Some Florida Adventures

DUDA LAND?
I am visiting my parents this weekend in Florida, and I have learned alot about the town in which they live. The Duda family owned the land - they are Czech. and after much debate, the town was not named Duda Land, but Viera. Thank Goodness! It is a small community that is growing quickly.

Mom and Dad live in a really pretty gated community called Sonoma. All the streets are named after types of wine. There's Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot, and Sonoma just to name a few. The family lives on Sonoma Way. It is a beautiful house with a lake outside their backyard. The view is spectacular! Laurie, Lindsey and I came for a long weekend for a visit and to keep up the family tradition of attending the General Relief Society meeting with mom. We shopped in St. Augustine, took a few bike rides, met a few of the new friends, got to sing in Sacrament Meeting and Primary, and the big highlight was playing tennis with Tanner. A family favorite!

We have spent many nights staying up late, laughing until we couldn't breathe, singing silly songs, watching movies, playing games and just enjoying each other's company. It has been a vacation that has been good for the soul, my soul.
Lindsey and I leave tomorrow for home, something that I am not looking forward to. I have enjoyed every minute that I have been here. It is has been good to be here and see the place that is now the home of the Linton family. I have met a lot of nice people, and feel better knowing that there are so many new friends and families that are here to take care of my parents and Tanner. Viera is not Clinton, but it holds something near and dear to my heart and I have to be okay with that. It feels like home, and that is a good feeling.

Falling into Fall

It has been a few weeks since I have updated the blog, and even now as I am doing it, I don't know what I want to say. Our days aren't as exciting as they have been!

I wish that I could say that life has slowed down a little bit since school started, but it hasn't. The activities may have changed, but the quantity has not. Instead of swimming, running, sleepovers, and other summer fun , we now have lots of reading, math, volunteering and other school related items that fill our free-time. Everyone is doing well in and out of school. I just take one day at a time, and then it doesn't seem so overwhelming.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Mark and I are celebrating our 18th anniversary today. In lieu of our anniversary, this lovely photo was on t.v. Friday morning on Good Morning Utah. We are now famous...the news anchor really liked my beanie hat! We were also able to get away for the weekend in Park City. We spent our days shopping, watching movies, eating out and riding the Alpine Slide, Alpine Coaster, and Zip Line - over and over! It was really fun, but we must be getting old - because it wore us out!

Our lives might not be as exciting as most, but we are healthy and happy and have a great appreciation for each other and our family. We are surrounded by people that love us, that help us, and that bring us so much joy. Who could ask for anything more?

We love you and send our wishes to you for a wonderful week....free from stress, of course. It is beginning to feel like fall here, especially as we drove through the canyon and saw all the beautiful colors. I love this time of year..I only wish you were here to see it!

Have a great week!

Summer Wrap Up and A New School Year

The month of August has come and gone and left us with many more memories. I decided that it would be fun to share with you a few more of the pictures that we have taken over the summer. This is just a small handful of the many photos that we took. If I were to scrapbook all the pictures that were snapped, I think I would have to rent a storage unit to hold them all!

School Days

We have succesfully begun another

school year.

Mason is enjoying 8th grade so far. He has teachers that make him laugh, teachers that are challenging him, and teachers that are thrilled that he is in their class. He is still playing the french horn, learning how to speak Spanish and has joined the Yearbook Club. I think that he will be very busy this year.

Evan is loving 5th grade. Mostly because he has 6th graders in his class this year. He is part of a combination 5th/6th class and his teacher is Ms. Adamson. We were really excited to go to Back to School Night, because we didn't know very much about her. We had heard that she was kind of scary, but now know that she is sweetheart! :)

Avery thinks she is hot stuff , now that she is a 1st grader. She had no problem transitioning to a full day of school and she is really enjoying eating her lunch with all her friends. I don't know who is more happy about her being in school all day. Avery or her mom!

We are all doing very well and working hard. We are looking forward to the month of September and all that it will bring. Have a great week - love to all of you that read this.