February–May 2023

A happy fellow’s birthday cake:

Callum enjoying his cheeseburger at “the bestest place ever”:

Ailie joined Claire and me in St. George for Claire’s soccer tournament. We had a good time enjoying some slightly warmer weather and being outdoors without rain and snow. Unfortunately, this tournament did not go well for Claire’s team… but we still had a good time on the trip!

Enjoying Pioneer Park in St. George after one of Claire's games...

Claire’s “Gollum” pose.

Now Ailie “Gollum-ing.”

Quick Stop at Coral Pink Sand Dunes… (it was pretty cold and the sand was damp, so we didn’t stay here long…)

At the Petrified Dunes in Snow Canyon State Park (we went here in January with all of our other kids, but Ailie and Claire were feeling sick that day and didn’t come along, so it was good we got to stop in while we were there for Claire’s tournament).

Down in the Lava Tubes! We explored them all the way to their ends—very cool. When we came with the whole family in January, we didn’t go very far in.

Meanwhile, back in Northern Utah…

Enjoying the crazy snowstorm that shut things down for a couple of days.

We spent a good chunk of the day digging a big snow tunnel/fort that we could all fit in.

Snow blowing off the top of the Oquirrh Mountains just before sunset.

A queenly perch.

South Timpanogos after a snowy photoshoot mom had at Tibble Fork Reservoir.

North end of the Oquirrh Mountains as seen at sunset from the Grantsville Reservoir (also after a photoshoot like the other mountain sunset pictures). Winter does make for some dramatic mountains.

We wound up with a couple of conference tickets after taking pictures of the De Hoyos family (Laura’s brother-in-law’s family).

This shot and the next two were supposed to be the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point at the start of April. As you can see, there was still a lot of snow and not many tulips.

Rose Springs chalk fight fundraiser (always a hit).

Descending the Secret Stairway in Middle Canyon

And now the annual easter egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa Lewis’s house. I got a lot more picture of all of the kids—you can click the button below to download the full-res copies of all of them if you want them.

A little climb Max, Callum, and I did to the top of Ensign Peak (we were getting itchy for hiking season by this point).

Claire’s class lining up for the mini-marathon. She went on to take first. Max took third in his, Ailie got eighth (but ran consistently the whole time, most people did bursts and stops), and Elly enjoyed strolling with a friend who was sad.

This pic and the next two are from a hike Max and I took up to the top of Grandeur Peak. It was fun to do it in early spring!

These shots are all from Ailie’s 6th grade promotion. We were surprised when she was announced as the speaker because she hadn’t told anyone about it (she wanted it to be a surprise). We could tell she felt great about finishing with a bang.

Grandmas got the privilege of sitting with this guy.

Her friends, Emsley, Sammy, and Brilya.