"Sweet" Reunion

I don't know if I have spoken of my Mom's side of the family on here. My Mom comes from a family of sixteen. We were all very close growing up. We were always getting together for holidays and such. I have the fondest memories as a kid with my Mom's family. One thing that made getting together so fun, was that everyone in my Mom's family is a lot of fun! They are full of energy, have great senses of humor, are "real", and are very kind. They all have these wonderful attributes. I attribute them to my Grandmother. She is one of the most amazing ladies I have every known. One time her neighbor slapped her across the cheek, and she turned her other cheek for her to slap the other one, rather than striking back with her actions or words. She was a great example to her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. I am grateful for those attributes she passed to my Mom, making her so wonderful and therefore being a great example to me.

With that said, it is always a delight to spend time with my Aunts and Uncles. There are a few Aunts that I am particularly close too, because the lived in California and I grew up with them when I was little. That is my Mom's twin sisters. They are so full of life and have the light of Christ shining from them so radiantly it's infectious. One of those twin sisters, Aunt Laura, has always been so encouraging and complimentary of Ben and I. She always tells us how proud she is of us and our little family, and how proud she is of how we handle ourselves. She is always so positive. It's been a long time since we have seen her and her husband. The last time we saw them, they stopped by in North Carolina, when I was barely pregnant with Aubrie. They took us out to dinner, and came and visited our new home.

They were supposed to visit us last year, when they were planning a cross country RV trip. A week before they left, her husband and son got in an airplane crash (they are pilots), and her husband almost died. Her faith and strength through the whole ordeal was amazing. The doctors were amazed at his recovery. A year later they started the trip they had planned before the accident. That put them here the Tuesday before our trip to Hawaii.

They wanted to surprise my Mom, so I told my Mom I wanted to take her to lunch before I left for Hawaii. When we got to Mimi's I could see them in the bar area hiding behind menus. LOL As we were walking to our table, my Aunt grabbed my Mom from behind and scared/surprised her. My Mom was happily surprised. We had a great lunch catching up. They went absolutely crazy for Sophia, and as usual they kept saying how I hadn't changed, except for the better! After lunch I took Sophia home for a nap, and they went out for the day. They dropped by later that evening, after the kids activities. The kids absolutely LOVED her! They said, "Can we have her for a Grandma, too!" They kept saying how energetic and fun she was. They are right. She LOVED the kids, and had so much fun with them. She kept telling them what great kids they were.

She wanted the tour of the house and Boston volunteered. Boston was cracking us up as he was giving her the most detailed tour I have every seen, down to the bathroom cabinets that hold the toilet paper and food in the pantry. Boston said the next day how much fun he had showing her the house! ha ha After the tour, we put the kids to bed, and sat out by the pool and enjoyed the sound of the waterfall and the cool air, as we caught up some more. We then got a tour of their RV and said our goodbyes. It was hard to say goodbye to them. They are such amazing people. I wish that we all lived in the same area so my kids could experience the fun family times I had as a kid, and also so I could see them more!:)

Mt. Humphries Or Bust

So the week before we go to Hawaii my brother Joe calls me up and asks me if I wanted to try Mt. Humphries again. My first response was, "No!" Not because I didn't want to do the hike, but in my mind I felt I didn't have the time. I hadn't packed or even begun to think about what I needed to take to Hawaii, and preparing for other things that week, like Activity Days, was making me feel busy. When I told Ben that Joe wanted to go he asked me why I wasn't. I told him I had too much going on, and when he asked me to tell him what, I couldn't really think of anything I had to get done on Saturday. Packing for myself takes less than an hour, and in reality Activity Days was already planned out. So I called my brother up and told him we were on! Aubrie decided to stay home this time, when I realized the hike was 4 hours up and 3 and 1/2 down. We did leave much later this time...about 7:00 am!

