Jo in San Diego

Jo took a trip to San Diego. She went to (sort of) see her friend Allyson get married. But who did she run into there....TWO OF THE HUBERT GIRLS!!!

Dani and Heather were in San Diego to be there for the sealing of a very special little girl to her beautiful forever family. They were going to be at the San Diego LDS temple on the very same day that Jo was there. So of course they tried their best to find one another.

Heather has always been one of Jo's (and my) biggest supporters. I am certain we knew each other before we were born. Some people are just cool like that. Anyhoo...they got a quick pic and a hug and then they were off!! How I love this pic!!

Allyson was a beautiful bride and Jo had an amazing time being there to support her friend.

My baby is all grown up.

Geode Hunting

Here is a quick post about our trip to the middle of nowhere. It was a long drive (4 hours....2 of them being on a dirt road) It was beautiful...in a desert-y sort of way. Hot and dry and brown too.

"We" dug around hoping to find a geode or two. Jim dug and dug. 

And I very quickly lost interest. Sorry babe. It was hot. And boring. Because contrary to the info Jim had been given you don't really just walk around and pick them up. Not really. And someone might have said the word rattlesnake. Sort of killed it for me.

This is me being bored. I  was "digging". Can't you tell??

This is actually what the digging looked like and who was doing it. 

Squirrel!! Just kidding. It was a wild horse. There was a pretty big herd out there. They were fun to watch (as we were driving out of there!!).

These are some of our findings. Some were cast-offs that other rock hounds didn't want. LOL...I'm not really referring to myself as a rock hound. I just wanted to clarify that. They are pretty and all that...but now what?

I don't know if we will go back out there or not. We are finding lots of adventure here in Utah. It's fun to be back in a place that has public land to explore.

Kim and Jo

I didn't realize how much these two looked alike. I was looking through scrapbooks with Bridger a while ago and found the pics with Kim and my little Jo. B-man asked who the little girl with Jo was....yeah...They also both LOVE their nieces and nephews. Jo is probably Michael's favorite person. And I know Kim was (and is) at the top of Jo's list!! They are all so stinking cute together. These pictures just make me happy.

Breakfast Dates

Most mornings I have a breakfast date with this cute boy. He is the reason I get out of bed!! We eat breakfast and chat.

We talk about the day ahead and what we did the night before. He asks where Papa is. I ask him what he's eating. He will wrinkle his nose and sniff the air if his daddy is making eggs for him.

We laugh and play for a bit too. I love technology. I can't imagine living so far from this boy without it. He is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I miss him. I miss all of them.

So Much Family Time

So many things to do with family close by!! Dad took me for a ride (a 4 hour ride...hello sun burn) in his favorite car. It is mine too, coincidentally. We drove the back way to Pocatello to watch Cooper and Cylie in their end of the year daycare program. Priceless.

I got to spend some time with this boy. He is a funny kid!! He reminds me SO much of Kevin at this age. The things they worry about, the speed at which they move, their tender hearts...they are brothers for sure!!

Who else could eat a corn dog bigger than your head!!

Then a couple days later I got to come back to Pocatello to see THIS GIRL!! She has a couple jobs for the summer and has been super busy. I have missed her. 

We celebrated this girls birthday. I can't believe Miss Cylie is 7 years old. Wasn't she born just last month??

Not even faking. She was awake one minute and telling me she was just going to close her eyes for a minute. Out cold!!

And of course our birthday celebration wouldn't be complete without a trip to Ross Park. The kids convinced Jim to get a slide pass and slide with them. 

Mr. Fearless here. He'll go anywhere!!

Miss Brook was all smiles coming down the slide.

I couldn't resist posting this pic of my Nellie dog. Usually if we point the camera or phone at her she shies away from it. Jim must have been really sneaky to get this shot. She's even smiling. She has become a pretty good dog. 

That is a quick recap of the last couple of weeks. I like having these kids so close. Now if only I could get mine here...life would be perfect!!

The Inside of the Front Door

This is the view from my desk. I sit  here to read my scriptures and to journal in the mornings. It's a nice view. A little bland, but nice.

Oh...that's better. I love this shade of pink. It's not quite bubble gum and it's not coral....It's a little in between (on my laptop it looks very bubble gum but it's so not!!). It is beautiful and it lifts my soul every time I look at it. 

I find myself looking over there a lot. When I walk by I pause just a second or two. Color is a wonderful thing.

A New, New Kitchen

Here is where we started (a pic we snapped on our second showing after our first two options had fallen through). A nice kitchen for sure. A lot of counter space...with lovely laminate counter tops. 

The ten year old vinyl floor was in OK shape. But Jim had a vision in his head of his dream house and this wasn't it. 

We had to buy a fridge and we were pretty sure we wanted black appliances. And we definitely wanted new flooring. 

We thought we wanted the tile that looked like wood. We found some we liked, but then I saw this wood sample. I fell in love with the warm tones and the feel of the wood over the tile. My feet have thanked me too. So  then this guy came over. After watching him work Jim was SO grateful that we had paid for the removal of the vinyl. I've never seen a guy work so hard.

Then the fun started. My house was in total chaos. If you know me at all, you know that I don't deal with that very well!!

 The floors were even better than we imagined.

I am so glad to be rid of the worn out carpet and the old vinyl floor. If you look closely you'll see the handles Jim and Doug installed. I LOVE them!!

One more project was the oven and dishwasher. New ones were ordered. It took a while to get the dishwasher figured out. The wiring was wrong, then the new one was defective. We washed dishes for 10 days!! It turned out fine, but it was a hassle for a minute. I still want the microwave over the stove. It would clear up some counter space for sure.

And finally here is the new (double) oven and dishwasher AND counter tops!! Quartz is our favorite counter top and we love this color. I love the under-mount sink especially. We bought the same faucet that we installed in our last house. This kitchen feels like me now. If I am honest, I'll tell you that painting the cupboards is in the back of my mind, but not right now.

The kitchen is big enough for multiple cooks and I now have seating for many guests....so come over for a visit. You know you want to!!!