A Trip out West

Holy cow! It's been so long since I have posted anything I almost forgot HOW TO POST!
Sooooo since my last post, stuff has happened, Halloween happened, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, then New Years and Valentines and a bunch of other stuff happened. We had fun doing all that stuff and I took pictures. So I am not going to try to play catchup cause it's too daunting and makes me hate blogging. So I am just going to post a trip Marshall and I enjoyed together.
In January Marshall and I flew out to Utah to for a two week visit! It had almost been TWO YEARS since I had gone back to Utah for a visit. I know, I know, I am ashamed of myself for allowing so much time to have passed. Marsh and I were so excited to visit with family and friends.There is something you should know about my little boy Marshall. He LOVES all animals. Animals sometimes love him. He fell instantly in love with my sister's pets during our visit. Cotton, the friendly feline in the above and below pictures, put up with a lot of LOVE from Marshall.
Marshall LOVED being with his cousin's Ela May and Luke. He had a great time playing imagination, dancing, singing duets on the guitar with Ela and Luke accompanying with the bell and wrestling! I haven't laughed that much in months! The three of them together were a riot! Watching them interact and play reminded me a lot of my childhood with my siblings. Uncle Dave let us come and visit him at Timpview High School and watch the high schoolers wrestle and then Marshall got to join in the fun as well! It was awesome!

Marshall got a "Utah hair" cut at Cookie Cutters in American Fork. It's this awesome little hair cuttery that is just for children. Marshall loved sitting in his own airplane and watched, "The Incredibles" all while getting his hair cut!
I think one of my favorite parts of my trip was spending time with my little sister. She is a really neat person, with such a kind heart. Most people don't know how amazing she is. I am glad that I got to spend some quality time with her.
We had such a great visit with my parents. Marshall absolutely adores his grandparents. He especially loves his grandpa's stories.

We took a day and drove down to visit my Grandma Nielson in St. George. Marshall had met her once before when he was just a year old. As you can imagine he has changed quite a bit. We were able to visit with my Uncle Carl and Aunt Joanne, and Aunt Paula. It was so good to see them all. It had been so long. Grandma Nielson had been so ill with cancer. She passed away about two weeks after I returned. I wasn't able to go back out for the funeral. I was am so very grateful that I was able to see her and say goodbye to her while I was there. She was a wonderful grandmother and I am so grateful for her life.
My dad with his mother.
We also were able to visit Uncle Greg (Mitch's brother) and Aunt Katherine in Provo. We had lunch at Brick Oven and then we stopped by this place called "The Sweet Tooth Fairy" for some cupcakes. Oh my gosh! They were delicious! I have never tasted a cupcake so good before in my life. I ended up buying half a dozen to take home and share with my sis and parents. They were that good! Katherine and Greg let us hang out at their apartment for the afternoon. It was great to see them! We just think they are great!
I had a roommate reunion with two of the greatest girls in the whole wide world. I have to tell you that the two girls below are some of the worlds best kept secrets! I love them! They were my roommates at BYU-Idaho. I think nothing but the very best of them. L to R Katy W. (I know, she is radiant with her pregnancy glow), me (I know what you are thinking - gosh Anna, you picked the ugliest picture of yourself to post with your roommates, well friends, this IS the best picture of me from that night) and Kristen G.
Kristen gave birth to her beautiful baby girl, 45 minutes before this picture was taken. Okay not really but like 4 days earlier. Who looks this good after just having a baby? No one, except Kristen.