This Spring and Summer flew by so quickly! Debbie graduated (finally!!) from nursing school in May. The day after graduation, we left for Mesquite and St. George and spent a blissful week. It was so nice to reconnect again as a family without the stress of having a mom in school. We laid around the pool, shopped a little, and spent a day in Zion's. When we returned home, Debbie passed the NCLEX and landed a great job at Community Nursing Services. In July, we went to Southern California for a week. We stayed in Anaheim for a couple of nights so Maddy could go to Disneyland. We had a wonderful day there and were surprised how uncrowded the park was in July. We spent the rest of the week in Redondo/Hermosa Beach. We stayed in a beautiful hotel overlooking the harbor. We were able to check out bikes and ride down the Strand at Hermosa Beach. This was so much fun! We did this nearly every day, stopping for lunch and ice cream along the way. The kids and Dirk had fun boogie-boarding at Hermosa. We even saw dolphins swimming off shore. Once we returned home, our family sent Grandma and Grandpa Heinhold off on their mission to NYC. It was a tearful event, but we know they are doing the right thing and are excited for them to be off on their "great adventure." We also were able to go with our Peterson family to Wolf Creek for a few days. We enjoyed catching up with aunts, uncles, and cousins. We were even able to watch the Perseid meteor shower from the hot tub one evening. We've forgotten how bright the stars can be away from the city lights. All in all, it was a wonderful summer. After vacations were over, it was time for the kids to go back to school, and for Dirk and Debbie to go back to work. Our next adventure? NYC (to stay with Debbie's parents) and a US History trip next summer...we can hardly wait!

This spring was very busy at our house. Dave and Emily had a new baby, Adam Kent Heinhold. He is such a cutie! Another Dave clone! My spring break and the kids' spring break didn't coincide, so they had fun sleeping over at Becky's one night and going to a movie, and Dirk took a day off and took them to the zoo. I was busy at St. Mark's and Primary Children's with school during their spring break. I think they had a fun break from school, but I missed being with them. In May, after my finals were over, Becky, Angie, and I took a wonderful trip to Napa and San Francisco. I had won a trip at the Spa Vino Bello in Napa, which included massages for all three of us! It was the most wonderful, peaceful trip ever. Our three families met in St. George in June for some R&R. Since we were supposed to be in Mexico on our cruise, which got postponed due to Swine Flu, we decided to use the condos, which were available. The weather was perfect and we had a great time laying around the pool. Next adventure: Mexican Cruise in July! Here we come!