Sno Falls Girls Trip 2021

It's hard to believe it's been almost ten years since we left Washington.  But in those eight years we lived there we were fortunate to form many lifelong friendships that thankfully have continued to grow since leaving that beautiful place.  Some of these friends have come to visit us since leaving which has been so fun.  But it took until this year that my dear friend Mara and I finally decided to put a girls trip together to try and get as many of us together as possible and what not a better place to come to than Florida where I can offer up our home.  While there were about thirty people we invited and sadly we later realized we still managed to miss a few, we knew that only a handful would likely be able to come but how thrilled we were to see within 24 hours of sending out the invite several girls had booked tickets!  There ended up being nine of us which worked out great as far as accommodating people comfortably here at the house but we are already looking forward to planning our next one with the hope of not leaving anyone out.  Here are a few highlights from our time together! 

Here are Mara and I scouting out Rock Spring a few days before everyone arrived. I had never been but after doing some research was shocked to learn it was only a half hour from our place.  It was beautiful!

Next to arrive was Edie and Rachel.  Since they came in a day before the main group arrived, we took advantage of having most of Wednesday to hit the beach and enjoy lunch on the pier before everyone else arrived later that afternoon!

The girls have arrived!  What a great time everyone had at Rock Springs.  Favorite part of the day though had to be Mara and I looking through all the hysterical photos that were captured by the GoPro that we never intended to take. I honestly can't remember the last time I laughed so hard.  We had cramps by the time we were done.  We have promised not to post those...haha!

After a great time at the spring it was off to this hole in the wall right outside the park.  Definitely the best onion rings ever at Rock Springs Bar and Grill!

The next day we were off to Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive.  That never disappoints for those guests wanting to see alligators in the wild.  But since I've been so many times I neglected to take any photos but it was a crowd pleaser.  After that we enjoyed a fabulous Thai lunch and then it was off to the beach!

Probably the best part of the trip was all the time spent bonding whether it be in the hot tub, over dinner at Disney Springs, or while rooming with an old friend. So grateful to have these ladies in my life. Until next time...

HOCO 2021

Well, it happened.  It was only a matter of time before Jack, Connor, and Tyler would no longer be the only men in Sage's life.  We've officially gone from daddy daughter dances to homecoming dances...in fact this was her very first one! While she is not yet allowed to single date for a variety of reasons, I can say one big reason is I have far better ways I'd like to spend my weekend than chauffeuring a couple underage teenagers around town.  If you're too young to drive you are too young to date in my book! We did agree to allow her to go to homecoming if she went in a group, which is what she did and thankfully, there was no chauffeuring involved!  And how cool is it that our high school has homecoming at SeaWorld!  Living in Orlando does have it's benefits!

It's always fun to see how these kids ask each other to dances. Admittedly I had to ask Sage to explain the sign to me...haha!  Yes, I'm a little slow and had to say it several times to finally get it... I guess I've turned into my mom.  I did however immediately notice that Bo had caught on to Sage's love for turtles.

So how cute are these two!  

A few other photos from the night! 

Love my girl! Here she is with one of her best friends Gabby who she met up with at SeaWorld.

Middle aged plus one. Happy 51 to me...

Well it went as quick as it came...that is my 50th year in this world.  Officially I feel like I am truly on the downhill path which is scary and sad at the same time.  It's no secret my 2nd greatest fear is dying.  (My first being losing a family member.)  I don't know if it's because I worry how it will happen or because I can't imagine being without my family, even if it is just temporary.  I do know that each year is going by faster than the prior and I don't like that one bit.  

In keeping with a tradition...well, maybe not a tradition since this is only our second year doing it, Jack and I decided to spend my birthday exploring somewhere closer to home. Last year we did the Florida Keys and Miami and this year we did Naples.  This trip was a quicker trip because Jack had to be on a flight back to Utah on Sunday for meetings but we made the best of the time we had!

