Family Fun

My sister's came up to celebrate Pioneer Day with us this year. We had a blast and went crazy doing something everyday. Of course, I forgot my camera every time, so you'll have to check out their blogs to see our pictures. Here's the rundown:

Young Living Family Farm: Although Lavender Days were over, the fields were still gorgeous and the smells fantastic. We had a great time wandering around looking at all their wagons, wild west town, indian encampment, medeival village, the lake, and the pavillion. They have an incredible set up and we'll be going to their festival next year for sure. On the way home, we stopped at the Big Red Barn in Santaquin for some homemade ice cream (which was yumm-o) and other fun treats.

Pioneer Day: We left Wednesday, after Jay got home from work, and met the fam for dinner at Macaroni Grill. Dinner was really good and then we continued up to Salt Lake where my dad had reserved rooms for all of us at the Little America Hotel. We hung out and played until bedtime. Brooke wasn't feeling too well, so we were up most of the night with her, but the other two went to bed sooner than I'd thought they would. They did great at the hotel and were on their best behavior. Early the next morning, we got ready and headed down a couple blocks to watch the parade. Dad, Joe, and Jim had gotten up extra early to save us some good seats. The Days of '47 Parade is the 5th largest in the country and had some really cool floats. Jay's not much for parades, but he stuck it out through all 3 hours. It was incredibly hot, but we had a great time and enjoyed it all. After the parade was lunch at The Gateway, and after running through the splash park and doing a little shopping there, we headed over for the Days of '47 Rodeo. About 15 minutes into it, Jax crashed and slept through the whole thing. It was fun though, and Sierra enjoyed her popcorn while watching all the cowboys. We headed back home and ended up at my mom's house where we spent the night relaxing and lighting off fireworks. With so many small kids around, we're lucky we didn't have a whole bunch of accidents! We all survived with minor sparkler burns and a few close calls.

Grandma Holt's Funeral: For the past couple weeks, my Grandma Holt hadn't been doing to well. We went up to visit her and pretty much say goodbye. She rallied a bit, but passed away on Sunday, July 20th. She was 98 years old and led an extraordinary life. She was an amazing woman and although we are sad at her passing, we look forward to seeing her again. The funeral was beautiful and my sister, Stephanie, gave an incredible tribute that had tears streaming down my face. It was great to have lunch with the extended family and catch up a bit since it has been so long since we've seen eachother.

Jay's Birthday: Since Grandma's funeral was on Jay's birthday, we didn't get much done for him. We got home around 4:00 and just had time to change and head over to his mom's house to pick up the kids. He opened a few of his presents, and we had a short celebration. I'll have to make it up to him later, cause his birthday kind of sucked. He still has one present coming that I know will be his favorite, so I'll post on that later.

Family Pictures: Saturday morning we got up early, again, and had our family pictures done. The last time they were taken, Jax had just barely been born, so it was time. Our pictures were done by Jen Lewis Photography, and she did an amazing job. With that many little kids, and picky moms, I thought she'd go crazy! Our pictures turned out great and I had to post them, because my sister's all left and haven't seen them yet! Don't worry guys, I'll send your cd's out soon! Since we were all starving after pics, we stopped at Sonic for hamburgers and headed to the park to play. After nap time, we headed back up to Grandma's house for games.

The kids had a great time with all their cousins and were sad to see them go. We're excited that Kris and Joe are so much closer, and will be down to visit them in Las Vegas this fall. Thanks to my mom and dad for putting up with all of us, and feeding us all week. We had a great time and created some fun memories.