Donut Falls DATE NIGHT

Date nights are pretty rare around here but when they do come sometimes I feel like we do the same old things. Go out to eat quick and then come home or maybe try to fit a quick movie in. This night I suggested we do something different and Toby as all for it which made me so happy. We went and got some food and different places we liked, packed up a back pack and headed for the mountains. We ended up at a hike at donut Falls and had the best time! It was so nice being up in the canyon and enjoying all of the beautiful scenery. We followed some experienced hikers up to the top of the waterfall and it was all just SO pretty. It was so nice to do for a change. Definitely need to do stuff like that more often.

Alice's Adventures in IDIOMS!

Elle's 5th Grade Play! She was so excited to be in this. She auditioned for the part of Dinah and got it:) Her best friend Gabby was Alice so that made for some fun practices I'm sure. They worked very hard on it and it was so fun to go to all the rehearsals and see her in her element acting and singing. Her grandparents and aunts and uncles were able to make it to the final performance so that was the icing on the cake for her. Such a sweet talented girl she is!

Downs Reunion in SUN VALLEY!

Aunt Jackie and my Dad had been planning this Downs Family Reunion for quite some time. I was glad to go but a bit bummed too because it was during some sports stuff that Toby and Cash couldn't leave for. That meant I was on my own with Elle Tate and Kemp but at the last minute Toby decided to keep Tate too so that helped a lot. Josh and the girls decided to drive up with me so that was good too. We weren't there very long…just 3 nights but we sure had fun while we were there. Lots of fishing, skipping rocks, eating at fun places (we literally sat right next to Arnold Schwarzenager and my Dad shook his hand:), swimming, and sight-seeing. The kids loved swimming at the Lodge up there. We also had a really fun time getting together with all of Jackies side of the family that we never see. We sat at a little outdoor restaurant with all of them, all of us and all of Joni's family. We hadn't been together in years so that was fun. Glad we were able to make it work with almost everyone:)

Utah Valley Half 2016 in the books!

So….this was hard. Like really hard. I hadn't done well in my training at all. In fact, the longest run I had was barely 5 miles. I didn't want to injure my IT band. I just figured if I had to I'd walk it. I'd done this race 3 times before so I knew I would finish…just didn't know when. Well…Not sure what got into my but about half way through I realized i could PR if i kept my pace up. It was NOT EASY. I struggled. I hurt all over. My feet, my legs, my hips, and for the first time running ever the last 2 miles I started to feel quite nauseas. But I DID IT!!! I PR'ed. Got the best time I had ever gotten. Which isn't saying much because I'm a terrible runner but I ran the whole time and did better than I had ever done. I'm grateful I have my best friend to do this with too. Toby makes everything funner.

Tate TURNS 4!!!!

How does this even happen? I blink and all of a sudden my little Taters is four. Man i love this kid. I love everything about him. His little lisp, his random comments, his love for the avengers, his constant repetitiveness, his incredible imagination, how much he loves me, how he can't count to five but sure tries, the way his eyes close into rainbows when he laugh. He has the best laugh. He's stubborn as all get out and he can be very difficult to parent at times but I am so grateful he is mine. He makes life better in every way. We had so much bringing him breakfast in bed and taking him to all-star lanes for arcades and laser tag. It was so cute…after we had brought him breakfast and the kids were getting ready for school he said.."don't you guys want to stay here and play with me?"  They were both like "ya we do!!!" So that's when we made plans for all-stars and off we went. That evening we all went over to Jordan and Kristees to celebrate seeing as Jordan and he share a birthday. We had a fun campfire and cookout and opened lots of presents and made his day the very best we could!

Memorial Weekend 2016

Weekends like these are sure nice.  An extra day off work for Tob, an extra long weekend to play, and most importantly a weekend on to focus on all of our loved ones who have moved on and to recall all of our wonderful memories of them. We started with taking a long walk around the lake and to the park at daybreak. Chicago came with us and gave us a run for our money by jumping in the lake to play with the ducks. Good times. Josh and the girls came with us and we really enjoyed some sun. On Sunday we took our annual drives up north to all of the Graves. Joel and Tessa came down and joined us and we had a nice picnic at the pavilion. At each of the stops we would sit around and just recount memory after memory of Grandpas and Grandmas and aunts and uncles and all of our loved ones. We also went to see Todd and visit with him for a bit. Somehow we fit some baseball tournament in there as well. I love this tradition. I never want to stop. It helps me feel close to them and I miss them all so much. How grateful we are for the gospel and our knowledge that families are forever.

TOP GOLF with the Stevens and Ashbys

Nothing better than a date night out with good friends. And these guys are some of the best. We were able to make it to Top Golf for the first time with the Stevens and Ashbys. Oh my goodness this place is amazing. The atmosphere is just so fun!!! The boys were in heaven with the golf, the sports on the tv, the food and us girls just chatted away. We did however find out how terrible my golf swing is but it improved a bit as the night went on. I love when you're with your friends and you all just can't stop laughing. To have a smile on your face the entire night is just priceless. We are sure lucky to have these guys as such good friends. Fun fun night.