A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks. April 24th Tavish and I flew to Utah to see my little sister graduate from BYU. She has accomplished a lot since she has come to the States in 2005. From working as a nanny in Texas, to passing TOEFL, to Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from BYU. She went through some tough times, working nights, studying on an empty stomach, paying for her tuition without any assistance from family or government, and, finally, making it through school with no debts whatsoever. I think she is simply amazing. 

We also got to see some family and friends. Nieces and nephews are growing so fast, Lauren is already driving, Tanner is in the high school band playing saxophone, Matthew is pretty advanced violin player, Carver is in the competitive soccer team... Good kids! All three sets of four of them. The best part is that their parents are still hip and young. And I felt young too, having the newest baby in the clan. This must be the peak time of our lives - we have our beautiful talented kids to show off, and we are not yet too shabby ourselves. 

The weather in Utah was perfect. I remembered how much I loved that place! Brilliant blue skies stretched from the East Mountains to the West. Wide perpendicular streets with virtually no traffic! Cozy and clean neighborhoods. Temples, churches, Deseret Book and modest clothing stores... And, of course, my favorite Marion Berry and Graham Canyon ice cream from the BYU creamery. I want to live and raise my family there. At least, I want my kids to get a great kick start in life by building strong family- an service-oriented foundation attending BYU. It is a different world out there, for sure. And a good, solid one. 

The best part of our trip was staying with my mother-in-law. Kathy was so great taking us wherever we needed to go and just being kind, to me in particular. She is awesome. Another good thing was taking my sister home with me for the next month and a half. We flew to DC together in the morning of April 29th. She is so much help to me, I am so glad to have her by my side. I hope she is not overwhelmed by the amount of children and chores awaiting for us every single day. I hope her first in the past 8 years "vacation" time is not a huge disappointment for Ksenia. A change of scenery, at least? Perhaps. But this is another story.