Reasons I have no medicine cabinet or toilet

Wes and Brandon left early Monday morning for a weeklong scout camp at Zions. And when I say early, I mean 3 a.m. early. That's early! They had to be there at 8 to get the permits, and they couldn't leave on Sunday, so they had to leave then. Crazy!

Anyway, we had five projects we wanted to get done on Saturday: put up the new basketball standard (the old one broke), hang up the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, put the toilet tank back on the toilet in our master bathroom (we removed it to paint), find a light and towel rack for our bathroom, and pick up the desk we bought for Wes at DI.

We decided to do the basketball standard first because that's what all the male members of the family thought was most important we knew it would be hot in the afternoon. It took much longer than we anticipated. It was darn heavy!! The second it was finished Brandon picked up a ball and went right to work trying it out:

Then we went and picked up the desk for Wes's office. The desk that probably won't fill through his office door, but we have to keep anyway because it got rained on. Just like the cabinets I was painting in the garage. But that is a whole 'nother story and I don't feel like swearing this morning, so I'll share it another time.

While we had the trailer (borrowed from our awesome neighbors to pick up the desk), we figured we should pick up the rest of the bark that we need for our front yard. So before we could unload the desk, we had to take out all of the bark and spread it.

Then Wes I had to return the lighting fixture and towel rack that I spent 5 hours shopping for because they didn't fit, as well as find ones that would work. We had no luck finding replacements. Apparently, I will be making a towel holder. While we were out, we remembered we had to go to the scout office and get Spencer's new stuff for boy scouts. Seventy dollars for the shirt, accessories, and a book. Holy stinkin' crap! (Sorry mom.) If Wes and I ever get a divorce it will probably be about scouts. ;) Let's just leave it at that.

Then we had to pick up some food for the camp-out, and Brandon & Wes had to pack to make sure they weren't missing anything. By the time we got all that finished, there was no time to hang the cabinet. No big deal. Right before we went to bed, Wes tried to replace the toilet tank. It kept leaking, so he tried to tighten the bolt. It cracked the tank. So now we have to replace the toilet. Sigh. It really does never end, does it?

Visit from Uncle Jon

My brother had a few days after the reunion before he had to fly back to North Carolina, so he came down to spend a day with us. My boys were thrilled! We went bowling and it was lots of fun. I tried to get a candid shot, but it didn't work out so well.

I would have taken another one, but I was so busy bowling and watching my boys bowl, that I just plum forgot. Oh well.

The boys loved having Jon here and can't wait till he comes back. In fact, five minutes after he left, Justin came up to me and said, "Mom, I think you and dad should take a trip to California." When I asked him why, he replied, "So uncle Jon can tend us."
Later that afternoon I found him crying in the kitchen. I figured he had gotten hurt on his bike, or lost a game to one of his brothers. I pulled him onto my lap and asked, "What happened, why are you crying?" He looked up at me with his tear filled eyes and said, "I just miss Jon so much."

So uncle Jon, know that you are loved and missed!

Family Reunion

We went to our family reunion this weekend and had an amazing time. My parents held it at their house and spent a lot of time planning it. They did a knight's theme, and it was awesome!
The first day we went to a place called Boondocks.

They had miniature golfing:
Go-cart racing:


Bumper boats:


Arcade games:

And a batting cage:
That afternoon we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple openhouse. It was beautiful. I was bummed because I totally forgot to take the camera so we could get a picture of all of us in front of the temple. Dang!

The next day we went up to Silver Lake for a picnic lunch.
We also took a little hike around the lake:
Stopped to watch the ducks:
And did a little canoeing:

Everyone else spotted a moose at the edge of the lake and ran off to watch him. I should have gone and snapped a photo, but I was busy with this:
Cuz I'd much rather snuggle a new baby than see an ole' moose. Any day. Especially one as cute as Andrew!

The last day we did all of our "Knight" activities:

Sword fighting:
Jousting:
Suiting up in armor:
Agility and balance practice:


Bow and arrow lessons:
Medieval dancing:
Treasure hunting:

Javelin throwing:

Swimming in the moat:
Storming the castle:And defeating the dragon:
It was an amazing reunion and I'm sure we will all remember it for a long time!

4th of July Weekend

We had a very busy fun filled 4th of July Weekend. Friday we headed up to Idaho to my sister Heidi's house. On the way we stopped off to visit Mike & Teresa and there family. We had a picnic at the park and then went bowling. I should have taken more photos, but these were the best that I came up with:

I shoulda warned Teresa that I was taking a picture. She was watching Josh bowl. Apparently he didn't do very well. ;)
Brandon is always trying to hide from the camera. What a stinker!

After bowling, we drove to Heidi & Jared's house. We got there pretty late, so we visited for awhile and went to bed.

Saturday morning we packed a picnic and headed to the mountains to do some 4-wheeling. The weather was gorgeous for our picnic. But as soon as the 1st group headed out on the 4-wheeler, a sudden storm hit. With lots of hail.
Fortunately, we were under a pavilion. Unfortunately, the roof was tin. Hail hitting a tin roof is VERY loud! Emily and Justin did not like it at all. Justin was totally scared and started crying. (I'm sure lack of sleep played a part.)

Thank goodness for daddies!

It hailed and rained hard for 20-30 minutes, and it got pretty cold, so we all huddled together.
When it finally let up a little, we loaded everybody up and ran for the car. We barely got in when it started up again. Wheew!

Back at the house, it wasn't even raining, so we all hung out outside. Jacob and Dan are amazing bike riding dare devils, and Justin was inspired. He learned how to ride a bike with no training wheels!
Later that afternoon the storm hit again. It is really uncommon to see hail in July, and we were all fascinated. We just stood on the porch and in the garage watching it come down. The kids had fun collecting hail in cups and coolers. We were a little worried that the storm would cause the fireworks show to be canceled, but luckily it passed just as quick as it came. It was quite chilly, so we all wrapped up in blankets on the lawn. The fireworks show was amazing! It was right across the freeway, so we had a great view. We were so close you could even smell the gunpowder! I didn't take any photos because I was huddling under a blanket with Justin and Tyler.

We had a great weekend!! The only sad part is that my sister Mel didn't get to bless her baby on Sunday because she was sick. We missed seeing her & her family and hope she is doing better. Love ya Mel!