Summer + Mom + Daughters= "Favorite Things" ROAD TRIP

I am blessed to be a mother of 3 daughters and 3 sons...all of whom I love and adore. When they were young and all living at home we didn't go on alot of family vacations, but we did THINGS AS A FAMILY. We went to the movies, to dinner, to the city to shop, to the lake to fish, to the mountains to picnic and camp...we spent fun quaility time together. Mom's and daughters have "interesting" relationships...at least in our family. As the girls grew into "teenagers"...we argued over different things (MANY different things) and I anxiously awaited the day they outgrew that AWFUL stage...then they grew to be independant young adults, they moved on to college, found new lives, new friends and jobs...not needing mom anymore (sad day for me)...AND THEN they (2 of them) grew into ADULTS and got married to the men of their dreams and they moved far away (far enough that I don't get to see them very often) and they became my best friends. I miss them tremendously, but I'm happy that they are happy and living their lives (otherwise I would have failed as a parent). BUT because we don't see each other very often or get to spend a ton of time with each other, I planned a ROAD TRIP for just the 4 of us...a little mom and daughter time. 

THE THEME was:

"MY favorite THINGS"...and off we headed for our 3 day adventure!  

 Dayna planned great adventures along the way as we traveled to Logan Utah....

 We ate pizza...all you can eat pizza (nope, didn't go away hungry from here!)

We had a "Second Hand Store" scavenger hunt where we had to draw someone's

name and pick out an OUTRAGEOUS outfit for them to try on....

 Yes...laughing WITH each other at how ridiculous we looked was so much fun!!

 We ate gourmet doughnuts....ahhhhhhhhhh....sooooooo gooooooood!!

We visited the Brigham City Temple Grounds...on such a gorgeous day!

Day one was a BLAST!!! Great laughs, great times....

WE MADE IT TO LOGAN all in one piece!

Heaven Gained an Angel~

Death is never easy...Death of friends and family is always hard to swallow, 

but I have strong beliefs of eternal life and that we will one day be 

reunited with our family and friends on the other side...

these beliefs help me through difficult times like these. 

My cousin, Chad Keith Nielson, died in May. It was a surprise to everyone...one minute he was there and the next minute he wasn't. It was a shock to say the least. Chad and I were born a year apart. We used to hang out and play at my grandparents when we were little as well as get into mischief, we even had some good "heart to hearts" as we got older. I loved Chad and will miss him terribly. Life isn't always fair, its not always easy and its full of many ups and downs. This hasn't been easy on his family, and I'm sure it will continue to be a struggle for many, many years...but they are a strong family and will put their best feet forward and fight until the end! They have THAT kind of strength!

Chad served in the Navy and his service to his country was near and dear to his heart!

He and his sweet wife adopted 5 darling little boys and had 3 foster sons, whom he 

loved dearly. 

He adored his wife, his mother and his brother more than they could possibly ever know.

He loved his extended family and they loved him right back...thats what families do...

because they are FOREVER!

Chad will never be forgotten...he will be in our hearts today, tomorrow and always... and one day

we will meet again!

After the service was over, my dad, sisters and brothers headed over 

to another part of the cemetery to where my older sister is buried.

She died as a baby, living for only 6 hours. Some of my siblings had never been to her grave
so we all went over and had a "family picture".

I have the best family ever.....I really do!

Happy Birthday...and "Happy Last DAY of SCHOOL"

OKAY...confession time...I AM A BIT (well, alot) behind on my blog!

BUT...the important part is, I am catching it up...right?!

ON the last day of school, these 4 gorgeous girls always have a HUGE 

PARTY to CELEBRATE the last day of school...they have a sleep over, eat junk and

giggle all night long! THIS YEAR, Halle decided to combine her birthday party WITH 

the "Last Day of School Party". 

These fabulous girlie's roasted hot dogs, ate chips, drank soda and slept outside

in a tent...all in an attempt to put a close on their 2012-2013 school year!

Not only are these girls the best of friends, but they are also cousins!

AND....

Cousins make the BEST, best friends, and these four have been pals since day one!

They are always there for each other, build each other up, listen to each other struggles, help each other out, laugh at each others jokes and make each other smile....year in and year out!

It was a great night and Halle loved every minute of it!

