PROMISED PICTURES

I have neglected this blog so much over the past few months. But, finally as promised here are a few pictures of some of the going on's around our home. I can't promise they will be in any perfect order, but it least there will be a small caption or something.....

Spring and finally Summer has arrived. There is beauty everywhere! It is so nice to see the flowers blooming and green grass and leafy trees. I didn't realize how much I had missed this time of year!

For once I actually took a good picture. This was taken in California on the Hollywood Walk of Stars. I did a bit of photo editing with a new app on my phone that I have.

Robert and several of his buddies (all RM's and one future missionary) are playing in an Indoor Soccer league. It has  been fun to go on Saturday nights and cheer these boys on. They really don't know what they are doing (different rules and style of playing compared to outdoor soccer), but with every game they are getting better!

 We've gone on a few walks this summer. One evening Brian and his friend, Braxton (aka adopted son, ha ha) decided to walk down the Provo River trail. They had no water with them and it was on of the first hot days we had. Poor boys were dying a the end...But it was so beautiful!

Giovanni and I went on a "date" one evening and bought some frozen yogurt and went up by the temple and sat under a tree for a while, then took a walk around the temple. It was a beautiful night and so peaceful.

Mother's Day came..and along with that, a new toy. Giovanni bought me a BlendTec. We love it. It should be used for "green" smoothies...but the "green" part is kind of hard for me. I try..but I am more into the all fruit. And we've made a chocolate shake on a Sunday afternoon as well.

Brian's friend, Talon, came into town for a few days! That was a real treat! We love that boy and miss him not being around. We know he's busy with his acting career, and we are happy for him, we just wish he could make it to Utah more often. I usually don't let Brian have sleepover's on a school night, but it was a special occassion, Right?

Robert's MTC companion, Sean Dunshee, came down from Bountiful one day and spent some time with us. It was so good to get to know him better and I now understand even more why Robert loves him so much! We had dinner, the RM's did the Family Home Evening lesson, then we went for Frozen Yogurt! Then the boys went out for a while. It was fun to have him around. We can't wait until he gets back at the end of the summer (he is doing summer sales) because he will be living nearby and going to UVU. Robert is thrilled, and so are we!

We've had the chance to go see several movies that have come out, but we also took the opportunity to go to the Scera and watch a play. They were putting on The Wizard of Oz and anyone who knows me knows that it is my favorite movie (along with The Sound of Music). Even the boys enjoyed it!

A new mall opened up in SLC called City Creek Mall. We took the B&B there one afternoon, then out for some pizza. It was a fun outing and the boys love the shoe store and the Lids store. I have a feeling we will be going back before school starts!

My brother Dave, and his wife Sherrie, came in from California for a quick trip. Sherrie's daughter was getting married. They live in Hawaii now so we don't get to see them very much. It was nice to have a family dinner at Dad and Lorraine's house and to spend some time together and catch up!

I have even read a book this summer. And it was AMAZING! I loved it...but I read it way to fast. 500+ pages in 4 days. Now I'm looking for another good book. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

Not really the best picture of any of us, and a few came later in the evening...but we had a small mission reunion. On of our friends, Claudio (the guy in the white t-shirt next to the girl in the capri's) was in the US. He lives in Sardegna, in Italy, and was here on vacation for 2 weeks. It was so good to see old companions and dear friends from 24-25 years ago. What a wonderful evening we had!!

Right now Utah is burning up. Yes, it is hot, but literally as well. (Though we don't have it as bad as Colorado). There have been several fires going on and people have lost homes, and a few lives as well. It has been such a hot and dry summer and fires are rampid. This photo was taken on our way to Las Vegas last weekend.. It was amazing all the smoke and the fire was so hot as we drove up to it. Last night Gio and I made the comment that we are glad to live in the city because it would be scary living close to the mountains and brush where it seems that most of these fires are...But no one is immune.

And speaking of Las Vegas. Gio and I were there last weekend. His cousin, Elisa and her husband, Salvatore, were in the US from Italy. So we met them for a quick weekend. We had a wonderful time with them, and Frank and Chris, and Frank Joe...it was nice to spend some time with the Italian side of the family. Something we don't get to do often enough.