finally a post worth checking out!

i have been meaning to update this blog since may - my bad, it didn't happen. so this past week it was my goal to get these photos on here, esp. since my mexican riviera get-a-way. i don't know about your blog - but uploading photos on mine takes FOREVER!!!! what a nightmare, maybe this is why its taken me so long to post these.

so this is what i've got... i posted photos of playa del carmen, a summer wedding, museum visits, a few relaxing days at the oaks spa in ojai with cousin karen, fourth of july in brian head (or is it bryan head?) and bryce canyon, memorial day in st. george, and other random stuff.

so check it out - i'm off to finish my box of gumballs.

VIVA MEXICO ~OLE!!

it was like a hurricane the first morning there - and then it looked like this!

and these howler monkeys woke us up right outside our room!

chris and wendy

judy and i

i know this is a bad photo but i don't have a tripod and i loved the sky this one night

chris patiently waits as we shop - what a good sport

this is what sold me. all you can eat guacomole and chips - beachside!

the view from our room

the endless mojitos (minus the alcohol, of course)

shell collecting

ahhhh, just another relaxing day in mexico

it was all in celebration of judy's bday

it didn't take much for judy to convince me to go to mexico with her to celebrate her bday. she invited chris and wendy (judy and i have known chris since we were young and his wife wendy is icing on the cake - you've never hung out with a funner group of people, if i do say so myself)!

so she planned a 6 day vacation for us at the sandos resort and spa in playa del carmen - and WOW what a vacation!! this is an all you can eat resort, with 5 "five-star" restaurants and many buffets, pools, endless drinks and guac with chips, beautiful rooms, entertainment nightly, a kids club, spa, gym, disco, shops, bikes to take around the town, awesome service, unbelievable food, and the warmest, clearest water ever. all for ONE price!!! when you're in...you're in and you don't pay anything til you leave the resort and pay the shuttle to the airport - which will be the sadest day ever! you all MUST go. really.

well all good things must come to an end but they haven't seen the last of me in mexico!

taking dad and the boys to the laguna beach sawdust festival

visiting with cousin liz in san fran

me with my dear friend charmaine at her daughters wedding - look at what a creative reception they had...you gotta love a summer wedding at night and that huge dessert table!

with the boys at the getty village in malibu

the sun rises as we return home on a ride from utah for the 4th with the tylers, of course!

i love trees

i HAD to take this photo when i turned and recognized how lauren and ethans hair matched

the color of the mountains

this was a very tiring hike up but isn't it cool looking?

it was sad to witness just how much the bark beetle has destroyed

so many trees in the utah mountains

before school ended i took lauren and 2 friends for a weekend get-a-way in palm springs

and this was spa night for the girls

and this is a photo of my big butt and it's also the

photo that convinced me that i needed to join weight watchers!

gag me with a spoon! wire my mouth shut! buy me a bottle of laxatives - ewe gross!

ethan with his teacher at his 5th grade promotion

evan's class had a last day poem party where he had to

memorize and recite at least 7 poems!!

i don't mean to boast but i love (loved) how our bedroom overlooks

a very lush backyard - with the tree and it's shade now gone

i'm thinking it's not gonna be as beautiful, peaceful, shady, or private.

guess it's time to move to another house now!

and this is the beginning of a great memorial day weekend in st. george with the

tylers, heims, and knute with his boys

our favorite part of this weekend? the food!

evan did this the first 10 minutes we were there, of course.

our visit to the l.a. museums with the boys

the boys really loved their long(er) hair

ya know, there's not anything that i feel i really want or need. all i could possibly want, i have ~ a beautiful family, our health, a stable home life, ian's job, surrounded by family, the best of friends, and a relegion that has paved the way for how i live my life.

truly, i am a blessed woman.