Sunday, September 2, 2018

April 2018

I think Kenna felt a little left out with all the attention Kaylee was getting with her big birthday and baptism. So I promised her that after it was over I would take her on a date.  We went and got ice cream and then went to Target.  Not the most exciting date ever maybe but this girl needs one on one time for sure. I forget that even though the girls are good friends and Kaylee and Kenna are close in age that they are individual and I need to be with them separately sometimes. 
Brooklyn's hair has gotten longer and a ton of curl has been coming in, especially when it's wet! Maybe Grandma will get her brown, curly-haired granddaughter after all!  
We were driving to Stake Conference when we saw a Foosball table on the end of someone's long driveway.  We promised ourselves that if it was still there after church that we would go check it out.  It was dirty but in amazing condition so we hauled it home (after checking to make sure the owner was really trying to get rid of it) and the girls spent the next few weeks in pure heaven.  We had no fighting at all and tons of fun!  Next time they are fighting too much we should just go drive around until we see another amazing find ;)
Holly has been trying to get Kristi back to Vegas to see Celine in concert since she missed out 15 or so years ago.  She finally felt like it was the perfect time and planned a surprise girl's trip for all of us to go see Celine. Celine had surgery on her throat and had to cancel all her shows right before we told Kristi the surprise so we were really bummed about that but we didn't want to waste a good girl's trip and had a total blast anyway!  I flew into AZ and spent the night at Holly's house because she didn't want to drive up on her own. We left super early the next morning and drove all morning. I've missed Holly so much since she moved away and having this 12 or so hours in the car (there and back) with her was amazing!  The funniest part was getting mistaken for a couple of college students when we stopped at a gas station for some snacks. We were super flattered but were also cracking up!  We picked up Jen, Mom and Kristi from the airport and headed off to the Paris hotel. We ate at Shake Shack, went through some fun stores like the M&M store and Stupidiotic, and did a CSI Experience where we were given a crime scene and we were supposed to solve it.  I thought this would be my favorite activity but it wasn't as fun as it sounded but still cool to see how the whole thing worked.  We had some time after dinner so we went and saw the gorgeous gardens at the Bellagio. Since we didn't get to see Celine, we used our ticket money to go see the Cirque du Soleil show "O".  It was mind-blowingly fantastic! I would definitely go to another Cirque show, it was so cool. We came out of our show to see the Bellagio fountains and all the crazy people who work the strip at night and then zipped off to see the Celine stage and souvenir shop before heading to bed. 
The next morning we went to the Siegfried and Roy Secret Gardens and we were a little disappointed. It was a lot of money for something that was so small!  The dolphins didn't even have a show that they did, although we did get to see the trainers working on some tricks with them. And the tigers were in these tiny cages and they all kind of looked old and not very healthy and most of them were just laying around.  We did more window shopping and of course had to get a Sprinkles cupcake for our lunch. The last place we went was the Shark Reef Aquarium, which I had not wanted to go to, but it ended up being the best activity out of the three we did!  Then sadly, we had to take the Utahns back to the airport and Holly and I headed back to her place.  I flew out early the next morning and was so happy I ended up going!  
Once again, I don't think the girls missed me at all!  He got a whole two days with Brooklyn while the girls were at school. The first day he took her to campus and tried to get some work done but Friday he took off work and they went to play at her favorite park and then went to Richard's favorite place, Costoc.  That night, Richard took all of them to an activity at their school where they did a bunch of science experiments that they said were really fun.  Saturday, he took them to a bounce house and out to eat.  I'm pretty sure they are going to want me to go out of town all the time! 
The week after I got back, I was feeling sick (probably from the lack of sleep I got while traveling) and I was so sad to miss out on our ward service project.  I guess one of the Columbus food banks has a bunch of gardens in low income areas and they use volunteers to come take out vegetables that are ready and also help plant new seeds.  Richard said the girls all worked so hard and were great helpers!  They loved pulling the carrots out.  Richard even took them out to eat and the park afterwards to reward them for all their hard work.
April has been pretty cold but there was one day at the end of April that finally felt so perfect.  One of those days where it doesn't even feel like there is any weather at all. So of course we had to spend the whole day outside. Picnic dinner?  Yes please!
Richard had some money leftover on his campus card at the end of the semester, so Brooklyn and I met him for lunch on campus to use it up. I thought this picture of Brooklyn with Brutus was adorable.  If you live in Columbus you can't be anything besides a Buckeye fan!
Kaylee had her very first piano recital at the end of her first year taking lessons.  She was pretty nervous since she had never been to one before and didn't know what to expect.  We just had it in the Primary room and there was only 7 or 8 kids performing short songs so it was pretty relaxed but I could tell she was anxious the whole time.  But she got up there with total confidence and played two songs without making one mistake!  I was so proud of her! 

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