Easter 2025

Miraculously we we were home this Easter! It was the first time in a very long time so we were excited. 

We all went to church and had a beautiful Easter Sunday Sacrament meeting. 

Then came home and took pictures in our backyard. 

Pepper was over the moon with so much attention! I believe we underestimate her modeling abilities! 

She truly is a grateful and kind dog with such a silly and fun personality. I know she was kind of thrown at us (let’s remember that forever--by Robert!!!) but she really is so special to us all. 

Our family selfies include fewer and fewer people but we love being together. 

And to make a point of the fact that we were home for Easter, we decided to host an Easter dinner! We invited the Cheevers who have just one kid left at home and the Wollstenhulmes who are empty nesters. 

It’s always a bit stressful for me to host a big dinner and I wish I had a talent for making these meals more extravagant. Ultimately, we were happy to have friends over so they are not alone and we were not alone. 

Happy Easter! 

 

Spring Break in Puerto Rico

For spring break this year, after much deliberation and thinking we decided to go to Puerto Rico for a triple whammy--a vacation, a tennis tournament and a dental conference. 

We were able to stay for free with free night certificates at a Marriott property within walking distance from the beach, but over 20 min away from the tennis tournament site and even further away from the dental conference. We rented a car but then I had to take an Uber around when Robert was at the conference. I know Puerto Rico is the US but driving there is pretty intense! In fact, we avoided driving much after dark (and it did get dark really early!) and utilized Doordash quite a bit. 

For a couple of days we could just relax and chill on the beach with Mark. The beach was not super busy although we were super close to the city and this was a public beach. 

I walked in both directions while Mark hung out on the beach. And we played in the water too as it was really nice and warm! 

On one of the days we drove to the temple, it was in a different part of the city but we enjoyed exploring. 

It’s a cool feeling to drive to the temples wherever we visit, just feels familiar and safe even in the middle of a busy and noisy city. 

Robert enjoyed his dental conference and learned a lot from other experts. He joined us at the tennis site whenever he could. 

Mark was playing an L4, which is a pretty high level tournament. Kids from the mainland come to Puerto Rico to experience a different group of players for a variety. This is considered a Caribbean section (includes Puerto Rico and USVI) so a lot of players here have super high ranking but not the skill rating because it is easier to get points here. Nothing against them as this is simply location’s fault, but in big national competitions, everyone wants to play a kid from this section;). 

Mark had to play four matches before he got to the finals! And in the finals he faced another kid from NC, how ironic. Unfortunately, it didn’t go his way and he lost, noticing that he was definitely not prepared for the heat yet. It was a good thing, kind of, because it prompted us to quickly figure out a better hydration plan before the summer tournaments. At this location, a lot of kids were dropping like flies...even Mark’s doubles partner collapsed in the singles match because of a heat stroke, but thankfully was ok, although had to go to the hospital. So Mark could not play doubles, sadly. 

We had to quickly take these award pictures because we had a flight to catch very soon! Congratulations, Mark! It’s hard to be in a second place position but he learned a lot of lessons.

                      

I am happy we took this opportunity and combined leisure and business and competition! 

Lyana.