Saturday, June 22nd - Driving to Utah

We picked up Brynnley Hale and started our trek out to Utah. I drove straight through with only one stop at Target and a couple stops for the bathroom. It was a brutal drive though because of a bad headache. Arrived at Grandma and Grandpa’s house at 6:30. We ate some taco soup for dinner and then Mom and I headed out to see a few homes from the Utah Valley Parade of Homes. Amazing!! So much fun to see! We gathered for prayer and then had Grandma open her birthday present - new serving bowls to go with her Pottery Barn plates. Got the boys to bed and then worked on Katie’s calendar for her birthday. Glad to be here… it’s going to be a fun week.

Sunday, June 23rd - Ryan’s Birthday

Grandma came with us to her home ward this morning at 9:00am. Really great Sacrament speakers and a wonderful Relief Society lesson. Then Grandma and Grandpa headed off to their Young Single Adult ward from 12:00-2:00. My Dad just got called as the Bishop of a newly organized student ward, which is both exciting and challenging — especially since there is so much organization that needs to take place and the Spring and Summer students come and go so quickly. I know my Dad will be blessed as he serves. He and my mom will have a wonderful experience and my Dad will be so great for those young adults. Proud of his dedication and service.

When he came home after three hours of interviews and sat at the kitchen table to a beautiful Sunday dinner prepared by my Mom, I couldn’t help but think of another time my Dad was the Bishop - back when I was a teenager. We had salmon, sweet potatoes, asparagus and salad for dinner and then took some pictures.

We ended up on the back porch because of the beautiful weather. Fun to be here with him to celebrate his 21st birthday. We got him Spikeball, Dominion Aventure’s Expansion, a shirt from JCrew, a navy tie, cologne from BR, and Cubs Stance socks and a Cubs wall ball.

Ryan, Emily and the boys played a game of Dominion and Mom and I facetimed with Mike and Carly and then skyped with Amy and Chris. So fun! Can’t wait to be all together next week.

Katie was dropped off at 1:00am. She spent Saturday and Sunday with Elisha and Scott up in Vale for Dallie’s farewell. She had the best time and was completely welcomed into the family. So glad she could be there and so glad they became such good friends this year.

Monday, June 24th - EFY Check in and Shopping

I drove Katie to work at 8:15, exercised, ate some steel cut oatmeal and then picked up Katie at 10:15. The girls got all beautiful and packed up and then we headed to Called to Surf for some pre-EFY shopping (Emily and Megan both bought a t-shirt) and some pre-mission shopping (Katie got two dresses). It was a fun stop. Then over to a pizza place in the Riverwoods Shopping area and then over to the Marriott center for EFY check-in.

The girls are both in Building 6 of Heritage Halls, which was nice. Katie and I followed them to their rooms and helped them get settled in. I’m praying they have a great time!!

As soon as we said goodbye Katie and I took off for the Sister Missionary Mall and met Daylee and Deanna Kirkham. We spent an hour and got quite a few things done — a shirt, a bag, some close toed shoes, a microfiber towel and a navy raincoat. Good to get some more things checked off the list — and so fun to see Daylee… they hadn’t seen each other since the end of the semester.

I drove Katie over to the ASB so she could sign something, then over to Helaman Halls to drop off her luggage and then over to the Cannon Center for her pre-work meeting. She is absolutely loving her BYU sports counselor job. This week she has 15 year old track girls. : )

When I got home I found Ryan playing games with Luke and Matt. He started summer semester today and went had a new Computer Programming class and his spring/summer Physics class. I casually mentioned that we should maybe head over to Seven Peaks and the boys were THRILLED and immediately got into their suits. We were only there for an hour and 20 minutes but the boys say it was ‘totally worth it’. It’s definitely one of our favorite summer things to do in Utah.

Grandma and Grandpa headed over to FHE with the YSA’s and so Ryan, Luke Matt and I played Dominion. Nice to have time with just a few of my kids at a time.

Tuesday, June 25th - Seven Peaks

Mom, Dad, Ryan, Luke, Matt and I took a walk around the neighborhood. Mom and I continued farther up around the block. At 9:05 I picked up Katie from work. When we got home we ate breakfast and then got ready for Seven Peaks. We found some lounge chairs in the shade right in front of the wave pool. The boys were so excited to see Foster - who ran right into the pool to hug them. They had a great time. Ryan, Katie and Luke left about 1:00 and Grandma left about 3:00 and Matt and I (and Elisha and kids) stayed until 4:30. It was really fun to have lots of great conversations with Elisha and my mom.

When we got home we ate bean, cheese, sweet potato, avocado quesadillas outside on the deck. Then Matt and I headed over to Orem City Center Park to watch Foster’s baseball game. Beautiful evening to hang out and talk together.

Wednesday, June 26th - Epic Shopping Day

I woke at 7:15 and read a few articles in bed before finally deciding to start the day. My mom and I worked out, ate breakfast and then went shopping. Meanwhile Ryan went with Grandpa to go play Pickle Ball. First we visited my aunt Jennifer, then we headed down to see the little home decor store called ELEMENTS in Spanish Fork, then we headed up to Home Goods. Fun to find Terri there and chat with her for awhile. : ) Then over to Ulta, then Target and then lunch at Zupa’s. Cheesy Califlower soup and Berry Salad. Then up to Fashion Place mall to shop at Crate and Barrel and Banana Republic and then once last home decor store over at Gardener Village. Whew! So much fun to talk and talk the whole way.

