Another candle for this beauty!

Fifteen candles as a matter of fact! I ask Sage every year if there is anything else she'd like to do with her friends to celebrate her big day, but every year she comes up with the same idea...a lake day.  Thankfully her friends all seem to really enjoy celebrating with her that way too.  I love that she has her church friends, school friends, and rowing friends and it seems like each year the group grows larger.  Since they all don't know each other or even attend the same school she does her best to narrow down her invite list to those she thinks will best connect with one another.  This was this year's group!  Between sports and jobs by the end of the night her group had dwindled but it was sure nice that everyone made a point to drop in at one point or another.  Happy Birthday sweet Sage!

And now that's she's fifteen, she also took her driving permit exam, so yes, another soon to be driver in the house.  Now I just need to get up the courage to get on the road with her in the drivers seat...

Happy Mother's Day

When Jack suggested I fly out to Utah and surprise my mom for Mother's day I was a bit apprehensive. Not because I didn't want to go but it was just three days away and felt a bit rushed. Two days later I was on a flight.  And how glad I am that I did it.  While being away from my own kids on Mother's day felt a bit strange, being with Jack and my mom was well worth it especially after seeing the look on my dad's face as I walked into the house.  My mom was upstairs so after greeting him I snuck upstairs to surprise here too.  Boy what I would have done for photos of their faces...

Jack knows just what I love...And there is no better smell to arrive to than fresh lilies in the car at the airport.

The next morning we drove up the canyon to check out the view from Squaw Peak.  Instead of enjoying the view though we found ourselves in love with all these beautiful wild flowers at the top.

After a nice morning we made our way to Heber to enjoy some golf together.

On Sunday we honored mom!  I am forever grateful to have been blessed with her as my mom.  She really is everything I hoped to be but will fall far short of becoming.  Here we are enjoying a wonderful light lunch that Jack had grilled up for us.

After a lovely lunch we jumped in the jeep and took a drive to Wallsburg, which is just off the highway as you pass by Deer Creek.  It's a very "American" small town and we love it!

Later in the week I was able to meet up with Noelle for lunch and once again we could have talked for hours longer but we will look forward to my next visit out.  

And of course Jack and I made one more trip up to Heber to get in a round of golf, doing our best to get as much use out of our membership as possible because at times I'm not sure what's going to come first...Jack digging my grave or digging to begin on our home construction...

One last photo before mom and dad get ready to head off on their road trip with their best friends Eydie and Rick.  So glad Jack encouraged me to make the trip.  It truly was such a wonderful time.

Done: College Freshman Year

The jury was out in August on just how normal the boys first year of college would be.  Classes were mostly online, masks were required, dorm lounges closed up within a few weeks and almost all the events that make your first year experience a blast were cancelled or postponed, including freshman orientation, sporting events and school sponsored dances and activities. Even the basketball nets were removed from the hoops outside the dorms as a way to prevent kids from conjugating in the area as the cases in Utah started to increase.  This didn't seem to stop the boys from still finding ways to find fun...and catch Covid.  In fact, in addition to Covid, Ty managed to also catch mono, just in time for his first semester finals.  So while I have always encouraged the boys to work hard and play hard, I think it's probably fair to say Ty probably played a little harder than he worked...haha .  In the meantime I would guess Connor worked a bit harder than he played based on the fact he probably took four photos throughout his whole freshman year.  So if there seems to be a disproportionate amount of photos with Connor, you know why. :)

Ty's first overnight hike to the top of Timp

Connor enjoying his first overnight hike up to Timp.  This time it was a tad bit chillier...

Halloween weekend including their first home football game as freshmen.  Ty was excited to have caught the ball during one of the field goals.  And yes, he's clearly wearing a "friend's" coat...

Fun times with friends!

Getting in some night skiing at Sundance

Ice Castles in Midway

Trips to southern Utah

The boys celebrating their 19th!

Celebrating mission calls

Ending the school year off with a trip to southern Utah with Uncle Paul to do some canyoneering.

This band of kids grew pretty close through the year and what a better way to end the year than a trip to Florida shortly after school got out.  They split their time between the Orlando area and Sanibel where Cade lives, spending their days in the pool, on the lake, at the ocean and at SeaWorld.  A perfect way to end this chapter before starting on their next one...missions!

So that's a basic rundown of their first year!