Baja California Cruise

John and I got to go on a sweet little cruise with our awesome friends Jenny and Derek. They invited us to come with them and we thought... "why not?"

Catalina Island

 Botanical Gardens on Catalina Island: 

All the plants were variations of cactus which was way cool!

~ John's Birthday~

This lucky fart got to celebrate his big day on the cruise ship...

and he got THE BEST cake ever. It was seriously HEAVEN.

La Bufadora (The Blowhole)

The water comes up to the rocks and then every couple of minutes there's this huge blast of water/mist that shoots up about 100 feet into the air. Best Blowhole Ever! :)

~Buds~

Oh yeah, and one night we were out on the Lido Deck in the hot tub when a dance party started. 

So we joined....in our robes....!

.So Grateful.

Sometimes you just need to get away to appreciate what you have... Me and Utah, we have this love hate relationship thing going on. I love some things about it (mostly just the GORGEOUS mountains, that's it), and I hate a lot of things about it. But sometimes, if we can just get a break from each other, then we get along just great. After two weeks of being away this month, I'm ok with Utah. I can live here (for a little longer at least) :)

Sometimes I get caught up in the stresses of life and the kids and I start getting down each other's throats. But boy did this trip help me learn to appreciate my sweet babies! 

Seriously? What would I do without these kids!?

They drive me nuts sometimes (especially when they gang up on me, like this...)

Team Mass Destruction...

They are capable of so much (in so little time).

But boy, being away for a week helps you realize how much you really have.

 

So no matter what they do, or how silly they can be...

I am grateful for every moment we have together!

Colorado Roadtrip 2012

We had an awesome time together with the kids in Colorado. One of the biggest differences (we think) that made this trip so much better than our past trips with the kids...CONDO. No cramped hotel room! We loved it...so here's some photos to show you what we did.

*Keep on eye out for Jack's new (scary) way of "smiling" for the camera.

.Frisco.

.the condo.

 Dillon Lake

skipping rocks: great form John :)

Denver: My old stomping grounds.

Sutton Family's old townhouse. 

 Denver Children's Museum

(Jack's funny new way of smiling for the camera).

 Tiny Town...which was closed, but we kinda got to look around.

Dinosaur Ridge

.diggin' for fossils.

 Hammond's Candy Factory Tour

Jack flirted with some of the girls on the other side of the window in the factory...which scored him  a free gourmet chocolate turtle.

...and there were no complaints from Lily :)