We finally picked a perfect day. No moisture and great temperatures. The hike was grueling in some spots, but overall it was very enjoyable. We made it to the saddle in about 2 hours. There we stopped for lunch and enjoyed the view, resting up for the hardest part of the hike. The last hour of the trail was through rocky tundra. There was a lot more climbing than just walking a trail. There were 3 false peaks before you got to the final one. During the last hour we passed a boyscout troop. We had gotten a good distance ahead of them, and it then became my goal to not take so many rests that it would allow for them to pass us. It's not that I cared to beat them, it just was how I paced myself. The last few hundred feet they started to close in on us, and I could hear Joe behind me saying, "They are on our heals!" I wanted to stop so bad, but I pushed up the last slope to the very top. I had to stop and catch my breath for a few minutes before I could take in this view!

We sat up top for awhile and talked to other hikers and ate some snacks. At that point I wouldn't have minded hand gliding to the bottom, or being picked up by helicopter. Ha! Knowing I had a 3 1/2 hour hike back down wasn't so appealing. We finally started our descent and it actually was quite nice. I ran the parts that had a smooth trail. Surprisingly my energy levels were high. It was all going great, until about an hour from the bottom I twisted my ankle when I stepped on a large root on the trail. It hurt so bad and I instantly wondered how in the world I was going to get down from the mountain. Then I thought, "GREAT! I was worried something like this would happen right before our Hawaii trip and it did!" I sat there wondering what to do. I knew I didn't want to be rescued! After resting for a bit, I started hobbling down the mountain. After about 15 minutes, I stopped to sit on a log and rest it. Two guys passed by and asked if I wanted them to call for help. I told them I would be alright. Joe told me we should sit there for awhile. Instantly I had the feeling that I needed to get up and keep moving. I didn't hesitate. Just a minute down the trail I passed those same guys and one of them offered me their hiking poles. Using them helped so much, and allowed me to get down much faster. I know I was prompted to get up just so I could get those.

What a great feeling it was to finally get back to the car. We stopped at the nearest gas station where we got some ice, and I iced it on and off all the way home. Despite the twisted ankle (which stopped hurting after a few days, and started hurting again after Hawaii), I was so glad to finally accomplish that hike. One more check on my bucket list! LOL

Ethan's Hero Day

In first grade they write about their favorite Hero's. When Boston was in first grade he picked the military. Ethan picked the Army. I wonder what Sophia will pick? Ha! At the end of the school day they invite the parents to come and see all the kids and their reports. The kids read their reports in front of the class. It was voluntary. At first, Ethan didn't want to read. It only took a few kids doing it to change his mind. The second to last line in his report was, "I want drive their tanks and shoot the bad guys.". It got a few laughs. At least he knows what their used for.

Some missed summer events!

Going through my photo library I realized I missed some important stuff! Since this is our family journal I don't like to leave anything out!

Here are some pictures from the day that our friends, the Waishnora's, were sealed in the temple. We carpooled with the Hawkins and decided it was time to get some pictures in front of the Mesa temple.

Once when we got inside, unbeknown to me, I was to escort Jen throughout her day. It was so great being in the brides room with her and being able to be with her every step. I even see the nursery, when she put her kids in there. It was AMAZING to me how well behaved all the kids were, even down to the infants. It was the most peaceful nursery I have every been in! It was an amazing sealing, not a lot of dry eyes. What an amazing blessing it is for families to be sealed forever! It was such a great moment. What a great family!

After some pictures, we stopped at Cafe Rio for some lunch, and ran into a lot of people from the sealing. Go figure!

After all the diving, swimming, etc, was done this summer, I was feeling a little disconnected from my friends. I called (who am I kidding....texted) Erin, and told her it was time to get together for some swimming. I thought it would be great to invite a few other friends to catch up, and in the end it became a huge swim party. I provided chicken salad sandwiches, and PB&J's for the kids, and had everyone bring their favorite summer dish. It was great bringing everyone together. Life goes so fast during this stage in life, its harder to maintain friendship like we used to. The food was yummy, the kids had fun, and I think the Mom's may have had more fun chatting, eating, and having some adult interaction!:) Definitely something we need to do at least once a summer!

Last but not least, one of Ethan's contraptions.