Big Trip

I've been putting this blog post off for a bit because it was overwhelming - so many pictures to organize. I finally conquered them, so here you go!

We went to Utah for the annual family reunion, but left a few days early so that we could be with Father on Father's Day. The kids and I gave Stan, and we all gave Father, each an owl tie.

The next day, we went to one of my favorite places - Snow Canyon. Rachel was messing around with my camera in the car and took this inexplicable picture.

One of the things I love about Snow Canyon is all the different colors of rock - black lava flows, read and white sandstone. Its so pretty.

The kids climbed some petrified sand dunes.

We saw lots of little tiny tracks and...

...a couple dragonflies.

We found the canyon trail that we went on last fall and took it again.

It seemed about 20 degrees cooler in the shade.

Our nephew Tristan did some climbing...

...and found some interesting rocks.

We spent the next day doing laundry and getting ready for camping. The last few years, the family reunion has been on Pine Valley mountain. It is a great place to camp. This year especially, it had everything a good camping spot should have, starting with lots of dirt. This is Naomi about five minutes after we got out of the car.

Of course, the best way to improve dirt is to find a cousin to make mud with. Toddler heaven.

There were lots of cousins and lots of pine trees...

...fun places to sit...

...good food...

...and piles and piles of dessert.

Stan's coworker told him that roasted Starbursts were delicious. I was underwhelmed. Give me a good old s'more.

We saw a few deer...

...and Uncle Will caught a fish.


Oh, joy.

I fed my inner pyromaniac by building and maintaining lots of fires.

There was rest (sort of)...

...and relaxation. (What a lot of pretty girls!)

We left straight from the camp out on Friday to go north to stay with Derek and Holly for Genola Days. Kate came with us and her blow dryer was a little too noisy for her cousin.

Genola Days was a ton of fun. There was a parade with a giant chicken float.

There was a carnival and...

...our niece Natalie was one of the performers that took to the stage set up in the park.

The rodeo was the highlight. In between the events, they had activities for the kids.

The 2-5 year olds raced for candy.

People donated kittens, bunnies and chickens for the 6-9 year olds to chase and adopt as pets.

Finally, the 10-14 year olds got to chase the Cash Calf, a young bull with bills ranging from $1 to $20 duct taped all over him. It was pretty entertaining to watch :)

Heather and...

...Kate each got a dollar.


Here are some more rodeo pictures. I liked the bare back riding and the fireworks best.



Sunday, after church in Genola, we headed to Orem to see some friends and then took a short drive up Provo Canyon to Bridal Veil Falls.

Lots of people were wading at the base of the falls, but we were the only ones looking out of place in our Sunday clothes. It took multiple washings to get the mud out of Gwen's white skirt, but it was worth it.

Sunday night we were back in St. George, where I caught a toad in the front yard. I showed it to a cluster of kids and made my sister-in -law scream by surprising her with it, but I didn't kiss it because...

...I already have Prince Charming.

The 3rd of July

Our ward had a pancake breakfast...

(here's Michael making a face while we were there because he is a cheeseball)

...and then we went to the beach.


While I loathe seaweed, Gwen collects it, every time we visit the beach. I don't mind as long as she doesn't make me hold it on my lap on the way home...

We left Summer, Rachel and Heather in Utah for a couple weeks and got to have our niece and cousin, Nikki, as an exchange daughter. She was a lot of fun to have around and the main reason we went to the beach. The beach is always worth the trip, but this look on her face was the icing on the cake.

Here I am being boring, just sitting in the shade, but Stan and I both went swimming later.

We also drove around to the nearby campgrounds to get an idea of where we might want to camp near the beach - any advice?

Phone Pictures

I got a new phone a couple of months ago and finally took the time to get the odds and ends pictures off of it.

We took a trip to the Redlands Temple grounds as a family on our ward temple night.

Gwen and Heather each competed at the end of the year competition their ballroom dance club at school has each spring.

They both did well :)

Happy Fourth of July!

Michael and I were the ones who wore red, white and blue to church today, so I asked Gwen to take our picture after church. She discovered how much fun it was to be behind the lens, pushing the shutter button, and took a whole bunch of pictures. I asked Michael which one I should put on the blog and here is the one he picked. What a sweetie :)

Wildflowers

Stan has been doing a lot of field work lately.

