A lovely visit from grandparents

This weekend we had a nice visit from Mike's parents. His mom has been sick for a while and is finally getting her strength back. They wanted to come see our new home so they came down to spend the weekend with us. It was nice just to sit and visit with them. We had a BBQ saturday night and they spent the night. It was even nicer to have them join us for church the next day. It was a great reminder of why we moved, to have more time with family! Thanks for coming down!

Happy birthday to me!

With everything that we have going on this summer, I ended up having to work the night before and the night of my birthday. Before I went to work we were at the grocery store and I picked up a small single piece of party cake for my lunch that night. Brianna asked why I did that and I told her that after midnight (officially on the 25th) I was going to sit in the breakroom and eat my little party cake. She lovingly smiled and said, "Mom.....that's pathetic". I guess when your a mom and you are old, birthdays just aren't that big of a deal.

When I got home after my shift, this is what I saw on the counter! Brianna had made this cake for me all by herself and Chelsea had made my favorite pumpkin cookies. Mason also designed me a lovely card. It was such a nice surprise. My kids are so thoughtful.


The day got even better because I was called off that night so I didn't have to work. Mike had his night summer class so the girls and I rented a movie and we tucked in for the evening. Friday night Mike took me out to dinner (Cafe Rio :) and he even took me to the movie "Proposal". It was not his first choice to watch, but since I don't have any girlfriends here to go to a movie with he bit the bullet and took one for the team. Man, he must really love me!

Cord's "Happy Visit"

Today was Cord's first visit to the dentist. They scheduled him for what they call a "happy visit". They basically let him get used to being at the dentist and just make it a fun experience. He LOVED brushing the big set of teeth with the big toothbrush and did it FOREVER! They show him the equipment and the magic chair. Then they tried to count his teeth, but that's where he drew the line. There was NOOOOO teeth counting today. We spent the rest of the time in the waiting room fliping his toy frog around while Mason was finishing. It was a happy day!

Reunion day 3

Brianhead is only 1 hr from Bryce Canyon so that's where we headed today. We had been there a couple years ago, but I love it. Our first adventure was hiking down into the heart of the canyon, a 1.3 mile loop. Sounds harmless enough but it was hard work. Cord wanted to walk the whole way, but he also wanted to stop and pick up every single rock he could find. The sights were breathtaking though and we found plenty of spots to take pictures. Toward the end (on the way back up) I finally had to force Cord to ride on my dad's back if we were ever going to get out of there. What a little trooper! Of course he fell asleep as soon as we got back to the car. We found a nice spot for a picnic. But as soon as we got everything out, the heavens opened and poured rain hard for about 5 minutes. We ended up eating our soggy sandwhiches in the car while we were grateful that we still weren't in the canyon. We took some time to explore the sites at the various lookouts. Chelsea took the awesome pic of the rainbow. Before we left Bryce we took some time for a little shopping. The kids had b-day money from grandma great that they wanted to spend. Cord bought the stick "e-he" which was really cute at the time but has since turned into a powerful weapon for him. UGGH!

We have loved being with our cousins. They live in Idaho so we don't get to see them as much as I'd like. We have had adventures in Yellowstone, Bear Lake, and now in Brianhead. I wonder where we'll be next year???

Reunion day 2

The kids were really excited about today's plans, I however wasn't. We were going horseback riding. Horses and I don't get along very well. I remember a time when I was little (maybe 10 or so) when I was with my friend Angela. Her dad was taking care of a horse and he took us down for a little ride. The horse backed into a wire fence and kicked us off. Then 2nd event with horses was when I was a senior in HS. My friend Gayeline had horses. One day she convinced me to go for a ride with her. The horse decided to run and I fell off. So I've gotten along very well since then staying off horses. But I knew Cord would enjoy the ride on the "e-he" so I decided to take him. As we were sitting there waiting to go, I just about got off and made my dad take him. We had divided the group into 2, the slow and the fast. Mason, Cord and I were in the slow group. Our horse was named "happy". For the most part it was OK. A couple of times the horse tried to trot until I learned how to control it. Cord loved the trot, I did not. I was impressed that Cord was happy to sit with me the whole hour ride. He kept singing "dudt de dudt" and he almost fell asleep because he was so relaxed. I was also impressed that Mason was able to control his own horse. Chelsea and Brianna went with the fast group where they went trotting all they wanted. They LOVED it!

After the horse adventure we headed back to the cabin where some of the lucky ones got naps. I however went with my dad and took my kids exploring around Brianhead. We climbed down an ice cave, got eaten by bugs at a fishing lake, and went on a couple short hikes. That night we did what we love to do most, gather around and play games. Mason really enjoyed the pool table in the loft. It's the best part of being together. Here are some of my favorite moments of the day.

Mathews Family Reunion

This week was our Mathews family reunion in Brianhead. The Great Grandma Mathews had paid for a couple of cabins up there for us to be together. Most of the family was up there the whole week, but because I had to work and Mason & Chelsea had school (mason is on year round while chelsea is taking an extra class to get ahead) we drove up there Wed. night to join in the festivities. Today we spent time in the cabins doing crafts with the kids, making sock puppets and putting on various shows, doing skits, trying to hike to the tallest point in Brianhead but the road was blocked because of snow (yes, I know it's june - go figure), and having a wienee roast at Yankee Meadow by a lake. Of course I took a million pictures, but here are the highlights for today.