The 24th of July

I am a little behind. I have a dozen ideas for posts running through my head. But first I wanted to post about our 24th of July day. It took me a long time of living in Utah to remember that Utah had a second holiday. I just could not remember the 24th of July for years. Now, I look forward to this great day of celebration for Utah. This year we had a really fun day.

Tom's sister's Stephanie and Libby's families were coming up. Tom's band was playing in the Enoch celebration, Enoch was having a party in their park where all the kids activities were free and the kids were going to be in the Enoch parade.


We had such a great time. We spent the afternoon getting the Hughes' grandkids float ready. We had a few authentic pioneers.
The kids were well stocked with candy, water guns and balloons. The
big boys dunked their heads in the water and had a blast soaking the parade spectators, especially me. Aunt Stephanie was the best sport of all as the only adult actually on the float. I am sure she had fun waving to complete strangers.


We finished up the evening in the park where we listened to Tom's band. There were also some other performances, one of which had all the adults in shocked disbelief as we watched a puppeteer sing and perform her wannabe Muppets act. I guess the kids liked it. We did enjoy Tom's band.



A couple of my nephews joined in on the pie eating contest. Cody actually won.
This is how you win a pie eating contest. Get your whole head in the action.

Lia was in total heaven as she ran around with her best friend/cousin. We all took turns waiting in the big blow-up slide line with them. They even managed to get matching face paint tattoos.

Isaac was pretty much on the lam since he was off with his cousin Cody.

The rest of us enjoyed an enjoyable evening, except for that little run in I had with the police man. But hey only a few of us know about that one and I say we keep it that way. I did, after all escape unscathed and ticketless. Can't wait for next year.

Write A Little -- An Inspiring Woman

I am busy writing up an article on job options for women so I am not writing extra stuff today but my article about the Deputy Director of Parole for Utah (who happens to be a woman) is published online at Wasatch Woman today. This woman really inspires me. She reminded me that we should reach for our dreams and never sell ourselves short. You can check out the story here
Tomorrow I will update on our fun 24th of July day.

Flaming Gorge Vacation

Our vacation started with somewhat of a miracle. Tom visited his cousin Suzy and got his long locks cut off. I could not stop staring at him. He looked normal again. Suzy also did some touchups on Becca and Isaac's hair.

Down the road from Suzy's salon is Tom's sister Stephanie. The kids got some good cousin time and Tom and I got our last few moments of alone adult time before we ventured into the wild with our kids. Thanks Steph and Clay for dinner.

Friday night we made our first camp. The campsite we wanted was full so we would end up breaking camp the next morning. We chowed down on some delicious brats and watermelon for our first dinner and in the morning Tom cooked up some pancakes and sausage. I love camping. Tom does all the camping and I love camp food. I know it's crazy. But give me a hot dog a little on the charred side and a good old steaming pot of dutch oven food followed by smores and I am in heaven.

Our first campsite.

Our second campsite had this challenging climb down to the lake. We made a couple trips where I literally held onto Lia's shirtails so she would not slip into the deep waters. There was a small shelf of rocks under the water that allowed for limited wading. But I was still wary.

My favorite view. Flaming Gorge really is beautiful and huge. We spent a lot of time sight seeing and Tom practically put skid marks on the road as he turned off at every view point with a sign. He has a thing for viewpoints. The topography of this region is amazing and diverse. One moment you are on the lake staring at towering red or limestone cliffs and the next you are in rolling green hills or staring at the backs of birds high on the cliffs surrounded by pinetrees.

One of these photos is going to end up as a painting I think.

On Sunday we spent a restful day in the tent after three agonizing hours of church in the little town of Dutch John. I know it is a terrible attitude but Becca and I were exhausted. Neither one of us had slept much Saturday night. I was so excited for a nap back in the tent as the rain pattered on the roof tent and the wind gusted at the expertly tied tent. Tom is an awesome camper. This picture of Becca is from Monday when we rented a ski boat. From the moment we got on that boat to the moment we got off three hours later, Becca was in heaven. It's as if she was made to play on lakes.

The view from the boat.

We are all smiles. This day was so fun.

Becca is brave enough to try the knee board. She did this for a good 30 minutes. She held on for about ten minutes at one time. I could barely hold on for five. It was dang difficult to hold on to the rope. But she just kept going and going. I told you she was a lake girl.

Isaac was the only one of us (Tom didn't try. He was afraid of my boat driving skills) to get himself up on his knees. He didn't do so well with the skis but he is excellent on this board.

Lia got to drive the boat.
Tom really was in his element. He was so happy on that lake, just driving that boat.

