Of Summertime, Parades, Reunions, Camping and such...

I realize that it has been almost a solid month since I've posted but - like many of you - I've been a little busy. Here are some hi-lights of summer 2008 thus far...

We finally got to hang with the Paris crew and meet Gavin for the first time. We took no photos of the grown ups but the kids were the best looking anyway. Diggity and Ruby hit it off and Gavin was about as cute as he could be. This was July 24th - a day that lives in infamy in my memory as well as that of a certain friend's father ;) In addition to partying with the neighborhood fam, BB and I ran the Des News 10K and had a great time with that. He is just about ready to tangle LOTOJA and I was foolish enough to sign up for the Top of Utah HALF marathon. I guarantee it will be my ONLY 13.1 mile run - EVER. As much as I want to be as cool as Whittney, it's just not working.

My brother's little boy, Ian Kent, joined our family this summer and we all got together with cousins for a pre-24th of July barbecue and fireworks display - the kind where the kids get to pick the fireworks and then their choice of display is named after them (e.g. "presenting the Blakely Burner!")


The kids were a hit at the Swedish Midsummer festivities!

Have I mentioned that I love our back alley? Anushka's good buddy, Livi, is always up for a bike ride or kite flying while her mom gives the kids rides on the scooter (love ya Whitt)

We took off with some friends to camp in the mountains - it was fun but slightly stressful. There was a raging river directly behind our tent so we were always on the lookout for little ones who might get too curious. That little cutie in the pink chair is Leia - Anushka's buddy that will be in the same kindergarten class in a few short weeks (is that possible?)

Can you ever get dirty enough on a camping trip?

The river wild.


And speaking of camp, it was time again for LB to head out on a couple different trips with the young women - this year featured another gross lake (full to the brim with some sort of green sludge), zip lines, ropes courses, drama, and a group of absolutely hilarious women who were up there as leaders and definitely made all situations much more comical than they otherwise would have been...

Memory Tag

So, it's been a rough couple days. Yesterday a good friend of mine passed away - WAY too young. Today BB got hit by a car while on his bike - NO WORRIES - he's ok, just a little banged up. His bike is another story. Anyway, I saw this post on my cousin's blog and it looked like just the thing to cheer me up - so DO IT - or not, whatever...
Here's how you play:1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember.2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory of you. It's actually pretty funny to read the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Shout Out to Janae

So, a few days ago, we got the 'black screen of death' on our computer. I'm still in a little bit of panic mode because (of course) it has been awhile since I have backed up files with photos and other important information. We're not sure how much we can recover at this point and I'm trying to stay calm. So, I was just checking out some of my friends' blogs and I guess the same thing has happened recently with Janae's computer - and her recent post reminded me to 'not sweat the small stuff' and just enjoy the extra time I have without my computer. Thanks Janae! :)

BirthWeeks

Last week, while in St. George with Whitty, we joked about how we would celebrate her birthWEEK instead of just the one day. It was a great excuse to take her on our 'YW' activity in the first place and for extra presents. So this week, we continued the tradition with Diggity's numero tres. He doesn't think he's three and just says, "That's a 'w'" when you show him his age with your fingers. However, he definitely wasn't turning down the presents that came with turning three...

Dig's papa insisted that he start golfing young.

His parties consisted of jumping, swimming, and eating way too much sugar (including the frosting off his ENTIRE cake)

I Want To Believe

...That this will be a good movie

I Have No Idea How They Measure This...

Movie Reviews

But I'll take it

40th Birthday, Reunion, and Such...

Happy Birthday BB!! The big 4-0 was last Thursday and was celebrated by many friends and family members. It was great to see some old friends as well as newer ones and, thankfully, the weather pretty much cooperated because 50 people in our house would have been a little scrunchy.



The piñatas were a big hit with the kids...

Proof that Whitt really loves Jason;)

From the birthday, we headed up to Cache Valley for BB's annual family reunion. The kids had a great time hanging out with their cousins - who treat them like gold. We always love this reunion and have a great time catching up with everyone.