Wednesday, August 25, 2010

9 years ago...

I'm not very good at writing (I'll leave that to my better half!) but since today is our 9 year anniversary I just wanted to say Happy Anniversary, honey!

I love the friend you are to me and the father you are to my children. I love that you are worthy to hold the priesthood and you so willingly use it to bless our family. I love that you try your best in everything you do. I love that you've worked so hard for your education and I love that you're almost done! I love knowing that someday it will be just you and me at home and I love looking forward to all the things we can do together.

Thanks for making me smile and laugh and for being willing to do nearly anything to make the kids laugh too.

I can't wait to see what the next 9 years brings us.

I'll love you forever.

Nicole

Vacation anyone?

Last week we returned from a nearly 2 week vacation. Jealous? You should be because we left the sweltering heat of Florida (seriously, when we got back I thought we would literally melt) and spent 12 beautiful days in Salt Lake City. We spent 6 days with my family in Kaysville and 6 days with Tony's family in Newdale. We got to see everyone in our immediate families and then some.


So here's a little recap of our adventures. At Grandma Robinson's house we spent a lot of time outside. They have a beautiful shaded backyard with lots of grass and fruit trees. We had 2 BBQ's outside, one with Tony's aunt Paula and his brother Matt's family, and one with my Grandma and Grandpa Robinson who came all the way from Pima, Arizona a day early so they could see us. Clara had never experienced grass until now (since she's been old enough it's been too hot in Florida for me to go outside!) and it was so cute watching her figure out how to get up without putting her hands in the grass.
We also celebrated Hallie's birthday with my family at Boondocks. We bowled, we mini-golfed, we go-karted, and we laser tagged. Sadly, I thought I had forgotten my camera,only to find it in my purse when we got home. So since I have no pictures to prove it, I'll tell you that I won at all of them!


After 6 quick days with my family we drove up to Newdale, Idaho for a Ricks' family reunion. Tony's brother has a ginormous house out in the boonies of Newdale which he graciously let the whole family use for 3 days. The highlight of the reunion was the trip to Moody Meadows for a little huckleberry picking/picnic. After 3 days out in the boonies some of us left for home while the rest of us returned to Tony's parents house in Newdale (slight less out in the boonies). The next day we drove 2 1/2 hours to Pinedale, WY. They have a giant aquatics center with 2 pools, racquetball courts, and indoor track, basketball courts and a rock climbing wall (which Tony and Hallie both fell in love with). The drive made for a long day, but definitely worth it! We also celebrated Clara's first birthday with a BBQ in Grandma Ricks' backyard. One year! Can you believe it? I can't!


We miss being around our family and truly enjoyed the time we got to spend with everyone. Hopefully next summer we'll be moving a little closer and our visits won't be so far between.

Our family in Grandma Robinson's backyard.

My three brothers are three of the goofies guys you'll ever meet. Obviously, Will fits right in.

One day at Grandma's we visited Temple Square. Yes, there is a tractor right in front of the temple and no, I don't know why.

Picking huckleberries at Moody Meadows. William didn't even bring a can with him to hold his, he put them right into his mouth.


Everyone enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch after a long hour of picking huckleberries.

Then all the kids (Tony included) decided to slide down the side of the mountain. The very first kid to slide down biffed it bad. You can see her parents comforting her at the bottom. Did that stop anyone else? No way (although I wish it had).

Hallie climbed this wall about 4 times and made it to the top each time.