On Tuesday and Wednesday Tom had client meetings. We stayed in a hotel Monday and Wednesday night. Honestly, three nights of camping was our limit. There were a lot of good times but there was a great deal of whining as well. Wednesday we headed to the dinosaur museum in Vernal. My kids were positively gleeful in this place.

We were not supposed to touch these outdoor models. But you just try and stop these kids.

It was a great week. But I was so grateful for my own bed where I finally got a chance to sleep in.

Talkative Tuesday - A Fun Filled Summer

We have been busy. Summer is finally here and we are keeping ourselves busy doing summer things. Riding in parades, hanging out in the park, doing Primary Day activities, having birthdays, basking in the sun, going to street fairs and having our faces painted, wearing ourselves out everyday.

Friday Favorite Find

I finally have a new favorite find for Friday's post.

Today we tried out the site freerice.com. My son saw it in a magazine and wanted to try it out immediately. Here is how it works. For every vocabulary question you get right, the site donates 10 grains of rice to the UN, which uses it to fight world hunger. I know 10 grains of rice doesn't sound like a lot, but after 10 minutes Isaac had successfully earned 700 rice grains. 10 minutes is a small amount of time to give to provide a few meals for the needy.

I love this site. It teaches while serving and my son loved that he could use his uncanny vocab abilities to help the hungry.

Check it out FREE RICE

Happy Birthday Tom and Happy 4th

The 4th of July is Tom's Birthday. He is on number 39. This is not the best picture but then I am waiting for a promised haircut before I get a good photo. It has now been one year since Tom vowed to not cut his hair. I am not sure why he felt the need to go all hippy on me but he said something about "Making hay while the sun shines." He is, after all, going to be the big "40" next year.

Why I love Tom:

He is funny in a naughty kind of way that somehow always makes me laugh despite myself.

He does unexpected things like grow his hair long or take the previously unexplored trail while hiking.

He is a dreamer. He has ambitions to do things and always has whether it is traveling, starting a band or learning a new song on the piano.

Speaking of which he is a musician and I totally have a weak spot for a musician.

He loves his kids, especially that two and three year old age which I have to admit is not always my fave. This past weekend he laughed as he took on his two older kids in a one on one game of soccer in the front yard. I just thought that was adorable.

He always honors his priesthood and fulfills his church callings. I absolutely wanted a husband who did these things and as the years have passed I have come to understand how valuable this trait is in a man.

He always supports me in my writing endeavors. In fact he encourages me to get better at this skill.

He is always so gentle with me when I am feeling totally sick. I totally appreciate this since I am often unwell.

He takes pictures of sunsets for me to see later or wakes me up to see a really cool orange moon. He loves the outdoors and is constantly amazed by nature.

He is way stronger than me. I have to admit I feel all girly inside when my husband easily moves a piece of furniture or opens a jar that was giving me fits.
I love you Tom and I really don't think 39 is all that old.

The 4th of July was a great laid back kind of day and I would post pictures but I am having a hard time moving the pictures where I want. Tom started the morning early with Isaac and his Dad on the golf course. We watched our good old Cedar City parade. Rebecca got on a float at the last minute and she happily waved her flag down Main Street. We came home for a lazy lunch and then headed to see UP with some friends and family. I got a little sick during the movie theatre and for an hour or so there I thought I wasn't going to pull off the rest of the evening. Fortunately, a little rest did the trick and Tom and I cooked in the kitchen and at the barbecue together for his bar-b-que party. We made Jamaican Jerk chicken and bacon wrapped sjrimp. I felt bad that Tom was cooking on his birthday but honestly I like cooking with him so much I just could not put a stop to it. We opened presents, watched the kids throw water balloons and chilled until nighttime fell. Tom and the kids and I sat on the curb and set off a few of our own fireworks. Our new favorites are the "eyeballs" and the "Jack in the Box." It's funny but this simple few minutes was honestly my favorite part of the day. We then went and finished our evening watching both the Enoch and Cedar fireworks from a great vantage point. Our kids fell into bed with their clothes on. It was a great day.

School is out!

Well our official 1st day on no schoool is done. It was pretty laid back but I am so glad we are done for a while.
Next year the charter school has changed to a different schedule. We will get most of June off. There is just too much going on in our community in June so the school board opted for a longer summer break. Still not as long as the school district but we still get to keep some of our extra breaks, although shortened.

I actually think this will work better for us. I loved year round but I also want my kids to participate in Summer Games and other June activities.

On another note I am going to be going to the Canyon park each Thursday around Noon for the rest of the Summer break. My kids would love to have some friends to play with. Isaac is bringing his volleyball and we are just going to chill, eat and play. Please feel free to join us, those of you living here in Cedar or those of you passing through.