A Pioneer's Day Miracle

This is the note I found on the door Friday night.....

and this is who I found in the room....!!!

Yea, Yea. Yea... Shawn surprised us and came home this past weekend. We started looking at tickets Tuesday, but he said that they were too expensive. Little did I know he had booked a ticket (Thank you Kelly and Julie!) and was planning on coming home. I being the over analizer started to get suspicious of his activity and thought that maybe he was infact surprising me. So I called him on Friday afternoon, hoping I would catch him on the airplane, but he picked up and said he was eating lunch at his apartment in MN!!! I was bummed, and I told him how sad I was that he really wasn't coming home. I pouted for the rest of the night, thinking man, now he decides to care about our finances! My family and I went to a baseball game that night and got back in about 9:15. I went about the routine of getting the boys ready for bed, when my mom came downstairs with this crazy smile on her face and started acting really funny about me getting the boys ready for bed. Finally I told her to let me do my thing, but she still kept looking at me like a kook! So I went upstairs to see what was up and there was my knight in shining armor! Yea! Shawn you have won the husband of the year award. We were so excited to have you home even for a few days! Thanks Mic and Joel for picking him up!

We had our annual Pioneer Day celebration complete with parade and Hill Family Picnic. This year will be the last at my Grandma Belva's home. She was a Grand Marshall in the parade and was a trooper the entire time. I will miss that tradition, and like my sister Stephanie said, there are so many good family memories at that house.

Sunday we took Shawn to Jackson, were he flew back to MN. I love Jackson Hole, WY. It is such a fun little town. If you're ever there you HAVE to, HAVE to, get a Billy Burger from the Cadillac Grill!! They are the best. It was also really fun to be in Jackson, because Shawn took my on one of our first dates there, and it brought back a lot of fun memories for us. Who wouldn't love looking at this view all day either??

In the meantime we've just got back from Utah and found a place to live Oct-Jan. I'm really excited to live in SLC. I've only been in Provo, so this will be fun for us. Any must sees in SLC?? Let me know, I'm sure I'll have time to kill. Sam and Jack continue to play until they drop every day, but it has been a huge blessing - they are too busy to miss Shawn or be bored with me. Life is good, busy and crazy, but I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful family surrounding me!

Pat - A - Cake Baker's Man

The boys had a great time making bread with Grandma Julianne this week! My mom has this routine of throwing the bread down in the bowl after kneading (I think she does this as a release for her built up frustrations) but Jack and Sam got the biggest kick out of it.

Sam has been playing with his cousins so much that I hardly see him anymore! Good and bad, I kind of miss my little buddy! Jack is growing like a weed, and is the new ohhh and ahhhh at church. Everyone is amazed at what a HAPPY baby he is!

Life is good, but soooo busy, and I'm having a hard time keeping up with my blog. I'm sure when I'm in Utah alone again, I'll be more vigilant, but these pictures are mostly for Shawn! We love you and miss you.... come home!!!

Bey-Awesome Birthday!

Happy Birthday Sammy Boy!!!

Sam took this picture of me and Jack, not to bad for a 4 year old! Maybe a future photographer???
Sam sporting his new DMU sweatshirt! Thanks Carter!!
Sam's birthday was great! He had his favorite chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, followed by a picnic in the park with his cousins. He then played all afternoon on his NEW scooter complete with bike helmet and knee pads (thanks grandma Julie-dog).
Finally he had his BOLT Birthday Party. All the kids were transformed into Super Bolt or Mittens by me (the professor). Then they played Rhino bowling, styro foam word search, and a Zoom, Zoom obstacle course. We completed the day with cake and ice cream and of course great presents. Thank you for all the fun gifts, Sam is as always spoiled to death!




He finished the evening with a soccer game (he actually kicked the ball this time!!) and a yummy super of salmon and macaroni and cheese! Thanks Grandma Julianne!! Then the night continued to rock with a Bolt movie and sleepover with cousins..... what a great day!

Soccer & Mud

Sam has been loving his cousins, and thanks to them has got to experience some childhood "sweets!" First he is now a soccer player, and SOOOOO excited to play. He is the only 4 year old out there with 6 year olds, but he doesn't seem to mind that he has no clue what to do. He just likes to run, and watch his own shadow as he does! He is too cute.
Finally he went muddin' with Piper in the potato field last week and they were "muddy monsters" and loved every second of it! It is so much fun to be out in the field, I wanted to join him, but I didn't have the right attire to get all muddy in! Maybe next time.
After

Happy Birthday Sam!!!

My baby is 4 years old today!! Ahhh..... I can't believe how time flys, and I really feel like I've come full circle because we are having his birthday party at my mom's house, living here, just like we did on his 1st birthday. Sam we love you so much. Here are some fun facts about Sammy boy:



1. He loves to play - play sports, play pretend, play with cousins, play with toys, play....

2. He loves his friends and cousins

3. He loves to dress up and he loves movies and pretending to be the characters in them

4. He have the cutest laugh in the whole world.

5. He has a great sense of humor

6. He is super handsome (I know I'm his mom, but he really is a beautiful boy!)

7. He loves to get dirty, he loves to run, he loves to wear his swimming suit

8. He hates fruit or anything that smells fruity!

We're having a BEY-AWESOME Bolt Birthday Party today, so pictures will follow tomorrow, mostly for Shawn's benefit! Shawn we wish you were here too. Happy B-day Sam!!

And Here we have Idaho...

WoW! What a busy, crazy week it has been. From start to finish I'm pretty much spent, but the boys seem to be loving every minute of it. We started Saturday with the big Load up! It went great, and we finished in about 2 hours. (Thanks to all those who helped!) We then cleaned the house, shampooed the carpets, and blew up an air mattress - so we could go and ROCK our SOCKS off at the Keith Urban concert! Amazing. He is great, and we had a blast = we mean to say ME had a blast!

We then had Sunday where we said goodbye to our friends and neighbors. This was a lot more difficult for me then I thought it would be. I am still really sad to know that I won't see such great friends for a long time. We stayed Sunday night at hotel, and picked up Ma and Pa Hill from the airport.

We then started the long trek across the country! But not to make it boring we took advantage of the sites along the way. We went to Winter Quarter's Temple in Omaha. To Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota, and then to Mount Rushmore! It was so great, and worth every mile. I really enjoyed it, and the boys did awesome in the car. My camera's batteries died, so I had to revert to the old film camera - can you believe it?? So those pictures aren't on here. We took in the Reptile Garden's and Crazy Horse Memorial, and Little Big Horn too. It was a big day, but it was really fun! Thanks Mom and Dad for helping us drive, it was great to giggle with you.

We rolled in to St. Anthony Wednesday afternoon and unloaded the truck (thanks to my color coding - I know I'm totally OCD!!) Thanks to my sisters I was able to get my load of "crap" as it was affectionately referred to unloaded and put away that same day. We then hit the 4th of July holiday with full force, heading up to Island Park for a fun day on the boat and relaxation at the cabin. We watched the fireworks on the boat and it was a perfect way to end the day. Sam and Jack have been loving their cousins, and I'm sure once things slow down we'll all realize that we really aren't going back to Iowa and that will be a sad day.

Shawn left this morning for Minneapolis to start his rotation at Hennepin County Hospital. We love you Shawn, and already miss you like crazy. I thought you would like this pic of you and Jack-O. My ear just isn't the same.