On Wednesday evening we headed to Centerville for a week with my parents. I didn't really have much planned (Lagoon, of course). But we fit in some other mostly fun (to a point) day trips.
My decision to go to the Great Salt Lake was based on a memory that there were lots of flies right around the edge of the water. But the reality was that there were flies everywhere. On the beach, out in the water, and they were biting. And the water was a good 1/2 mile from the road. My decision to drag a bunch of gear out to the water was a big fail. It was super hot. We didn't last long. But we made some memories, right? I took Ruger out, when it became apparent that the stroller wouldn't make it. He was worried that the bugs were messing up his hair. He liked the water until he fell in. The salt stings the eyes! So I walked him back up. As soon as I got back, the girls (who had been having fun) were over it. And Ben had started having fun. But it was time to make the hike back up. I offered a sno-cone to anyone who didn't complain on the way back up. We had several complaints turned "observations" about the conditions, flies, heat, etc. I bought everyone a sno-cone for enduring. It was an experience for sure!
The water was incredibly warm. I could have maybe even gotten all in. But of course I didn't.
It was raspberry season. Amazing picking at my parents' house!
More of the GSL (I took some on my phone and some on my good camera). This is the HOLY Cow picture!
A glimpse of the distance from the car to the water. This might be from the gift shop, so it wasn't quite this far...but it was a hike.
All 3 kids wrote postcards to Dad. I loved Sarah's synopsis. Ben's was "I went to a Great Salty Lake. It was Epic."
On Saturday Bryn took Libby for a pedicure. We all joined in (except Ben who watched the iPad).
Then we got to meet Bryn's cousin Dalton who is on Studio C. So fun! He was really great. Libby was so starstruck! But not so starstruck that she couldn't ask lots of questions and give ideas for sketches.
Libby wanted gold nails. Her current favorite color. She wants me to paint her room red and gold. Shockingly, I said no.
My mom got us tickets for Freaky Friday at the Hale Theater. It was so good! Really fun. And a glimpse into my life as I become a mother of teenagers (AHHH!)
Ben noticed the sign at the bottom of my parents street for the cemetary. He asked if we could go up there. Of course! So we walked up and saw all the Randall family graves. He was super respectful and thoughtful during the walk. And I was extra impressed that he turned down screen time to go!
Libby loves her nieces & nephews. Reagan is such a good baby!
Ben and Ruger. They had a good time playing together.
The video at the top is Shark Tank Jr. We went down and a did a shoot with Black Hat Media (my brother Brian). It was fun to see him in action in this real movie shooting environment.
That same day we went from Provo to Eden (almost 2 hour drive) to see our piano teacher and friend Laurie Shorten & her husband Steve. They moved to Eden this summer. They have a great house, great view, and awesome pool. Loved spending time catching up. We will really miss them!
Ben finally lost the 2nd front tooth. He even pulled it out himself, no nerf gun needed. (Which is good because he lost the "TOOTH" dart during the Fillmore adventure leg of the trip.)
I did some shopping at athome, my new favorite store. I came home with 2 lamps, a globe-ish book end, and a gift for Libby's upcoming bedroom makeover (it will be a very small makeover--but have to keep the family tradition alive!)
During the drive we finished 2 more books for the Norton Reading Challenge (Artemis Fowl & Alex Ryder). I also listened to Girl, Wash your Face, and Front Desk. They watched lots of movies in the car and at Mimi's. It was a fun week.
The best part was seeing how well my mom is doing. She cooked, took Libby shopping, and even skipped her nap 2 days to spend time with us. I am so happy to see her looking so much like herself again. I love her!
The day after Ben's baptism, we sent Mimi & Papa back to Utah. Then we got ready and drove on after them on Tuesday evening. We waited until after volleyball and then headed straight out. We spent the first night in Ellensburg and then drove to Utah on Wednesday to meet up with Emmi, Jen & families. It was so fun to get this huge group of kids together. By the end of the night, we were all there (husbands & kids) except Derek.
