...The 3rd time's the Charm...

A couple of weeks ago we headed down to California with Pete's family-it was my third time this summer and I had only planned on going once back in April-I am not complaining though I LOVE California and I think it was our best trip yet. It wasn't super warm, but we still hung out at the beach, ate great food, and went to Disneyland. The lines were not too long and so we got to ride a lot of rides and and thanks to Ryan for being extremely tall at age two-we didn't have to buy him a ticket and he was tall enough to ride all the good rides:)

Read anything good lately...?

I feel like I read so much more in the summertime and it seems like a lot of people are the same way. So I am wondering what have you read this summer that you have loved? I have read a random assortment including: The Agony and the Ectasy, Hunger games, Ella Enchanted, and am currently reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. But I am starting to run out of ideas so let me know if you have read anything worthwhile:)

You wouldn't believe...

...Who decided to surprise me and come home two weeks early! (It happened 2 weeks ago, but we have been so busy I haven't posted about it till now) I was in complete shock and had NO idea-Ryan was so excited I think he hugged Pete for 30 min and could only say "Daddy you're here! Daddy you came back!"




You also wouldn't believe what I did this past weekend ... We attended the 3rd Harry Potter Extravaganza at my Grandma's house. (Yes it is okay to think we're slightly nuts!)

Pete was Lupin as a werewolf (Ry wouldn't let him wear the mask) and I was Tonks-we were some of the tame ones too.




Two of my other sisters were also Tonks




My step-Grandpa made a nice Dumbledore-Ryan kept calling him "Santa corn" for some reason




Some of the other costumes
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It turned out really cute and the kids had such a great time dressing up, attending classes, making crafts and buying stuff from little shops that had been set up.

Better than I imagined...

One positive thing about Pete being gone for the summer was it gave me the excuse to go over and visit (My mom and sister also joined in the fun). We spent three scenic days in Switzerland and three crazy, jam-packed days in Italy. Both Countries were beautiful and surpassed all of my expectations and to make it even better I got to spend some long overdue time with my Hubby:)


Having lunch on the banks of Lake Geneva




Outside the church in Lausanne, Switzerland were our ancestors joined the church.




spending time together in Geneva




The beautiful Lauterbrunnen valley-my picture does not do it justice. I wish you could see how many waterfalls come over the cliffs into the valley-it was incredible.




Florence, Italy




One of the many outdoor restaurants in Italy-minutes later a bird pooped on my head!




St. Peter's Basilica inside the Vatican-it ended up being one or our favorite places in Italy.




The view of Rome from the top of St. Peter's Basilica




The Colosseum




The sistine chapel-we were not supposed to take this picture and right after we did a security officer started yelling at anyone who was taking pictures




We had such a great time eating gelato two to three times a day, walking for hours down city streets (my mom's feet were covered in blisters), getting ripped off because we were Americans ( One restaurant charged us $30 for some fries), and seeing as much of these beautiful countries that we possibly could see. These pictures don't even begin to show all the things we did while we were there-thanks to my sister Catherine for all her many hours researching what to do in Italy-we didn't have a dull moment. Thanks also to my mother-in-law who watched Ry so I could go on this adventure.

A million miles away...

I received a phone call, in the middle of the night last night, from Pete calling to tell me he was in the hospital over in Switzerland. He had been in excruciating pain that had gotten increasingly worse by the minute to the point where he couldn't walk (he said all he could do when he got to the hospital was lay on the floor and wait for someone to help him). They discovered he had a kidney stone and later sent him home with a bunch of pain medications. I felt like we were millions of miles apart and I was helpless here in Utah. I am so glad he is okay now and grateful we only have 3 weeks left...

What would we do...

...without Grandpas?

letter from home

Dear Dad,

I just wanted to show you some things mom and I have been up to.

Sometimes we eat popsicles for breakfast


We like to go swimming in the pool or bathtub with your old chemistry goggles


Mom went to the Taylor Swift Concert


Friends have gotten married


I've been helping mom shred things


And we've done lots of hanging out


We sure miss you around here.

My Little Blue Box

This arrived from Switzerland yesterday-just in time for mother's day. I apparently don't give my husband the credit he deserves because I honestly thought he would forget. I am starting to feel a little guilty about the dress I bought myself as my back-up present...

p.s. it was a pair of earrings

Our First Official Family Vacation

With a big giant change looming over us (that happened May 2nd), we decided to take a little family vacation to spend some serious time together-just the 3 of us. Pete has an uncle that lives in California during the week, but goes home to his family in Utah on the weekends, and he let us stay in his rental home. I got off work on a Friday afternoon and we then headed down to California for the weekend. Ryan was better than we ever imagined that he could be in the car-in fact Pete told me I complained more about the car ride than Ryan did:)

We headed to disneyland Saturday, it was so crowded that we didn't get to ride a lot of rides, but we still had a great time. We rode bikes and went to the beach and then Monday we headed down to the San Diego Zoo and then drove home from there. It was a quick trip but so much fun.

Ryan was terrified of the characters


He LOVED the Buzz Lightyear ride


Nap time




Hermosa Beach


The San Diego Zoo