Independence Day Celebrations

Utah Symphony at Sundance

We went up to Sundance for a patriotic concert by the Utah Symphony. It was so fun! They played a few patriotic songs, but it was mostly a tribute to American music. What a great way to start out the weekend.




Playing Uno during the 20 MINUTE intermission. I just feel that that was excessive, but oh well. We had fun playing games and chatting...we even had to get some hot chocolate because it was chilly in the mountains.




Stadium of Fire

Jess and I had a great time at Stadium of Fire on Saturday. We spent most of the day just hanging out and planning our weekend. We also spent some time outside in our pool...yes, we have a pool. Small, but still.



Jess was being funny and once we looked at the picture it looked like someone was punching her...but don't worry, its her own fist.


The sunset was beautiful. I wish I was a better photographer and had a better camera to capture the beauty. I love sunrise and sunset!



We also got to see Carrie Underwood! Fabulous! I wish she would have sang some of her newer stuff, but I just LOVE her. She was a fun entertainer and sounded great!


Here is a bad recording of part of her singing Some Hearts. Enjoy!



Sunday, July 4

When Jess and I got home from Stadium of Fire, we planned our outfits for Sunday, yes we coordinated. I think we represented the flag quite well, don't you? And yes, we do have matching shoes :)


So I got this tiny Harley Davidson grill from the Hampton Inn because I work with them for work. Never used it until Sunday July 5 when Jess and I had our own BBQ. It was an adventure, but worked.



This past week

This is not during that weekend, but I babysat my nieces and nephews this past week and Lia was just so darn cute, I couldn't resist.



Also not 4th of July weekend, but figured I had to keep this current, so here is a program from this past Friday. Mary and I went to the Pioneer Commemoration with the MOTAB. We learned so much about the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They had little clips that showed how far they have come since 1910 when they were organized, and all of the amazing work they did with early recordings. They are so wonderful. It was such a fun night!

Trip to Vegas to meet Eleanor Dixon

This trip was going to be a surprise for my parents, Emily and Cameron. I found out early Friday that Eleanor had been born and decided while at work that I would go down to Vegas and surprise them. Emily Herrera and Solenne decided to come with me and surprise her family as well....unfortunately our plans were somewhat foiled.

As we headed down to Vegas, there was an awful accident in front of us. There actually was an accident on the other side and that caused the one on our side. We ended up having to sit on the highway for 6 HOURS! Yes, you have that right, we sat with the car off in the dark for longer than it takes to even get to Vegas. I was so glad that I wasn't in the accident, but waiting was somewhat difficult. I was sad too, because I had to let my parents in on the secret so they didn't freak out when I walked into their house at 4 AM. They were still happy to have me come, but the surprise was going to be fun. I still got to surprise Emily and Cameron though!

After like 4 hours, Emily and I started taking pictures to entertain ourselves. Here they are. (Don't forget that we had been in the car for 5 hours driving, and then we had been sitting for 4 hours....so we might not look as nice as we normally do ;)

Emily could not keep a straight face when we were trying to have angry faces...We laughed a lot.


Trying to sleep while waiting



Happy faces...trying to look awake.


I didn't know we were being angry :)



Didn't know at the time, but still had 2 more hours to wait.



Solenne finally fell asleep, but was SO good the whole time.



Sad faces


We are so lucky to have technology. We finally broke down and started watching Stardust on my iPod. Thank you technology.



Once I got to Vegas, I spent a lot of time with my parents, which was really nice. They made me food, we made cookies, we went to a baptism, and they taught me how to make bread and popcorn.

This is the BEAUTIFUL crib that my dad made for the grandchildren. It has mostly been used by my sister Sarah and her kids, but it came in the mail the day before I got there. We put it together and oiled it so that it would be ready for Eleanor when she came home from the hospital. My dad is amazing!




My mom is also very talented and made this quilt when she was in high school! It was so beautiful. I should have taken a close up so you could see the stitching.



