Surprise!

One night after work, I had a slide show for the girls to watch....Here was the last slide:

Their reaction was so great and they were so excited. Megan told me after that she almost started to cry because she was so excited. That made my day! Ryan and I had been planning it since April, but didn't tell the kids until July...it was hard to not tell them, but we finally did. We had a GREAT time and can't wait until we can go back again.

Summer Camping

Last July we tired our hand at camping. We had a great time, even in the rain. We started the trip by going on an all day ride on the rhino with a large group that ended with a great BBQ dinner. After the dinner, we drove up the canyon and found a spot to camp at for the next 3 days. We fished, played games, ate food, and of course more rhino riding. It was a good time. We did have a couple of issues with lightning that gave us a scare. We were sitting in the trailer with the door open and it was raining...all of a sudden there was a loud crack sound followed by a bright light. We soon discovered that a tree no more than 30 feet in front of us had been struck by lightning - it was WOW! The girls were definitely scared, but calmed down. The next day the same thing happened so we decided to pack up and get out of there. We cut our trip one day short, but it was okay because it gave me that day to do all of the laundry and cleaning!

Forever Families

My brother, Brandon, and his family have been living in the Azores (island off of Portugal) for the last two plus years. While there they adopted a boy named Ruben. We were lucky enough to have their family come to Utah last summer so that Ruben could be sealed to their family. It was wonderful to be able to be there and have all of our family there. Ruben is such a hoot and fits in swimmingly with his family. He and Bella, Brandon's youngest daughter, are only 10 months apart so it's like having twins. They have their hands full, but it's worth it. We are all excited for summer of 2013 because Brandon and family will be moving to San Antonio, TX which is much closer than the Azores and it is only one time zone difference! We kind of like our forever families!

Let's Move a Piano

My piano has a story. When I was 7 years old, I was able to start taking piano lessons. I did that until I was 14. One might hear this and think that I am pretty good at playing said piano...let me clarify...I am not good. I can read music and figure things out, but let's face it, my parents paid for therapy for those 7 years! I loved my teacher to pieces...Maisa Simpson. In fact, I ran into her a few weeks ago at a funeral and cried because I love that lady. Okay, back to my piano's story. So, it has always been known that when my mom dies I get the piano. After all, I took lessons the longest (probably didn't practice the most though). So when my parents move to St. George, I told them to leave the piano with me. I won't call it "my piano" until my mom was gone, but that I was just housing it for her. No. Mom didn't like that. She wanted her piano with her. Well, not too long after they moved (less than a year) she called and told me that I could have the piano. Wahoo! Ryan was less thrilled because that meant he now had to get said piano from St. George to home, that and now we have a piano to move every time we move. :) So, I have the piano. It moved with us to the basement when we lived with Ryan's parents. When we moved out in January of this year, the piano stayed in the basement. Mostly because Ryan was done moving things and the last thing he wanted to move was a piano. Well, the basement of his parents is going to be getting other tenants so I wanted my piano out of their way and back into my life. I work in an office of about 1200 people, 1100 of which are men. I was pretty confident that I could find 4 men willing to move a piano up some stairs to wait for Ryan to get home and finish it off. Well, the first four I asked said yes! Wahoo! So, one day at lunch, we drove on over to the in-laws and moved a piano. I took a few pictures, but then I couldn't watch. I had to go upstairs and pretend like nothing was happening! And now the piano is in my home and I love it being there. Something is just right about it.

Luke Kenneth

My sister, Allisyn, had her fourth baby on June 21st. Luke Kenneth Wright. He lives in St. George (boo). I didn't get to meet him until he was 3 weeks old, but he is sure a cutie and such a good baby.

Let's Cut it Off!

Now that Megan finished her wax museum as Emma Watson...Hermoine Granger...she decided to get her hair cut. Not just a little. No. This girl cut it all off. She didn't want an a-line which i was sad about, so she just had 7 inches cut off into a bob. Of course she looks cute. Of course it is easier to comb. I do miss being able to just pull it in a pony tail or braiding it (I was starting to get very adventurous with braiding). She likes to flip it, wavy it, curl it, whatever!

Expelliarmus!

At Megan's school in the 3rd grade, they do a wax museum for their presentation on a biography. Megan choose to be Emma Watson aka Hermione Granger. She and I worked on her poster and I was able to borrow a costume for her to use. After I finished her hair in the morning, I couldn't believe how much she looked like Hermione! She did a great job at being a wax figure!