Suzi's new pool

We had a fun swim party in Suzi's new pool on Saturday night! Her new pool is lots of fun. We had good food, lots of swimming and tons of laughter. It was so fun to be together with people we haven't spent a lot of time with lately. Katie, Chase and Lauren came over. Hayden was in heaven with Chase being there. They are such good friends. My cousin, Katie, came over too! She was needing a serious break from studying for college finals. I am so glad she came. She is so much fun to be with. Since Jodi was at home taking care of Brooklyn, and her recovering from having her tonsils taken out, Briggy was was with us. Thomas and Hayden were attacking everyone with squirt guns. Good thing Aunt Suzi had bought several. All kids were equipped with squirt guns to protect themselves from Uncle Thomas.

Thomas loved getting everyone wet, but he takes more pleasure in soaking me than in getting anyone else wet. I wish I could figure out how to change that.

Suzi was trying to protect herself from the squirt guns, but got taken out anyway.

Hayden is a great squirt gun shooter, and absolutely loves it! Oh boys!

Chase is a cutie and we sure enjoy it when he is around. These two boys are looking forward to spending a week together at the beach!

I had so much fun sitting and talking with Katie. And, my favorite is playing Apples to Apples with her. I absolutely love her humor. So glad we pulled out that game, cause she is so fun! We need to have her over more to play games. Too much fun!

Squirt Gun Fights!

Thomas LOVES water gun fights as much as any boy there ever was. He loves them. I was just helping out the little guys, and Thomas turned on me with the hose. Not nice. He absolutely SOAKED me! Hayden has developed a love of squirt guns from his dad. He loves to get wet and loves soaking everyone else. I love the joy he gets from playing. He makes me smile!

Todd and Brody going at it! To try and even things up, we gave the dads little squirt guns and the boys bigger squirt guns. The little guys loved it!

My husband being a big kid at heart, went for the hose. He completely broke the rules. Brody and Hayden were hilarious and kept trying to get them with their squirt guns even though they were getting soaked!

I love Thomas' expression, it shows his competitive, kid at heart playfulness! He LOVED the squirt gun fight and getting everyone wet, especially when he soaked me unexpectedly! It is a good thing I love him, or he would have been dead!

Knapp party

We had an afternoon party at Julie's for Father's Day. Julie gave the guys amazing framed pictures of them in their Diamondbacks jerseys. It was so fun having Sean, Jan, Todd, Brody, Julie, Fran and all of us together. Brody and Hayden have so much fun together with their own table, own snacks and new toys. The big guys love playing the Wii and boy do they get competitive. It is so fun to see their faces as they play Wii Resort and fight with swords, box, etc. Too funny! And, of course, being at Julie's, we have amazing food! Chalupas have definitely become a favorite. Yummy. What a great time!

Simonton family party

Friday night we had the funnest Simonton party at Jake's house on Friday night. Jake moved and put in a fun new pool. The Simonton cousins all loved being together. We barbecued, ate, talked, swam and laughed a lot. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so no pictures.

I absolutely love spending time with my brothers, sister, sister-in-laws and my adorable nieces and nephews.

My favorite moments:
Watching Hayden play with Talmage.
Having Brinley ask me when we are going to have a spa day.
Feeding Talmage watermelon.
Kiley cuddling with me. (Even though she got me sick)
Watching Dallin, Austin, Casen and Braden do tricks off the diving board.
Josh, Jake, Thomas and I trying to "one up" each other on mission stories.
Rosie and Suzi convincing me that I needed to get up for the gym at 5am.
Josh crying when he laughs.
Jake teasing and playing.
Jodi figuring out the camping trip with Steph and them being wonderful to take Hayden.

I sure was blessed with a good family! I have the best siblings around!

Briar Patch Inn

Julie is amazing! She kidnapped me from the hospital and planned an amazing getaway weekend. I was so sick of hospitals and being sick. We headed out Friday afternoon to Briar Patch Inn in Oak Creek Canyon. It was an amazing place! The gardens and grounds were unbelievable. I was in awe of the beauty. With me still being sick, we didn't do a whole lot. We spent a lot of time sitting and overlooking Oak Creek and just talking. I enjoyed every minute of just sitting there, listening to the water make its way down the creek, and get Julie's perspective on life. She amazes me and I love listening to her stories.

I did a lot of writing while we were away. There is something that is so rejuvenating about being in a cabin and being able to really write. I have decided to once again make writing a priority in my life and concentrate on doing it more. Julie was the one that taught me to write and has been encouraging me to write more often.

I had an absolutely amazing weekend. One that was able to pull me thru the hard times and help me to realize that I could keep going. Julie and I had some amazing discussions. I love her outlook on life and how she is able to help me re-focus and put things into perspective. I am so thankful for her and all she does for me.

Thanks for an amazing weekend, Julie! You will never know how much it meant to me and how truly much I really needed that time to get away. I will always cherish this weekend!

Survival Mode

How do I deal with the stress of being in the hospital for 6 days? With three surgeries and a week long hospital stay over the past couple of months, I was completely burned out. When I finally escaped the hospital stay, I headed to Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon to try to decompress. Not eating for a week, at all, definitely caused lack of energy on my part. But, seeing the beautiful mountains and staying in an amazing cabin, rejuvenated me. It was a great time for reflection and trying to sort out all of the happenings of the past couple of months.

We spent a lot of time sitting by the creek, taking short walks, laying in hammocks, writing in my journal and napping. It was such a relaxing and quiet trip. So unlike any I have ever experienced and it was AMAZING!

I came home ready again to face life and hopefully start with a new renewed strength. Now, if I can just stay healthy and put this all behind me, I would be very very grateful!