The Tulip Festival 2022

 

For me, the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point is just about the best thing about spring.  The tulips were beautiful!  We went first thing on a Monday morning and it was not crowded at all.  It was perfection.

Posing in the giant wooden shoes never gets old:)

Aww yeah... work it, Faith!

With our three oldest children not living at home these days, our numbers were down for our visit this year.  It's kind of fun to get to focus on these younger kids:)

Hill rolling is a favorite element of the outing.

We also like to visit the koi fish-- they seemed to be very fat and happy fish.

We treated ourselves to JCW's for lunch afterward.  Everything about the morning was so lovely.

The day before was Mothers' Day and I felt very loved by my people.  

The day before Abe and Faith planted the traditional Mothers' Day marigolds in the front planters.  

A happy Mothers' Day, indeed:)

Catch-Up -- Foxy Ladies Edition

With so much unexpected excitement with Elinor and Brandon getting married, I could easily forget that life has been marching on with the rest of the family.  Thankfully, the picture taking has not ceased, so I have lots of pictures to look back and remember what else has been going on.  This is one of those catch-up posts.

Faith taught Greta to ride her bike-- starting and stopping and all.

Which meant it was time for Greta's first bike ride to Peterson's (local grocery store).  It's a tradition Abe has with the kids.  It's about 2 miles away, which meant 4 miles round trip! 

It was perhaps a little ambitious for a beginner rider, but she did it, and they enjoyed their treat of doughnuts with Dad.

The young women in our ward have been passing around Tina the Llama as a fun part of preparing for girls' camp this summer.  They are each to take pictures of Tina sharing in one of their activities.  Tina joined the swim team and is working on her dives.

Greta couldn't ask for a better big sister than Faith.

If you want to smile today, you really must watch THIS video of Greta dancing in the backyard by herself.  I had to video her through the sliding glass door, which is why the music is not very loud.  Near the end is my favorite part.  Oh to dance with such abandon!

One of the highlights of each week is talking with our missionary!  Bethany is doing well and loving being a missionary.

It was especially fun to talk with her for a long time on Mothers' Day.  I love that girl!

A couple weeks ago, she and her companion, a couple other talented missionaries, planned and put on a concert of songs all about the Savior.  Thankfully, it was live-streamed and so we got to watch it as well.  It was so beautiful!  If you go to Facebook (Followers of Jesus Christ in North Texas), you can watch the concert.  

When Greta hears the music, she has to dance.  She danced throughout the concert.

Greta took a break for a few months from the violin.  Truthfully I was debating with myself about whether to go down the violin road with another child.  It's quite a commitment and it felt more than a little daunting to do it again.  However, all things considered, I decided, YES-- it's worth the effort!  So Greta is back at it with a new teacher (Diane Peterson in Lehi), whom we love!  Interestingly, Diane also teaches Faith her private swim lessons.  Talk about a multi-talented lady! Greta is enjoying it and I really enjoy practicing with her each day.  I also love to see what outfits Greta wears each day for her practice.  

My heart melted a little while back when I put on one of my beloved Jane Austen movies to keep me company while folding laundry (one of life's little joys), and Greta quickly put on her "Jane Austen dress" (what she calls this dress) and her bonnet.  Then she explained to me that they only wear bonnets outside and take them off when they go inside.  Smart girl:)

Yeah, that's right-- The Cornucopias are back and better than ever!  Faith and I have busted out the cornhole boards for the season.  We are practicing regularly with the intention of entering the Riverton Town Days corn hole tournament.  

She lent me a pair of her Pit Vipers sunglasses so I can look the part of a respectable teammate.  Next up, our matching t-shirts.

Faith, Greta, and I went to a high tea bridal shower at the Grand America for Abe's niece, Kyli.  We had a magical time and Greta was a perfect little lady.  I assume Faith behaved equally well, but she was a different table, so I'll just have to trust:)

A tea party was definitely Greta's cup of tea!

