Assorted April

Well, I already posted Miscellaneous March, so this will have to be Assorted April. Let's hop to it, shall we?

Our traditional Reese's Puffs out of dog bowls had to be moved up off the floor now that we actually have a dog. Ironic, isn't it?

Check it out--Annika is so deeply in character that she grew a tail.

Snow! This has not been Utah's best ski season, but even with less ideal conditions, we 've still had a few glorious powder days. Jason and I enjoyed one last foray of tree skiing at the beginning of April, and it reminded me why I love it so much.

As much as I love skiing, Jason loves it even more!

Nothing like spring to change moods in a flash! Here we are hiking Rock Canyon in short sleeves a few days later. We'd come down to Provo to listen to Talia play violin in church It was beautiful!

Jason tutoring the family on the fascinating geology of the mountain.

When in doubt, hug a rock.

The best moment was when this bighorn sheep followed us down the trail, disappearing before charging past ten feet away.  Crazy!

Eli spent a phenomenal amount of time in April working on our favorite bot 3006 with Red Rock Robotics. We had so much fun checking out Gustav in the shop. Talia's friend Hannah joined us on our special tour.

Sorry Annika, I think 3006 might be the new baby of the family.

Another fun moment: joining Papa Kay for the tastiest Wise Guy pizza from Pi Pizzeria. I think we've been spoiled forever.

Closer to home, here is a beautiful sunset as seen from the foothills right above our home.

Jason took Zion on some beautiful hikes through Dry Creek.

Good thing this dog is so cute.  He had some rough moments in April that made us seriously ponder the possibility of re-homing. He is exceptionally loyal, which is great, but we've got to figure out how to keep him from being overprotective around our home.

As for Jason, he has been working SO HARD trying to keep his head above water with so many projects underway. Here is the ASSIST Team at the groundbreaking for Fairpark Phase 3 with Switchpoint. Congratulations, Team! You've got this.

And here we are joining the Utah Symphony for a phenomenal performance of Carmina Burana.

The view of Temple Square from Abravanel Hall is likewise stunning.

It wouldn't be spring without some Ultimate! We had a great time watching Brooklyn and Talia play in a Farmington tourney.

The girls were pretty excited to see Zion.

I'm a little less enamored with our black widow, Assassin. (Annika keeps changing the name.) You can our spy our villain on the right side of the tail. Also, don't miss the skull inside the puppy's mouth. Annika has been "decorating" the habitat.

Spring also means Girl Scout cookie sales. I have a feeling that our family may be a the tail end of our cookie selling years. As one of these beautiful girls pointed out, cookies are a lot harder to sell once you get older and lose the Daisy cute-ness factor.

I may be biased, but I still think Annika is cute as ever. A newly minted dungeon master, Annika hosted her first D&D game at our house with Eila, Eli, and her friend Matthew.

As for me, I enjoyed a great lunch at the gem shop and cafe right around the corner from my parents.

Back to the outdoors, here and Pickles and Zion out for a stroll with their owners.

Zion was a perfect trail companion as we explored the BST's spring flowers.

Wrapping up with some photos of Zion in the dapper new sweater that NomiAnn got for him. April is Donate Life month, with the last week specifically honoring pediatric transplant. We were glad that Zion could wear green and blue (Donate Life's colors) to support this transformational cause. Not a day goes by where we don't remember Annika's donor and their family with love and gratitude. Thank you for giving our little girl each special day with her dog...and her family.