Alright already!!!

This is for Kristen who reminded me of my obligations :D

I started blogging for my family who lives, hello, Three Thousand Miles away.

Silly of me to forget that.

So, since March, I have managed to fly to California for my niece's farewell--she's going on a mission!! She's actually now been in the MTC 2 months and will be making her way to Arizona, Tucson, this week (spanish speaking). She's very excited.

I also went to my sister Beckie's in South Carolina for Easter. Her husband is a GREAT cook. We had a Greek Fest for Easter dinner, complete with lamb, greek salad, and stuffed grape leaves. Very yummy. We also went to the beach on Friday, the day after I arrived, which was fabulous. Collin (the 4-year-old) couldn't go--he'd been Very Bad. The night I arrived he went out and was jumping on the car. He went bum-first into the windsheild and shattered it. He was fine, the windsheild was not. He was grounded. fortunately their insurance covered it.

Playing with Bonnie, Malena, and JackJack at the beach was really fun. At one point JackJack (14 months old) got away from his mother during a diaper change, and began exfoliating his bum iin the sand. Fortunately we had a lot of understanding moms and grandmas around us--no one got offended by the little bare-bottomed fiend. It was a nice day at the beach--not too cold, not too warm, a nice breeze.

Saturday we did Easter Eggs and their ward Easter Egg hunt. I was quite impressed with their ward--they're doing a Major Service Project, gathering food for a local church that makes lunches for people in need. They're really struggling since now people can't afford to give, and people who used to be able to give are now in need of their services. So Beckie's ward made it a community service project to gather food items. Their Activity Chairperson is a real go-getter, with flyers and getting the word out, and working with other churches in their community. Quite impressive.

I got home and promptly got sick. The following weekend I slept for about 40 hours (with intermittent wake-ups to care for the cat). Kitty was not happy with me. First I leave, then I sleep. So last weekend as I was getting ready for pilates she clawed my leg. Yup, I have a number of really ugly scratches on my leg. I threw her out of my room and didn't have anything to do with her the rest of the day. Until the end of the day when she sat on my lap and I captured one of her paws and clipped her claws. I got the other one the following day. She's been a little better since then.

I also went to Great Falls, VA, with a couple friends the last weekend in April. We hiked all around--the trails made it feel like we were hiking, and I even got in some rock-climbing and bouldering.

I forgot to mention that me and my good friend Kellie have taken up rock-climbing. It's a big challenge for me, with a fear of heights that I'd forgotten about. Plus I'm really sort of physically challenged as well, but I'm working on that. I'm doing pretty good with that, but Kellie is amazing. She is my new hero. :D

Looking forward to a quieter month with lots of movies (saw Wolverine last weekend, will see Star Trek this weekend, both with my VA friends), and in June I'm going to California. Starting out as a work trip, ending up with my family's very first Family Reunion. My brother's doing an excellent job organizing it. Should be a lot of fun.

I will work harder on posting from now on, Kristen, I promise! Don't send Vance over to 'deal' with me! ;)