Francis Peak

From our house, we can see Francis Peak...

This is what you see when you look at the satellite bally things on the top of the mountain through a big red telescope. (John knows what they are.)

This is the crazy, SCARY, road up the mountain.

This is what happens when you don't take a nap during nap time. I was actually jealous of her ability to sleep through the terrifying drive.

This is the beautiful view once we reached the top.

This is the big red telescope that is now at the top of the mountain.

This is the gorgeous sunset that we were able to witness

And the beautiful moon as seen through the telescope. Awesome picture John! Thanks for giving us such a memorable night!

Road Trip!!!

The end of July we took a road trip to Panguitch, Utah to go to a family reunion for all of my great grandfather's descendants on my mom's side. I love going to these reunions, even though I hardly know anyone there. We camp at my great Uncle's beautiful ranch, and there are plenty of activities for the kids. On the way, we decided to take a rest stop at Cove Fort. It was a fun little spiritual experience for us all.

The ranch was gorgeous this year, and our kids loved the stream that was right by our tent site...EEekk. Luckily it wasn't too swift or deep. Johnny went through every extra pair of shorts that I brought for him in the first day.

One of the activities was a fly tying class. I love fishing, it brings back fond memories of the summers in Panguitch visiting Grandma and fishing with my Uncle Rex. I hope to take a fly fishing class someday so that I can take my kids. I have only been fly fishing twice, but I loved it both times.

We stopped by Red Canyon on the way home, it was beautiful. Someday we plan on going a little further and spending a few days in Bryce Canyon.

A day with the girls

A few weeks ago (this shows how far behind I am in my blogging), I was able to spend a day with our nieces Valerie and Emily. They were so fun to visit with, and very patient with the chaos in our house that day. Emily brought her adorable little boy, Asher, such a cutie. Lucy still asks about him.




I thought that it might be fun to spend some time doing something that they don't usually get to do, so we raided John's work room and made some shelves. Asher was so good and just played through all of the noise.




Valerie and Emily both did an excellent job with their shelves. My shelves are still in the process of getting sanded and painted, but I will post a picture of them when I finish.

Read all about it: Big foot found in messy room

So, I sent Hannah to her room to tidy it up the other day. I tell her to tidy it every day, but Hannah's definition of tidy is much different than mine. How do you tidy a room that has a designated mess pit, consisting of shredded paper, for her webkinz to "play in." We deep clean it once a week, and that is a big job. Even tidying once a day is a little overwhelming to a girl who is constantly in the middle of some art project or make-believe stuffed animal drama where her entire room is the stage. The point of my story is, because of the chaos and her overactive imagination, it is easy for her to get distracted. Sadly, she comes by it honestly.

This is what I found when I went to check on her progress. 10 socks on each foot, and yes, all together that makes 40 socks which were folded and nicely put away in their drawers. They had fun though, and I figured "it's summer, why not." Though Hannah didn't get to play computer or with friends for most of the day because her room had to be clean first. Personally, I was okay with that. She enjoyed her brother and her socks just as much as she could have enjoyed anything else. Eventually the deprivation got to her, though, and she buckled down and tidied her room.

Memory lane has changed for the better.

I just had to include this first picture because it marks an awful day that we decided to relive last month. We decided to take our family to the Bingham copper mines for the first time in 7 years. The last time we went...well...this happened. ...but this family outing was WONDERFUL from beginning to end. The kids had a great time at the copper mine...

...and hiking Ensign Peak at sunset was beautiful.

Pioneer weekend

On Friday the 23rd, we headed to Bancroft for the Pioneer Day celebration. We decided to take the scenic route through Logan so that we could hit some of the great factories and so that John and I could reminisce about our dating and newly-wed days.

We stopped by:

the Logan Temple, where we were married,

Aggie Ice cream (Lucy was sad that she had to share with dad),

Our first home, which sadly is now just a cement pad. The on-campus trailer court where we lived will be torn down in 2011, so many of the trailers are gone or gutted. It was such a fun place to live.

The Willow Park Zoo, where we saw a pretty amazing albino porcupine.

Gosner's Cheese Factory

The Fat Boy Factory, and

Pepperige Farm.

To say the least, our large cooler was PACKED!

When we reached Bancroft, one of the first things my mom said to me was: "I need to go and cut down some more sage brush." It was then that I came to the knowledge of my fate for the next day. Not only would I help her cut down a big load of sagebrush, but I would star on her parade float for the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. It wasn't bad at all, though it was pretty hot. I enjoyed seeing many of my friends that I wouldn't have been able to see had I been on the sidelines.

The kids loved gathering the massive amounts of candy that were thrown from the floats.

And just to give you a taste of what the parade was like, here are a couple pictures for your enjoyment. Gotta love Bancroft!

So...how's Lucy?

Sometimes I like to ask Lucy how she is doing, she always replies the same way..."goog". Sometimes I ask her 5 or 6 times a day because I love hearing the way she says the word good. It makes my day. Here are a few other things that make my day:

Her style: she is already picking out lovely things to wear as you can see from the picture above.

Her manners: she is learning how to say "thanks mom" after meals and she can finally reach the countertop so she can clear her own plate and cup off of the table.

Her kisses: I can't really call her my little blonde Eskimo, like my mom used to call me, since she is a Utah native. But I am happy to say that Lucy has learned how to give Eskimo Kisses. I used to give my mom Eskimo Kisses when I was younger and feel lucky to get them from my own children now.