Moon Lake. The Women Hit the Road

Mark busted his knee. He's in no position to drive for two days or exist in the woods for any amount of time. But Moon Lake calls and we shall go. 

Megan helped to drive. My ability to trust is growing! Don't let the boys see or they will be mad!

But, my dears, this world is so beautiful. 

And also very silly. 

We had the best time picking music and stopping when we pleased. We were in awe of the view at Flaming Gorge. Breathtaking!

We are excellent packers. We managed all our stuff AND groceries for the week. Walmart pickup in Vernal for the win!

Moon Sweet Moon. 

Getting reacquainted with the cousins. 

Everyone around the fire. I wish I could describe the feeling I have when I'm here with my people. 

I'm home. 

Black Light Rolladium

 We have several activities on our bucket list that are there just because we bought a Pogo Pass for the summer. The Rolladium is not one we would have done otherwise...it was SOOOO far away (Liberty!) But hey, I've always been down to spend a buck just because we saved a buck. 

And this place turned out to be pretty cool.

The black lights were legit.

There were a few grumps in the group...but after a few hot dogs and a round of slurpees, everyone was in the mood to skate!

Kansas City Day

 We ventured over to Westport to check out Ashleigh's Bakery. We here tales of excellent cookies and we had to investigate. 

We had no idea that the bakery was on the bottom floor of this very cool kitchen supply store!

And may I say? The cookies were superb!

Next we were off to Science City! It was just Anna and Everly. We enjoyed all the new exhibits and discovered the cool outdoor space!

I love these days. Exploring with my girls. 

Pure tired happiness

Wicked

We were absolutely as far back as we could get....

 But it was still....

WICKED!!

Missing Out

 I don't always miss out on important events in my kids lives, but when I do....  

I miss AJ's spelling bee (you know, the one we have been practicing for for months)

SHE WON!!!  Mark was able to be there and send updates and videos...it was a white-knuckle experience for me and my mom as he sent the word she was given, then "she got it!!". Oh my word, and when she won, we both cried for joy! It was so fun!

I missed the girls temple trip:

And their piano recital...but Mark did a great job getting these sweet photos with their teachers:

And perhaps the most tragic of all....I missed out on our tradition of being late to Stake Conference and sitting on the metal chairs in the back row. 

Ghetto Barbie

Some kids have the Barbie Dream House.

But the lucky kids build their's out of scrap wood....it's way more fun.

This has the added bonus of freeing up funds for the new hospital wing. These ladies are in dire need.

Toothpick crutches don't pay for themselves.

High Fashion

The girls are feverishly producing one-of-a-kind clothing for their barbies. There is felt and hot glue EVERYWHERE.  The messes have reached unprecedented proportions. 

I keep finding these adorable little miniature accessories all over. They melt my heart!

Barbie-size sheet music....charming!

An itty bitty box of chocolates...precious!

Little toilet filled with melted chocolate......oh. Oh no.

No no no.

SBL: Paddle Boarding with the girls

This is our new favorite thing! 

I can't find my waterproof pouch, so I didn't bring my camera on the lake. But we paddled and floated. We explored all the inlets and the girls hopped off the board to swim around in their life jackets. Even Everly loved every minute and yelled, "I've got my fish legs!"

We'll be doing a lot more of this now that we know we have the sheer brute strength to blow these things up!

The fireflies

Photos never do anything justice. I know that's true. 

You'll just have to go with us to the sparkly field behind the park to stand in the middle of these wondrous fairy lights to see how they make the world feel like a happy and safe place. You'll have to walk along with us while the girls giggle and let big bugs crawl all over their hands simply because they light up and seem kinder than other bugs. And how they declare "It likes me!" when one hops from their hands onto a shirt or shoulder. And you can listen to them tell each other facts that I'm not really sure are facts...like, "The females like to nest in the grass, so they are much easier to catch." 

Come with us in June. You'll see what we mean.