Rexburg for Adam's Mission Farewell

 How much fun, sweetness, and family can you fit into 24 hours? I will tell you: a lot!
Steve, Richard, Zoe, Liam, and I went to Rexburg on Saturday morning. We got there in time to help Dad with some printing. He was printing his Christmas cards. I really loved this. I could certainly get into this if I had access. Liam was really excited about it.
We also got to play a new game with Grandma Sam. It was called Snake Oil and we had some good laughs playing any second we got.

 Next we headed over to Pizza Pie cafe to meet up with Shakespeares and eat some pizza. Also to admire James's extreme cuteness!

 Even more fun? Yes! Swimming at Super 8. I will admit, I never left the hot tub. That pool was freezing! Didn't seem to slow down the kiddos at all.

 Grandma Sam didn't have any ice cream in her freezer!!!! First time ever! So we decided we HAD to go to Millhollow to get some frozen yogurt. Actually, I hadn't eaten any pizza so I got a sandwich instead. Those sandwiches are killer.

 The next morning we got to go over to Nana's home to visit with her. She was so happy to see everyone, though a little confused and overwhelmed. We kept the visit brief then left Steve there to have lunch with her.

 Then we headed over to the meeting house for the farewell meeting. Adam's talk was so great. All about love. He did such a wonderful job. He is quite a well rounded young man.
We went over to Ricks's home after the meeting to eat lunch and visit with Adam a bit before his friends came over.

 I love my family!

 Elisabeth and Daniel...soon to be newlyweds.

6 of 8 siblings represented. Pretty amazing. We miss the Texas Samuelsons and the BamaSams so much!
What an amazing trip! Totally worth the drive!
We love you Ricks's and Elder Adam!!

Samuelson Men's High Adventure

 The men's response to Girls Weekend. I was not at this High Adventure, so I cannot speak to it. It was reported, however, that it was the perfect camp site. Right by Warm River, a bike path, and a fire pit. All that they needed to have a great time! Of course the highlight was tubing the river!
The ladies got to come up the final day for breakfast and Zoe and I got to float the most ironically named Warm River.
You notice Liams cast wrapped in a plastic bag so it wouldn't get wet? They used all sorts of materials to makeshift a plastic cover. Ingenius!

New friends

These darling boys hit it off. So glad we don't have to MAKE them be friends. They worked it out on their own!

Johnson Family Reunion

We went to Utah to attend the Johnson Family Reunion (my mother's side, and my father's step-side, ha!). It was really wonderful to see cousins I  hadn't seen in 25 years, to introduce Travis to aunts and uncles of mine that he had never met, and watch my kiddos play with their 2nd cousins.
Also, can you beat that view?
So great to see everyone!

Cool cousins

I love these kids together. They have so much fun and are at an age where they are delightful to interact with (while they are happy).

Spring Break

 You know when you have those trips that are so great, everyone gets along and has a good attitude (for the most part), and you get to do the things you wanted to, and you get good quality time with people you are visiting? Well, this was one of those trips. It was just so lovely.
Travis's office was getting carpeting replaced, so he got several days off during Spring Break, so we headed to Utah to hang out with Shakespeares.
Lydia and Sammy had oooodles of fun dancing, singing, and being silly together.

 The older kids had a lot of fun together doing whatever they do. There was a lot of basketball played, laughing, and talking about books. They are all so close in age that the four of them really do well together.

Felix played games all weekend long with whoever would play with him.

 We got to go to Renzo's wax museum where he got to pretend to be The King. Nicely done, Renz.

 We took evey opportunity to snuggle with little baby James.

 We went to the BYU Creamery for a first time. I cannot believe those older kids ate that much ice cream!

dur arou biiiii eyyyyyy!!!!! 

Indian Wells Tennis Tournament

 

 I find that recapping a trip very difficult. Either I am going to give way more information than you want and it will end up being a journal entry or else I could just post pictures and you could wonder why I posted them. Let me see if I can shoot for somewhere in the middle.

Travis and I flew to Ontario, California after pulling a lot of favors from friends and family to help out with the kiddos. Our friends, The Clevelands picked us up at the airport and by way of Hadleys Fruit Orchards for date shakes (delicious) and a quick peak at the Cabazon dinos we got to Palm Springs. We were staying at a time share there.

We went for a very long walk Friday morning and enjoyed the palm trees and beautiful scenery. Although it was chilly when we started, the day proved to be rather nice.
John had to leave to be with Hannah for a surgery and we missed him, especially Travis, but he got to come back the next day.

Travis managed to see a few matches and enjoy himself on Friday without John. Misty and I got to shop around. We went to some art galleries, clothes shops, a spice store, and had a lovely lunch (I think we stayed and talked for two hours or something). After picking Travis up from the tournament we had a nice Trader Joe's dinner and chatting in the hot tub.
Saturday morning we went on a vigorous hike on a trail that started across from the place we were staying. It was so beautiful and the good weather had rolled in. By the time we got back to our place John was there. So the fellas went to go find some courts to play some tennis.

Misty and I went out by the pool and talked and soaked up some much needed sun. Also, the pool was heated to bathtub temperature and so delightful!

We spent the rest of the day at the tournament. It was so fun being there with Travis after hearing about it for the past two years. I REALLY enjoyed the matches and the environment and, of course, the company.

We were so fortunate to get to have this wonderful vacation together. It has been quite a few years since we were able to travel together. We were happy to be able to be together with Clevelands and for them making it possible for us.