Taking the summer off!
Things were not working out great at my new start up company, so I had a conversation with the Founder of the company outlining my success to date and the challenges. Including the fact that the CEO left, VP Sales left, Marketing was let go, two Sales reps were laid off, and they cut our commissions by 65%. No executive leadership has been put into place and this being in “limbo” was getting old. Nothing was turning out as promised when I was hired and the traveling was significant. The Math was not adding up. Anyway, I ended up getting laid off my job. Our nanny, Michelle got engaged and was decreasing her hours working for us, and Bear was getting ready to go on location. The timing of everything just worked out well for my “summer off”. I have been busier than ever, coordinating summer camp for Hunter and getting odds and ends done around here. B has been gone for 16 days so far and we all miss him. He’ll be home for a couple of days, working on postproduction and then he’ll get going on location again until the beginning of September. We appreciate all his hard work! Love you Baby!
Lake Tahoe Family Reunion Trip June 2012
We drove the 7 1/2 hours to Lake Tahoe for a family reunion trip on my side of the family. All my siblings were there at some point during the week. All the grandchildren got to play together and it was a BLAST!
Here are all the grandchildren:
Daddy caught this precious moment with the camera while I was putting sunscreen on little Ella’s face. I just love her expression…
Here is Ella playing with cousin Ceci and Titus…
All the cousins gathered around for “movie night”. Hunter was awake for the first 15 min and fell asleep in his sleeping bag.
At King’s Beach park…
Playing at the park with Maren…
Back at Gma and Gpa’s condo on the Lake…
Hunter swimming with Marcus…
Every morning the boys would get up, head to the North Tahoe Regional Park and play around of “disc golf”. As you can see, Hunter is getting quite good…
Still catching up! Easter 2012
Gma and Gpa Gibby were visiting for Easter! We had a lovely Easter including Beef Wellington! YUM! Thank you to the Easter bunny for bringing little tiny plastic toys called “SQUINKIES” instead of candy! We have been to the dentist too much lately!
Preschool Graduation – Deer Valley Academy
Those children going on to kindergarten wore caps and gowns, the other children are not old enough to start kindergarten in the Fall. They had a nice program, each child got an award and they sang a few songs with hand motions. It was super cute. Hunter was given the “NASA AWARD” because when he grows up, he wants to be an alien! Miss Olga and Miss Susan are very good teachers and Hunter simply adores them both. Thanks for all your patience and hard work this year!
Hunter and Miss Olga:
Hunter and Miss Susan:
Skiing – Hunter, Age 4
Hunter went to preschool three days a week at Deer Valley Academy from Jan – May 2012. Part of his preschool tuition included skiing lessons! How cool! The perks of living in Park City! Hunter got a two-hour private ski lesson once a week (sometimes more if the resort was not busy). Barry found Hunter’s skis & boots at a ski swap. Hunter was sent home each ski day with a “report card”. It stated what skiing skills they worked on that day, what part of the mountain he skied on and so forth. Hunter always had fun and looked forward to skiing. His favorite instructor was GLEN. GLEN was awesome! On the chair lift, Hunter and Glen would often practice their “evil laughs” together. One day, Daddy went up on the ski hill to get some photos of Hunter. He looked everywhere for Hunter and could not find him, so he started asking around with the lift operators, etc…. Then Daddy heard someone yell… “Hunter, SLOW DOWN!” And a red missile came speeding down past Daddy. Daddy was looking for Hunter in his gray and red Spyder jacket and could not find him. Well, Hunter had worn his Ironman Halloween costume that day to preschool and wore it on the ski hill as well! This was a fun experience for Hunter and toward the end of the season they had a “ski parade” with all the kids. Grandma and Grandpa Gibby happened to be in town for the ski parade and got to see Hunter skiing down the hill. We were all very proud of Hunter! Great job!
Hunter in his Ironman Halloween costume… Note the bulging muscle arms! Hunter is holding a large snowball in his hands, this is his “eating snow” while he skis.
The Ski class, Hunter is the second from the left in blue goggles.
Hunter and Glen!
Proud Mama and baby sister…
Fishing with Grandpa Hill
As part of Grandpa Hill’s 80th birthday celebration the boys all went fishing. Gpa Hill taught all the boys how to fish while growing up. And so the boys wanted Grandpa Hill to teach the grandsons as well. Fun photos of a great day!
The Hill Side
No better time than the present to teach my children the names of all their relatives. The Hill side of the family is quite challenging from the mere size of the extended family. We’ll start small and work our way up!
Aunt Sherry and Aunt Carole (left to right)
All the boys…. (left to right)
Lane, Shane, Krehl, Scot, Bear, Cory
Grandma and Grandpa Hill with all their kids. All except Aunt Shelley who passed away as a baby.
Everyone with their spouses. (left to right)
Krehl and Jane Hill, Lane and Kerry Hill, David and Sherry Danielson, Barry and Tamra Hill, Max and Dona Hill, Shane and Tonya Hill, Steve and Carole Hymas, Cory and Kara Hill, Scot and Carri Hill
Grandma and Grandpa Hill with all their grandchildren and great-grandchildren…(almost everyone, Ruth and her family recently moved to Eugene, Oregon and were not pictured here). **Please note the four “troublemakers” in the front row (left to right); Nicholas, Riley, Carter and Hunter. Ella is sitting on Makayla’s lap with her “Hello Kitty” doll.
Now here you have it, the entire GANG…
Must catch up…
Surprise, surprise, I have fallen so far behind. Here are some photos from March 2012. Family party at Uncle Lane and Aunt Kerry’s house. The trampoline is the activity of choice! Hunter is getting quite good on it now. I think I’ll be playing catch up with the blog all summer long!
Ella and the “evil eye” with Uncle Scot. We had a fun visit from Uncle Scot, Aunt Carri, Nicholas and Riley (our Chicago cousins). They came out to surprise Gpa Hill for his 80th birthday. Wish they were closer! Hunter adores Nicholas and Riley. Whenever I mention anything about cousins, Hunter immediate jumps in and asks if I mean Nicholas and Riley. Its really cute.
Ella and Uncle “D” aka Lane. Funny that Hunter’s nickname for Lane has stuck so long.
Many of the kids have enjoyed riding in this little car at Lane and Kerry’s house. Hunter used to ride inside their house in circles thru the kitchen, dining room, living room and family room. He would just keep going around and around, over and over, he wore the carpet into a racetrack. Now Ella is enjoying the car as well! Lots of fun with Uncle Lane, Aunt Kerry and Makayla!
Christmas in July: ZOO LIGHTS
These pictures are from December 2011, and Barry took them at the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. They have “Zoo Lights” and Santa comes to visit. We went with Gannon and Addison (unfortunately we didn’t get any pictures of Addison). It was a bit chilly out but a fun time was had by all! Ella wasn’t too keen on getting her picture taken with Santa and Mrs. Klaus. The lights created some cool effects in the photos. Enjoy!
The Hill Connection 
