Heads Visit, Belcher Reunion, Pioneer Day

We had a wonderful time with Sam, Jesse, and their girls. They arrived late Wednesday night. Thursday, some of the kids and adults went on a hunt for fossils nearby. After lunch, we went to see the dinosaur bones in Jensen along with some petroglyphs and Josie's cabin. We enjoyed homemade pizza for dinner and then played a game of Pandemic: Fall of Rome after the kids went to bed.

Friday, we hung out in the morning. After lunch, we went to the dinosaur museum and the rec center. We watched the Mario movie and had dinner, then just hung out the rest of the day.

Saturday, we got up early (for summer) and drove to Heber for the Belcher reunion. It was really hot all day, but it was nice to see people. We got home around 4:30 and relaxed the rest of the day.

Sunday night, I attended a baptism for a convert who is Primary age. Her family has been through a lot, and I'm glad everything went well. It was one of the most spiritual baptisms I've been to.

We had a great Pioneer Day. We started with the Scout breakfast in the park, then went to the parade with the Boyles. After a lazy afternoon, the Boyles came over to help cook and eat a feast. We had corn (Mexican style), watermelon, brats and hot dogs, chips and pico de gallo, squash 2 ways, brownies, banana cake, and fun drinks. After cleanup and talking, we did some fireworks.

The past few days have been more relaxed with a couple games of Pandemic Legacy: Season 2, errands, TV-watching, and some chores. James was in charge of a fossil hike for the Activity age boys, and they had a lot of fun. Today's looking like yard work and redeeming some coupons that the kids got from library activities.

Honestly, it's been one of the best summers ever. I think a lot of it has to do with my kids' ages. Everyone's been sleeping in, too, which is amazing. I can't remember another summer where I consistently slept till 8. It probably helps that we've had a lot of cool nights and have tried not to overschedule ourselves. Yes, I've had a few mini breakdowns, but that's inevitable. Summer is better than winter in every way.

Social, Drive In, Meat Fest, Relaxing

The Primary social on Thursday went really well, I think. James and the kids helped out a lot with getting the Halls' yard ready. There were 35 people there, which was great. The food was delicious, and the games were pretty fun too. We didn't get home till about 9:45, and we had tons of leftovers with us. I'm not complaining. I didn't have to cook again till Sunday.

Saturday was pretty busy. The Nielsons moved, so we helped with that. We ended up with a flat tire, but we got a new one at Walmart. We then hurried to a wedding reception for one of James's former students. I felt a little awkward because I didn't know anyone there. We then went home, got the kids, and went to a drive in movie in Roosevelt. I liked it a lot more than I expected. We took our own snacks and relaxed while the kids played on the playground before the move started. We saw the Mario movie once again, and it was just as cute as the first time. Though we got home pretty late, everyone had a really good time. I think we'll do it again, maybe once a summer when the nights are warm (like July or August).

Monday, I took Katie and Lewis to a playdate. It was a super hot day, 101, but we survived because the kids played in the water outside. For dinner, Devin and his family came over with a bunch of meats that had thawed out (but not spoiled) from his freezer getting unplugged. We had a feast. The older kids, James, and Devin went to look for scorpions with black lights. They found a few and got some cool pictures.

Tuesday, we had a lazy day since we were all tired from staying up late the previous few nights. We played our board game, read, and watched TV instead of going on a hike like we'd planned. I was really happy that we made this decision. I still needed a little nap after a good night of sleep, but I felt a lot better by the end of the day.

Today, James took the kids to a library activity while I picked up groceries. Navy is over for the afternoon while we prepare for Sam and Jesse and their girls to visit. It'll be a lot of fun, I'm sure, though we will have a full house for a few days.

Alex's Baptism, Ghost Town, Climate

Saturday, we had a pretty busy day with Alex's baptism. It was sweet and spiritual. During the afternoon, we went to his birthday party, which took up a couple of hours and included several pinatas. I've gotten to know several of the Boyles' family members since I see them every year at the party.

Monday, James took Kenny into the mountains to Big Brush Creek Cave and to find Bullionville, an old ghost town. They were successful this time since James looked up directions and found a dropped pin. They found some old cabins and mining equipment. The younger kids and I painted a chalkboard on the back of the cabin. Unfortunately, it didn't work super well since the wood is really rough. For FHE, we watched Napoleon Dynamite and ate tater tots. The kids' reactions were really funny.

Tuesday, I had a presidency meeting. It went really well, and we finished the official business in record time. We stayed talking about other stuff for another hour, though. Haha.

Yesterday, we went to the rec center. James took the kids to the library to give me some time to read alone. It was awesome. It's so much better to take a break before I have a breakdown.

Today, we have the Primary social at Sis. Hall's house. There are supposed to be over 40 people there. I think it'll be a lot of fun, even though it's been super hot recently.

Climate is one thing that continues to baffle me a bit. My big question is why Rexburg, ID, has a greater difference in their day/night temperatures than we do. Rexburg is more humid (though still not very) on average and at a lower elevation than Vernal. Yet, the difference between night and day for them is often 40 degrees while ours is more like 30. I need an expert to advise me.

Rexburg Trip, Anniversary, 4th of July

We had a pretty uneventful trip to Rexburg on Thursday. Okay, that's mostly true. We stopped to eat lunch in Eden, WY, and then in Farson for some giant ice creams. I found out that our Amazon credit cards got hacked, so that meant we had to use our other card the whole trip. It was fine and only a minor inconvenience, but I still hate that it happened. The drive through WY was absolutely beautiful, and we passed by more campgrounds than towns.

Friday, we went to the Nature Park in Rexburg and met up with Emily and her kids. In the afternoon, we went to D.I. and got some frozen yogurt at Millhollow. We had a movie night at Sam's and watched Willow with all the kids.

Saturday, we hung out with the younger girls while their parents and siblings did rehearsal. I helped Anna sweep and mop all the floors in the evening.

Sunday, Rex, Melodie, and Joseph returned from Ecuador and brought gifts. We had Swedish pancakes with Sam and Jesse's family.

Monday, Melodie, the kids and I went to Bear World in the morning. There was a new dinosaur exhibit, and it was awesome. I went to book group with Melodie, and then James, the Josephs, and Anna went to the new Indiana Jones movie. J.P. and his family came to visit in the afternoon (Jacob's former worker).

The 4th of July was really fun, but busy. We got up early to drive to Firth for the breakfast and concert by Anna and Grandpa Lee. We then returned to Rexburg for the parade and concert in the park by Joseph. The kids played in the splash park for a bit and then we went home to rest. We had dinner with the Lees and then watched the Rexburg fireworks from the yard after setting off a few of our own.

Wednesday, James and I celebrated our 14th anniversary a few days late. We left in the morning for Idaho Falls and went to D.I. and Big Deal with a stop at the mall. After lunch at the Chinese buffet, we went to the aquarium and a couple of other little stores downtown. We had dinner at the Snake Bite Cafe, which was excellent, and then returned to Mountain River Ranch in Ririe for the evening. We stayed in a cute little cabin called the Bear's Den.

After breakfast at Wendy's the next morning, we headed back to our kids in Rexburg. We spent the day relaxing and then went to Sam and Jesse's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, in the park. It was well done, and the kids even behaved themselves most of the time.

We drove back to Vernal today without incident. We even took a slightly different path and went through some small towns we hadn't seen before. It was beautiful. Now it's time to do all the laundry I didn't do all week and get the grocery shopping done. :)