oh spring break...how I love thee

Our time down south was too short. But we soaked up every minute. I haven't been able to wear my "lucky" flip flops for quite a while. I felt pretty dang lucky to have the chance once again.
Scary picture I know. I just wanted you to know that I did get in the hot tub-with the threat that if anyone got the hair wet they would die.
The boys were loving the tennis! Gabe was trying to break the strings on his racket so he could get it restrung at a different weight.

Watching them play was making me a little melancholy. I remembered the days when I played. Jordan and I would go up to his mom's house in the evenings during the summer and hit with each other. I decided to give it a try. If I held on with both hands I had a pretty decent forehand. Jordan would toss the ball in front of me and Gabe was on the other side trying to return them.
My boys were so cute. They all kept telling me what a good job I was doing. "Way to go Mom!" "You're doing so good!" "You could probably beat me!" Ha! I love those boys.
Jordan's hand placement says, "I am on vacation."
Large, large muscles.
No. Not awkward at all.
Do you think he's cute? The girls at the table next to us in Pizza Factory did. They sent their waitress over to get his cell phone number. The girls (and their moms!) texted and stared and giggled. I was trying to look over his shoulder to read a text when he suddenly stood up and walked over to their table. They died. (I died). He had them eating out of his hand. He was so cute and friendly. He is such a nice, nice boy. And no. I'm not biased at all.
Truly. Life is good.
The red rocks we love. Jordan made it through the "crack" once more. Hailee begged him not to attempt it. She had serious doubts about his ability to "suck it in" enough.


Camera balanced on a rock on self-timer. I almost slid down the rock trying to hurry.
As the sun sets on this excursion-Jordan and I are preparing for our next. We are headed to London to pick up Britt. We are honored guest at the royal wedding after all.

Is it spring break yet?

Oh..we are soo ready to get outta here. We are headed south for a little sun and fun. This is a little peek at what we're leaving behind:
Dinner the other night. Yes. I said dinner.
Don't look at me. He has other socks.
Hot chocolate makes everything more do-able.
It takes Christian a little longer to get his homework done.
See ya soon. The red rocks and sand dunes are waiting for us.

Paninis and cupcakes

Usually one Sunday a month we get my extended family together and, as the family continues to grow, have at least one birthday that we get to celebrate. If nothing else, birthdays give us a good excuse to gather. February was no exception with Christian as our birthday boy. But schedules conflicted and February turned into March (with Jordan and Kelli's birthdays) and as the weeks went by we realized we were going to have to just pick a day and hope as many as could would be there. So a couple of Sundays ago we celebrated Christian and Kelli's birthdays with paninis and cupcakes.
We missed Brandt who was in L.A. and Kate who was in Provo.
Pat and Jodi's kids who were all away.
Erick who was in Costa Rica.
Brittney who was in London and Jordan who was on his way to Paris.
But we loved every second we got to spend with the remnant of who was there!

Jill became the Martha Stewart party planner. She gathered and directed and entertained us the entire night.

Christian is perfecting his photogenic phace.

Um..Bud..there's a little something on your lip...

Pat noticed Jodi had a little something on her lip as well but he took care of it.

Jill is most likely giving directions on what we are all supposed to be doing next.

My mamma has dimples.

Jill was so excited to give Christian his present. She thought it would be exactly what he wanted.

And she was right.

Hailee and her friend Cody

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Cracking the Whip!

For his birthday, Jordan's employees at work gave him a whip. I'm not sure of the full scope of meaning that this gift intended (does he need to start cracking the whip or is he already known as someone that comes in and whips everyone into shape?) but at home his normal persona shifted to that of a regular Indiana Jones. As Indiana, he believed that wielding a whip would be easy and was excited to show off his rugged, manly skills. But quickly we all recalled Shorty's famous line in the The Temple of Doom...
..."Be careful."

We began to think about the benefits this might have in raising teenagers. And so Jordan practiced some more.

As so often happens, the teenagers attempt to one-up you. When you come to your senses and attempt to reaffirm your authority.....
...this is often the reaction. Hysterical laughing.

Hopefully Jordan has better luck at work.

Dasks Greek to Me

"He is deserving of something special for his birthday", I thought. He works so hard. He travels so often. His sleep is disrupted by stress and worry for the many, many people he feels responsible for. He is a dedicated father and a loving husband. His kids think he walks on water and they know without a shadow of a doubt that he loves them. What could I possibly do for his birthday that would show him how much we love and adore him? I imagined a fabulous dinner celebration where I would create all of his favorite foods and bake a delicious desert and we would sing and share our words of love and affirmation.

So I asked.."Honey..your wish is my command. If you could have any meal at all for your birthday what would it be?"

And so it was that we ended up celebrating Jordan's 45th birthday at Dasks Greek.
Between eating his most favorite meal on earth and being able to watch the NCAA tournament at the same time (we don't have most TV channels), I think all of his birthday wishes came true.
And I didn't even have to do any dishes. (I told you he was great)

We tried to speed but there was no way...so we ended up at the Speedway.

That is a lame way of saying; "we missed our flight home from Palm Springs and stopped here to pass the time until the next available flight."

It ended up being one of the highlights of the whole trip. Gabe was finally tall enough to ride with the big boys. The three of them were like giddy schoolgirls.

Christian doesn't look giddy here because 1) I am taking his picture and 2) he is having to wait his turn.

Seeing them pull out the pedal extensions for Gabe made me a little nervous. Especially since I knew his dad and big brother were not going to make any allowances for him. He was going to be on his own.
That's Gabe ahead of Christian. Nevermind that it was because he got lapped a couple of times. The boy with the flag also had a sign that said "no bumping" that referred to the side walls and, of course, each other. He had to hold that sign up every stinkin' time my boys would drive by.
The competition was fierce. Jordan and Christian were neck and neck the whole time with Gabe a close third. Or at least closer than the other couple that rode with them. Reminiscing after the race was the best part. They relived every corner and close call.


Who's on first? The boy gloating on top let everyone know he was the victor. His dad claimed there was a misprint.

To me-they're all winners. How lucky am I?