One wedding and a funeral

Well summer is almost officially over. The kids played their last T-ball game...

And we headed out to Utah for one last summer visit before school starts. We were originally going to drive out when Mike could come with us but a dear family friend passed away and we wanted to go to her funeral. I drove the kids out (we couldn't fly because although we are free, the puppy isn't) by myself. I was kind of reluctant to do it although I don't know why because I drove all over the country by myself when I was single. I guess things change when you have kids. I discovered I could safely drive while pouring gold fish crackers into bowls and passing them around as well as stopping any major battles in the back seat and making sure everyone got their turn to hold the puppy. We spent the night in Rock Springs, Wyoming and went swimming in the hotel pool. We made a little mini-vacation of the trip. The kids and puppy were great in the car for the nine hour drive. I was proud of them all. Katie seemed to be getting sick on the way and threw up a couple of times. I think it's mandatory for a child to get sick anytime you try to go out of town especially if you were just thinking to yourself a few days earlier that it had been a really long time since the kids had gotten sick. She threw up a few more times while we were visiting and we eventually took her to the doctor but he said it was nothing and she got better after that.

Marlene was my young women advisor for many years and a great friend to my family. Her funeral was beautiful. She truly lived to serve everyone around her. She was a tremendous example of loving kindness. Her identical twin sister spoke at the service and it was a little strange to see someone who looked and sounded just like Marlene speaking at Marlene's funeral. I think it also made it a little easier too. My mom was able to attend even though she was still in a rehabilitation center recovering from knee surgery. She is so brave, she had her left knee replaced in December and her right knee replaced in July. She is amazing and is getting around so much better now. I hope the pain will go away soon. It was great to see a lot of the girls I grew up with come back for the funeral. Just seeing them brought back great memories of Marlene. She will be greatly missed.

Mike flew in to Salt Lake a few days after we got there. We took the kids to the Bingham Copper Mine. I always loved going there as a kid. The mine has really grown and the kids really liked learning about it.

We went to the open house of the Oquirrh Mountain temple. Even though it was 106 degrees that day, it was wonderful. Mike's mom was able to come with us. I think it's so great the church opens new temples to the public. It is a beautiful temple and I'm glad the kids got to see it. Tommy carried his pamphlet around and used it as a map to make sure we saw every room that was pictured in it. It was pretty cute.

My friends from college, Chad & Rachel, came to visit us. They have four beautiful children who are some of the sweetest kids I have met. Their youngest son loved carrying our puppy around, it was so cute. He was so gentle and sweet with him.

We got to celebrate the 24th of July while we were there. I used to camp out down town so I could see the parade when I was in high school. We didn't do that this year but Katie did get into the spirit of the holiday with her new cowgirl hat.

We went with Kathy and her family to a Bees baseball game. The game was cancelled because the other team didn't show but we saw some random guys play and then we saw a great fireworks show. We were able to sit on the field and watch it. That was the first time I've been so close to a fireworks show that I got debris in my hair.

The boys got to run the bases after the show.

And get their picture taken with the Bee.

My nephew, Stockton really impressed me with his tree climbing skills. I watched him hang from a branch by one hand so he could pick an apple. He scraped his arms during his adventure but Kathy and I made him climb back up so we could take a picture because that's the kind of mothers we are.

This was a great trip for seeing friends and family. I went to my cousin's wedding reception one night with my mom. I saw my grandmother's brother and sister and a lot of cousins there. It was so great to see family I hadn't seen in a while. Tommy was on a bug kick while we were in town and gathered rolly pollies at the reception. I thought he just had a few but when we got to the car and I gave him a little box to put them in I saw that he had 14. Wow. Then we went to our friend's party. My best friend, Janine, used to live across the street from me. We met when we were three and have been friends ever since. The party was at her brother's house. It was great to see her mom and siblings. We met Janine and her kids at the park another day and the kids played together. Her kids are so beautiful and sweet. Really their whole family is just amazing.

I got to see another friend from college, Courtney! I was so happy to finally meet her darling kids in person. We met for breakfast and Tommy tried to convince everyone that playing was much more fun than eating. I wish eating was as low of a priority in my life as it is in his. Now we have to go out to DC so we can visit Courtney there.

I had lunch with my friend, Julie. I met Julie while I was at pilot training in Enid, Oklahoma. She went to Utah State also and grew up in the Salt Lake valley but we had to go to a tiny town to meet. We were the only single girls in our ward there. It was so nice to have a friend outside of the Air Force at that time. She is such a talented and wonderful lady. She was a music therapist in Enid. She gave me a tour of the facility she worked in. She helped rehabilitate mentally ill patients through music. What a powerful tool! It was so great to catch up with her.

And then it was time to head home.

One of the most exciting parts of the trip was finding a home with Mike's mom. She has worked so hard her whole life but has never owned a home. We were with her when she found the one she wanted. It is in a great neighborhood with parks close by. I am so happy for her. I can't wait until she moves in.

Mike returned to Chicago to fly another trip while we were out there but was able to come back to drive home with us.

Thank goodness for video games and movies in the car. Oh and the puppy.

Every year our Wing has a family day. I was really glad that Mike was able to go with us this year. The kids had a great time. They love the bounce houses or "jumpy jumps" as we like to call them.

The kids spent the most time in this fire truck. Mike asked the airman at this display all about his job, the specifications and capabilities of the truck, etc. He has always been so good at making people feel good about their jobs. I wondered though if the guy didn't feel like he was getting a checkride though and being quizzed on his job knowledge.

Firemen are pretty irresistible aren't they Katie?

Hope the firemen didn't mind that the kids pushed every button and tried everything on while Mike distracted them with questions.

After we toured the truck and Tommy fired the hose, the guys started putting on their gear. I told Tommy, "look how fast they put their equipment on". I didn't realize they were going on an actual call. I thought they were just giving us a demonstration.

Here's where the magic happens. Tommy wanted to know how cotton candy was made so this nice lady showed him.

I'm not sure what the objective was supposed to be but Katie thought you were supposed to drown the ducks. She must have been right because she got a prize.

So we've done quite a bit these past few weeks. No wonder I'm exhausted. But after all that, the kids still weren't tired. They piled every pillow in the house at the bottom of the stairs and jumped, and jumped, and jumped.