Summer Fun!

Okay, it's been a while but what can I say? Life is crazy as usual! Here's what's been going on with our family.

Sara got her ears pierced! It was a very exciting day for her. She was nervous but she did real well and she looks so grown up now!
We had an awesome 4th of July. We had breakfast with friends and watched the parade, then we had lunch at Kent's Aunt Carolyn's house and the kids got to swim in her pool. Then we went to Kent's Aunt Mary's house down by the river and ate dinner and watched the fireworks. It was a long fun day!Brandon in the parade

Tyler and Brock watching the parade

Ashley, Sara and Neisah

Fireworks!

It was a long day for Sara!

And some fun news, we made an awesome purchase this summer. We bought two tandem bikes and it has been a blast! We took them down to the greenbelt on the 4th and rode them around with the kids. They are SO fun!

San Francisco Weekend

It's been a little hectic the last few weeks so I'm a little behind on my posts. But I wanted to post some pics from my very fun girls weekend in San Francisco last month. For Ashley's 19th birthday I gave her a weekend getaway. It was a selfish gift, I'll admit. A weekend getaway for Ashley means a weekend getaway for me! We took our friends, Angela Sayer and Carrie Taggart and spent 3 fun days in the city by the bay. The weather was absolutely wonderful - in the 80's all weekend. We went to see Wicked, the BEST musical ever! We also spent a day on Fisherman's Wharf, visited Alcatraz and shopped at Union Square. FUN TIMES!!

Goodbye for now

My grandma has been in a home for the past several years. She had Alzheimer's Disease. This was a very hard disease for her because for years she knew that she was getting progressively worse. It was hard to imagine my spunky grandma with such a terrible disease. She has always been so funny and full of life. Her life was spent serving others. She was loved by everyone that knew her and was a wonderful example to me. I have so many fond childhood memories of her and of spending time with her at her home in California. My grandpa has been gone for 26 years and she never thought she would live this long without him. The last few years have been hard because the disease had progressed to the point that she didn't know people and didn't do anything but sit in a chair or lay in bed. She didn't speak and couldn't eat on her own. She is finally free from her mortal body and has been reunited with her sweetheart and all of her family that has gone before her. I can't even imagine the reunion going on in heaven! She was 94 years old. Last weekend we traveled to Santaquin, Utah to attend the graveside service for her. My dad and uncle made some remarks and then my dad dedicated the grave. After the service we all went to a park in Provo and had lunch and spent hours visiting with cousins, aunts and uncles. It was a great reunion. I have missed my grandma for a long time and will miss her always. But I'm so happy for her and I'm so glad to have so many wonderful memories of her.

The grandsons and great-grandsons were the pallbearers
My boys with their great grandma in 2001
My girls with their great grandma in 2002

Jazz Game

Yesterday Kent and I took a somewhat unexpected trip to Salt Lake. Let me explain. We bought Jazz season tickets for next year and as a bonus, we got this year's playoff tickets. Our plan was to sell the playoff tickets and hopefully make some money to help pay for the season tickets. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) our tickets for last night's game didn't sell. Well, we couldn't just let them go unused! So we got in the car and headed to Salt Lake. We had some theater business to do anyway so it was kind of a business trip! Anyway, we got there early enough to go to dinner, walk around the Gateway for a while and then go to the game. We've been to some good Jazz games but this one had to be the best one by far. The crowd was wild! We felt like we were at a rock concert and our ears didn't stop ringing for about an hour after the game! The first half was good - The Jazz led all the way. Then during the 3rd quarter, the Lakers took the lead most of the quarter and we started to wonder. Then the 4th quarter was completely exciting! The crowd was on their feet most of the quarter because it was back and forth so much. It was a nail biter up to the end and the Jazz beat the Lakers by just 2 points. It was such a fun game to watch! And it was so fun to have a last minute getaway with Kent!

Las Vegas getaway

Last week Kent and I went to Las Vegas for Showest (that's the theater industry trade show). I was so excited to get out of town and especially to get to go somewhere warm. The weather was perfect - mid 70's to low 80's. The trade show itself was good but my biggest interest was some rest and relaxation. Kent and I walked the trade show floor one day and then the next day when Kent wanted to go back and look through again, he insisted that I stay at the condo and relax by the pool. Okay, twist my arm! It was 80 degrees that day! I sat by the pool reading a book and even taking a nap. After a few hours in the sun (I even got a little sunburned) Kent got back and we went to lunch/dinner. Of course we ate at a few buffets and we got to do some shopping at the outlet malls. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and we came home on the day that Idaho Falls got a blizzard. Thank goodness for little getaways like this so I don't go crazy waiting and waiting and waiting for spring to finally come to Idaho!

Yeah for Spring!

The weather man says it will be in the 60's today! I think I'll paint my toenails and dig out my sandals! I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but the fact that we live in Idaho causes me to be realistic. We better enjoy the "warmth" and sunshine while we can - we could still get a blizzard! But for today, Happy Spring everyone!! Enjoy your day!

Nationals & Shoulder Surgery

Bonneville High School Ballroom Team

We spent last Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Ballroom nationals in Provo last week. Brandon danced with the Bonneville High School team and Tyler danced with Extreme Ballroom. Both of them did awesome! We were so proud of them! Ashley was on spring break from Utah State so she got to go with us. It was fun to have the whole family down there together - even the dog got to go!

Extreme Ballroom Preteen Medley's LatinExtreme Ballroom Preteen Medley's Standard

With nationals over, Brandon was ready to get his injured shoulder fixed. He tore some cartlidge in his right shoulder quite a while ago and has been waiting for ballroom season to be over to get it fixed. He has been in a lot of pain so he was ready. He had the surgery today and everything went great. The doctor was able to repair the torn cartlidge and also clean up some bursitis from one of his tendons. He is already in a lot less pain and I think he's just glad to have it over with!