Ashley visits and helps me through a trying time

Back in February my friend Ashley accepted a new job as a pediatric nurse practitioner and we convinced her to come visit us before she started her new job. She booked tickets from Boston and we started planning ideas for her trip. Then we found out the house we were renting had super high radon levels and the health department and division of environmental quality said they'd recommend staying elsewhere until it got fixed - so we stayed with Erik's parents in Salt Lake. We were confident it would get fixed in time for her trip which was over a month away.

A frustrating month passed and eventually to our surprise we got a note from the property manager that the owners weren't going to fix it and asking us to be out of the house in 9 days. Ashley's trip fell right in the middle of the surprise-you-have-to-move fiasco. I was worried because I wanted her to have a fun trip but there wasn't much we could do about the situation and we needed a new place to live. Friends and family offered kind words, and helped to watch the kids and assist me with packing so that could be taken care of before she came. Ashley arrived and me, her and the kids headed to Moab and Arches National Park for the weekend. Erik cleaned the house and some awesome neighbors came and helped him. We were as efficient as we've ever been moving.

The timing of her trip, just like finding a new house close by on such short notice, was a godsend for me. The weekend trip and hiking in beautiful arches was the best distraction and so good for me. After the weekend we came back to Provo, and she watched the kids at a hotel while we moved. The kids happily watched frozen and kept her on her toes ; ) I'm pretty sure I owe my sanity to her presence and support during this time and also to all those people that helped us in so many ways. I pretty much kept it together despite things turning out differently than we had hoped. Oh except for when I was packing a box of burn supplies the week before Ashley came and I got emotional and shed some tears over J's burn and all the pain and troubles she went through when we first moved into that house.



It was wonderful having Ashley's help getting settled in and also to get out and do fun things amidst the move and all. She's the best friend I could have asked for. We went to the pool and went snowboarding/skiing at Sundance. We celebrated my birthday and we all went to dinner at Communal, one of my favorite restaurants in Provo. The week went by too fast and we miss her a lot. We had a blast just like we did last time she visited and we went to Bridal Veil Falls, Zion, Sundance, and Snowbird. Thank goodness for Ashley and all the kind people in the world! And now some pictures from our whirlwind week:

M using his new binoculars from Nana:

High five for hiking to delicate arch with your sibling:

We made it to delicate arch:

She was determined to try and go everywhere he was going:

Next up was sand dune arch:

Getting buried in the sand:

Climbing with no fear:

Sibling love:

Built a sand castle:

Sitting back and relaxing:

Throwing sand in the wind works out nicely if it's going the right direction:

Leaving sand dune arch:

Checking out statues at the visitors center:

Gotta love these animals:

Our final hike to landscape arch: 

Just beautiful to explore:

Frozen addicts at the hotel with Ashley while we moved:

Sporting their backpacks at the hotel:

A big hug for the favorite Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory bear:

Playing with cousins in the back yard while we unpacked at the new house:

Gorgeous day at Sundance and a visual of me with the two kiddos on the ski lift:

Such a great last day of the season with the lovely Ashley:

Gorgeous view of Mt Timpanogos. Can hardly believe the season is over already: 

Hiding out in a moving box during unpacking: