Welcome to harmony's Roundeo.

I guess I'll accompany the album with a quick blog.

We made our way back to Utah, eating at In-n-out on the way of course, and the trip went well, though we were all pretty sick of traveling!

Then I think the next day was my  cousin Ariel's wedding. her and Sean got married in the Bountiful temple on Tuesday January 5th. the temple ceremony was beautiful, always a good reminder of what's most important and to cherish the one you've got! She looked amazing of course! Then we went to Ikea to grab a gift, with Jason & Kathryn and Grama and Grampa Grotegut. That was fun. Jason even treated us to Ikea breakfast, which was kind of funny because it was followed shortly after by the luncheon. They had a delicious luncheon and it was fun to hang out with all the family, and get a glimpse into the future, as another Roundy was there amongst the Groteguts, Spencer's brother Darrell, soon to wed Ariel's sister Marissa. confused? perhaps, but it's pretty cool and we're excited about it.  Grama Roundy watched the kids that morning and then we returned and jason and Kathryn came over and played some games with us. We ate dinner and then we all went to the reception at the Provo Library.

The next day I think we went to play at the Cowan's home, or maybe that was actually the day before, yes, I think it was Monday. We had such a nice time being with our good friends again!

Then Grama and Grampa Grotegut said we could use their timeshare at Snowbird so we did! It was so nice to have a little getaway just us. I forgot our snow clothes, but we managed to play in the snow anyway and it wasn't too bad. The kids loved playing in the hot tub on the balcony and eating icicles that I broke off from the eave. Then we took Spencer to the airport to fly BACK to California to check in at his office and for some event or meeting they were having. And we headed down to play with the Cowans again. This time at Arctic circle indoor playground.

I think Friday is when I got my hair done and then hung out with Marissa and did some shopping. My haircolor turned out fabulous! Love it!! But I made the mistake of trusting the stylist to trim it up and "clean it up" and apparently to her that meant chop it off. I of course didn't say anything and even gave her 20 bucks for it. so dumb. I started off trying to tell myself it was okay, and it was cute and it's not a big deal, etc. but then got progressively more irritated because I've been trying to grow it for so long and she didn't do at all what I said or she said she was going to do! frustrating. It was fun to hang out with Marissa who has always been my cousin but will soon be my sister in law! 

Saturday we went to the dinosour museum at Thanksgiving point with Grandma and Grandpa Roundy. That was really fun, what a cool place! Then they kept our kids while we ran off to meet Brent and Jennie (Cowan) at the theater for Avatar. What fun! We realized we had never gone on a double date the whole 2 1/2 years we lived here in Geneva together. too expensive! We had such a great time. We went to Cafe Rio afterwards and it's just as good as ever.

Sunday was Micah Grotegut's (Marissa and Ariel's brother) homecoming. So once again we found ourselves surrounded by extended family and Groteguts and that's always fun. The meal by Jan was delicious. And that brother of Spencer's was there again of course. Funny that he has the same relation to my extended family now as Spencer does, and that he'll be calling my granparents grandparents, and my parents uncle and aunt, etc. etc.

Monday or Tuesday I took Darrell and Marissa's engagement pictures. They are too cute together and fun! and it got me even more excited about the whole deal. Then we spent the last few days on errands, and having friends visit and being with the family. VeeAnn and her kids came over, Amber and her kids came over, and Jourdan&Rod and their kids came over! We even managed to squeeze in a visit to the Great Groteguts the afternoon before we left, amidst errands and packing. oh packing! It was even more difficult than usual with all the Christmas gifts but we really did pretty well getting most of it in and managed to get to the airport on time and everything!

Of course in all of this there were lots of stories read by Grandma and playing with toys and costumes, and eating and visiting and watching things and playing things, and Lauren and Jennifer came over quite a few times and their kids Addy and Coleman. Our kids played marvelously together and had such a good time. They just love each other!

It was really a busy time and Virginia remarked that we don't really relax on vacation! But we sure do have fun! Thanks for the great stay and for everyone who made time for us!

I'm gonna make this quick and hope that the pictures tell most of the story. We had a great Christmas! It was worth the long flight. The flight went pretty well I think, though it was a bit stressful getting on it. We thought we barely made it, but then actually ended up sitting in the plane for awhile while they de-iced it. And we were also mistakenly charged 300 francs for extra baggage.

We were picked up at the airport by brother-in-law Darrell, and his girlfriend, MY cousin Marissa Grotegut (Mom's older brother, Tim's daughter). They are very cute together (find their roundeo page to the right under Grotegut, or click here.) WE loved playing with Adalyne and Coleman (Lauren, Spencer's brother, and Jennifer's kids). Paisley said several times how she just Loves Addy. We had a relaxing couple of days, very needed, at Grandma and Grandpa Roundy's house, and then headed down to California on Tuesday, stopping at Grandpa Roundy's parents' home in St. George and staying the night with Aunt Maren (mom's sister) and Uncle Kevin.

