Team Robison

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Antelope Island

On Saturday May 3rd, we decided to take a trip out to Antelope Island and do a short hike, maybe stick our toes in the Great Salt Lake. Just from the walk from the parking lot to the Visitor's Center, we were assaulted by brine flies which started biting. It wasn't until five minutes later that we realized they had gotten into Hannah's hair. My poor baby got bites all over her head. We decided to trade our hike in for a lovely drive around the island. The views were spectacular. The reflection of the mountains in the water was beautiful. We drove all the way out to the Fielding Garr Ranch, which is a mid-twentieth century cattle ranch that operated on the island until 1981. Luckily, the flies hadn't infested the ranch. Elwin loved our visit because his father grew up on a very similar ranch in Nevada. Matthew even let me take some pictures of him. Our trip went from disastrous to great, and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Hannah and Grandpa Robison

View of the Wasatch Mountains

Mark and Matthew

Diane, Mark, Elwin and Hannah

Hannah

Matthew pumping water

Matthew and the lasso

All tuckered out

Mark's Graduation

On Friday May 2nd, Mark graduated from the University of Utah with a M.S. in Metallurgical Engineering. His parents came in town to attend the graduation. Mark's cousin, Matt Dunstan, also graduated with a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering. Matt will be continuing on to the PhD program at the U, but Mark is finished with school forever! We arrived early and had no trouble with parking. Mark's college was rather small, which made the graduation much more personal. Instead of rushing through names, a brief introduction was given for every single graduate. Besides Mark's parents, my Grandpa Pingel and my brother Aaron and his family also attended the graduation. It was nice to have so much family support. Afterwards, we went out to lunch because we were starving. Then back to our house, where Mark's siblings, Anna, Michael and John, joined us for a cookout. In case you were wondering, Mark's thesis was entitled: "Modeling and Experimental Validation of Electroplating Deposit Distributions in Copper Sulfate Solutions." I have probably read it a hundred times, but please, don't ask me what it's about.

Mark and Matthew

Mark and Matt Dunstan

Hannah and Grandma Robison

Mark and Dhiman Bhattacharyya

Mark and his parents

Mark the graduate

Matthew hates having his picture taken

Our best family shot in a while

Mark and I

With Mark's parents

Mark and Matt with their baby girls

Matt, Kate and Olivia Dunstan

Hannah!

Matthew

Follow me, Grandpa.

Matthew and Ayden

Matthew and Great-Grandpa Pingel

Mark receiving his hood

Look what Daddy got.

Matt ready for his turn

Matt the graduate

Mark and Hannah

Matt and Kate Dunstan

Olivia Dunstan

Hannah's Birthday

I know this was almost a month ago, but on Hannah's first birthday, we drove down to Jacob's house in Colorado to attend both my nieces' baby blessings. We had a crazy drive through the mountains, but came out on the other side to blue skies. The kids had a blast at Uncle Jacob's house. Hannah loved being able to walk in a big circle through the main rooms. We had a cookout for dinner, and a small birthday party with presents and cupcakes. On Sunday, Jacob blessed his daughter Violet and Aaron blessed his daughter Katherine, of which I have no pictures. For the record, I guess I should mention that on her birthday Hannah was 28 inches tall and weighed 19 pounds, which is about the 10 percentile in both height and weight.

On the way to Colorado

Are we there yet?

Showing off her walking skills

Uncle Jacob and Baby Violet

Mark with Matthew and Ayden

Hannah and her balloon

Opening a present

Hannah already finished with presents

Mom and Violet

Look's who's 1

Ooo, fire!

Why does Matthew get to blow it out?

Yummy

Can I have another?

The boys enjoying their cupcakes

Great-Grandpa Pingel and Katherine

A Pingel gathering isn't complete without Ticket to Ride

Monday, May 5, 2014

Benjamin's Graduation

On the 25th, we traveled down to Provo to attend Benjamin's graduation from BYU with a B.S. in Finance. We ate lunch downtown at a fun little restaurant called Station 22. We got to go see the new temple the are building from the Provo Tabernacle. We also got to walk in the new Nu Skin building, which I wish had been there when I worked for Nu Skin. Downtown Provo is really booming right now. We headed over to Benjamin's for some cake in the process of which Hannah fell in love with a cat toy - a stuffed sheep that squeaks - which she claimed as her own. Benjamin and Jess gave it to her, and she just adores it. The ceremony itself was good. My grandparents and Aaron and Co. also attended. It was in the Marriott Center, and there sure were a lot of graduates. They rushed through the names as fast as the could, but it still was a bit long. The kids did pretty well, and luckily slept all the way home.