A warmer week!

     We finished up basketball season this week for Brock and McClane. They both learned some new skills, had fun and are happy it's over. Greg and I had the opportunity to spend the majority of the week in St. George for Greg's water Conference and it was a blast. The weather was great, the rental car was so FUN!! I need a Toyota Camry Sport model in my life!! Going 100 mph felt like going 30! So fun!!! And believe it or not, I might even take a white one if that was my only option. I had the best time walking in the sunshine, never having to make a bed, no dishes, no meals to prepare, no laundry to do and lots of free time to read, relax and even do a little shopping. I might need these get- aways a little more often. And with how well the kids got along without us it might just be possible to leave them on their own more often.

Brock with his basketball team.

     The only negative this week was finding myself opening my very last bag of Glucojel's. Maybe our next getaway needs to be to Australia to restock my jelly bean supply.

NOOOO!!!!

     The sun felt so nice after church on Sunday. There's nothing better then chatting with the neighbors and soaking up the sun.

    On our way down South we passed a couple gnarly cars. The station wagon was pulling the black 'race' car. Pretty crazy that the station wagon was even running.

Griswald's?!

    And it only took 4 months and a trip to St. George to finally meet our newest niece, cute baby Zena! We had fun meeting up with the whole Springville Kmetzsch clan our first night in St. George.

     I had to document my morning jog/walks. I love these awesome walking trails in St. George. I also loved walking with just a light jacket instead of two layers of sweats, gloves, earmuffs and neck warmer.

     Greg got to shoot his shotgun for the second time in less than a year, which might be a record. He did ok but with the wind it made for a cold afternoon and by the end he could barely feel his fingers but he had fun anyway.

     And our last night in St. George we treated ourselves to probably the best steak dinner we've ever had. We went to this restaurant four years ago and haven't stopped talking about it in 4 years so we were thrilled to finally get back. It was delicious!

Anasazi Steakhouse is the BEST!

    We really had such a fun week! The kids survived without us and the break from our reality was much needed! Now I just have to find a way to rearrange my budget so I can buy myself a sports car, ha ha!

This is not the exact car we drove but it's identical and so sexy!

Cats!!

     Adding a cat to our family didn't seem like that big of a deal. I was told to have her spayed around 4 months old but I probably should have researched that a little more because.....Saturday morning we had an appointment at 9:30 a.m. to have Sapphire spayed and at 3 a.m., out of the blue and for the very first time, Sapphire used the dog door to go out on an adventure. I watched her go out the door and thought for sure she'd stay close and we'd find her waiting just outside the door in a short time. Well by 8:40 she was still nowhere to be seen and Greg was convinced she was out getting 'knocked up'. Well just when I was about to call the animal clinic to cancel our appointment a neighbor text me telling me they were pretty sure our cat was up in their tree. Sure enough, three doors down there was Sapphire clear up in this massive tree. We tried shaking her down with no luck so Greg went to grab a ladder from work to rescue her. While he was gone the neighbor boy was trying to reach her with a long tool, which wasn't close enough to touch her but close enough to encourage her to make her way down, which she did all on her own just as Greg was walking up to the gate with the ladder. So, long story short, we got her to her appointment on time and found out she was actually in heat, which explains her late night adventure. She's a bit of a floozy! Thankfully she's all fixed up now and there should be no more issues or worries of kittens in the future. And for future reference, you can spay a cat as early as 8 weeks old!

It's hard to see but that's Sapphire in the tree, a close up on the right and the far shot on the left.

And Charlie's always looking for a chance to practice her smile for photos.

     Thankfully we've had sunny days this week but the temperatures have been lower then I like. I'm really looking forward to spending a few days in St. George next week and really hope the temperatures are a little higher down south. The kids will hopefully survive on their own! Good luck Carter!! (He's going to be the main kid, he's even been practicing fixing Charlie's hair.)

Valentine's from weekend to weekend.

