Brett and Jessica's wedding at the Palmyra, New York Temple.
Good looking family, if I can say so myself...
Jessica's 4 sisters and sister-in-law.
Brett's cute new niece, Audrey.
So happy for my brother and excited to welcome a new sister to the family!The down side of having your brother marry a girl from New York... it's too expensive for everyone; nieces, nephews, brothers and sisters in law, etc. to attend. The up side? If you're one of the lucky ones that gets to go, not only do you get to attend the wedding but you also get one heck of an awesome trip out of it! My parents and sister Lesley flew out from CA the same day as me and we met up at the airport in Rochester. **My sister Lorna was supposed to fly out with me but a few days prior her son fell while hiking and broke his pelvis and arm and was even in the ICU for a few days. We were all sick for her not being able to come...**
Our first night we stayed at the Palmyra Inn, just down the street from the Palmyra temple. We went to the temple the next morning and visited some church history sites afterwards.
Also nearby is the Hill Cumorah monument.
The Sacred Grove was very beautiful and peaceful.....
As one sister missionary told us, "If only these trees could talk, imagine what they would tell us."
Part of the Smith Family property. I just loved how lush and green all of this part of New York is, and so many trees. A lot of the small towns we drove through had really cute old homes and old churches with so much character.
A view of the temple from the Smith farm.
The Peter Whitmer home, where the church was organized, another neat place to visit.I spend the winter months curled up in the fetal position, rocking back and forth, head under a blanket until those first rays of sunshine finally come to save me. Ok, that's an exaggeration, (with a sliver of truth behind it), but truly I live and breathe for the summer. So much so, that I strive to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible to make the most of this time.
I've been trying to take Alex to the park, on walks, swimming. We spent a day in Park City. Last weekend we went on a hike to Donut Falls, which was really pretty, but we couldn't get very close due to how much water there still is.
Alex just finished his first swimming lessons ever. He did really well and never complained about going. His lessons were at Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center, where they have a huge outdoor pool area. I was excited to go catch a few rays for half an hour each day during his lesson. I was disappointed (although my skin will thank me) when we got there and found out lessons where indoors at the competition pool.
Excited to have his certificate of completion... on to Tots 2!
After his last lesson, he and I celebrated by spending a few hours at the outdoor pool. We went down the little water slides about a million times.
This is what too much summer fun will do to you... he's taken more naps lately than he has in ages. This wasn't too much summer fun for Steph, just a typical day in the life of a 19 year old! (ha ha, she's going to kill me when she sees this picture posted!)
We took our usual journey to the Sierras a few weeks ago for our camping get together with my family. It is always stressful and tiring to try and get ready for not just a camping trip, but a camping trip that is 10 hours away. But, we continue to do it because it is always worth it once we're there.
One of my favorite memories... seeing my very white, returned missionary-BYU coed nephew sporting cornrows (compliments of his girlfriend). I'm sure half the fun was to see the reaction from his parents and brothers.
Alex and Uncle Brett...
Wonder what everyone seems to be so intrigued by? Take a look at Jake's shoulder. It's a lizard that became a part of the family for a few hours. The olive green metal box in the background is called a "bear box", where you MUST keep not just food but toiletries, anything with a scent to it, so as not to attract the bears. Sounds unnerving, but we're all so used to it that nobody worries about it too much. Except for Steve, when he has to get up to pee in the middle of the night. (tee hee!!)
Hanging with the cousins, one of the best parts of camping and where some memorable stories are shared.
The creek was also too rough to play in this year, but one of the great things about this campground is that it has a swimming pool, one regular pool and one filled with water coming from the hot springs. Alex could have spent hours just finding rocks to throw in the water.
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On his actual birthday, I took him to see Cars 2 in the theatre, then we did a quick opening of the presents before I had to go to work.
My sister Lorna and I are 10 years apart in age. That means that at the dawn of a new decade in our lives, we may be slightly traumatized, but at least we go through it together. This year, I turned 40 in March and she turned 50 in April. (I feel slightly guilty for divulging her age, but she looks fantastic for a 50 year old who has given birth to 8 kids, so I don't feel too bad!) Feeling the effects of time on our figures, we've both been trying to get into running lately. I thought it would be fun to do a race (I use the term "race" quite figuratively...), so we signed up for the Taylorsville Dayzz 5k.
Lorna and I didn't realize until that morning that we have matching running shoes, we both had decided to use our birthday money this year on new shoes. Here's to many more miles!
Steph decided she wanted to have a bbq with her friends for her birthday this year. Steve and I obliged, thinking it would be a "quaint little gathering" (translation: not too much work and easy on the pocketbook). However, as the preliminary figures began rolling in as to the number of invitees, I quickly realized it may not be as quaint as we had primarily thought.
But then again, you know teenagers, they tend to be a bit flaky. So I figured, "Oh surely not all of the kids invited will show up!" We figured 24 hamburgers and 16 hot dogs would be plenty, but just to be safe, Steve and I held off eating as there seemed to be a steady stream of stragglers, and we wanted to be sure everyone had a chance to eat.
Son of a gun, wouldn't you know that by the time the last 2 friends ate, their was barely a crumb left. Steve and I rushed our growling stomachs home to feast on a quick meal of Taco Bell (yuck) before I had to run off to work for the night.
But I digress. Aside from forgetting just how much teenage boys (and some girls!) can eat, the party was a huge success. We were at Murray Park, and the kids set up a homemade slip and slide on a big hill. They made it even more slippery by adding dish soap. Hope the groundskeepers don't hate us, but everyone seemed to have a lot of fun, and most important was that Steph had a great 19th birthday.
Steph on the slip and slide...
3 siblings...
She didn't see it coming...
Most of the party-goers...
Can't believe it's Steph's last year in the "teens". Live it up girlfriend! (but not too much, of course)
