Bloomin' Blumen

Yesterday was an eventful day.  It was the end of the fiscal year--a big deal for my hubby who now has to balance business budgets.  It was my father's last day of work as the Law Library Director at Creighton University--happy Retirement, Dad!  It was the day our minivan broke down on the side of the road again--not so happy about this one.   Finally, as the last day of June, it was the day to finish blogging about April in keeping with my two-months in arrears trend.

Guess I'm setting a new trend...

In mid-April, our good friend Tanja came to visit from Germany.  Tanja and I were roommates in college in the German House of the Foreign Language Student Residence.  While she was Tanja Badenheuer then, she added the name Faulstroh a year and a half ago when she married a wonderful man named Peter in the Timpanogos temple.  Since I wasn't able to attend their wedding, I'm glad the newlyweds passed through Salt Lake so that I could meet her amazing Mann.

Tanja and Peter brought a wide assortment of German chocolates, books, and gummy bears for our children to choose from.  My kids thought they had died and gone to heaven.

Tanja, Peter, Annika, and I spent a beautiful morning together enjoying the tulip festival at Thanksgiving Point.  The bloomin' Blumen (German for flowers) were truly stunning.


Aren't they a cute couple?  Also, I love how Annika's about to crawl into the fountain in the background.


The gardens feature the largest man-made waterfall in the Western Hemisphere.

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant."

Annika really enjoyed the "Light of the World" sculpture garden.

The First Vision with a personal touch.

Love, love, love these umbrellas!

Monet's garden.

Ah, spring!  Tulips will forever remind me of my own wedding and the beautiful family Jason and I are striving to grow together.

Tanja and Peter, thank you so much for coming to share our family's chaos, if only for a couple of days.  We wish you all the best as you two likewise grow together in Germany.

While Tanja was visiting, she mentioned that the flowers at Temple Square were just as stunning as those at Thanksgiving Point.  I remember feeling a bit skeptical at the time, but I shouldn't have doubted.  When the older kids and I took a stroll through the grounds the following Saturday, we discovered how magnificent they really were.

I've said it before, but I love living two miles away from this.

Beautiful as the flowers around her.

Purple pansies in honor of my grandma Garda Andrus.

A couple more of Brooklyn, who regularly wears my clothes now that she is just as tall as I am.

One last picture of Brooklyn and Eli in front of the Assembly Hall where they sang twice this Spring--once with the International Children's Choir and once for Stake Conference.

A shout of thanks to Grandpa Charles and the many other gardeners who plant such beautiful flowers.  After the cold and dark of winter, their vibrant colors always make my heart smile.  Danke!