M*E*X*I*C*O.......Ole

Mari is off to Merida, Mexico for BYU Study Abroad. Merida is in the Yucatan and is 4 hours from Cancun. She will be doing spring semester going to a university in Merida and living with a local family. I've already received an email from her saying how HOT it is there. She said it's like Cayman in the summer....HOT and MUGGY. Unfortunately she can't go to class in a swimsuit...bummer. She is linguistically gifted and this study abroad will give her the confidence she needs to speak spanish. Ole...

the "brown" invasion

Mari and her friends came up for a visit this weekend. Naturally, it was a "brown" invasion. So fun, tho! No visit is ever complete until you have your photo taken in front of the elk arch on town square. Notice the bruddah wearing his "slippers"...does he think he's still in Hawaii?

Playing aggravation with Lea is a must!!

I cooked up a storm this weekend...we made all the favorites for Mari and her gang. We also HAD to get into the Valentine's Day spirit and try these DELICIOUS cupcakes. There's a special treat in each cupcake...a Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffle!

We decorated sugar cookies for Valentine's Day....don't think this one Eric made was for me!

Andrew gave the girls guitar lessons...Maya's been dying to do this.

The brown invasion after church...guess Andrew couldn't wait for dinner and was trying to down a banana in the middle of the picture taking!

the visit

Mari came home this past weekend for a visit and brought some friends as well.

Lea was excited to make some new "brown" friends.

They decided to go for a shot of wheatgrass before heading back to school. Notice they each have two cups, one with a shot of wheatgrass and the other..a chaser(a.k.a. another type of juice)..to "chase" the wheatgrass taste away.

After the shot....take a look at their faces....priceless.

Mari's Graduation

Mari graduated from high school yesterday. With a new administration, it was short, sweet and to the point---a couple of performances, a couple of speeches and one main speaker. It was great. Way to go Mari--WE LOVE YOU!

This little family (mine babies) came too and they were SO excited to see Mari and her pretty "red necklace".

Each senior is given a "brick" to decorate and it hangs in the school. They used to use the real bricks of the school till they ran out! I know Lea and Kara have a real brick...can't remember if Ty did one?

Check out this dress....it used to be my mother's!!! Grandma is 82 years old. She gave it to Mari during our last visit to Utah. We estimate the dress to be at least 50-55 years old! I had to replace the frog closures because the original ones had all but deteriorated, but the dress is in mint condition. What a treasure....and a memory.

Prom

Mari's prom was last Saturday night. She went with a good friend that she's known since kindergarten, Andy Phillips. He's also an incredible long distance runner and is ranked #1 in the state. Here's Mari and the group of friends she went with to prom.

Thanks to some Mom who took these photos for me since Kirk and I were headed over to stake conference in Driggs!

Good looking couple--very sophisticated!