Playing Catch Up...as Usual

It's been a few weeks since I last posted anything, but that's because we went on an extended trip to California and Utah. I have lots of pictures from our little excursion, so I've put them into slideshows from the different parts of our trip. First, we have pictures from Easter Sunday....we had church in the morning but then spent the afternoon with family out in Buckeye. The girls had a blast with all their cousins, and since Doug's parents came out it was a great opportunity to have most of the family on the Hoopes side together.

The following Thursday, Doug drove out to California with the girls and I. That Saturday, he competed in a grappling tournament in San Bernardino with his brother Dan. Doug went up a weight class so that he and Dan wouldn't have to compete against each other, and even though he was smaller than the other guys he ended up placing 2nd!! Woo-hoo - great job, Papa!! Unfortunately, Doug injured his knee during the first match - his knee popped out of place then managed to pinch the miniscus inside when it popped back together. So, now we are just waiting to hear back from the doctor regarding when he's going to have surgery. He hasn't been able to train since the injury (obviously) and is hating the fact that he has to just sit around in limbo. The good news is, he should be able to start training again about 6-8 weeks after the surgery....Doug's already counting down the days.

Doug flew back to Arizona the Monday following the tournament, but not before we had a chance to ride Miles, visit Oceanside, eat at our favorite Fish n'Chips place in the Harbor, and spend the day in La Jolla watching the seals and playing in the tidepools.

The girls and I remained in California, and the following Thursday we drove up to Utah with my parents and sister Shauna. My younger sister Valerie was going through the temple for the first time, so it was a very special reason for all of us siblings to get together. AK and Roo absolutely [loved] seeing all the cousins on the Leach side (with such a large clan, complete gatherings don't happen as often as we would like), and we all enjoyed the cool weather Utah had to offer...even if meant dealing with a little bit of rain and snow. As it stands right now, we are planning to be in Utah at the end of this summer...no doubt that visit will be just as much (if not more) fun as our most recent visit.

As much fun as the trip was, it was good to get back home to Doug and our tiny, cramped apartment...even though coming back to AZ meant finding out that our apartment management wasn't willing to work with us on a 3-4 month lease, and they wouldn't even guarantee our same rent if we signed anything less than a 12 month lease, so we have given our 30-day notice to vacate and are now stressing with packing and having to find a new place to live. Needless to say, I cannot WAIT for the day we are finally settled and won't have to worry about where we are going to move to next.

So, that about sums up the past few weeks of our lives. I start my math class tomorrow, and Doug starts another class the following Tuesday, so I'm not sure how often I will be able to post for the next month or so. However, I hope today's posting finds you all happy, healthy, and well...thanks for stopping by!!