Utah Family Reunion

So amidst the business of selling our house and moving, along came our family reunion in Utah.  I knew we could not miss it despite our move because its just so important for the kids to spend time with their cousins, so with Kevin off to start his new job in Texas, I loaded up the kids and drove to Utah.  The trip went really well.  My kids were great.  They are all at such a great stage now that things like this are possible.
We stayed at a lodge called the Cliff at Snowbird.  It was really nice.  The only sad part was that Scott and Jeff and Jenn and Co. were not able to make it.  But it was just a beautiful location and we had lots of rooms all next to each other so my kids just had a great time visiting with their cousins and I had a great time with the Grigors and my parents.

Heres some pictures of a hike we "attempted"  It was primarily unsuccessful because of Emmitt.  He wanted to throw rocks, not walk, so it was a very short hike.

We spent a fun day at Trafalga (or Seven Peaks Fun Center as they now call it)

For the July 4th weekend Kevin flew out.  We spent that special day at the resort enjoying the cool activities there.  We did the gondola, rode the mountain coaster, the alpine slide, the mountain flyer, the ropes course, the rockwall, and rode the chair lifts.  It was a fun day!

When we got to the top of the mountain on the chairlift, we found snow.  How often do you get to play in the snow on the fourth of July!  There was snowball fights and the older boys even slid down the hill on their stomachs.  The snow was a hit!

And we celebrated Kevins birthday with some cupcakes.  Emmitt and Sadie were loving putting the candles in.

We had the special opportunity to take Brayden to do baptisms at the temple for the first time.  It was great for him to be there with both his parents and his cousins.  We were at the Oquirrh Mountain temple which and it was lovely.

On Sunday, the crew went to Temple Square and took this beautiful picture that I love.  (I was sick so I didnt make it there) Notice how cute Emmitt and Sadie are looking at each other.  Those two had a good time together.

 

Sunday afternoon Grandpa organized a "Chopped" cooking competition for the grandkids.  They were divided into three teams -Makenna & Daniel, Brayden & Lucas, and Ben & Brielle.  They each had their own kitchens and were given the same mystery ingredients to concoct a special dish with.  Then the judges chose a winner.  The kids really got into it and we were so impressed with what cool kitchen creations they came up with.

And no trip to Utah would be complete without a trip to BYU.  The kids (and Kevin) raided the bookstore and then we went to eat at the creamery.  This was all after a day at seven peaks waterpark in Provo.  So we partied hard and lived it up.  We just love Utah/ Provo/ and BYU.

 On our very last day, we were visited by Ginger and Amy & co.  We had dinner and went for a swim.  Its always so fun to get together.  Im grateful for cousins!

After about 10 days of family togetherness, we had to make the drive back home.  We were having such a good time, the kids did not want to leave.  But luckily while we away, our house sold so the day after we got back, I left for house hunting in Texas.   And so our adventure continues...

Riding Bikes

The kids are having a lot of fun with their bikes this year.  Emmitt prefers to zoom around on his balance bike (with no wheels) but he also does pretty well on the bike with training wheels too.

Working away...

So Kevin started at Dr Pepper Snapple on June 30.  We thought it was pretty cool that they used this picture to introduce him.  Apparently its famous now around the office.

A Farewell Party

The Tolman family was kind enough to throw us a goodbye gathering with all our dear friends from the ward and the stake.  It was a very nice evening and a great chance to say goodbye to the great people we have known while we were here.

For Sale

It's been sad every time Ive put a house up for sale.  We spent longer here than anywhere yet in our married life so its especially hard to let go of this house.  So many great memories...

The Owens

The Owens are headed out to Denver with a new job prospect  We wish them all the best.  They've been like family to us here in Omaha and I know we'll be friends forever.  We'll miss them so much.  Them leaving sure makes it a little easier for us to leave too.  Its so sad but true... all good things must come to an end.

Brayden's 1st Boy Scout Summer Camp

This was a fun week for Brayden, as he spent it at his first summer camp with the Boy Scouts.  This year's camp was especially unique because our Troop decided to put on their own Summer Camp and book-ended it with church focused, spiritual activities.  At camp he earned 5 merit badges (Cooking, Environmental Science, Wilderness Survival, Kayaking, and Orienteering) and completed his board of review for Star rank.

The camp schedule by day was as follows:

• Sunday evening: mini-mission experience with the full-time missionaries, visiting less active members of the ward to share a message... Brayden had the "true" mission experience in that he and his companion were turned away at each of the 3 homes they tried to visit :-)
• Monday: they spent the night at a leader's home and woke up early to do a companionship study, followed by a couple hours of service ("hard labor" as he called it) at a member's farm, followed by a mini-zone meeting at the Church.  Then they headed off to camp at Platte River State Park and set up camp

This is a picture of the camp kitchen our Troop set up - the most vital part of the campsite

• Tuesday:  merit badge classes and then took shelter from a series of severe thunderstorms in the basement of the camp's lodge (as you can see from the photos below - the leaders zonked out fairly quickly ... while the boys played board games and watched Disney videos)  Though the leaders and parents were quite nervous about the storms (which brought softball-sized hail to some of the surrounding areas) the boys had a great time playing games and visiting with other campers who sought shelter with them.  It turned out to be quite the missionary experience because the boys held their evening fireside in the shelter and invited the other campers to participate.

As you can see - the leaders zonked out quickly...

Brayden is on the middle couch in the baby blue blanket

Fishing

• Wednesday:  they went back to camp to assess the damage, to find that only one tent (a leader's tent) had been washed out -- the rest of camp was unscathed.  They continued with merit badge work and then went fishing and swimming in the lake for the evening activity.  Brayden successfully hauled in a 3 pound bass and was the talk of the camp because of it! 

 

3lb Bass!  Way to go Bray!

 

• Thursday:  finished up merit badge work, built their shelters for the Wilderness Survival merit badge (which they slept in over night Thursday) and went kayaking.

  

Kayaking in the lake - Brayden is in the blue kayak in the left of the photo

Brayden in his shelter he built for the Wilderness Survival merit badge (in my day, we were not allowed to use tarps... boys nowadays have become quite soft...)

Brayden (on the right) and Tyler sleeping soundly in the shelter

Brayden's first time shooting a .22 rifle -- he is the third from the left

•  Friday:  broke down camp, had fun at the rifle range and then headed south to Missouri to visit historical Church sites: Far West and Adam-ondi-Ahman.  At Adam-Ondi-Ahman, the boys had a wonderful testimony meeting and felt the spirit of that sacred place.  We then went to a state park in Missouri and camped for the night.

 

 

 

Far West Missouri - on the grounds of the temple site

Kevin and Brayden at Adam-ondi-Ahman at the crest of Spring Hill

The Valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman

Testimony meeting at Adam-ondi-Ahman

• Saturday:  toured Liberty Jail where the Prophet Joseph Smith was jailed for 5 months and while incarcerated, received the revelations contained in sections 121, 122, and 123 of the Doctrine of Covenants.  We then visited the grounds of the Kansas City temple, and then headed back to Omaha, unloaded the gear and went home.

In front of the Liberty Jail

Outside of the Kansas City Temple

The peaceful ride home...

Overall, the camp was a wonderful experience.  No one was injured, the food was quite edible, and everyone had a great time bonding in the wild.  I am grateful for wonderful youth leaders who sacrificed many hours of their personal time to ensure our boys had a memorable and spiritual experience.