The busy month of May!!! - May 1st - 28th, 2011

Gwyneth playing her harp!

Sam's 3rd birthday!

Sam and his new bike!

View from our room at the Bellagio!

This is a 6 ft tall replica made entirely out of flowers. The artist is Armand Guillaumin.

Bellagio Fountains!

Mandi

The Splash Pad!

Ellie

Look how surprised little Emily is when Ellie opens her card and gets money... So Funny!!!

MaKayla

Andrea

Hiking up the lava!

Scott and kids hiking!

Blooming Cactus!

View of Snow Canyon!

Alex

Alex

Our log swing!

Playhouse!

We had a very busy month. It  stared with Gwyneth playing her harp. She looks like a little angel. She started playing 6 months ago when she got  her harp on her 6th birthday. On May 1st we celebrated Sam's 3rd birthday. He wanted a dinosaur cake. (He pretends he is a dinosaur or a dragon, all the time) He got a new bike. For Mother's Day Doug and I went and stayed at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. (Thanks to the  kids for the room,etc.) We had a great time. We just hung out and relaxed, and at night we watched the fountain show from our room. I had a pedicure. We walked through the beautiful botanical gardens. They had a butterfly theme this year. Mandi graduated from Kindergarten. She had a great year and is excited for 1st grade. There is anew splash pad in Ivin's, and the kids had a great time playing and cooling off there. We took a picnic, and ate ice cream on the grass. Ellie turned 13 this year. They came here for Memorial Day weekend. We celebrated her birthday in our backyard with yummy cinnamon rolls. The next day we hiked up the "Cinder Cone Volcano".  For anyone who has never done it, it is nearly impossible to hike up the loose crushed lava rock. It is so slippery. You take one step up and then slide down and start over. I (and a couple granddaughters) finally slid down, and took the long path around. Once on top it is a very cool view of Snow Canyon. You can actually hike down into the bowl of the volcano. On Sunday, we went and visited my mom at Beehive Homes (Assisted Living Center) Alex played the piano and violin for all the residents. It is fun having everyone come here. I love sitting on my log swing (that my son in law Justin made for us) and watching the kids and grandkids play out there.We had a great month!

Thanksgiving Point 5K - April 30th, 2011

Warming up before we left!

Debbie, Melissa, & Cynthia

Alex coming in to finish line.

Cynthia

Stephanie

After we all came in!

Alex with his 1st place trophy!

Stephanie, and I have been training for this run for a while. I am having problems with my shins, so I  was hoping I could run it. Stephanie actually ran the half marathon with her brother. My friend from high school (Debbie Newman Phelps) and her grandson, came to run it with us too. My grandson Alex, and his mom Luann, and Tonya's friend Melissa came too. It was fun to start out with all these friends and family. It didn't take long before we were all in different  places. It snowed hard during the night, so it was a little chilly, but the sun came out and it  turned out to be a beautiful run. There are usually flowers all along the route, but the cold weather changed all that. I finished in 6th place for my age group. My time was: 35 minutes. My legs were hurting pretty bad, but I knew I could finish.( Debbie came in 2nd) Alex took 1st for his age! Stephanie finished her first ever half Marathon and came across the finish line with a stress fracture. She was in tons of pain. Once you get the running high, and you love it you don't want to quit!

My Birthday/Easter in Zion National Park April 22- 24th, 2011

My Birthday Cake!

Waterfall!

Doug

Jessica and Justin

Kids playing in a "hut" they found near the trail!

The girls hiking!

Coloring Eggs!

Easter Egg Hunt!

All finished hunting for eggs!

Sam playing at the edge of the river!

Once again, we spent the weekend in Zion. It was my 57th birthday. Jessica's family came on Sat. and went hiking with us. Because of all the rain this year, there were waterfalls everywhere. It was beautiful! We had dinner and ice cream at the lodge. After, the kids brought out a cake they had made for me. Then they colored Easter eggs in the trailer. On Easter morning, after finding all of their colored eggs that were hidden in the trailer, we rode the tram to the last stop in the canyon. They were surprised to find out that there were more eggs hidden all around the walkway next to the Virgin river. It was a very beautiful day, and a great way to spend my birthday.

Sweet 16th Birthday - April 14th-15th, 2011

MaKayla

1st time driving alone!!

Sitting around firepit!

Decorations!

Dancing!

Chocolate Fountain...yummy!

The Patio

Lanterns

Food Table

I can't believe our oldest grandchild is 16 already. She is growing up into such a beautiful young lady! We love her dearly. She is a great kid. She does well in school, and loves to play soccer. She had her "friend" party in our backyard. Her and her mom spent a lot of time decorating for a Hawaiian Luau. It looked so awesome. The kids all seemed to have a great time dancing, eating, having a fire in the firepit, and just hanging out. She also got her drivers license that day!!!

Playing "House & Dress Up" - April 3rd, 2011

Playhouse

Flowerbeds

The Kitchen

The Walls

Ali

Mandi

Emily

Mandi, Emily, Izzy

Doug built the granddaughters (8 of them) a playhouse out in the backyard. They love to play out there. It has an air conditioner, play kitchen, hair salon, dishes, and the best part is the walls. They are wipe off walls. They like writing all over them. ( But when they go home they don't understand why they can't write all over those walls....) They have their own flower beds out front and they plant bulbs and flowers. They get so excited when the plants come up. On the side of their house they have a picnic table and call it their backyard. We also have a closet full of "dress up" clothes. They put on a fashion show for us. I love their creativity! Doug says we need to get a tool box and workbench in there for the grandsons now!!