While Jack had been to Naples a long time ago for business, I had never been.  I can see why people love it and I can see why it would be such a great place to retire.  It has all the amenities of any big city but within a few short blocks it also has the charm of a very exclusive community with a city center with higher end stores and restaurants in addition to beautiful beaches a few short blocks away.  What I was especially drawn to were the beautiful homes that were conveniently located around the upscale shopping and yet were also steps away from the beautiful beaches.  We saw everything from massive estates to modern bungalows but all displayed beautifully manicured yards and while they were not hidden within gated communities, they felt safe and had a feel of being away from it all.  It reminded me of some of the neighborhoods we've seen around Beverly Hills.  

So here are a few highlights! 

The Naples Pier

Thai for dinner!  

We literally booked our hotel 10 minutes before arrival.  I wasn't sure where we'd want to be and after seeing that the Ritz was going for $1,000 a night I couldn't help but think of all the better ways to use that money so we ended up at the Naples Grande Beach Resort.  By beach resort we learned after checking in it meant taking that long boardwalk above to the beach...haha. But the room was large, clean, and contemporary and we always love a room with a view!

The next day we returned to the pier as it was a much sunnier day which always makes for prettier water.  We also enjoyed strolling down 5th ave and peaking in some of the nice art galleries.

As we made our way home we followed the coast up to Sanibel Island. It was fun driving through some of the beach communities. Along the highway just outside Ft. Meyers we saw all these cars parked.  There were so many we had to pull off to see what could possibly draw such a crowd.  After a five minute walk through the Florida jungle, it became very clear why there were so many cars.  It was a dog beach!  Dogs were everywhere. It was so cute to see all these happy dogs of all types and sizes playing in the water with other dogs and their owners.  We for sure want to bring Nova back to Bonita Beach dog park!  This photo doesn't do it justice as to how big the beach was and how many dogs were there!  So goodbye fifty...hello fifty-one!

Happy Anniversary to these two love birds!

September 1st marked fifty-four years for these two!  So blessed to have them as my parents.  And how nice Jack was their to capture this cute photo of the two of them.

S is for Sophmore!

Can hardly believe this beautiful girl is a 10th grader!  Here she is on her first day of her sophomore school year at Windermere High, which also turned out to be her first day of seminary as indicated from the fact it's still dark outside!  Let's just say I'll be very excited when the day comes that she can drive herself at 5:20 am... haha!

Airport Goodbyes...

More bitter...less sweet. And is it terrible that I'm already counting down until their safe return?!?  Connor left first on July 20, 2021. After we said our goodbyes Jack got the smart idea to go up to the mezzanine level where we could watch Connor from above as he went through security.  He had no idea we were watching him because we were unable to get his attention but it gave us just a few more minutes to quietly watch him from above. 

His itinerary had him traveling to Atlanta first before arriving in Mexico City where he would be able to meet up with a couple other elders from his MTC district including Elder Carbajal who would also be continuing on to Oaxaca with him and Elder Earl his MTC companion who would be traveling onto a different mission in Mexico.  I was so glad I had sent him with his phone even though he wouldn't be able to keep it once he arrived in the mission because at least I was able to keep in contact with him as he made his way to Mexico.  Yes, I'm that mom...

Watching these two embrace about did me in.  I think the longest they've been apart from each other is one night.  

Meeting up with others from his district!

Ty followed the following week on July 27, 2021. While saying goodbye to Ty was equally as difficult, I found some comfort knowing that since he had been temporarily reassigned to the Santa Rosa, California mission,  life wouldn't be so different for him the way it would be for Connor.  Remaining on American soil meant clean drinking water, hot showers, air conditioning, food he was use to, a car...  All things that many of us take for granted and Connor would not have.

Since Ty flew out of a different terminal we were unable to go to the upper mezzanine to watch him as he went through security, but I loved watching him every 10 ft. or turn around to look for us and throw both of his fists up in the air like he was Rocky.  He continued to do it until he was completely out of our sight.

I honestly don't know how I'm going to make it until June of 2023...I'm sure going to miss these boys.