I Love a Road Trip!

It was time for me to get the kids in the car and take a trip. I love road trips! They don't need to be long for me to enjoy it, they just need to be on the road. This time we packed up and headed to Burley, Idaho. We have good friends from our Texas days that live there and it was great to visit and catch up. Shane and Juli Downs and their family were gracious enough to let us stay with them, feed us, get treats from their store (for free!!), and entertain us. We all loaded up in the catering van and traveled over to Twin Falls to attend the new LDS Temple's open house. It was absolutely beautiful. One of the paintings in the temple depicted the Shoshone Falls that are nearby. Who knew that there were gorgeous waterfalls in a relatively flat area? I showed my ignorance of the landscape when I asked but then we went over to the Snake River and looked down the amazing gorge.We didn't make it over to the Falls because I needed another reason to go back to visit at a later time. The kids had a great time and didn't complain much in the car. My kids have been taking road trips since they were born and after 30 hour marathon trips from Texas to California, the three hours to Burley was a piece of cake. We didn't even have to stop to go to the bathroom. My camera battery died after just these 3 pictures but Juli took a bunch. When I get more, I will post them. Does anyone else need a visit to give me a reason to hop in the car? Actually, I don't need a reason, just a destination. Thanks to the Downs!

Stewart Falls

We went hiking to Stewert Falls on Sunday, July 20th. We had a great time. All the kids got wet... nobody got hurt. Matt and Jack climbed up the falls and enjoyed a beautiful view. Thanks again to the Summerhays for a great evening.

Hill Air Force Base

We have lived in Utah for 4 years and I thought it was finally time to check out some of the local faire. So we picked the muggiest day to head up to Hill Air Force base and check out the cool "FREE" museum. I have to say, I was quite impressed. They have an airplane graveyard outside and then a ton of planes, rockets, helicopters and other flying stuff inside. The museum isn't aired conditioned but they do try to keep it cool with portable fans. Since it was a really muggy day by Utah standards, it just made us feel yucky. Jackson even said his hands felt sticky. So we learned a ton about planes and pilots and stuff. They had a display honoring Col. Halvorson who dropped candy parachutes to the kids in Berlin during WWII, and even a restored Presidential jet that JFK and President Johnson used. I was in awe at the size of the tires, the bombs, and the rockets. We had a great time with the kids and only one temper tantrum. (Apparently, Shane was BORED!) It was great to venture out to see Utah.

Happy 36th!

Happy Birthday Matt! Matt turned 36 on July 18th and he shares that birthday with a friend of ours named Mike. We went up to Mike's family's cabin near Sundance on Sunday to BBQ and have smores. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to sing to both of them and present them with this adorable cupcake dog. The kids all attacked it after we sang and I think Jalyn even had frosting in her hair. We had a great time at the cabin. We hiked up to Stewart Falls and every one of my kids stepped into the water. Can you get that close to water and not fall in? I will post pictures of that later after I figure out how to transfer the pictures from Matt's new iphone onto this computer. It seems so complicated. Thank you to our great friends for a super fun evening.

Matt's "Butler" award

Matt can now add award winning director to his resume and list of accomplishments. Last night, we had a ward activity where we were given a camera, props, and nursery rhyme. We had one hour to create a video of our play. We were given "Humpty Dumpty" which we all know is short and open to interpretation. Our team did a great job coming up with a story line and even adding sound affects. Matt was the director and camera man and did a superb job. Paul was our star and walked away with the best actor award. We had a great time and I think we all wiped away tears of laughter as we watched each show.

Friends from Texas...

We were excited to have the Cook's from Texas come visit us this weekend. I have always said that all "Mormon" roads lead to Utah. Most people have family here in Utah and so we get the pleasure of many visits from friends and family traveling through. The Cook's are our good friends from Allen, Texas where we lived for six years. I had three kids while living there. Since we were far away from family, we relied on friends in our times of need. Consequently, we have become close and now our kids are all good friends too. It is always a treat to get together with old friends and we all had a blast.

oh Jalyn...

Jalyn is our 8 1/2 year old. She says the darndest things. The other day we were watching America's Got Talent and she discovered she had a talent of her own. Here is our conversation at the table:

Jalyn: Mom, I could be on that show. I have a talent.
Mom: Oh really, what is it?
Jalyn: I am doing it right now.
Mom: Sitting at the table is your talent?
Jalyn: No, I can think of two things at the same time!

I think she has a future on the show!

Missionary Sunday

We had a great Sacrament meeting today about missionary work. The topic always reminds me of the 18 months that I spent in Kansas and Missouri serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I met some of the most amazing people and developed friendships that have lasted the last 15 years. ( I can't believe it's been that long!) The time spent out there helped develop my testimony and the person I am today. I am so grateful for the decision that I made to serve our Heavenly Father and share the gospel.

the new iphone!

What kind of a person drives 300 miles, gets up at 4 am, sits in line for hours, skips work without letting them know what he is doing, just to get the latest and greatest technology? I know two of them. Matt and his dad enjoyed this adventure this morning to be number 63 in line at the Apple store. Matt's dad drove up from St. George to "be with his sons for their birthdays", oh yeah, and to buy the phone...I hope it was worth it for them.

I am giving it a try...

This is something I said I would never do. However, things change in our lives and I begin to see a need to stay in contact with those who are far from us. Recently my brother Darren was killed in a motorcycle accident. My sister in law, Kori, did a tribute to him on her blog. It is something I look at daily if not more. It has brought me a lot of comfort and made me want to do my own. Plus, I thought I needed a place to brag about my kids. My resistance to technology has prevented me from throwing my hat into the ring...but here goes!