Quarantined

I just got back from the pediatrician. Jackson, Bennett and Paxton all have strep throat. Which means Mark & I have got it too since we have the worst sore throats of them all. Lucky for Sarah she was already on antibiotics for a sinus infection so she is free and clear. I almost didn't go to the doctor today because the boys were feeling a bit better. Thank heavens Mark talked me into it. By Wednesday we should be feeling better and not contagious anymore.

We love you, Mark!

We had a quiet Father's Day at home. All of us have some kind of lovely throat thing, possibly strep. So we quarantined ourselves in the house. It was a quiet, cozy day that we all needed. (Especially since Mark & Jackson spent Friday night and all day Saturday at a Boy Scout overnighter. Jackson loved throwing an ax despite the sore throat. Maybe I shouldn't have let them go, but they were both determined.)

Bennett has been very excited for Father's Day. He had made a gift at preschool that he was very anxious to give Mark. Then yesterday he made a mask out of a big cereal box and construction paper to give him. (Just what every dad needs!) As well as several cards and paintings. He was involved in making all the meals today and gave Mark lots of snuggles and loves.

For dinner we had steak and artichokes which Bennett would not touch and Sarah could not get enough of. At first she just kept staring at me eating the artichoke. "You like it, Mommy?" she asked again and again. Finally she asked Mark for a leaf and tried it. There was no stopping her. She'd already had several large pieces of steak, but she was hungry tonight, I guess. After dinner, we had my attempt at our favorite dessert in England -- Sticky Toffee Pudding. So yummy! The kids were unsure because it turns out there are dates in it, which you would never guess just from eating it. It's so funny what they are picky about. But again Sarah loved it, especially the caramel topping.

After Mark had read stories to her and Bennett, she snuck out of the room and we couldn't find her for a few minutes. The boys found her and brought her back for family prayer before Mark laid her down. I went out to the kitchen to find the kitchen to find that most of the cake was missing. (I had put it in individual tupperwares to freeze so that I don't eat it all at once by myself while Mark is out of town this week.) Sarah has an interesting habit of moving things around the house and hiding them in unsuspecting places, so we knew it had to be her. It wasn't until at least an hour later that we finally found the cake in our bedroom with masking tape around it. She must have stuck it there to eat later! :)

Busy Times

It seems like life is always busy for the 6 of us these days. (Maybe that's why we're all sick now??) But we've had some fun times lately.

Last weekend the boys went with Mark on the Fathers & Sons Campot with our ward. It was soggy but they had a great time tromping through the mud.
That Saturday Mark and I competed in the Great Urban Race, a mini-Amazing Race-type adventure. Lots of fun to do together. We had to solve 11 clues and take pictures at most of them, and then race to finish. We came in 41st out of more than 300 teams.



We got extremely lucky on the weather. It was awesome!
That night we hosted a surprise 30th birthday party for Mark's sister, Emily. All the hard work and incredible cooking was done by her husband, Robert. Just the women were invited to dinner. Robert's brother & friend helped serve, while the dads watched the kids. It was a lovely evening for dinner on the deck overlooking our new backyard.

As usual when Robert is cooking, the food was the star of the show!




Emily with her two best friends from high school.
The next day after church we had another family get-t0gether and celebrated Bailey's 4th birthday. The kids had a great time "helping" her open presents.
Emily made a beautiful cake, as usual.
Afterwards, Bailey and Addie spent a couple days with us while Robert & Emily went to the coast. (How could I say no? I owe everyone babysitting for a long time!)

Last Wednesday night, even though Mark & Jackson were already feeling sick, we took the boys to see the Lion King. I had bought the tickets over 6 months ago when Village Home put together a group buy, having no idea how crazy this last few weeks was going to be. However, it was totally worth it. The costumes were amazing and we all had a wonderful time (contrary to the look on Jackson's face in this picture.)

England 2010

I am finally posting pictures from England. (If you put the cursor over the picture, there are captions.) We had a wonderful trip with Mark's parents. The primary reason for the trip was to see Mark's brother, Brent, compete in the Blackpool Ballroom Dance Competition, the oldest & most prestigious ballroom competition in the world. We also did some sightseeing in and around London. (We loved Oxford. Definitely skip Kensington Palace. It was awful to put it mildly!) But our unexpected favorite was doing family history in the Lake District. It was beautiful and we made some wonderful discoveries. The Gunsons lived within a few miles of St. Bees for over 150 years. It was exciting to see where they lived and to find so many of them still there!

Despite staying in some very TINY accommodations, we all got along well and had a lovely time. Paxton was an incredible traveler who made friends with everyone we met. The kids had a blast with their cousins and friends while we were gone. We can't wait to go again!




This video is our first hotel in London. So tiny! Mom & Dad were really good sports. Hopefully we made up for it a little bit later.


The view from the London Eye was impressive. Mom was not excited about going up, but she was brave and a very good sport.


There was a 10K through downtown London on Monday. Mark decided to run. He didn't make it in time to officially register, but that didn't stop him. Mom, Dad, Pax & I waited along the race, but we totally missed him. So sad!


Here is a clip of Brent and Amy dancing on the second day of competition. You'll have to come over to watch the video of the Formation Team competition as it is really long -- and will look much better on the big screen!



Haile Church was my favorite little church. So quaint and beautiful. Plus we found a lot of relatives there.



Our last day we made the long, beautiful drive through the Lake District to Windsor where we got to see the Castle from the outside. (We arrived too late to tour.) We had a lovely dinner on the Thames. A great ending to our fabulous trip.

Preschool Graduation

The night before we left for England, Bennett graduated from preschool. We have loved his preschool. The teachers are wonderful. He's made some good friends. He was very happy.
Singing in the program.

Wendy, Caden, Canyon, and Bailey all came to support him.


We love you, Bennett!

The weekend before we left for England, Mark took the boys to the Property to help rake needles. In spite of the cold and hard work, they all had a good time.

Everyone's always dirty.
Good buddies playing in the dirt.
Jumping over the creek.
Helping Great-Grandpa with the fire.
Hanging out with my buds.

Beautiful Sunday

The rain returned this afternoon, but Sunday it was gorgeous and we enjoyed our first dinner with our new patio table.