Worth 700 miles

Nic and Nyc-old friends-aren't we hot mammas?!

Grandpa Steve, Great-Grandma Strong , me and the kids

The cousins at Temple Square-Marco, Corom, Elijah, Noelle, Lucia and Sylvie

At Silver Lake-up Big Cottonwood Canyon

Marco, Lucia, Noelle, me, Sylvie, Tami, Elijah and Corom
(Sorry the pictures are all out of order!)

Last weekend we took a short trip to Utah. Julio could only get a couple of days off work, but we decided to go anyway. We were set to leave on Thursday after Julio got home from a court appearance in Modesto (about 2 hours away). He got home at 6 pm, we loaded up the kids and were off to get gas before we got on the freeway at about 7 pm. When we pulled into the gas station, the attendant told us something was dragging under the car. Apparently, Jiffy Lube forgot to screw on the engine cover after changing the oil the day before. How convenient! So, two hours, a greasy and frustrated husband and some wire later, we headed out. We had booked a hotel in scenic Battle Mountain, NV and got there about 2:30 am. We rested up and left on Friday to complete our trip to Salt Lake. We were so tired and happy by the time we got to Tami and Dan's student apartment. They were wonderful hosts and their house was totally opened to us. The kids started playing right away as if they hadn't been apart at all. That night we went out for Mexican food and then went to Temple Square. We did a tour of the Conference Center-believe it or not, I had never actually been inside! It was beautiful! We stayed at my cousin's house-thanks John and Amanda! The next day we went up Big Cottonwood to Silver Lake with Dan, Tami and the kids. Being Pioneer Day, it was packed up there! We had a nice picnic and hike around the lake. It was so beautiful up there. That night, we had a dinner and swimming at my aunt and uncle's house. It was so nice to see all the Shirley's-but wasn't long enough! I wish we could have had more time to chat with everyone. One funny thing that happenned was when Sylvie went and sat on Uncle John's lap. He wasn't even paying attention to her, but when she got up there with him, he noticed she had a messy face and asked if he could wash it off. She said yes, and after he wiped her off, she said thank you! So funny how she totally prefers men (except for Mom!) After the dinner, our marathon day ended with Pioneer Day fireworks and sparklers. Whew! Sunday we went to church at Tami and Dan's student ward-what a strong group of people! Then we relaxed and had lunch with them in the afternoon. That evening we went down to Highland to visit my old high school friend Nycole. We had such a good time with them! They were wonderful hosts and we talked and talked and could have talked all night. There are only a few really kindred souls you connect with in your life and Nyc is one of them! Sunday we packed up and drove home. It was totally worth the long drive to spend time with our beloved friends and family! We need to do it more often.

The State Fair

I haven't been to the state fair for years and Julio and the kids had never been. Julio got free admission and parking passes from work, so we decided to go last Tuesday. We weren't aware that kids get in free on Tuesdays and that all the rides are only $1. It was packed! We arrived at 6 pm and stayed until about 9:30 and only saw maybe a third of the fair. We spent the majority of our time doing the kiddie rides and eating. No, I did not eat a deep-fried Twinkie, a huge turkey leg, or chocolate covered bacon. I had a baked potato! Wasn't feeling up to the 1000 calories items that night! We also got to see some farm animals, jungle animals, an aerospace display, the county displays...but there was so much we missed! The kids enjoyed it and were thoroughly exhausted when we left. Lucia loves all the rides-especially the roller coasters. Marco is getting a little less scared on the little rides, but Sylvia went on her first ride-the Dumbo ride-and she loved it! I had to restrain her from climbing out while we were up in the air spinning! She's a crazy one! To see more pictures (the better ones)-go to my facebook page.

No pictures, but a summer synopsis

We have had such a busy summer, but now I don't have any pictures to show for it. Marco broke the camera the other day. I can't seem to upload pictures onto the computer either. The summer is going by way too fast! It's true that time flies when you're having fun. I just love being able to sleep in until 8:30 or 9, get ready to go have fun and then relax for a while, go swimming, eat dinner whenever, watch tv until late at night and not have to worry about a schedule or doing anything we don't have to do. We've been spending our days at different water parks and going to Grandma and Grandpa's to swim. The weather has varied from super hot to tolerable. Lucia is now a big girl swimmer and goes in without floaters. She can float on her back and she can swim underwater all by herself! She's gained so much confidence in the water this year. Marco still uses the water wings, but he goes all over the pool in them and goes under water with his goggles. Sylvie would just jump in without floaters if we let her. She sticks her head under water and looks around and then comes back up with a huge smile on her face. She is a total water baby! The only thing is she is so skinny, she gets cold easily and so she'll get out and start shaking like a leaf.
We've also been enjoying garden veggies this year. I've made a few loaves of zucchini bread that quickly got devoured. I made a yummy tofu curry stir-fry last night and I'm going to make gaspacho tonight with cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes from ours and dad's gardens. With all the healthy stuff, I have to say we've eaten a lot of ice cream too! It's so good in summer!
We've had a couple of Family Home Evenings at our house and invited friends over to play games and have dessert with us. It's fun and motivates us to have FHE more often when we have another family to enjoy it with.
Reading is another summer activity we've enjoyed. I'm finishing up Catching Fire and will start on Gone with the Wind (again) for book club. I need more reading suggestions. I have a hard time getting into books sometimes. I need something that will get me in the beginning.
Anyway, just some random things about our summer. I don't want it to end, but we are trying to enjoy every minute of it. Happy Summer~

July 4th weekend

July 4th was fun this year-even though Mom, Dad, and Brandon were gone, off celebrating with the Potter's. We invited my friend Camille-whom I met in my single days in LA-and her family for swimming and BBQ at Mom and Dad's. It was nice to have company. Sunday night we decided to go to the Sunrise Mall fireworks show. We got there about 40 minutes early and thought we got a really great parking spot and a good vantage point on a patch of grass. The show lasted all of 20 minutes and then it took us a good hour to get of there. Sylvie wouldn't sit still for the life of her, so Julio had to chase her around-in a parking lot for the duration of the show. He wasn't too happy about that. The kids did fall asleep on the way home and so we went to bed. Unfortunately, Julio's day off yesterday ended up being a sick day. He's got strep throat and has been in bed for two days. He's miserable! Poor guy. Today is Mom's birthday, but since they drove home today, we will celebrate tomorrow. My camera is not downloading pictures right now, so I'll post some later. We are excited for our short trip to Utah later this month and then to So Cal in August. We finally planned something! Yay!