The sweetest things in life, aren't things......

Sunday, December 18, 2011

More July

My grandmother passed away in July so we headed up North for her funeral. A lot of times we aren't able to move our vacation and we unfortunately have to miss out on more than we would like. So we were glad we were able to transfer some vacation to be able to go. 
I love the gospel so much. Knowing that she is reuniting with loved ones and three of her children makes loss so much easier. We loved hearing everyone's memories of her at her funeral.

We decided, since we were there,  to make a long weekend of our travel and enjoy families company as well. We got to be with all of my family at Alison's house for a bbq and some fun family time.
( I hate that I forgot my camera so I don't have pictures to document it. )
We enjoyed massages, guitar hero, lots of laughing, and Lagoon.

We were headed back up to Idaho at the end of the month which also allowed us to take our Nephew, Jamen,  home with us for a week. Jamen and our children had never been to Lagoon so you can imagine how exciting it was for them. We convinced my sister Hanna, her husband Chris, and their kids, and also my brother Eli and his wife Savanah to hit Lagoon with us as well.
(Once again kicking myself for forgetting the camera)
We went from the time it opened, 11 AM, until the time it closed, 11 PM. The kids were in heaven. Savanah was our most fearless rider. It was perfect to have more adults than us to ride too. Beau and I both get severe motion sickness, so between all the adults, the kids could ride as much as they liked.

When we got back to Cedar. We did so many fun things while Jamen was here. Beau took Jamen and Caleb shooting, to the Pawn shops, and stores. The kids made tree forts acrossed the street, went to Maverik, almost every day for treats, played video games, slept outside, and had so much fun enjoying one another. 
Beau and I got to take  the kids fishing to the kids pond as well.

Here are some photo highlights of our fishing adventure.
 Caleb being silly...
 Savanah DID NOT want to take them home for a fish fry. She was disturbed for some reason this time and just wanted to let her fish go.
 I loooove these pictures. 
From behind you would think , with their coloring and hair, that they were twins.

We hope this next summer to have more nephews and nieces come stay with us. 
It was so memorable to get that one on one time.

July Family Adventures

One of our favorite places to go in the summertime is to Parowan Gap. Not only is it known historically for its ancient Petroglyphs, it provides hours of entertainment for the kids.

There are old dinosaur tracks left imprinted in the rocks....
 Lots of hiking and rock climbing.....
 For the nerds (Savanah and I) we like to explore and find creatures and beautiful things to photograph.

 There are lots of Dirtbike riding trails and bike riding trails for the boys (and girls) to ride on.
 As the sun starts going down we like to gather together as a family at the end of all our fun and watch the sunset.
(Luke is waiting)
 And if life couldn't feel more blissful on days like these, the kids usually zonk out on the drive home from playing so hard. While Beau and I get to talk and enjoy the beautiful drive home!

 We love our lazy summer family days.
We are already looking forward to more in 2012!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Braffits Canyon

We love to take family drives together.
Especially on Sundays when we can have a whole afternoon and pack a picnic. 
One of our favorite places to drive to is Braffits Canyon. It overlooks all the surrounding cities and the scenery there is beautiful. Lots of wild turkeys, wild flowers, and colorful vegetation.
It always makes for a relaxing evening together.

Oh I am missing those lazy summer days already!

Friday, December 2, 2011

Yankee Meadows

I know I say it all the time but we LOVE Yankee Meadows.
It proves to always be a pleasant a perfect day when we go. In July, our friends Jason and Ashley Starr invited us to go fishing and have a picnic at the lake with them. And of course we were on board.
I have enjoyed getting to know Ashley more. She is such a genuinely good person.  We love their cute little family.

 Ashley and her cute kiddos....
 This picture is absolutely CLASSIC! Makes me laugh every time I see it!
YUMMY~