Our July so far...

Our Fourth of July was spent on an airplane. Barrett, Damon, and I headed out to Utah on Independence Day and enjoyed seeing Southwest terminals and planes decorated with red, white, and blue (out of 3 airports, they were the only ones that decorated for the holiday!). We discovered our carseat had been lost, but tried not to let that dampen the 4th. Barrett's dad had a yummy BBQ waiting for us. The boys next door came over and lit off some firecrackers--not pretty fireworks--and eventually Damon's little heart was racing and he cried and wanted to go inside. He finally went to bed after eating some of Grandpa's ice cream. We continued the evening outside watching the neighbors light off illegals and legals and enjoying the Utah night air. The next day was enjoyed by all--except Damon won't let Grandpa take him on anymore tractor rides and probably won't walk in the creek again either--we also headed off to Costco to do some shopping for my mom. Costco is so much fun to shop at with someone else's money and with a fun purpose:) My parents and 2 sisters stopped by to say hello. Jenny just returned from a mission in Hong Kong and it was good to see her--still the same old Jenny! On Sunday, we went to a quick sacrament meeting, then packed up Grandma Ro's car to head up to Idaho for my mom's family reunion. We haven't driven that far (5 hours) in a really long time, but we survived. We stopped off in Idaho Falls to see the Temple. We were hoping to stop in Rexburg to see the changes since I went to school there long ago, but we had all the food and hungry people in our car and at the cabin. My parents and all my sisters and their families were there. Our cabin had 6 bedrooms and was so fun. We enjoyed being with each other for a few days before the actual reunion started. We went canoeing down the river, rode ATVs(I did one tiny ride which was enough for me), went on walks, went to Yellowstone National Park, ate yummy food and candy, and saw Jenny's mission pictures. Damon loved seeing his cousins, aunts, uncles, and Grandparents. He loved playing outside and threw just about every rock and stick he could get his little hands on. If the door to the cabin opened, he was there trying to head outside. I found a tick on his head on the drive up to Yellowstone and my dad had to pull it out. Yuck. The family reunion was so fun. It began Wednesday night with seeing Hello Dolly at the Playmill Theater in West Yellowstone. It was such a good, fun, entertaining performance and fun to see cousins and aunts and uncles. The next day was the big breakfast and family picture. We then floated down the river and ate lunch at our cousin's cabin right on the river. Our cousins planned this family race which consisted of a canoe race, .6 mile run, ATV course, and a run/swim through the river and back. Each family had to compete. It was highly entertaining and funny to watch--especially when one of my cousins busted out in a speedo, swim hat and goggles. That night we met up for dinner and had family talents/skits and family history. We all headed into Yellowstone the next day with our families. It was fun to be places and run into your cousins--I even ran into an old roommate who was there for a family reunion too and lives on the east coast! Some of the cousins got together that night to watch old family reunion videos and sit in the hot tub. We played Uno at our cabin and I ended up falling asleep on the couch. The last day was a fun day at the Resort lawn area. Another chance to catch up with cousins, ride ATVs, play soccer and volleyball, eat lunch, learn to fly fish, do crafts, and the slip and slide. The kids also got to hunt for the Candy Tree. My Grandpa used to always "grow" candy trees and it has been a tradition that I think has been done at every reunion. It was really sad and hard for us to leave. We had a great week even though there were some "snags" coming home. I sure am lucky to have such great parents who love me and take care of me even if I'm married and have a family:) Thanks!!