Sisters

Dani and Dayna

I love my sister! Even though we haven't lived closer than 1,000 miles for over 20 years, whenever we get together it's like we never left. We don't even talk on the phone very often, but when we do, we just pick up where we left off. She is an amazing mom, wife, friend, and athlete. I am so thankful she is my sister!

Victory is Leaving...

As so often happens here, some of our friends are moving. Sarah, Mica, Jen and I met Victory and her darling boys at Pizza Antica for a little goodbye lunch. I will miss her and her family. It always seems that I wait until someone is leaving before I realize all that I could have learned from them.
Victory is an amazing person, with so much knowledge about so many things. She was our Gospel Doctrine teacher for a while and never ceased to amaze me with her foreign language understanding and ability to explain the gospel. I will miss her and her beautiful singing talents dearly!

The Dayna Salad

On a lighter note, anyone that has been to lunch or dinner with me knows that I cannot simply order off the menu. It can't be done. I usually need part of that with part of this and a little bit of that dressing or some sauce on the side. Some restaurants are offended and the chef won't change anything because it is their 'art form' (like editing movies, I suppose) but Pizza Antica really delivered! I asked for the Number 3 pizza (proscuitto, artichoke hearts, shaved parmesan) in a salad instead of dough. It took a few minutes for the waiter to understand that I didn't want the crust, but once he got it, he checked with the manager and they made the "Dayna Salad". It was delicious. If you haven't been, you should go. And as a bonus, Powell's Sweet Shoppe is right across the street!

Hollywood Connection

We spent the afternoon at Hollywood Connection, an indoor playland. The kids went on rides, rollerskated, and played mini-golf (several times).

I'd forgotten how bad I am at mini-golf, but we all had fun!

We at a the worst pizza place, somewhere on our road trip. I don't even want to remember where it is. Just avoid a small town pizza shop called The Pizza Factory between Elko, NV and Salt Lake City, UT.

Spring Break in Utah

We drove to Utah for Spring Break and went to General Conference in Salt Lake. A few years ago we went and had to beg for tickets (another story!) but this time we were able to go right in and enjoy Music and the Spoken Word before the first Sunday Session. I love being in the beautiful Conference Center and giving the kids the experience of being in the presence of the Prophet and General Authorities.

After Conference, we met up with Dave's Aunt Cherie who was a volunteer missionary for the event. It was great to see her!

We skiied Monday and Wednesday and took a break on Tuesday to go to Salt Lake. We spent a few hours in the Family History Library, looking up our relatives. The kids really got involved and were researching their great, great, great, great grandfather from Ireland when we had to leave. We ate at the Lion House and then took a tour of the house where Brigham Young had lived for a while. Most of us were very interested, although a few of us would have rather done something else. Can you guess who?

Lake Tahoe

We had a little time before our dinner reservation and walked from our hotel to the lake. The kids had such a blast jumping off the dock into the sand. The surrounding mountains remind me of Alaska.

Ryan and Alaina dipped their toes in the water...brrr!

Spring Break Skiing

The Monday blizzard at Deer Valley.
We could barely see each other in the fog but it was so beautiful.

The Wednesday sunshine at Deer Valley! We had the best ski conditions ever. It was sunny and beautiful, but not too hot.

I have always been a little more spontaneous than Dave (not always a good thing) so whenever we go skiing I just want to ski the runs and end up wherever we end up (again, not always a good thing) but Dave always gets a map of the mountain and plans out the day. So, here is a picture of my "map man". At least we rarely get lost!

Alaina had broken her toe a few weeks before we went and couldn't quite get her foot in the ski boot, so she stayed back at the condo and we met her for lunch every day. She played in the snow without too much pain, though.

The Diamond Peak melt down. The snow was nearly gone by Friday, but it was still cold enough to be icy.

April Fool's Day

This is what I found after I dropped the kids off at school. They were so sneaky when I as making breakfast!

Speaking of breakfast, this is what the kids found when they came down to eat...Andy had switched all of the bags inside the boxes so when we poured them, the wrong cereal came out. He had a bunch of pranks he wanted to do but most required a vehicle! (I know, Lucky Charms and Cookie Crisp are so healthy...)