Happy Sweet 16 beautiful girl!!

Little Mister and "Mater".....

Little Mister rode his adorable little "mater" down to visit grandma (YES, that would be me)

the other day. He just grinned ear to ear as mater moved down the road....with him at the wheel! 

It totally made my day, I couldn't help but smile for the rest of the night!

and then it was time to go home and get ready for bed....what a doll!!

Favorite Time of Day...Morning and Evening~

I have always loved waking up before the sun...watching it come up over the horizon and then

staying up late enough at night to watch it go back down!

That is one of the blessings, I feel, that I am blessed with for living in a rural area... less buildings to look over, less cars making noise, less smog to block the view, less homes to look past...just pure, country

air with beautiful, crisp sunrises and sunsets!  

It's the "summer life" that I love and live for!

Triathlon...and a TOUR!

Memorial day weekend is the big "Greenwood (mini) Triathlon". Mike's parents started it years ago and it's gotten bigger and bigger as time has gone on. Kim talked me into participating in it...although, I wasn't up to competing in the swimming or biking portion, I told her I would run the 5K....so UP BRIGHT and early we arose for the "race" preperation.

.

Kim and Mike planned on competing AND COMPLETING the entire triathlon (swimming, biking and the 5K)...so we went to cheer them on before Halle and I competed in the 5K portion of the race. 

the "biking team"....!

After Kim and Mike finished the swimming and biking portion, we started the last leg...the 5K. 

I've ran in several 5K's before...but this one was a NEW experience...we ran on gravel, pavement and down a dirt road...all of which was a new experience and worked an entire different set of muscles....BUT it was fun none-the-less and I finished within seconds of my last 5K. I ran the entire leg and ended 

...sweaty and stinky like all the others!

After I finished I ran back to find Kim and Halle...I wanted to see them "to the end"...

We all finished tired and beat...but feeling rather accomplished!

GO TEAM!!

After a bit of a rest ( a little food, sleep and air conditioning), Mike and Kim took us

for a tour of the "land"!...we went to the "Res" in Delta. I loved the idea that people

lived RIGHT on the lakes edge, just like real "beach front" property. 

We played on a "sand dune"...which is SOOOOO COOL!! 

The sand was white and HOT...and if the wind wouldn't have been blowing, I could have played there

for hours. Halle and I really wanted to jump off the top of one of them, down to the "dune" below...but the

wind was blowing sand all over, so we opted out of it. 

...but I couldn't help but snap a few FUN pictures in the sand!!!.............

We had a great trip visiting with Mike and Kim...

 touring the country, running, eating, laughing and enjoying our Memorial Day with such wonderful people!

Thanks Kim and Mike for a wonderful weekend!!

Country Living With The Coats......

For Memorial Day, we took a road trip down to Central Utah to visit Kim and Mike....a long drive, but so worth it! We had never been down "on the farm" since Kim and Mike were married last year so we were all anxious to see "how they lived" out in the country. We arrived just in time for a little rest before dinner time. I love the country, I was raised in the country....so this was exciting and fun for me. I loved the smell "dirt" and "sprinklers"...the faint smell of blossoms in the breeze and even the distant smell of a skunk wondering around in some field somewhere (okay, I didn't LOVE that smell...but it is a "farm" smell)....and everything was SOOOOOOO green (the dry, hot summer hadn't hit there yet). The grass was green, the fields were green, the trees were green and even the corn that was popping up from the ground was green...it was GORGEOUS! 

We ventured outside for a back yard barbecue and a yard game of Bocce Ball...

....which was a blast!!

mainly because I had the BEST little teammate ever...Miss Mary!.

Kim and Mike kept us all smiling and laughing the entire time....they always do!

we snapped a fun "mom/daughter" picture....

and met some more of Mike's family~

The sunsets down there were AMAZING...I could have just stayed there and watched them

 for the ENTIRE summer....no buildings to block the view, just fields and

wheel lines...and the ever fading sun....made me feel like a "youngster" again!

There is something about the country that makes me reflect on God's creations, 

all that he has blessed me with and what a lucky girl I truly am!

I may live in "town"...but I'm a "country girl" at heart...

and this "country", and the people that live there is JUST WHAT I needed!