Reunion II

The second reunion was with my family, a week after Nathan's family's reunion. It really was great to see almost all of both our families this summer. With families as large as ours, it's definitely an accomplishment to get everyone (or nearly everyone) together!

First we picked Nathan up from work and splurged on a yummy treat at Gormandise, a gourmet bakery in Salt Lake. We let S pick one out and she chose this chocolate mouse (a very yummy choice). Nathan LOVES their peach pastries.

My brother, Eric, was in charge of the reunion this year. We started with a temple session in the Ogden temple. This isn't something my family has done many times before, so it was neat to be there with quite a few of us. Mom said she hopes we can enlarge the circle of our family who can be together in the temple. With Nathan's help, I was able to bring a few names to have us do the work for from my Mom's side. I felt like it was significant that we were in the temple together 6 months exactly since my dad died. It was our first time gathering with everyone since we lost him. :(  After the temple, we went out to eat at the Blue Lemon. That night our little family camped in a tent in Eric's backyard. S was very excited about this. We bought her a sleeping bag all her own. I actually slept pretty well, in spite of the F-16's flying over late at night.

The next day we all met at the Hill Aerospace Museum. More of my family joined us there. I actually really enjoyed looking at the planes with Nathan and my brothers. They know a lot more about them than I, so they could explain things to me. It was interesting.

This is a B-24. I wanted to see this one because I read
the book Unbreakable by Laura Hillenbrand  recently and
the plane that crashed was a B-24.

Lori and I in front of an F-16. When we were younger
we were driving and saw an orange flash over the mountains
and later learned an F-16 had crashed in the valley on the
other side of the mountain range at the time we saw the flash.

This jet was the most intriguing one to me. It's super
long and most of it's bulk is way at the back. It's also
super fast.

We spent the rest of the day at a park where we ate, played games, and visited. It was great being together. It's good to have a chance to be together. Some family I see more often than others, but it's nice to catch up with everyone.

Playing with water balloons. There may have been
some water fights that erupted as well. I may
have gotten wet. :)

S and her daddy

Nathan bought a glider at the museum. He
let these girls help him shoot it off.

S always loves playing with Aunt Lynda!

And here's the lot of us!

Reunion I, Part 2

Nathan's brothers who live out of state were able to come to the July portion of Nathan's family reunion. One brother and his family stayed with us. S loved going down and playing with any of the cousins who was willing to give her some attention. I always like giving her opportunities to get to know with and play with her cousins. These cousins were all older than her, but they were all good about playing with her.

This cute boy read book after book to S!

The first event was a barbecue on Friday. I was not having a good night that night. However, S was able to ride a horse with Daddy. I'm sure they had a better time than I did.

Saturday morning started with a hike to the Y and then a shorter hike near Bridal Veil Falls. S and I didn't make it for the first hike, but we joined up with everyone at Bridal Veil. I was able to pull out of my mood and enjoyed being outside. I love hiking! I wish I could do it more often. It's one of those things that's just good for my soul. I couldn't resist doing some wading below the falls and I loved it when S had to join me. (I love my girl!)

a few of the hikers

happy waders

yep, tha's m'gehl!

That afternoon we had lunch and a water activity and we had a GREAT time! They rented 2 water bounce houses, one for big kids and one for the littles. The house where we had the event had a huge backyard that included a trampoline and playground equipment as well, so S was in heaven! She said the trampoline was her favorite part. I finally worked up the courage to go down the slide in the big bounce house and it was actually pretty fun. I would have done it again, but.......I didn't =) We also had snow cones and did lots of visiting. A few of us volleyed a huge beach ball around and I had a great time doing that. I've always like volleyball. We were there all afternoon and it was so nice to just relax and chat and not be in any hurry. Very fun!

S in the little bounce house

the big 'un

trampoline frivolity

 my first time seeing this cute baby!

Nathan posing in the t-shirt we eventually
pulled apart (frozen t-shirt game)

The last event was a Sunday evening fireside put on by Nathan's parents. They shared brief histories and pictures of a number of their ancestors. It was a nice evening.

Some of the little cuties at the fireside.
S is the oldest of the bunch

Reunion I, Part 1

July has been the month for reunions for us! First was Nathan's family. We had one weekend in June that was also part of this reunion, but the main events were in July. So in June we had a temple night and we did about 70 sealings and the teenagers did baptisms at the same time. I love being in the temple with family!