   Greg and I participated in a really fun event last Saturday night, a Sugar cookie taste off. We went with our friends, Sabrina and Jason, who told us about it and it was super fun! Who doesn't want to taste and judge 8 different sugar cookies from local cookie vendors around the valley. All were yummy but there were definitely favorites. The one with the lime was the winner. We also got free drinks/soda, there was a photo booth, a fun swag bag with coupons, apron and other trinkets and a raffle. Greg actually won a really pretty gemstone necklace. I wish I was filming so you could see how silly/excited he reacted. Anyway, he gifted me that necklace for Valentine's Day, he's very generous.

My favorite were 4, 5 & 6.

The cookie providers and our score cards.

A perfect way to celebrate Valentine's Day a few days early.

     When we got home Saturday night this was how we found Charlie. She was actually pretending to be asleep, as a surprise for us, but fell asleep for real before we got home.

Who sleeps like this?

     I realized recently that I'm going to have to have Carter do Charlie's hair on the days Greg and I are in St. George, which is coming up in just over a week, so I had him practice the other morning and he actually did a good job with the pigtails.

    And this puppy got a haircut and looks so handsome.

    And per tradition, we had our heart shaped pizza for Valentine's dinner. The small bottles of sparkling cider were a total win with the kids.

We had four kids to start and Carter came a little late to the party so he's not in the photo. Isaac had to work, bummer!

     So that was our fun week. Can you believe it's already the middle of February!? I'm just happy we've seen the sun more this week. NO MORE SNOW, PLEASE!!

Oh February!

     Remember when I told my friend that February isn't usually that snowy and it's the beginning of hope for spring?! And then remember when the first week of February 2020 brought the most snow we've seen all winter!? Seriously!! No school Monday and we probably shouldn't have had school on Thursday either. Please go away winter!!
     So anyway, I took a little video of Brock's most recent game. Apparently Brock does great at practices, according to his coach, but when it comes to games he's quite awkward and hesitant. He's trying but he's pretty much over it. McClane however is doing great and even made a basket at his game this week. He's also a rockstar on defense.

     We decided to join Kayli and Beau swimming last Saturday, which the three youngest were pretty excited about.

They love the water!

I don't know why Charlie gets this goofy smile on when we take photos. And notice daddy Tanner in the background. Apparently he's too cool for swimming in winter.

    Beau came in the pool area dead asleep and as soon as her mom woke her up and she saw the pool she was all smiles! She's adorable!

Kayli loves being a mom to cute Beau!

   Sunday Charlie and McClane were up and ready on time and with good attitudes, they're my only ones who truly like attending church right now. Carter's pretty cooperative too, I guess, but he doesn't request that I take his picture before church.

  And Miss Sapphire is entertaining, to say the least. After catching her like this in the bathroom it wasn't too long before I found her in there again and actually sitting in the sink. She's fun!

    Well that's our week's highlights. I didn't take any snow photos because, frankly, I don't want to remember snow, EVER!!! I am so happy we woke up to blue skies and sunshine this morning, I don't know how much more of winter I can take!

Bye, bye January!

     We finished the year long month of January with simpleness! Cute baby Beau is always a great way to finish up our weekend. The sunset, the other night, was definitely worth capturing and most of the kids spent their time on devices in their free time.

She's so FUN!

Gorgeous sunset.

This kid is in another world when he's wearing headphones.

Charlie picked out this outfit all on her own! NO MATCH Friday is what I'd call this ensemble.

      We're still in the midst of basketball season, Brock's over it and McClane's still enjoying himself. We've got plans to eat yummy food Sunday for the Super Bowl and hopefully have a few friends and family join us and today the kids are most excited about going swimming with their niece and sister. I'm just thrilled to see February arrive, it's a down hill slide from here into Spring! (Although I'm pretty sure, Dad, you'll get another chance to use that snowblower before we finish this new month.)