May is gone and here comes June!

I know that my postings are usually just once a month, and I am a little bit off that...and here's what's been keeping us busy - the abbreviated version.

Cole had a spring sing at school at the end of April and did very well! We loved to see him up there performing "50 Nifty United States" his favorite song, along with his cousins. We are all so proud of them!

Then an unexpected and pleasant trip to Utah to visit Jared's parents, cousins, and of course, a trip to the children' museum with our cousins! We loved it! A little cold still for spring but the children didn't seem to mind, they still ran around outside like crazy, even in their flip flops!

While we were there, we also got to hold the newest member of the Dunyon family, little Carter, born into an all girl house. We missed the blessing by only a few minutes because of travel time but the kids just loved to hold him. Thanks Brooke!

Upon our return, it was the end of school, the middle of May, and Kate had to say good-bye to her preschool teacher, Ms. Nikki. We were sad by she gave a great performance, sang MOST of the time, and was sad to not be with her friends every week. But I am sure that summer will provide plenty of play time with friends and swimming.School ended and summer has arrived with warmer temperatures and vacations have begun. Mom and I ended up going on a trip to England for 2 weeks and we absolutely loved it! It was nice weather, most of the time, and even in the rain it was absolutely beautiful! We started in London and saw all the big things there, except Westminster Abbey - they close at 3:30 every day for mass, then headed to London Temple, Cliffs of Dover, Leeds Castle, Stonehendge, Bath, Stourhead (where Kira Knightly's Pride & Prejudice was filmed), the Cottwolds, Nottingham to visit Uncle George, Uncle Tom, and cousin Sharon. Then it was off to visit Hever Castle, the Lake District, Warwick Castle, Stratford-on-Avon (Shakespeare), Preston Temple, and Winsor Castle. I think that I got it all in, I may have forgotten a few stops but it was absolutely wonderful. We had some good luck on the trip and plenty of memories to be stored. I loved spending time with my mom and I only wished my whole family could have been there to experience it with us!
On the cliffs of Dover - super windy, it even blew my earrings like crazy!

Got to go on the London Eye and walked all over London!
Unfortunately, on our trip, Jared's dad passed away due to pancreatic cancer. He was diagnosed in March and it got the best of him on Monday, May 30th. It will be a Memorial Day to remember. Jared had to call me while in England and tell me the news and so arrangements were made to make it back to the funeral in time for Saturday morning. The services went well and I appreciate both sides of my family that contributed to the services. I was amazed that ALL the children, spouses, and grandchildren were there for the services. We haven't been that lucky to get them for family reunions, but when it matters, they came and supported Dorene and the family. We will miss him being a part of our lives but we know that he no longer has to suffer and he is doing a great work in heaven. We love you and will miss you, Fred.
So, in between that, the everyday happenings have been going on, and hence why I have only had the time to blog now. Life is crazy, life is short, and life is beautiful.