Homegrown

The arrival of Spring signaled the time to pull up winter vegetables and plant new ones for summer. We love our snap peas, but had to make room for green beans. We picked the remaining peas and then pulled out the plants. Do you see the grapefruit tree in the background? We are still enjoying fresh grapefruits everyday for breakfast. Our oranges ran out about a month ago.
I love my new planting boxes with built in trellises! Today we planted carrots, onions, green beans, zucchini, cantaloupe, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and strawberries. Now, if I could only get rid of those pesky snails!!!

Haley, Hannah and I harvested potatoes. The girls giggled and cheered as they found edible treasures hiding in the dirt.

We loved running our hands through the rich, warm soil.

Chicago getaway

Russ had a business conference in Chicago, so I decided to tag along. We stayed at the Downtown Hilton across from Lake Michigan. GREAT LOCATION!! Chicago has a beautiful downtown area. We had so much fun walking around seeing the sights. This cool thing in the picture above is called the Cloud. We loved how you can see the Chicago skyline reflected in it. Then we took a picture of ourselves reflected in the Cloud.

The river runs right through downtown. There are so many cool buildings! When the weather is better I want to come back to Chicago and take a sunset cruise.
We went to the Chicago Temple one evening. This picture above is on our way in to the temple.
When we came out there was snow! It was so pretty!

When we got back downtown we had to stop and get a photo by my favorite spot. We had a fabulous time in Chicago. The museums are wonderful! Thank you Grandpa and Grandma Judd for taking care of our children so we could go on this trip!

MORMAL

Emily was asked to Mormal by Nathan Swainston. They went in a group that included Rachael Hunt and Alex Starkey. Everyone first met up at our house, and then joined a few more couples for dinner at BJ'S.
Emily was not feeling well. She had been sick with a cough for two weeks prior and the day of Mormal it seemed to get worse. She took her antibiotics and tylenol and managed to have a great time with her friends.

Happy Birthday Ben!

Ben knew exactly what he wanted for dinner. Sloppy joes, tater tots, peas and watermelon. Since Ben does not eat sweets, he chose a bagel cake for dessert.
Ben LOVES money! He brings his wallet to school everyday. He likes to have $10 in it at all times. He goes to an after school program three days a week, and they do various activities where Ben can spend money. Each day when he gets home I ask him how much money he has left, and he tells me how much more he needs to equal $10 for the next day. So, you can imagine how excited he was to open a birthday card from Grandpa and Grandma Sullivan which had a 50 dollar bill inside.

CHA CHING!
Ben is such a loving person who brings our family a lot of joy. He has a funny sense of humor. Ben loves to dance and go to Condors hockey games.

A week before his birthday he told me that he was nervous. I asked him what he was nervous about and he told me that he was nervous about going on a mission. I gave him a big hug and told him that he had a special mission at his school to be a good example for all of his friends, and that he would not have to leave home to serve a full time mission. He seemed very relieved. He met with the missionaries and they gave him some pass along cards to carry in his wallet.

Ben loves the families that he home teaches. When he sees them at church he always says hello to them and either shakes their hand or gives them hugs.

Happy Birthday Ben, We love you!!!