Semi-annual update

Well, it seems like I do this all too often.....what's that? I don't update enough and then I have a million things to catch up on, which equals a million pictures, so sorry but we have been busy. It all goes back to March when we were able to go on a little family trip. Danny had a work conference in St. George so we took off a couple days early and headed to Las Vegas to stay with Mitch and Sarah and their family. The girls had a their little dance recital on Friday night. They have a mamie who loves them very much because she drove to Logan to see 2, 2 minute dances and then she turned around and headed home. It was so nice of her to come support them. They were so happy to have her there. We took off from there and got to Mitch's house at about midnight. We had a wonderful time with them. They have such a nice home. We spent the day shopping and eating. The whole trip though I have to say, would not have been complete without a visit to Yogurtland. I wish we could have stayed a few days longer to have a few more visits. I could not stop talking or thinking about that place. We went to church with them and Jill's family, who was doing spring break in St. George. It was that day that grandpa Landon was in his worst condition. We all knew it would be that day that he passed away, so it was nice to be all together. We headed back to St. George. We checked in to the hotel then went for a little drive. We drove around the temple a couple times. The Christus was all lit up and beautiful. Niamh, out of nowhere, said she didn't want grandpa Landon to die. We were able to have a wonderful talk with the girls about death and Heavenly Father. It was about 10 minutes later that mom called and told us that grandpa had passed. It was a neat experience for us to have been right at the temple when he passed and were talking about the great plan that Heavenly Father created for all. It was sad of course to have grandpa pass away. He was a wonderful person, and most of all, a wonderful grandpa. Tyler called me on a Wednesday, just after grandpa had gone into the hospital, and asked me if I wanted to go with him to IF to see him. Danny could not go, but the girls and I loaded up at 4 in the afternoon and headed for the hospital. Grandpa had a breathing mask on his face so it was hard to understand him talking. He was pretty out of it when we got there. He perked up after a bit and became the grandpa that I rememeber. They pulled some pillows out from under him to readjust him. He took one of the pillows and picked it up. It looked like he was going to throw it, but he took it and hit Niamh with it, from across the bed. He did it a couple times. He took his hand and was pinching the girls as they were standing next to the bed. It was neat to see him in his own element, teasing his grandkids. We had already taken a picture with him earlier. We were all standing around and he was trying to say something. I went over to him and he was asking for another picture. So, we got to take one more picture with him. I truly feel like Ty was inspired to want to go visit him. We left to Las Vegas 2 days later, and he passed while we were gone. I am grateful for the knowledge that I have that families will be together forever after this life. I am grateful for the Savior, who made it all possible.
We spent the next couple days in St. George. We went swimming and shopping on Monday. Tuesday Danny had his conference. The girls and I went and picked up Jill and went to the visitor's center. It was a beautiful day. The girls loved touching the temple and smelling the beautiful flowers. The temple is so pretty. It is so white it almost hurts your eyes. We headed to Jill's condo and went swimming. It was fun. We picked Danny up and headed home. Niamh had preschool the next day and we left to Idaho Falls when it was over. All of my siblings were there at mom and dad's house. We had the viewing and the funeral, which were both very, very nice. All of the Landon family was there except two cousins. It has been a very long time since we have all been together. It was fun to see all my cousins. We headed home from the funeral for a night, then headed to Salt Lake the next morning after the first session of conference. Danny''s parents were there and got us a hotel room. We watched the 2nd session of conference, then Danny and Dennis headed to priesthood session. The girls and I went shopping with Sharon. We had dinner then headed back to the hotel. The girls couldn't wait to go swimming.....again. That was the 3rd time in a week. It was fun. The next day, Sunday, was Ryan's birthday. Dennis has nicknamed her "Lucky" because she shares her birthday with him. She is lucky too. It was also Easter. As we were heading out of the hotel, after the morning session, we saw the Easter Bunny. He even knew it was Ryan's birthday. The girls gave him hugs and he gave them an easter egg with candy in it. They were thrilled. They asked the Easter Bunny if he remembered to stop by our house even though we were gone. He said he had. We got home with 10 minutes to spare. The girls looked for eggs and got their baskets. We watched the afternoon session of confernce. We then got to open Ryan's presents. She was pretty excited to get a boy racetrack. She had said that she wanted one for Christmas. We spent the afternoon playing and relaxing. Ryan had a birthday party the next week with all of her friends. When we were in Idaho falls we stocked up on candy. Ryan wanted a pinata. We got plenty of candy. The girls could not wait to put the candy inside. Ryan was thrilled to get a "pilly pocket" pinata. She picked it out with Danny. The kids came over and played some games, in the garage, since it was freezing outside. They got to decorate their own cupcakes. They all stood in line and waited for their turn to hit the pinata. After a few times down the line, we knew it was going to take a little more than just 4 year olds to break it. Danny took a hold of the bat when it was Ryan's turn. The 2 pictures are blurry, but if you look closely, you can see little Ryan's face in between Danny's arms while he hit it. I told Danny that he needed to move Ryan out of the way because she was getting hammered. He hit it a few more times and it finally broke. The shower of candy came falling down. The kids had little bags that they jammed full with candy. We opened presents and Ryan made the same face every time she opened a present. It was a fun little party.
That about sums up our adventures. Niamh has started soccer. It is fun to watch. She is still a little timid, but we are hoping she follows her dad's example and becomes a little more aggressive. If not, oh well. She is having fun and we enjoy watching her. This past weekend, Jill and her family, along with Matt's Ashley and grandma Landon came to our home. Paker, Pacie, and Ashley had a dance competition here in Logan. It was so nice to have them here in our home. It was grandma's first outing since grandpa had passed. It was so fun to have her in our home. She said she felt like the queen, we told her she was. She helped get my girls ready in the morning. I was out of my baby lotion, so she got some of her nice smelling lotion and put it on them. She brushed their hair and played barbies with them. We went to the dance comp. The girls did great as usual. They are fun to watch. Niamh had a soccer game. Grandma came to it with us. It was during the dance. She went to Sam's club with us. She treated us to lunch. We went to a little park for a picnic. She is great company. I had asked Ryan earlier if she wanted to wear shorts or pants. She said, "Is grandma wearing pants?" I told her she was, and she said she wanted to wear pants too. They always wanted to hold her hand and be with her. I am so glad she was able to come. She has always been a woman with a firm testimony and very strong faith. She never ceases to amaze me. She is a wonderful example to all of her family. We finished watching the girls dance. We got some ice cream then headed home. We are lucky to live close to family and be able to spend time with them as often as we do.
We are blessed to have such a wonderful family, on both sides. It is nice to have a family who supports us in all that we do.