Her mind was blown to discover her little sandwiches came with the crusts already cut off-- 

WHAT JOY!

Here's what Faith's summer will consist of.  Long course season has begun and the team is back to the outdoor pool, which she loves.  She recently got hired to be a lifeguard and she'll be teaching swim lessons again.  

 

 

The Announcement

Perhaps I piqued your interest with my teaser at the end of my last post?  Perhaps you've already heard the news?  It is now time to share our exciting events as of late.  Elinor and Brandon Choi got married on April 16th.  It was a very simple affair that came with very little fanfare and VERY little time for preparation.  They live in a basement apartment in Vineyard and we are happy that they are happy together.  You probably have a lot of questions, but seeing as how this is their story (not mine), I'll let them share details in whatever way they want to.  We've been keeping this news on the down-low because Elinor still needed to give away the Miss Riverton crown-- emphasis on "Miss".

Thankfully we only had to wait about three weeks.  May 7th was the competition and Elinor co-hosted and performed her talent that helped her win one year ago.  

We were so, so, so happy to see Lily Snow-- who was Bethany's first attendant and is a very dear friend to Bethany -- win Miss Riverton 2022!

Sorry about the blurriness of this picture (I'll try to get the digital version of it).  I must be honest, in that, this is a chapter of life I am more than okay to see close.  Between Bethany and Elinor and COVID, we've done three years straight of Miss Riverton.  There have been some really fun moments and I am grateful for the relationships we've formed with city leaders and the pageant director.  We do love Riverton and are grateful for the experiences the girls have had serving the city.  That being said, I'd prefer Faith not run for Miss Riverton in a couple of years:)

Here's a picture of the program.

Easter Weekend 2022

In the famous words of Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Fact.  

Stopping and looking around every once in a while could mean lots of things-- one of the ways I like to stop and look around is by writing this blog.  If I don't record life happenings, I very likely will miss them.  And I'll tell you what-- life has been moving very quickly as of late!

The day before Easter Abe took the kids over to the city park for a little city Easter celebration.  Not exactly the true meaning of Easter, but kind of fun.

Then we hiked Battle Creek Falls.  Faith's swim friend Anya joined us.  This was our first time doing this hike and it was great-- very accessible and not too challenging.  I just wished it was a little longer:)

Also, that same day, Faith had her club swim team's awards night.  She was honored for being part of the senior team that competed at state and she was awarded "Best Attitude".  I think the award was well placed.

Easter Sunday with the family-- or at least part of the family:) 

Sister Fox and Sister Hill in Fort Worth Texas.  They are well cared for by the members of their wards.  She is doing so well and it is a joy to pray for her each day and talk to her each week.  Her companion plays the piano beautifully and together they've loved sharing their testimonies through music.  This coming Friday evening they are putting on a "Night of Music" at their church building, in which they will perform a whole fireside of songs about the Savior.  I think they will Zoom it so hopefully, we'll be able to watch it too.  

Greta and her best friend Aly in their Easter dresses.

I like George's expression:)

The beloved foil-wrapped chocolate egg hunt.  It's so simple and quick, but such fun.

You never outgrow it:)

We got a few new games for Easter--Gnoming Around, The Bears and the Bees, and Nuts about Mutts.  George is cracking up in this picture because he had accidentally called his game Nuts about Butts.  As you can imagine we all had a pretty good laugh.  

We had my family over for dinner and an Easter egg hunt Sunday evening.

There was a round for the older kiddos too.

If there is a collecting game to be had, George will be a player!

Now, dear friends, I must tell you that there was WAY more happening this weekend than I am at liberty to write about here and now.  Fear not, I will share more later.  Do not be alarmed, everyone is healthy and happy-- just some unexpected changes that caught us by surprise:) Mostly, I want to share how grateful I am for Jesus Christ and what he did to redeem us from sin and death.  What he did to help us become more than what we currently are.  What he did to take away the sting of death and allow us to be together as families forever.  Because of him,  no pain is permanent. I am so thankful to him.