Here's our group outside the temple

Also in June was a tea party for the girls. Angela put this together and I thought it was such a fun idea. It turned out really cute! We dressed up fancy, made a hair piece for each of us, Angela took pictures, and then we had a lovely lunch. Angela used pictures of female ancestors in the decorations. She did a really nice job. S was feeling very shy while we were there. She had so been looking forward to it. I felt bad that she didn't enjoy it more :(

There was much cuteness to be found

Me and my little lady

My little lady transformed into a princess

The delicious spread

All of the lovely ladies!

a real date

Nathan and I were able to get away for a real date (meaning one that was planned ahead and not something we think back on and call it a date after the fact). We got a babysitter for S and she was very much looking forward to babysitter time :)

We ate out at a restaurant we've never been to called La Hacienda and the food was really good and the live guitarist/singer was fun. Then we went mini-golfing and walked around a bit and then took a short drive. I know it wasn't anything super exciting, but it was a much-needed break for this momma and nice to just spend some time with Nathan.

Happy 4th!

We had a fun 4th of July. The thing that would have made it better is if we could have gone to some kind of patriotic event or ceremony. I like to feel a part of the community on that day and to share in the patriotic spirit. I like going to parades on the 4th, too, but Nathan doesn't love them and it can be quite a pain getting to the parade in Provo.

We started the day with a bike ride. Nathan towed S behind in the trailer. She didn't love it except for the going downhill fast part. I, however, did love it! I tried out my cushy bike seat and it was much more comfortable than the cinder block I had before ;) It felt great to be outside and get some exercise, too. I want to do it more!

Happy bikers

Nathan towing S in the trailer

We visited Nathan's parents later in the day and this is how S looked when we arrived. She was not a happy camper when she awoke and didn't want to go inside, but she finally came around and had fun being there.

We had dinner with our friends across the street and then pulled out S's kiddie pool. Somehow it's not as big as it was last year! It's the first time she's played in it this year.

We have some other neighbors who put on a huge fireworks show each 4th so we stayed and watched that together. We brought noise cancelling headphones for S, but it was still too noisy for her so she spent most of the time inside with Jeff (they watched Little Mermaid :).

S and our friend

Here's to celebrating the freedoms
of this great country!
Even with all its flaws, I wouldn't
want to live anywhere else.

candy bomber was not the bomb

So I heard about the candy bomber doing probably his last drop in Orem as part of the Freedom Festival and I was excited about going from the minute I heard about it. However, it was rather a disappointment. Nathan didn't really want to go, but finally changed his mind and agreed to come (read: decided to please pouty wife). And my mom came with us, too. I thought if we got there half an hour early we'd be doing great, but there were a TON of people there by then. Traffic was terrible, finding a parking spot was ridiculous and it was really hot. Nathan dropped us off and we found a spot in the shade with the MASSES. I tried to tell S she probably wouldn't get a candybar, but that of course didn't actually register with her. 

Finally the planes flew over and I kept trying to take a picture each time. I was so engrossed in this effort that I actually never saw the candy being dropped!! Of course it was a ways from us, too, but it was all over very quickly and we didn't even see anyone who had gotten a candybar! And then S was disappointed about not getting one.

The only redeeming thing that happened was running into a friend from my single days whom I haven't seen in a few years. It was fun to chat with her and see her family.

We waited in the shade for a while for traffic to ease up a little and then Nathan made the trek to the car to pick us up. I probably should have stayed home and watched it on the news! Everyone was a good sport, though. I suppose it could have been worse. :)

There is the candy bombing plane. See, I got a picture.

Selfie of S, Me, and Mom

Happy Birthday Mom!

My mom just had her 80th birthday! Way to go Mom! My sister, S, and I went shopping at the mall with her and then had lunch. In the evening, all the family who could make it gathered for a barbecue at her house. Sadly, I did not take a picture of my mom! You wouldn't think my mom could possibly be 80 by looking at her. Her hair is beginning to gray, but it still looks more brown than gray. She is beginning to slow down, but still does lots of yard work. She's amazing. And she's a rock. Her faith in the Lord is an inspiration to me. I am so grateful to call her mom.

S got to ride the carousel at the mall

Well, at least I guess I took a picture of the cake :/

S had fun running with the cousins

It's fun to see them playing together