Trip To Reno

None of us were home much last week. Kyle spent the week visiting his mom, Abbie and I traveled to Reno Wednesday and Tripp headed to Louisiana (joining us in Reno late Friday night). Abbie and I visited with Grandma Sandy and Aunt Susie for five days...going to the library, seeing some really fun playhouses, going to the park, swimming...we had a fun time. We caught up with Katie over the weekend but unfortunately for us, Martin and Caedon were camping so we missed them this trip.

All in all, a fun and busy week.

Busy Week

We actually had a really busy, fun week. Kyle and Abbie's friends have been over almost every day and we've gone swimming countless times. Kyle had swim lessons (which he loves) but unfortunately, Abbie's were canceled. We went to the doctor for the ultrasound and all four of us turned away so everyone can quit asking what Junior is...we don't know. The baby is healthy and on schedule so in about 19 weeks you'll find out.

Friday night, we waited in line at Borders with Scott, Tara & Jake for the last installment of Harry Potter. This is the third time Tara and I have stayed up late for our copy and it was by far the smelliest. Neither of us remember our previous experiences being so hot, smelly or disorganized. Our copies were reserved and the Hurds arrived prior to 10 p.m. to get our wristbands so we weren't in bad shape. At 12:45, they still hadn't come close to our numbers and it looked like we had a few hours more to go. We ended up going to the mall where we found no line and plenty of copies. We made it home at about 1:15 a.m. with our shiny new Harry Potter books.

Saturday was Pioneer Day (or at least the Las Vegas celebration) and our friends Rich and Nikki Butler & kids joined with us to enter a float in the parade. Their three kids and our two, plus Nikki and I, sat on our float and threw Otter Pops to the spectators. This is totally not my thing but we ended up having a ton of fun. We all stayed for another 90 minutes or so and the boys got dunked a few times in the dunk tank and we ate some yummy frozen custard and shaved ice. It was extremely hot outside but we all had a ton of fun.

Movie Night

I'm not sure if even the participants know the origins of movie night. Several years ago, Tara bought her first place and she was thinking about buying a small fridge instead of spending the money on a normal size one. Her parents were afraid she wouldn't eat dinner so I recommended that she find a regular place to eat every night of the week (several were already spoken for btw her family and BFF). Tripp and I took Tuesday night and for maybe a year or more, Tara came over every Tuesday night for dinner and a movie. We started rotating the person who got to choose the movie and thus, movie night was born. It now includes Scott, Lindsay & Wes, Brooke & Brad and Samantha. We get together one Saturday a month and the designated person hosts the event, chooses the movie and puts together a pot-luck dinner with all the other members getting assignments.

It was Tara's turn so we all met at her house (Sam ditched us for a trip to the beach) and had burgers, shoe-string fries and watched "You've Got Mail". I am so glad we've been able to keep this thing going for so long now. It's probably been three or more years for Tara and two or so with everyone else. How lucky am I to have great friends!!!!!!

4th of July

We spent the fourth of July in Cedar City with Tripp's parent's and brother Patrick's family. It was a long day (we drove there and back same day) but absolutely worth it. We missed the parade but made it in time for a wonderful celebration in the park complete with bounce house everything, climbing wall, dunk tank, etc. The kids had fun running around and playing on all the stuff. After lunch, Tripp's mom stayed home while Abbie and her cousin Saige took a nap and the rest of us (Tripp's dad, brother Pat, sister-in-law Jenn, Kyle, Tripp and I) went to the movies. That evening, Tripp's parents had a BBQ and we went to shoot off our fireworks. That night (thanks to Jenn's brother, a BLM Firefighter) we got a pass for literally front row seats at the fireworks show. They were really great fireworks and it was amazing to see all the firefighters jump into action putting out the many fires they caused. We drove home late that night and enjoyed a nice comfortable rest in our beds...glad to be home. We left the camera at home so unfortunately, no photos this year.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy fourth!

Not much to say....

There really isn't much to catch anyone up on this week. Kyle was with his mom...Tripp was out of town and Abbie and I tried to get the house in order and errands run after being out of town for over two weeks. Lindsay's baby shower was Thursday night and she got tons of good stuff. Even the homemade baby blankets and burp clothes were good...not the ones you look at and wonder what in the heck you are going to do with them.

Our good friends Rich & Nikki lost one of their dogs last week. Barkely had been sick for awhile so we knew it was coming but it doesn't make it any less heartbreaking. He went into surgery Wednesday and didn't come out. Nikki called me Wednesday while she was waiting for the vet's update and we finished the call before she heard back. I called Rich the next morning to see how things were and he let me know the sad news. I cried off and on Thursday for them and for Tilly (I still miss her terribly). So as a message to everyone with pets....give them lots of love all the time. They are such a wonderful blessing and deserve all sorts of hugs, kisses and smiles while they are around.