Birthday wishes!!!!!

Happy Birthday Brian.

I am so lucky to have spent the last 16 birthdays with you.

What a great 4th of July weekend we had. Friday, the 3rd , Brian and I took our kids to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. There was so many people there. It took us 2 ½ hours to do the whole tour. There was lots of waiting, but it was worth it. The temple is beautiful and even with all the people that were going through it, there was a peaceful and special feeling there. I am so glad we got to take our kids to see it. I hope the temple will always be a place they want to go to.

Friday night we met Brian’s brother and his wife, Larry and Rachel, for dinner. The kids stayed at their house and we ate at Texas Road house which is one of our favorite restaurants. (There is one being built five minutes from our house and we can’t wait.) We went back to their house and set off fireworks. That night we stayed over.

In the morning we headed up to Timp Cave for a great hike. I had never been although I have hiked the back of Timp all the way to the top. Loved the cave hike. Although it was steep, the distance was perfect for the kids. The temp was great and the cave was so awesome.

(Aubrey was a bit worn out from all the hiking and couldn't make it to the very end.)
We headed back to their house for lunch and had a relaxing afternoon visiting while the kids played. They were headed to the Stadium of Fire so about 4:00 we headed home all exhausted, but happy. The Logan fireworks are on the 3rd, so we didn’t get to see any this year. Doesn’t’ matter though, we had a great weekend.

SISTER'S RETREAT

One of the weekends I look forward to the most all year long is my sister’s retreat weekend. This year we headed to Park city and stayed in a condo June25-27th. There was nine of us total. I have 6 sisters, two sister-in-laws, and my mother that all try and come. This year we were all there except for my sister-in-law, Sherri (We missed you Sherri). What a blast we had and I marvel every year that we all get along and like to be with each other. I count it as one of my greatest blessings in life.

We always start out the retreat with planning meals and grocery shopping. This is always quite the event and of course we always buy way too much food. We eat good and feel sick by the end, but we love it.

We love to play silly games and laugh our heads off.

I brought a stack of movies to watch but the one and only movie we watched we ended up renting.

Of course we shopped the outlet stores.

We went walking several times.

We followed a steep road with beautiful houses and lots of nature. And when nature called, there was even an outhouse to accommodate us.

We enjoyed a great dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. The crab cake was delicious even though Maria found a piece of paper in hers.

Ruth shared her talents with us and mom got her hair done.

Sarah also shared one of her many talents and painted our toenails. They looked beautiful and summery.

My favorite thing we did the whole weekend was to talk. We had some great conversations and my mom shared experiences she had growing up that I had never heard before. We ended it all by attending the Barney reunion which is my mother’s siblings and their families. It was great to catch up with aunts, uncles, and cousins.
It was a great weekend and I felt renewed and very grateful for my amazing sisters, mother, and even my wonderful family at home. Can’t wait until next year.

LOGAN'S 7TH BIRTHDAY

June 20th was Logan’s 7th birthday. He had been looking forward to this day for a long time. Brian and I were asked to help with Youth Conference that was on his birthday so we planned his birthday party for a couple days before. He didn’t care when his party was as long as he had one.
One of the things he wanted to do most for his birthday party was to play wii. So he and his friends did that right at first. We then went out side and played some water games. We had cake and ice cream and then opened presents. It was a simple party, but Logan loved it.

For his birthday he wanted some Playmobil little people which he got. We had cake and ice cream again the night of his birthday after Brian and I got home. Logan loved his birthday and mentioned several times that it was the best day of his life. I think he was happy.

Logan is such a great kid. He loves his family so much, especially his big brothers. He is happy and loves to share. He truly has a kind heart. Logan is a joy to have in our home. We love you so much Logan.