6 crazy weeks!

Between the last week of February and the First week of April, we have been busy, busy, BUSY!!!

Grandpa Mark and Grandma Ruth came to town for a fun weekend visiting San Antonio and eating at all our favorite food trailers in Austin. Yes, in spite of my best intentions, I gained almost two pounds while they were here. It's so hard to be good when you are entertaining!

The highlight of the weekend was Ethan's ordination. Last summer he decided he wanted to have the same line of authority as his dad, and asked his Grandpa to perform the ordination. It was a really neat experience to have three generations in the same room for that sacred event. Thanks to them and my mom for being there and adding to the meaningfulness of that moment for me. (I still can't believe I am old enough to have a son in the Young Men's program!) Ethan is earnestly pursuing his Duty to God and is excited to give his first Sacrament Meeting talk next week.

After we sent our guests home is was time to mentally prepare for something Joey and I had committed to and began preparing for a few months earlier-A half marathon! We participated in The Gusher, a full and half marathon in Beaumont, TX. There were 6 of us from our ward participating and it was so fun to share the experience with new and old friends. We both managed to achieve our goals-to run the whole thing and to finish before our friend finished his full marathon!

Big thanks to my mom for having the Grandkids for the night before and the day of the race. She even had to be the nurse to little Quinlan while we were gone. We are so blessed to have her!

Five days later, still sore from our last adventure, we headed to Southwest Texas to Big Bend National Park and Fort Davis National Historic Site. We have made the National Park System our family bucket list, so we are trying to hit all that we can. Though it was a little on the warm side, it was so fun camping under the Cottonwoods near the Rio Grande, hiking some of the trails, and seeing the magnificent mountain ranges and canyons cut by the river. It was a breathtaking sunset the first night with the smell of the creosote in the air. We also heard a fight between the Javelinas and the coyotes near our camp and on Saturday I kept getting woken up by the Super Moon all night long until it set in the early morning.

Fort Davis was a protected waypoint for travelers moving west to California to resupply and take a rest before moving on. The Buffalo Soldiers were stationed there for a time and they have some great exhibits about post-Civil War history. The best part was getting there in time to watch them fire the cannon! We also stayed in the sweetest little hotel in Fort Davis, complete with footed tub, rocking chairs and a real key!

You would think that would be enough for us, but no. A few days before our marathon, my mom found a kids race in Austin on March 26th that they do along with the Cap10K. We signed the kids up and had a great time cheering them on. The 3 big kids did the one mile races for their age groups and Bronwyn and I ran in the 1/2 mile fun run.

She was not satisfied because she wanted to do it again immediately.

They all had a great time reveling in their accomplishment over tacos at our favorite taco trailer, Torchy's.

Other highlights from this time period were the boy's haircuts, Ethan's D&D birthday party, a plethora of board gaming for Dad and a busy calling for Mom.

Whew! I'm glad it's April. Things will slow down now right? Not exactly....