Emmi's in-laws have an amazing house. It slept all of us and had a triple decker tree house, a trampoline, swings, a sandbox, etc. The kids could have played for 2 weeks!
The Bromleys had to head out at noon for the start of their family reunion, so I took the Fillmore family to check out USU campus, including a stop at Gossner's Cheese & Aggie Ice Cream. It was so fun--and SO HOT!
Wally loves playing tetherball!
Even grown ups got into the slide (not me of course:)
Ben and Caleb
Jake on the slide too!
Emmi had 3 babies with me, now having babies with Jen!
Loving the swings!
Filling the Sandbox
Love these ladies! See you in San Diego this January!
Ben's baptism was yesterday. While learning to understand and live the gospel is a lifelong (eternal?) effort, Ben was very prepared. Over the last few months we used our family study time to study deeply each Article of Faith. He thoughtfully participates in our evening scripture study. He prays and is developing a relationship with his Father in Heaven. I'm so thankful and proud of him for choosing to be baptized. He enjoyed his special day.
The Randall contingency was small, but it was so wonderful to have Mimi and Papa with us, especially after a year when we didn't know if Mimi would be with us again. She bore a powerful testimony of how the Holy Ghost comforted her during her time in the hospital.
We had lots of Nortons with us. Grandpa Brion baptized Maren in this church building a few years back.
I am so frustrated that I forgot Ben's regular glasses. Transition lenses are great. Except when they aren't.
Jumping for joy!
Ben with Margo...he was so excited for her to be there!
The program. Things did not go exactly as planned, but that's okay. (Or so I try to tell myself.) The talks were great, the musical number was awesome. And the spirit was there. Ben was baptized and confirmed--surrounded by people who love him. That is truly all we could ask and hope for.
I would write some reminder notes to help me do a better job next time...but we are all done!
It has been a wonderful week. My kids say that they HATE the 4th of July in Seattle. But it has been pretty fun. My parents got into town on the 3rd, and we have eaten delicious food, watched fun movies, and just enjoyed each other's' company. Delightful.
We started the 4th with Red & Blue pancakes. (Not me, of course, but everyone else.) We also had lots of bacon and eggs. (I had been doing touch up paint in the sunroom for several hours, so it wasn't really the start of my day, but I digress. The Sunroom is ALMOST done...I can't wait to show some pictures of that!)
Then we dropped of the parade spectators in Edmonds.
The parade walkers then went to the staging area. It was chilly--but not too cold. And it did warm up enough by the end of the parade that I was ready to take off my sweatshirt. (Of course I was carrying the speaker so I couldn't pause to take if off.) Sarah carried a banner the whole time. Ben raced from wagon to sidlines to give out candy and then flyers. He probably doubled my step count from running back and forth. He ran out of gas by the end. But it was adorable. Libby also had a blast running from side to side, cheering, passing out candy & flyers and yelling--Go Rhinos! I think they might not admit it, but they had fun. They were sad that they didn't get any candy, but I think we made up for it with ice cream later in the weekend.
Staging fun. Ben as the Rhino.
Then we came home for a hot dog and bratwurst roast. We sat around the fire and chatted for hours with both sets of grandparents. Even Derek got to be there for dinner before he headed off for another shift. Ben did all the poppers and confetti bombs and champagne poppers that Clark gave him for his birthday (allowing us all to try some too). We played the "slips of paper" game with 3 of 4 grandparents (Geneva was putting her leg up inside). We also played a round of croquet after the Nortons grandparents went home. Grandpa Kelly schooled all of us. Ben and I took last. There was some wailing and gnashing of teeth around that. He was pretty unhappy. It can be hard to be the youngest. Then we watched Willow. I have been wanting to share that movie with them for years. It was so fun to watch together with my parents. We didn't watch fireworks. But it was a great 4th nonetheless.
