Homeward Bound ... okay, we were yesterday

Hi Everyone,

Jacob and I arrived home last night from our Utah vacation. Two weeks doesn't sound that long, but when I realized we'd been away for half a month, that sounded like a long time. We are so glad to be home even though we had a wonderful time in Utah. It was nice and cool and rained quite a bit while we were there. And I was so glad to see my parents and sisters ... I hadn't seen anyone for 7 months. But Matt was a terrific welcoming committee ... he had washed the car, had a banner, roses, and the house was immaculate! I felt like I was coming home from a vacation to another vacation!

We had a great visit with my family though. Jacob loved playing in my parents backyard. They had a big, grassy backyard and he loved pulling the wagon all around it. He also started playing with a t-ball set, so I told Matt that it may be time to start teaching Jacob how to bat. :)

My brother, James, is serving his mission in the Paraguay Asuncion mission and having a tremendous experience. Many of you may know that he was kind of a rebel there for a while, but he's really on fire now with his testimony and his missionary service. His last letter went on about how they were teaching some teenagers but having some difficulty with it because the teens think they know so much and that times are different for them, etc. We all chuckled reading that as many of us had encountered a similar attitude only a year ago from someone we all know and love. :) But we are super pumped about all of the changes he's made and the man he's become.

My parents are doing well. My dad had been training to run a 100-mile race called the Wasatch 100, but Utah had a heat spell (along with the rest of the country) in which they had like 13 days in a row of over-100 degree heat. To those of us in AZ, that doesn't sound like much, but I guess this heat spell fell during a time of some critical training runs, and based on some past experience, his body can't function in the heat, so this will have to go on the back burner until next year. I think Flagstaff has a 50 mile run that he may look into doing. (P.S. I personally think running 100 miles is crazy! But it's been his dream, and so we hope he'll be able to do it sometime.)

My mom and I worked on a bathroom remodel while I was there. Their bathroom had not had any updating since 1989, so it was definitely time to get the nasty old wallpaper down. It came out great! As a surprise, my brother-in-laws are tiling the bathroom floor while my mom and sister are in Atlanta this week.

My sisters are doing fine with their families. My only nephew on that side just turned one (we celebrated his birthday), and my other little niece turns one in September. They are cute. But a funny/cute story. I asked Jacob one morning if he'd like to see his cousins, and he asked me later in the day, "Where's Luke? Where's Lisey? Where's Lauren?" (I don't think he has a major connection with Cole yet :).) Anyway, he definitely hasn't forgotten about his California cousins. And we hope we'll be able to see the CA cousins (and their parents) sometime in September ... hopefully following a Cougar victory in Tucson.

Anyway, much love to you all!