Best Weekends EVER!

We have had the greatest time with family the last two weekends and next weekend promises to be as good as we are spending it with Jared's brothers and sister-in-laws at Mike and Ann's home in Syracuse. We are certainly enjoying this time close to our families.

Last weekend Jared's dad flew in to pick up a car and spent about a day with us. Although it was less than 24 hours, we made 3 days worth of memories. :) On Saturday, Dad took Sean and Lisa and our family to lunch at Tucano's. When we arrived, there was a 1.5 hour wait and we just enjoyed standing out in the sunshine talking and catching up. The meal was, of course, a wonderful treat (thanks Dad!) and we all ate way too much! That evening we all got together at our house and played Apples to Apples and Celestial Companions (mom joined us on the phone as dad's companion) and it was a blast. It was just nice to all be together. We stayed up late talking and spent the next morning discussing gospel principles and learning about dad's parents and his early life. It was so enjoyable it was hard to let him leave. Thanks for coming dad!

Yesterday was a much-needed and delightful rejuvenation for us as well! Sean and Lisa came over in the morning to do their laundry and it was good to have a chance to talk with them. Then we headed up to Wasatch Mountain State Park to meet Brian and Michelle and go snow shoeing. We drove through Midway to get there and Jared and I both decided that we need to live there someday! It is such a cute little town! Most of the buildings have a darling or elegant Swiss theme to them. When we got there Jared and I each put a kid on our backs (in a baby backpack), strapped on our snow shoes, and we were on our way. It was a warm day and the scenery was gorgeous. There were still some autumn leaves on the trees and snow on the ground. Brian and Michelle took turns breaking the trail for us (thanks guys...that is a HARD job) and we throughly enjoyed their company. It felt SO good to be outside, getting some good exercise with people that we love. After a picnic in the car (it had started to rain...yep, that's right, it was raining instead of snowing in the Wasatch mountains in January), we all came down to our home for naps, soup and a rousing game of All. The girls won (way to go Michelle!) for the first time, I think. Then Brian and Michelle headed for Salt Lake to watch a movie and Jared, Brielle, Nathan and I went to a BYU basketball game. They beat San Diego State. Go Cougars! Isn't life wonderful!?!