers. She looked so tiny waddling around all over the yard.



I should go and find the picture of me dressed similar to this and posing and smiling similar to this at a similar age and scan it and put the two pics side by side. She does have some of my features....I just didn't have her stunning blue eyes....they were green instead.

She was content sitting there in the grass, but check out that frown. The sun was so bright. But she looked like a lawn ornament sitting there so still.

This cool man was made out of a toy called toobers and zots. They were at my aunt's house in St. George and we stayed there on our way to Mesa at the beginning of this month. Parker loved this toy, but when I got home and looked them up online....for crying out loud expensive.




Just a cute pic of Ryan and Penny peeking around a tree at me while visiting Hoover Dam.


A huge huge huge bridge is being built at Hoover Dam so that through traffic will no longer go across the dam. It is amazing and gorgeous. So as we were walking we saw this cage being lowered by cables and such and this man got out and started walking up the arch of the bottom of this bridge. It was nuts. I am zoomed in quite a bit ....so you can see how large this bridge is. Poor Ryan was not having a great time with his fear of heights and all.

My parents with the bridge behind them. We are standing on the dam. My dad was so fascinated with this bridge. He was ready to sell his home, move to Henderson and come here every day with a nice pair of binoculars and a lawn chair and just watch. He was like a kid in a candy store.


This is a survey marker at the Dam. Ryan made me take a pic for his dad....a surveyor. Enjoy Dad Rowan.

Ryan trying not to throw up as he looks down the face of the dam. He was not loving it.

So we went to Mesa to visit my brother Hank, his wife Amanda and their 5 kids...Lincoln, Morgan, Kimball, Hunter and Jackson. Parker had a wonderful time with his cousins. They played so nice with him ....he had a blast.



The Mesa temple. So pretty and so different than others. As we passed by this side of the temple, Parker yells out, "Sweet mom. The temple has a pool."


More fun with cousins.

Penny enjoyed the trampoline for a second. Parker and Jackson jumped by and she went flying and flipped. She wasn't hurt...but it scared her and she was done with the trampoline.

We had fun in Mesa. We went down to see my brother's concert. He is in the East Valley Mormon Chorus and Orchestra. They were amazing. They blew me away. Tabernacle Choir quality. And there were teen choruses and itty bitty kids choruses. The music was pheonominal. I am so proud of my brother. It is so good to see him so happy.

I've been trying to get a good shot of Penny to document her being 1 yr. But this is mostly what I get....her smirking and looking away. She's such a bugger. Or the shot is of her walking towards me trying to grab the camera. So I'm glad I got the shots up at the top of this post. She has changed so much since getting her pics done at 8 months. Oh well...this pic is cute too.

Ryan has been forced to take a week off of work ...the week after Easter. We are heading to San Diego and are taking the kids to Legoland and to visit Ryan's grandparents. We are excited. The weather should be nice and we got great deals on hotels and tickets for the park. Parker is going to go nuts...he loves legos.

That is all we are up to. We are doing well. I still struggle with fatigue....but surviving.