Dear Family and Friends,

What makes up for not still being here:
 Is this:


 I have loved the chaos and bedlam of being back home again with our kids.  My body didn't quite agree with that statement as it stubbornly thought I should be back on Spain time for several days.  But now my sleep schedule is back in synch and the icing on the cake is that Friday my brother Daniel and his family arrived to visit for a week.

We have just had wonderful weekend of hanging out and visiting.  Claire, my niece has decided that the hot tub should be a nightly ritual and my girls agree with her.  Saturday afternoon, Taylor enjoyed one last day with Meredith - watching a movie and cuddling and enjoying the hot tub in peace and quiet.  The rest of us headed up to Soldier Hollow for tubing and playing in the snow.  Our snow fall at our house this year has been not up to snuff - just super cold and drizzly.  So our kids were in heaven to be surrounded by the white stuff.  A small break for cookies and hot chocolate and they were able to last a little longer to make a snowman despite soaking wet under clothes.  Its amazing how snow and slush can find their way into boots and through snow pants.

This week has been a bit slow as Robyn and Allison were home sick for a few days and then they generously shared their cough with me.  So its been a week of errands, cleaning, laundry, bills and catching up with life again.  Spencer went to a pow-wow at BYU where he is working on citizenship of the world, nation and community.  I am so grateful for scout leaders who drive him to these activities so we don't have to!

Jeremy and I went to see Hairspray this week (on a school night - it felt quite illicit!).  I have never been interested in seeing more than the bits and pieces of the movie I have caught at the dentist office.  But the musical was really funny - a couple behind us said it was quite different than the movie.  For the rest of the week we are going to just play and visit as much as possible and enjoy having family around.

Love, Heather