We had spaghetti and salad for dinner. Luke said the prayer and thanked everyone for helping him with ‘this gluten-free stuff’. It was cute. He also prayed for Hayden and for Nate and Owen and the rods in their legs. He’s a pretty thoughtful kid.

Ryan went to his classes in the morning and is already loving his computer programming class. Katie spent her time off with Daylee today which was fun. After texting Emily saying “How’s EFY? Hope you are having fun!” she responded with a one word ‘yep.’ Megan’s response was a little longer: “hey mama! efy is great so far!! my company is so cool and funny. Ha love them allllllllll . the dance was sooooo lit.” Luke and Matt spent the day at home and read their books, played some Switch, played Axis and Allies with Ryan, and shot BB guns with Grandpa in the backyard. Grandpa cut out bodies and they did a duel to see if their opponent died or not based on where the injury was. So funny.

Grandpa took Grandma, Matt and I up the canyon in his jeep. It was fun to ride in, and SO BEAUTIFUL. When we got back Brian was there waiting for us. We played Dominion and then ate some popcorn and watermelon. A piece of my tooth chipped off, so that was bad. : ( Hoping I can just carry on until I get home.

Thursday, June 27th

After walking around the block and up and the steep roads behind my mom’s house to exercise, we got ready and Luke, Matt and I headed over to Seven Peaks for our last half day. Grandma and Ryan joined us shortly thereafter and Ryan and the boys had fun doing the waterslides while my mom and I talked on the lounge chairs and waded in the wave pool. Heading to the pool is one of the boys favorite things to do in Utah.

At 4:00 we met up with Nikole, Ashlyn and Lindsey and kids at the Bell Canyon Trailhead. Such a great hike with beautiful views — and so fun to be together. I just had my three boys with me.

After the hike we met Grandma Johnson at Beat Park. The kids nicknamed her ‘Granny J’ in Lake Powell and it seems to be sticking. We ate watermelon salad and chicken and sat on blankets to chat. Fun to be together. At 8:45 we headed home so Ryan could hang out with Rachel. Grandpa picked up Katie from her BYU counselor job and then she and I watched the beginning of a chick flick together.

Mike, Carly, Whitney and Mara got in late and are staying over just one night before they head to Carly’s Family Reunion. Fun to see the girls and talk with Mike and Carly until late.

Friday, June 28th

Friday morning I went and played PICKLE BALL for the first time with Grandpa, Katie, Mike and the boys. It was really fun to play — I’m surprised how much I liked it. Excited to play some more.

At 10:00 I headed over to visit with Monae. Love that girl. We had such a great time catching up on each other’s lives. Then she took me to a cute store that was fun to wander through. I’m so glad that we can see each other every so often.

Costco grocery shopping was next on the list. Mom and I each had a cart and picked up everything we needed for our trip to Telluride. Then we headed over to Sprouts.

We ate chicken salad pita sandwiches for dinner and then decided to head to the Riverwoods to walk around and check out a few stores. I just love the atmosphere there. Cute little shops and even a band playing with people scattered around to watch. I took the kids over to Blikenstaff’s to check out the cool toys and games and they loved it.

From there Grandma and the kids went back home and I headed up to the airport to pick up Chris. So excited to see him and talk all the way home. So glad we’re together again. When we got home the Silva’s had already arrived. So fun to see them.

Saturday, June 29th

Chris, Katie and I picked up Emily and Megan from EFY at 7:15am. I think they both had a great time. Megan walked back to the car with tears streaming down her face. It’s always a little hard to say goodbye to your new best friends. It was so fun to hear about all of their great experiences, cute crushes and funny stories.

Emily’s EFY Pictures…

Megan’s EFY Pictures…

After breakfast we headed to the Pickle Ball Courts with Grandma and Grandpa. So fun to play with Chris and the kids. Especially loved playing Grandpa and I against Chris and Megan (we each won one game) and Chris and I against Grandpa and Grandma. It was was great.

Ryan met us for lunch at Guru’s — which was delicious. Then up to the Deseret Book and then over to the movie theater to see Toy Story 4 — which was really great.

After the movie we headed up to Provo Canyon for a picnic and games. Dan and Sarah drove straight from Reno and met us there with their rope swing

Sunday, June 30th

We enjoyed our slow Sunday morning. Grandma made us muffins and scrambled eggs for breakfast and then we gathered for ‘Family Church’ or Come Follow Me. Fun to have all of our six kids there. Grandma headed off to the YSA ward with Grandpa and the rest of us headed over to Scott’s ward. It’s always fun when we take up a couple pews and the cousins can sit together. All of the youth attended the fifth Sunday combined lesson taught by Scott — all about the FOR STRENGTH OF YOUTH standards. Elisha, Sarah, Amy and I went to Relief Society together and talked about the Conference Talk ‘Careful or Casual’. The instructor showed us the FOR THE STRENGTH OF YOUTH from 1969 and it was pretty funny what kinds of things it talked about. ‘Don’t go to the store with your hair in curlers’.

After church we headed back to Grandma’s house and helped her put together dinner. Scott and Dan’s families joined us at 4:30 and we ate and had great conversations in the Dining Room. Love being all together.

It was fun to visit Brian’s new condo. He’s done some fun things in his family room and it’s fun to see it all put together.