Rob's Mojo

He's a fun one

ALL stations are set to country music.

He's tempted to get a dirt bike for the boys

He likes to egg on giant Panda Bears with his Big Teddy

He likes to sleep incognito...


And best of all, he kisses on me whenever I want :)

Fall Break, 2013

One of the many patients living on borrowed time thanks to our cardiologist, Scott, insisted that we all stay in his huge second home on the St. George cliffs. The great room on both floors had a wall of windows overlooking St. George, and the view was amazing.

When we were "home," there were ongoing sting pong and ping pong tournaments with the cousins, Cat & Mouse, Whoonu, and chess, plus Getty's magic tricks.

In the indoor/outdoor pool, the kids played Fugitive, Outer Space, Cops & Robbers, Pass, and Colors.

We ran the treadmill in the work out facility or walked the hills, and I got to have a long phone conversation with MK about life and the future high above the city.

Bella Marie's pizzeria. Yummmm.


Mia and Ireland shared a room and looked like this most of the time we stayed in St George...

At night, we watched movies and did masks

Friday, Rob took Mia and Getty to the St. George temple to do Baptisms for the dead.


Saturday morning, some of us ate Bear Paw's signature dish (thick French toast stuffed with chocolate brulee) and my favorite ever hot Belgian chocolate for breakfast, then we headed for what our friends call the Crevice on the opposite red cliffs.


"Rob, you are NOT going through the Crevice!..."

 "Wha—? Why?..."
(just because last time I got stuck and the buttons popped off my shirt as I tried to shimmy precariously through the narrows doesn't necessarily mean I can't tempt fate again....)

The view looking up from inside the crevice.

Getty was in his element, 'sploring like the wild monkey he is...

The peak

Sweaty and hot, we stopped by Swig afterward for a dirty Dr. Pepper and a Mango Mtn Dew.

I bet Getty that caffeine hypes the hyper in him, and we'll just see about that... and if I'm right, then he can only have one Mtn Dew a month, and if I'm wrong (not a chance ;), I won't bother him again about caffeine. Soon after swigging his 32 oz., Getty burst into a full-on laugh attack... gotcha, Get.

He claims the trip was just too much fun....

Grief on the Field

[Pics from Associated Press]

McKenzie called us one night and slowly unfolded the struggle she's had this soccer season. She agreed to let me journal it on the blog.

She said lately she had been feeling the weight of Elle's death, but especially on the field. "Remember that competition season the Spring after Elle died and how I just couldn't play? It's been happening again."



On the soccer field she feels vulnerable. Keeping it together and under wraps off the field doesn't work when you have to let go and give everything to the team. She couldn't manage to get a decent shot on goal. Her play time decreased. Rob and I heard on Live Stats she wasn't in the starting line-up anymore.



Sunday at a sacrament meeting on the road in California, she broke down. The speaker was talking about two kids whose mom had passed away... McKenzie couldn't stop crying. Even in the middle of it, she said it felt so good to let it go.

The very next game in California, she scored BYU-H's only goal. We drove 4 1/2 hours to see her in the Dixie game. She sat on the sidelines for the first 25 minutes. BYU-H was down 2 – 0 after Dixie made a penalty shot and we missed one. When MK subbed in, the momentum changed. We scored. Then, MK made the assist for goal #2 in the last ten minutes. She never subbed out of that game or during two golden goal overtime periods. The next game, she started. And she finished... scoring the winning goal in the last 5 minutes of the game. That earned her the Final Five all-conference award for Player of the Week.


MK's littlest fan


Uncle Craig and the cousins wouldn't miss MK's game.

Kim and Sara drove down to Dixie with us and surprised Kenz

[above] Our Hawaiian in Dixie, flanked by two future missionaries. [left] Kim's on her way to New Jersey, Spanish-speaking, and [right] Sara will serve in Mexico.



Grandpa is our self-appointed sports photographer

Mikes wanted in on the Hughes family, haha

We stayed with Wadsworths. Cassie and I talked til 3:30 a.m. (we like those guys :)


Life goes on but grief remains a presence. I guess the challenge is to manage it before it manages you.
We're so proud of you, Kenz.

Organizing is fun for crazy people...

Megan's great idea to put all of her kids' school pictures in one binder sparked the manic organizer in me and morphed into a triple album project. In case you're wondering... I have about 16 family albums, plus a baby book or two for each of the six kids, one for Rob's growing up years and one for mine, and a courtship/wedding album. If we ever had to abandon the house in an emergency, we wouldn't have room for people in the car. But that's not why I did this. Have I mentioned I love to organize? Just checking. So, I sifted through our 25-ish albums and condensed them into these babies:

SCHOOL PICTURES
Some favorites:

           Kindergarten                                          1st Grade

Little Anna, as she was called all through elementary school (another McKenzie in her K class).


                    6th Grade                                            7th Grade

             Mia, Kindergarten                                         1st Grade 

Mia wanted her hair cut like Aunt Britt's bob but started mourning for her ponytail that very night.

                             6th Grade                                                7th Grade

Biggest change in a year, 6th to 7th grade. Mia made the leap from kid to teen.

             Getty, Pre-school                                      Kindergarten 

                    4th Grade                                                5th Grade

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Cy's biggest change. Baby face kindergartener to 1st grade kid. 

                  Short                                                          Long

                 Hair at ease.                         Hair standing at attention. 

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KIDS THROUGH THE YEARS
This album includes only studio or formal pictures of the kids. Here's a few:

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Mini Mia (not a studio pic, but a keeper). Healthiest kid in the family and always has been. Went home from the hospital three days after she was born.

M&M noticed Mia's mouth corners turn up and MK's turn down. Ironic, since MK's got a perma grin while Mia's famous for her scowl.

3 month old Getty

Biggest change, from 4th to 5th grade

Cy's bulldog cheeks. I miss those!

Oh my gosh, I just want to squeeze him...

Elle posed like she'd been modeling for years 

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FAMILY (and couple) PICS album:

Rob dyed his hair blond for his Caesar cut, and my hair looks red(?)


Thanksgiving with Mia as a newborn. I swear I lived in those overalls... because they were so flattering and all....

By next Christmas you see how Mia's personality developed...

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Couple Pics
These beauties were photos for our wedding invitations. Hmmmmm... and I thought a white t-shirt would be most appropriate...

1st anniversary Glamour Shots! haha I love Rob's blush and super coiffed hair. Rob won the sitting in a volleyball tournament. That's all we did in those days—school, work, and volleyball (he played and I cheered).

And my project is done....

Now what?