April

Spring is here!
Spring is my favorite time of year and lately it has been showing up a couple of days. I am more than happy to welcome the warmth; especially after this horrible, decade-long, harsh, cold, snowy winter! Utah, your weather would be perfect if we could just skip winter! If you can't tell winter and I do not like each other. The couple days of good feeling weather made for a perfect day of bike riding. We did not know at the time when we bought the bikes that Connor was planning on joining our family. We thought about selling our road bikes after realizing we would not be competing in triathlon as we had originally planned. Multiple times we posted the bikes for sell, but now I am so glad that no one bought them. Our neighborhood has a paved trail that runs parallel to Legacy Highway that goes for miles. We are looking forward to rides as a family from now-till-winter.

Connor at 11 months

Not much has changed for Connor. He still cruises around the furniture, and still hasn't attempted to walk independently. He will be walking any day now, i'm sure once he realizes it's easier to carry around toys on two legs than working so hard to drag the toy while crawling on all four. He is such an easy going little guy. I love how wherever we go he puts a smile on everyone's face. 

Connor's method for navigating on grass

Graduation

I can't believe this day has finally arrived. Seems so long ago that the journey of getting a degree began. I was there his first day of college and his last day. He has grown so much since his beginning. Starting this journey at the little Macon State College and received his Associates. Then taking our leap of faith and moving thousands of miles away from home to a much more challenging university. 

I'm glad Logan was able to work before going to college. When he went into college he was older than the typical student; and, with age comes wisdom. Instead of being like most students of changing their major multiple times, then generally remaining unsure of what they wanted to be when they grew up, Logan came in knowing that business was for him. Sure, even though he entertained the idea of a Law Degree, politics, or even being involved with professional soccer teams, Logan knew business was his forte. Logan was driven, focused, and passionate in desiring to learn all the knowledge he could obtain. College to Logan was not about having a fun time like most of the other students, he was there for the purpose of what college is intended to be, to learn and become a productive member of society. 

I am thankful for the example Logan has been to me through this journey. He overcame many challenges and gave it all he had.  When he fell down, he got back up and went at it again until he accomplished it. 

Now, looking back on our long journey and the times we shared working together, it's amazing to realize we've accomplished both of our dreams of obtaining a degree. I love the fact that we are a team in our accomplishments. Logan worked while putting me through school and I returned the favor; that is until Connor decided to surprise us (*best surprise ever!*). Logan then had the stress of doing work and school at the same time, while never complaining about this burden. I am so blessed to have a husband who is willing to put in so much time and energy in bettering himself in order to provide the best for his family. Congratulations, babe! You Did It! 

Party like a rock star

The business school where many hours spent

Class of 2013

Getting that paper!

Yay, Dada!

Graduation celebration dinner at Tucanos 

Graduation Cookout

We had a perfect day of sunshine and grilling hamburgers and hotdogs at a park down the street from where we live. Spring is finally, FINALLY here! Papa (Randie), Grandma (Sherri), Geoffrey, Holly, Tanner, Mike, Sherri, Chelsea, and Kaden joined us in celebrating Logan's achievement. I wish I would have taken more pictures. 

drool

Tanner having fun

We all were watching a family shooting off a mini rocket

walking on grass is worth it for a soda!

The kite is so high

Yay!

Yum! Dirt is good!

Mike, Kaden, and Logan flying a kite

Kaden playing!

I think Kaden tackled the kite!

Arts and Crafts by Hanna

I finally got the courage to make Connor's quilt! I have been procrastinating for quite some time. After researching quilt making on pinterest and watching many YouTube tutorials, I gained the confidence to make my first big sewing project. 

Step 1: cut strips of fabric into 3" strips. Then sew two of the strips together. Cut the sewn strips into 5.5" squares. Lay squares together to form the "zig zag" pattern called chevron. 

Here are the squares laid out

Step 2: Sew rows together starting at corner and work diagonally till all of rolls are connected. This part was very tricky for me. I wanted the chevron to meet together perfectly so a lot of the time was spent ripping out the thread, realigning, and resewing.

Very LATE night but all the squares are finally together.

Step 3: Place on the bottom is the backing fabric, then the middle layer of cotton batting, and then the top of quilt. I used a basting spray glue to hold all my layers together. Using the spray glue makes the basting process much easier, compared to using safety pins to temporarily hold it all together.

After that is complete it is time to quilt. I used a "walking-foot" on my sewing machine to feed the top and bottom layers seamlessly together. I sewed "in-the-ditch" along the chevron strips, permanently holding all three layers together.

Step 4: Lastly, to complete the quilt, add a binding along the outside of the quilt to "frame" your work and make it look professional.

Mr. C inspecting his quilt

I am very proud of my first quilt. The quilt is far from being perfect but it was made with love, and that's all that matters. I learned a lot from this project that I will be able to apply to future projects. This project has confirmed my excitement of sewing and I'm looking forward to sewing many more projects. I am so thankful for Nana (Mary) for teaching me and passing along this special talent called sewing.

Tulip Festival 
After Logan's graduation celebrating Papa (Randie) and Grandma (Sherri) went and visited with Holly, Geoffrey, and Tanner down in American Fork, UT. I was excited to be apart of this visit to the gardens at Thanksgiving Point during their annual Tulip Festival. I had been wanting to go but Connor and I didn't want to go alone. Even though I wished Logan could have attended, I'm sure he had a much better time at work than looking at flowers all day. Such a beautiful place, a little piece of heaven on earth. (I tried choosing only a few of my favorite, but a few turned into a lot. None of the pictures have been edited.)

AWWWWW! How sweet!

Tanner man!

Destroying flowers, oops! 

The Secret Garden

Connor amazed at the waterfalls! 

bumble bee!

Connor trying to steal food from his cousin

All of us

Randie caught me getting close and personal with the flowers

All of us, except Tanner. He was napping in his stroller.

Afterwards, Connor and I went and had a picnic at Potato Hill in Draper overlooking the Salt Lake valley.

silly boy!

Redneck Thursday

Logan and some of his co-workers started an event called "Redneck Thursdays". (Can take a boy out of Georgia, but you can't take the Georgia out of the boy...I guess.)  The boys get together and travel out to a hunting lodge where they're currently having muskrat problems. They jump in the truck; two in the front, driver with and passenger with their guns hanging out the window, while the remaining guys (including Logan) stand in the bed of the truck with their guns. If this wasn't redneck enough, they have the hunting dog running along side of the truck!

Whenever they saw a rat, they'd stop the truck and open fire.

The top picture is the first victim. Double teamed by Logan and his co-worker, David Dymock, they popped this varmint in the head from 50-75yards away with their .22s. The second picture was their second, and last, victim of the evening. With this stupid rat swimming towards them at 10yards away, this poor varmint stood no chance. Logan compares the shootout to the ol' mafia movies…you know, when the villains jump out of their car and start spraying the area with their tommy guns. Well the guys in the truck quadruple team this rat. Logan switching to his shotgun and emptying 5 rounds while, the other guys blasting away 10+ rounds with their semi-automatic .22s. Logan said one guy even pulled out his pistol and unloaded a couple after emptying his .22. Ahhh…Boys will be boys I guess.