Summer Time!!

Hello there!  Now that it's twenty twelve, I'm planning on hitting the ground running!  I'm going to catch up on my memories, so I'm overviewing the wonderful Summer we had.

In July,

-We had a blast at Hogle Zoo with Grandma and the Gittins (that sounds like it should be some sort of crazy rock band name, doesn't it? "Grandma and the Gittins" has a nice ring to it!)

-We attended our cousin Emily's baby blessing

-We celebrated Independence Day in Oakley with the Rodeo, Parade, Food, and Family!

I love, love, love this picture!

-We had to leave the Oakley festivities early to head down to San Diego for the Bar Convention (we watched the fireworks from the freeway). We went with friends from the firm and had a great time in Sunny CA!

-We played at the beach

-We went to Lego Land.  Disneyland it ain't, but we still had fun.  The best part was the mini cities they built.

-We had a blast at SeaWorld



  -Our last day in San Diego was spent touring the USS Midway. It was really neat!

-Jen went to Park City for the weekend for a Girls Only Trip with Denise, Jill, and MomNancy. We had a blast zip lining, alpine sledding, hiking, shopping, and eating!

-We went to a Bees Game with the whole family

-We celebrated Jason's birthday at the Spaghetti Factory (surprise, surprise!)

-We went to Lagoon for Harper's birthday

-We said goodbye to the Gittins family. We miss them so much!

-Ryan and I hiked up to Adam's Canyon's waterfall with Amanda and Jay

-We celebrated Grandpa Blair's birthday up in the canyon and roasted hot dogs and S'Mores

-We enjoyed our annual neighbor/friends fireworks night in our front yard

-Braiden enjoyed basketball camp at the SportsPlex

-Ryan and I saw Idina Menzel in concert up at Deer Valley!

In August,

-Had a great backyard BBQ at our house with friends from the firm

-Katie and Lauren had a blast at Girls Camp

-We took the girls to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Hale Center.  It was awesome!

-We did lots of school shopping (two teenage girls, one picky sports loving boy, and one kid who outgrows everything in a matter of weeks....you do the math!)

-We saw the "UP" house at the Parade of Homes with Amanda and Jay.  It was so cute!

-Soccer started back up again for the boys

-The kids got all dressed up for the first day of ninth, seventh, third, and first grades!!



-Ryan completely surprised me with a trip for our 16th wedding anniversary.  He has tried to surprise me many times before, but always unsuccessfully. This time he pulled it off!  We went to Disneyland for a few days and had a wonderful time just being together

-We had a fun-filled FHE with the Dawson family!

Whew!!  What a fun summer we had!  We made a lot of great memories. What a great family I have!  I am so grateful for all of the wonderful people I share my life with!

Small Town Patriotism

Growing up, July 4th meant that my whole family went to Raging Waters for the day...cousins, aunts and uncles, etc. It was a fun tradition, but not very patriotic, but good nevertheless. We would then always end up at my Aunt Kathy's house for a summer BBQ and watch the Davis High fireworks from her driveway across the street (best seats ever!!). Good memories!!

I love the 4th of July holiday...I've always felt a sense of reverence and respect when it comes to our country and it's history. The stories of the Revolution always fascinated me. I was always told growing up that we lived in the greatest country God had ever put on this earth, and I believed it.

I think part of this appreciation has to do with the unlimited respect I have for my dad. He is a true patriot. Growing up, he never talked a lot about the service he has given for our country, but we somehow always knew about his sacrifice. He had served in Vietnam and was in the Army Reserves when I was growing up. We would see him in his uniform a lot and knew it meant a lot to him. He is a wonderful example to me of a true American. I'm so proud of him.

The summer Ryan and I were engaged, he took me to Oakley for the July 4th celebration. I had never really even heard of Oakley before I met him. What on earth do you do there for the 4th of July? He had talked up the festivities pretty big, saying that it's the best way to celebrate America's Independence. I was a little skeptical going into it, but I'm here to tell you that he was absolutely right!! I haven't missed an Oakley July 4th celebration since!

We start out by gathering at Grandma Roberta's house. It is right in the middle of town and is right on the parade route. We visit with family members, set up our parade chairs, gather on her porch, and wait for the fun to begin.

Here I am waiting for the parade to start by holding little Cora in her darling red, white and blue dress. What a sweet baby!! I love this kid!

The parade is definitely small by most people's standards. Only a handful of floats, one high school band, a fire truck or two, and lots of horses, but that's OK. The kids love the parade. We get to sit so close and usually a family member or two is in the parade...plus, we get lots of candy. What is not small is the crowd that comes to see the parade. Tons and tons of people...I can't believe that many people can fit into this small town...I love it!! The amount of American pride in this small town is unbelievable, it's very inspiring.

This year the parade was interrupted because a horse tripped, sending it's rider to the hospital with a broken leg. The horse also suffered from a broken leg and had to be put down. It was sad. But overall, the parade was great! I have grown to love to love the small town parade!!

After the parade, everyone heads over to the town meeting hall for a small town patriotic program. When I first started coming up to Oakley, Grandma used to write the program every year. I remember she would start writing it around January and finish tweaking it mid June. She always did such a wonderful job. Her grandson, Joe has since taken over that job. He is a history major and a very good writer. I love listening to the program because it helps me to focus on what we are celebrating. I love learning more about what our forefathers did to create this country of ours. There is always a community choir and the musical numbers are great. There are always neat and touching stories about war, peace and what being an American is all about. What a fun, home town tradition!!

After the program, it's time to eat!! The whole extended family gathers in Grandma's backyard for a feast. It is always so good and we love the chance to visit with each other and catch up on what's going on.

This year, Grandma purchased a huge inflatable water slide for all of the kids. They, of course, had a blast! We were out there for the rest of the day, playing and laughing.

Grandma has a huge property, so we put it to good use by playing a friendly game of water balloon volleyball. We had a blast, but I don't think Ryan or I should quit our day jobs....though Katie and Lauren were pretty good!



Here are some cute close-ups of the kiddos having a great time....

The day ends with a trip to the Oakley Rodeo. It is a blast. Before I married Ryan, I had only been to one rodeo. Now we go every year. We love it! The kids are getting old enough now, that we can actually sit for the whole thing! It was a really good rodeo this year, too. The bull riding was the best (as usual).

I thought this was a fun picture of us waiting for the rodeo to start. Tanya turned the camera at an angle, so cute! Katie loves that cowgirl hat that Grandma Geneal bought her one year. Now she never goes to the rodeo without it!



During the rodeo, Uncle Jason and Ethan started being silly. Uncle Jason is always so cute with my kids!! They love him to death!

Bareback riding...good stuff!

Dad and Ethan just chillin'. I could have just watched them all night instead of the rodeo and been a very happy mom.

Gotta love the bull riding!!

The day ended with a very good fireworks display. I love everything about this holiday, especially now that I spend it in Oakley every year. These wonderful people really know how to honor this special day and I'm grateful for the chance to participate!

Happy 4th of July, everyone!!!