The 4th of July
I don't think I can even begin to describe how much I love Utah.
I. LOVE. UTAH!!!
We were so excited to finally go back. It had been WAY too long. A whole year!
We spent Saturday getting all prepared to go and left Sunday morning.
The drive along the 80 in Northern Nevada was long and boring. But at least we had no traffic! It was a new and different experience! The kids were amazing in the car, as usual.
The drive took way too long because Tanner drives so slowly but we made it to beautiful Midway around 9pm! We were so happy to be there and see our best friends!!!!!!
It was Kailo's 3rd birthday and of course Luis had the yummiest food prepared! We stayed up way too late talking and laughing. Angel looks so gorgeous and their new son, Matteo is so cute!!!!!! Angeluis makes the best looking kids!!!!
I love my BFF and it's so cool that we have babies together! I wish we lived next door to each other! Maybe someday.... right now Luis is in graduate school in New Mexico but they are on Summer break and making the most of it by driving all over the west- visiting family and camping!
This was the view out our window the next morning! Breathtaking!
Luis made the best breakfast burritos! Man, he is nice to have around! I just looked around at our growing families with a huge smile on my face and couldn't help but exclaiming, "I'm so happy!"
Parker and Mikailo
Rayleigh and Matteo
Tanner and Luis
After a wonderful stay with Angeluis at their timeshare we left and went to Travis and Nicole's house in Magna. They had just gotten back from a cruise to Alaska! The kids were so incredibly sweet and it was soooo nice just sitting and talking with Nicole. Poor Nicole has been through so many difficult trials and yet still has the most guileless, sweet nature. Always serving and smiling. She recently lost a baby girl at 20 weeks and my heart is just breaking for her. But I hope we added a little sunshine to their lives this day. I swear we barely took a breath, we chatted the day away! And we took the kids to the rec center to play and then Nicole made the yummiest dinner ever! Oh man! It was delish!!!!!!! She's amazing!
Tanner and Travis
Kaydence and Parker had a blast together! Kaydence is quite the young lady. She is so sweet and smart! These kids are in the same grade and I know their bond will only grow stronger as the years pass by!
The 5 kiddos!
Such a darling family!
Parker, Rayleigh, Kaydence, Marley, Kesler
Oh! And Nicole helped me with my new Jamberry Sticker nails! She's the best!
That night we went up to the Cottage. Oh man, it's like sunshine to my soul. I love Sundance. I love Utah. I love the majestic mountains and the fresh clean air and the wild flowers that smell oh so sweet!
The next morning the Bug Lady came to spray so we went to the Lodge for breakfast. Nothing beats Sundance bread and smoothies. I just love it there!!!!!!
Later, we headed to my old office and I got to see all of my favorite people in the world!!!!!!!!!!! They seriously hold my heart! I love them all so much! I almost got emotional saying goodbye. The girls were so cute with the kids and got them each a little gift! And Jon and Mark complete me. I can't get enough of my boys! Mark is married now and expecting a son! I'm so incredibly happy for him!!! We stayed for about and hour and it just made me miss them so much more. I wish so badly that we could move back and I could continue working with these extraordinary people! Kenna was so pretty and so fun to be around. Betty was just so endearing and entertaining! And Pam was like the icing on the cake! I miss them all so much!
In order to drown my sorrows for missing my work people we went to Zupas and then The Chocolate. 2 of my most favorite places to eat. ha ha Seriously, The Chocolate is the coolest place ever! And so yummy!
By the time we got back up to Sundance, Jon and Cami had arrived with their families and the kids were ecstatic!
Every year that passes by, it gets easier and easier for these kids to play and get along. This year was the absolute best yet, all around. We were completely drama free and everyone had the greatest time!
The next day we headed out to drop Parker off at Adventure Time for a fun filled day of nostalgia, run to the BYU Bookstore, and get lunch with Liz! Followed by some spa treatments, of course.
We went to this new place called Masa, It's like clean, fresh, gourmet Mexican and it was way good! It was so great getting to catch up with Liz. She is just incredible. She is everything I wish I was. She's so adventurous and I love that she knows everything about skin and body care. I'm just in awe of her! I could talk to her for days! We are so alike and I love the time I get to spend with her. How blessed I am for the acceptance letter to BYU-I 12 years ago and that I was able to live with this amazing woman. I'm so glad she is my "mom"!
Rayleigh liked it too. She's such a little princess!
After lunch, Liz brought us back to her house where the baby could play and relax (trips away from home aren't easy on babies, let's be honest). She gave Tanner a wonderful massage and gave me my very first bikini wax! That's what friends are for, right?!?
I loved spending a few minutes one on one with Liz where we could REALLY talk and I'm so thankful we could hang out!!!
