Julie, me, and Dez at the wedding

Had so much fun and adventure the last two weeks, I haven’t had time to write about it.We went to Amanda and Alex’s wedding and had a great time there with our friends. Owen and I got to dress up and have some much needed adult time.

Then took off to Utah that afternoon with the kids. The trip out wasn’t too bad. The kids watched movies and slept a little bit. We got to Mesquite, Nevada and stayed in our usual hotel, The Virgin River, and then drove up the rest of the way to South Jordan, Utah.

Grandma Susie, holding Benjamin at the Park

Blessed moments included the whole family sleeping down stairs in the basement on different beds all lined up together. It was fun. Should have taken a picture. Owen’s parents OK and Susie gave the kids their birthday presents. They LOVED them. Although funny thing is, most of them enjoyed playing with eachother’s toys rather than their own. Jameson did get an Elmo baby that he just loved. He slept with him every night. When he went to bed, he’d push the baby Elmo’s chest and it would say, “Elmo’s sleep.” So cute.

Owen and I also got presents. Two 100-dollar Visa gift cards! So excited. I havent’ gone shopping for myself with 100 dollars to do as I please in a long time. It felt great! I got a pair of jeans, a pair of sweet Nike’s from the outlets, a shirt, a dress, and a pair of sandals. Yep. It was awesome. 🙂

Other than shopping, that week we tried to stay active. We went to the splash pads, the resevoir, and a water park to stay cool on hot days. At the resevoir, our friend from Oceanside, Desiree Maciewski and her kids actually met up with us. They happened to be in the Salt Lake area as well, visiting family. It was super nice to hang out with her in a different environment. Such a beautiful family.

Back at the family house, the kids rode their skooters a lot outside on the street–it was a gorgeous and safe neighborhood with friendly neighbors and lots of kids.

One day we took the kids to this really neat trampeline place. It was in a business park and the entire place was filled with trampelines so that you could jump from one trampeline to the next. There was tarzan ropes and basketball hoops high on the walls and of course, balls to throw into them. There were even some neat foam pits. The kids had an absolute blast. Even Benjamin wanted to jump!

boys with their Grandma Great

We did get to spend some time with the family. We went with OK and Suzie, Arza and Rainey to a beautiful park in Salt Lake. It was huge. Sort of the Salt Lake equivelant to Central Park. We had a picnic and threw the football around a bunch. Owen’s sister Holly and her family came over often. Kanan and Jameson loved that. They played often with Bell and Gavin. Sometimes with Spencer too when Spencer was in the mood. Often times, big Spence likes to hang out with the adults. Owen’s sister Lindsay came over one night and made a delicious stirfry for everyone. OK made an awesome speggetti and sausage one night as well. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see OK and Susie and as much as we’d liked because they had to work and  then sadly, Susie’s dad died and so they left for the funeral about two days before we had to leave.

OK, cooking up dinner

We did however, meet up with OK again in St.George on our way back down to Cali. He took us to dinner at a great buffet restaurant. I had prime rib and it was divine. 🙂

We have been back for a couple of days and have just enjoyed spending time together. Jameson is back on his skooter again and his bicycle—much needed after a 12-hour drive. I got a SlipandSlide on sale at Kohls for the boys. They are loving it! I also got to visit my friend Carmen a couple of days ago and help her pack. She and her family are moving and are very excited to have their own place after 6 months or so living with family. Kanan got to color, play legos, and watch shows with his favorite buddy, Kameron while we were there. Last night, I skipped fellowship group to go to a Vigil for a colleague who tragically and unexpededly passed away last Sunday. While a vigil wouldn’t typically be considered a “blessed” moment, I was very moved by how much the students loved him. So many great stories were shared. He lived a short, 52 years, but made a huge impact on the lives of his family members and students while he was here. In many ways, that is what life is about. I pray he knew the Lord and is with him now.