By the time we got to Cali we were already quite sick of traveling! Then we had to get all of our Christmas shopping and wrapping done, which now that I think about it, is pretty impressive in 2days. We also went to the mall and saw Santa. Geneve said, "ho ho ho!" but wasn't interested in getting too close of course.

Christmas eve day was spent in preparation, including Paisley helping with Mom's famous Christmas braided breads. Which turned out as yummy as ever. We had a simple Mary and Joseph dinner where we ate foods they might have eaten, and we sang some songs and read the Christmas story. We let the kids open a present with pajamas and a book. Then the parents stayed up all night being Santa....oh wait, not this time. It was really quite simple so when I saw that spencer had konked out putting Geneve to sleep, I just put the gifts out and joined him before too long. 

Morning of, kids woke early of course, but had to wait because we thought Brian and Doreen might get there in time, and for grandparents and everyone else to be ready. They watched TV to bide the time. Then they paraded in and we were happy they were all excited about their gifts. Then to the pile of presents under the tree which took us a few hours. Then we ate our yummy breakfast and enjoyed a relaxing day filled with new toys and family. Miriam's family came over too (from Mexico) and we enjoyed their company and their tamales (which I think is what we ate for dinner?).

Geneve was cute opening presents. She got very excited about every present whether hers or not, liked unwrapping, and was especially beside herself with excitement about the new baby doll she got from Grami. She was in rapture!

Other stuff we did in California, we went to the hotel pool of Miriam's family, with Josh and Miriam and Miriam's mom and brothers (outdoor pool, love California!), had some friends over, went to the zoo, and relaxed. We met the mother of Jeff's child, Lauren, which was nice (she was very pregnant at the time). No Disneyland this year, and no beach. We kept it simple and close to home. And we had a really great visit. We really enjoyed each other and being with the family. The kids all enjoy their uncles and Aunts and Grandparents and the other way around!

Oh, we also saw a couple of movies in the states and recently. We saw The Princess and the Frog while in California and loved it! I have been saying for many years that Disney needs to go back to traditional animation and retelling classic stories, that they were overdue for a princess fairy tale, and that it's about time they have a black hero or heroine or story. And Voila! My wish fulfilled. We also saw (whether in the states or here) Avatar, Holmes, and 500 days of Summer. I liked all of these movies quite a lot for different reasons. And I recommend them.

Much more to come, stay tuned! ....Love, Harmony

California!

So we were able to spend almost 3 weeks in Corona at my parents' house. It was pretty chill. We did Disneyland 3 days, 2 Beach days, lots of play time at Grami's house, ate lots of yummy food, saw a couple friends, went on a date and saw Monsters and Aliens (loved it), shopped a bit, hung out with the fam lots, including all the siblings Brian and Doreen, Josh and Miriam, and Jeffrey, played some tennis with Dad (for the first time in years) and played at the park, and did some art with the kids. We enjoyed all of it. I did not get my fill of In N Out or Miguels, but I don't know if thats even possible.We got picked up at the airport by Grampi/Pop-Pop and Miriam. What a happy reunion. And then the kids were super excited to run in the house and see Grami. It was a joyful moment. And then they were thrilled to see more Easter baskets! One with a huge Transformer for the transformer obsessed Cado, and one with an Ariel doll for Princess Paisley. They couldn't have been happier to be at Grami's and have such desired new toys! I'm sorry to say I've already forgotten many details, but the photos will remind me. In any case,

Thanks for the really great time! We love California!

We started our trip to the States with a short visit to Utah! It was so much fun, but 4 days was definitely too rushed especially when you factor in jet lag. I think the pictures pretty well tell the story, but here is a quick recap. Left here on Wednesday 8th, arrived Wednesday afternoon. The kids did so well on the airplane. Lots of people commented on it, so that was really nice. They were so jazzed up to be picked up at the airport by Grama Roundy. I don't necessarily remember the sequence of events, but I did some shopping, we did Easter Activities, ate good food at Grama's house, hung out with Darrell who cleared his busy schedule for us, and Lauren and Jennifer and Mom and Dad, and played games, went on a fun date, dealt with sick kids. Paisley started the sickness here in Geneva, and it wouldn't budge for at least a week. Then Geneve got it, or vice versa actually, and then in California Cado got it. We had a great time. We also got to spend a few hours on Saturday with Grandma Maris and Great Grampa for a big Grotegut Family Easter egg hunt and lunch. 

I invite the Grandparents (and others) to share any memories, or impressions of the kids' personalities, or whatever!

Thanks for a great visit! We love Utah!