The other day, he picked me some of the flowers he found blooming.

They are desert plants so the blossoms are on the small side, but I like how delicate they look in a vase.

I had fun taking pictures of some of them close up.

A Poem by Kelly

A sliding snake will slide to the lake.

He sneaks on a boat and sails away.

Goodbye little snake and have a good day.

Before and After

Happy Early Birthday

Happy Birthday Summer!

We will be separated by a few hundred miles from our eldest daughter on her upcoming birthday this year, so we had an early birthday dinner with gifts and Baked Alaska. It is a layer of Quick After Battle Triple Chocolate Cake and with one and a half quarts of Reese's Peanut Butter Cup ice cream smothered in meringue. Here she is, counting out her seventeen candles.

It took three people to light them all.

Summer didn't want a video of herself on the blog (you'll be able to figure that out for yourself it you watch it), so I combined the video of her cake with the audio from the end of the birthday song and I hope I am not in trouble!

The School Year is Over

We had one daughter (standing near her friend Alanna during the ceremony) promote from elementary school to middle school...

...and another take advantage of some newly acquired free time.

A Week with Grandma and Grandpa

My parents came for a week. We had a wonderful time with them. Here is a small sample of what we did. I was too busy having fun to take pictures of everything :)

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They arrived on a Saturday and Grandma Buppie opened her suitcase to find that the TSA had moved stuff around enough in her luggage that the box of quinoa she was bringing us exploded. Just for the record, it is delicious, even after being salvaged from a suitcase!


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Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa came to church with us and heard Rachel give a talk. She did really well.

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Monday we headed to San Diego. We started at the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center. Everyone loved it. The Church recently remodeled the displays and it was a lot of fun. Grandpa Dale introduced Michael to a big gun.

Everyone had a chance to pan for gold.

Naomi LOVED pumping water.


I think my mom's and my daughter's profiles look similar in this picture. What do you think?

I should have timed the people who were panning for gold. They kept at it for a while. My dad was having as much fun as anyone, which brings to mind the expression, "Boys will be boys and so will a lot of middle aged men."

There was a tower you could climb to look out over Old Town San Diego.

Michael needed a little bit of help with the binoculars.

There he goes!

It took some effort to drag everyone away from their prospecting, but we were getting hungry.

On the way out, Gwen was fantasizing about leading a wagon train...

...and Michael found an even bigger gun!

Everyone who wanted one got a small nugget of fool's gold from the prospectors, but this was my favorite souvenir :)


After the Mormon Battalion Site, we went out to lunch, then to Mission Beach where Grandpa, Summer and Rachel rode a roller coaster and the younger kids played in the water and sand.

On the way back home, my parents treated us to Italian food at Vigilucci's, which was so close to the beach that we could see the water. It was delicious.

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Tuesday, we recuperated a bit and went to see Gwen's school play.

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Wednesday, we took off to the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology. We also stopped at the Graber Olive House and Handel's Ice Cream.

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Thursday, I let Gwen skip school and she, Michael and Kelly woke up really early (hence the lack of cheer) and put on their overalls and went fossil hunting with Grandpa!

Thursday night, we ate at a local Mexican restaurant I really like. After dinner, my mom, Summer, Rachel, Heather and I went to the Art Walk downtown.

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Friday, we went to the farmer's market and picked up lots of yummy things. For dinner that night, we ate corn on the cob, artichoke, and watermelon radishes. My mom also bought us some flowers :)

Since my dad had done stuff with all the other kids, he took just Heather on a date to see Shrek in 3D Friday afternoon.

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Saturday, Kelly was baptized. This is the dress my mother made when I was baptized. My sisters and I each wore it and five of our girls have, too.

Summer played the cello while the sisters of the two children being baptized sang. Here they are practicing before the baptism started.

When we got back to the house, my dad and I tortured everyone by taking multiple pictures before we ate. You can see my mom and dad, as well as our cousin Lorna, who was so kind to come for Kelly's big day :)

Everyone recovered from starving in front of the camera by filling up on taco salad and trifle. Yum!

After lunch, my parents hit the road for more adventures, beginning with a drive up the coast. Thanks Dad and Mom for coming!