Polar Express

For my Christmas present to the kids in Utah this year we did a ride on the Polar Express.  The kids were so excited and enjoyed the adventure.

Baby Isla

Baby Isla arrived safe and sound.  Beautiful little girl.

Baby Sprinkle for Natasha

9/7/19

Sandy hosted a baby sprinkle activity for Natasha that was rather fun and brought out my inner artist. There is a place in Ogden called Liquid Canvas where groups can have paint parties with an instructor who will take them step by step through creating their own painting.  Here are some photos from the activity.  Natasha and Dakota's little girl, Isla, is due to arrive by c-section on October 1st.

Emma's Wedding

So I feel like I have reached a milestone by having the last of my children get married.  To me that is kind of the final step in knowing that they have all left the nest and are really off on their own making their own families and embarking on a life separate from me.  We enjoyed visiting with family and friends and Emma & Mike made it a day to celebrate the joining of their family.  I liked the part in the ceremony where they and the boys all placed their hand prints on a big FAMILY sign to show that the ceremony was about more than just joining Emma & Michael.

Camping

I decided to resume my traditional camping trip for my birthday, although I was not able to go until July 4th, and I only took a couple of pictures with my phone, so I stole some of Amber's photos.  The only frustrating thing about the weekend is that with the exploding population in Utah all of our recreation areas are shoulder to shoulder people every time you try to go find someplace to relax.  Even with a reservation system we still ended up hopping around to different camp spots each night because I could not find a spot that I could reserve for the entire time.  I was also frustrated because there was a grant deadline at work so I ended up having to go home the evening of the 7th instead of the morning of the 8th as I had originally planned. We did catch fish up at Silver Lake Flats though, so that made the trip worth it.  I think that was the favorite part for the kids.  Kasen and Tai also liked when Amber and I played hide and seek with them.