One more thing...

Not only did I have a great time hanging with my friends at Women's Conference, I had a blast at dinner one night with several of my cousins! Kathy Clark and her girls Kim, Kerrie and Annie and her daughter-in-law Andrea as well as Julie, Kathy's sister and I all sat at Cafe Rio eating yummy salads and talking non-stop! It has been way too long and I loved every minute. Living so far from everyone can make me a little complacent and detached...I am grateful for family who makes being together a priority and who reminded me of the importance of keeping family bonds strong. I am blessed to be part of such a great group of people. Thanks girls...let's do it again next year! (Sorry. No picture! I am so lame.)

Catching Up

Grant played his final flag football game in Saturday. It has been a great way to keep playing, even though it is different than tackle...Grant even forgot that he was playing "flag" for a moment and tried to clothesline a guy...he had some great catches and they played tough...Mom is glad to not be running him to practice...summer is almost here, which means a lot less running around!


Bill and I spent 4 wonderfully peaceful days at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Our idea of a vacation is sun, water, a good book and someone waiting on us! We were not disappointed! We had never been to Ft. Lauderdale and loved it...the coast anyway. We can't speak for the inland areas. We didn't really venture far from our hotel. We ate at The Cheesecake Factory (twice) and Bubba Gump's (twice) and took a great little river cruise that spotlighted some of the wealth in the area! I had no idea. It was amazing...all of the yachts and mansions...simply amazing! I also had no idea that Ft. Lauderdale is nick named "The Venice of the United States"...hundreds of miles of inland waterways. Venice, Italy has fewer than 100 miles. Also, from our hotel room we saw several cruise ships leave from the very busy Ft. Lauderdale Port...we longed to be passengers on one of the ships...one day soon we hope. We spoke to our missionary...not ON Mother's Day as planned. His calling cards wouldn't work...I was very sad and disappointed. But we did speak on Monday...he is well and speaks with a thick Spanish accent! He struggled with English...always a good sign that he is speaking a lot of Spanish. Bill spoke to his Venezuelan companion...all is well in Colombia! 8 1/2 months to go! Time continues to fly!







My annual trip to Utah for BYU Women's Conference. I had a wonderful time...being with friends is always the highlight for me. This year I had so much fun with Jennie, best friend from college and Lorie, best friend from my youth. Also, Sue Vunder, Lorie's mom and the best Laurel Advisor ever. It was therapuetic spending time with all of them. Sue fills a void in my life that I hadn't tapped into lately. She and my mom were very good friends...that connection touched me deeply. I am blessed with amazing friends...such a lucky girl, I am.


A trip to a local "trade days" and I came home with these wonderful things! And such a deal...both of the planters for $52. I love them!



The pool is ready for swim season...now if the weather would just warm the water up. Soon enough we will be loving the air conditioning and the pool will feel like bath water...we LOVE Texas!