After we said goodbye to Liz we picked up Parker and met Cami and Jon at the Provo Rec Center! It was soooooooo hot. I wasn't prepared to get into the water but Parker had a blast and that's all that matters. ;-)
Kim is such an amazing girl. She and Parker have the coolest bond.
Laura took the kids down the water slide and Tanner and I watched the babies in the shade. They are so cute together! They are at the exact same stage and just a delight to watch interact!
They love to hold hands!
Yay! My Mom and Dad finally made it! I felt terrible because I had mentioned that I would make dinner that night and then I didn't so my parents were just up at the Cottage waiting and waiting for us to arrive! Strike one, Chan! They were good sports and ate kid food. At least Tanner and I had made the big Costco run and the kitchen was fully stocked. Life isn't complete until my parents are there! Kari came too but she stayed at the La Quinta since she had Rocky with her.
The next day was a day dedicated to enjoying Sundance. (With a little lunch excursion to Zupas with my parents to make up for ditching them with dinner the night before) We hiked around a little bit and rode the ski lift. The elevation was killing me! It's pretty embarrassing but I am sooooo out of shape and I was completely exhausted! But riding the ski lift I can do... ;-)
We put the baby in the Britaxi and she did great! This was the first time that Cami was brave (or tried to be) and went on the lift with Max and Ben while Cort was behind her with Jessi and Noah. Well, since EVERYONE was going my Mom decided she would man up and go too! My Dad was so stoked! So here we all are! One big long line of Bullock's riding up Timp! Kari and the kids were hiking the timp caves this day so they weren't with us. If you really want to know how that was for them, ask Kari. She has a very dramatic story. They had a blast! ;-)
We made sure to take a ton of pics at the top! Kaela wanted her picture taken and was so cute with her wispy hair and timid smile!
Kim gave me this flower. She is just the sweetest!
I love this picture! So classic! Look at my mom's white knuckles!
The baby fell asleep on the way back down. I think it's safe to say it was like a little slice of heaven.
That night we all munched on snacks and the kids had a feast all their own! Love Brody there in the Pack N Play!
Woo hoo! The 4th of July!!! My favorite holiday!!!!!! We woke up early to catch the balloon and the fly over before the parade started. We parked at my old work and had a perfect view. The fly over was super lame. No jets. We were disappointed. But, per tradition, we grabbed breakfast burritos and snaked our way over to the parade. We found a shady spot to park and I sat in the car while the baby slept and Tanner and Parker went and checked out the floats and stuff. We didn't stay too long because it was soooo hot.
I was feeling soooo tired. I told myself never to be so out of shape that I couldn't keep up on the 4th of July and I totally let myself down! I think the extreme heat had something to do with it too. But I was glad when we were at the river for the reunion and I could just sit there for a while! ha ha I didn't even throw rocks with Parker! Terrible.... But, I did manage to take a few pictures of the baby looking so so so cute.
Nothing beats fried chicken on the 4th! So fun!
We cruised on over to the Christensen's for the Cul De Sac of fire and to let Parker swim. Tanner and I both took turns in the car with a sleeping baby. James was keeping a low profile because he's undergoing chemo right now and is very sick. But the rest of the house was hopping. We got to catch up with the rest of the family. I love these people! It was fun to see Sunshine and her cute baby June! She just turned 1 and Sunshine is such an awesome mom. It was so neat hearing about all she's up to. And Sari is married! So fun to see her! I missed the wedding because I was too pregnant but she looks better than ever, if that's even possible. It was so great seeing everyone!!!
Emily with the parade banner. They have a big to do there on the Cul de Sac. A flag raising ceremony with the scouts, the national anthem, a band, a parade, a patriotic reading.... and of course fire works! But we had to leave before they lit any because we had our own to do with the whole family at the church parking lot by our old house!
Chan, Ray, Junie, and Sunshine
She was eating crackers.....
My Mom and her bestie, Carole.
The parade was so cute. Jennie and her kids were a hit!
And for the grand finale.
To the church parking lot for massive amounts of fire works! We got them at Costco this year and it was insane. We had sooooo many! Aerials and all! We tried to get a family picture. Josi and Matt had only just arrived EARLY that morning. Brody was asleep in the car but we did our best under the circumstances!!!
Can you tell I was trying so hard to get a good picture of Rayleigh in her adorable 4th of July outfit???
I don't think anything needs to be said about these firework pictures. The kids had a blast. They were in awe and were giggling and smiling the entire time! We had so many that we even missed the big stadium fireworks! Carrie Underwood was the performer this year and THAT would have been a cool show to see. But nothing beats fireworks with your family of 24 in the church parking lot. It's the best way to end a superior 4th of July!
This year was the best yet. I think EVERYONE had an amazing time. And the fact that we were all together made it truly spectacular! God bless the USA!!!
Comments