So, since my mom is amazing with a sewing machine, she helped me to hem my bridesmaid dress for Marsha's wedding. It was so nice to have her help me with that, and saved me the hassle of having to go to a random seamstress.

My mom has a lot of fabric and stuff that she doesn't want to get rid of. This picture is to document the miracle of her not throwing things away and how it can be handy sometimes. I didn't even realize that I probably should find thread to match the fabric....but my mom had some in her sewing stuff! How awesome is that!!




Because of timing and such, I didn't get to see the Dixon's until later on Saturday night. Here are a few pictures of my newest niece.

She has long feet ;)



So adorable, and so quiet! It was so fun to meet her and hold her the day after she was born!




Marsha and Nick Arnett - Wedding on June 19, 2010




These guys looked so nice in their gray tuxedos. So handsome!






All of the bridesmaids waiting for them to come out. It was so fun to spend the day with a lot of my really close friends. I love you girls!



Time with Stef, Will & the twins, Ethan and Evan

Stef had Ethan and Evan at the end of March. I've been able to go help with the boys every Wednesday. I also was able to spend a week with her and the boys while Will was down in St. George. Twins are a log of work, but it has been so fun to see them grow and spend time with all of them. They have just moved and it will be really weird to not spend so much time with them.

It definitely gave me a better understanding of what my parents went through with me and Courtney. I have always appreciated them, but this brought it to a whole new level. I can also see where it is all so WORTH IT!


Me and the twins...so cute!



Stef and I trying out the baby bjorn's that they just got. We had a fun walk!

Marsha's Shower

Can you believe it?!?! Stephanie and I just threw this shower last Tuesday. I think I am setting some type of record for the fastest blog post I have ever had :) Maybe this will start a new trend.

I think I am also setting another record for the number of showers thrown by one person. My life is like 27 dresses, although not all of the showers are for weddings. My friends are now moving into the baby cycle! I don't know how many showers I have been involved in planning, but lets just say A LOT. Maybe one day I will figure out how many, but I've loved being a part of all of the celebrations!

At least I didn't have to throw this one alone. Stephanie and I did it together, which was so much more fun!

Kate's Bachelorette Party and Wedding

FINALLY! Courtney started her blog and it gave me motivation to post pictures on my blog. Here are a lot of pictures from both of my trips to St. Louis. My first trip was really short and was for the Bachelorette party and the second one was for an entire week leading up to the wedding. Sorry its so long, but figured people can just skim if they don't want to look at them all.


These are the menus that Maria, our chef, made for dinner. The colors matched perfectly!




Here is our table that Mrs. Hildebrand helped me set.




Here is one of the vases. The flowers took forever to get worked out. Quite the fiasco, but I actually am quite proud of how they turned out, so here is a sample!


Table behind the food table. Super cute pictures!


Before the shower began, we had Kate come and put on her crown and her shirt for all of the girls to sign. She was in a super cute outfit, so I felt bad making her change, but she was a good sport about it.


We had a game where we had to kiss the man on the back of the door, and whoever got closest won. We all had really hot purple/pink lipstick on. It was a really fun game!


Here is the whole gang with our super cute chef, Maria. She was so wonderful!




This is the start of my second trip to St. Louis. This portion is from my trip down memory lane.




Being here reminded me of how much I miss and love all of the people here! What an amazing ward and stake, made up of wonderful people. You can't find anything like this anywhere else on earth!




My middle school




West High School! Right below this is where we practiced color guard for hours on end!







The back of our house. View from the pool!


Oh how I miss this pool!


Our Elementary School.



Queeny Park. So many Sunday walks and ice skating, and horse shows. Such an amazing park to live near.







Kate had a work conference, so I was so lucky and able to go to the temple while I was there. It was so wonderful!




This is Kate's house...well her family room. I love the windows!





After we picked Chelsey up from the airport, Kate and Ben were nice enough to take us to Ted Drewes. That was so fun because I can't even remember the last time I had it...probably girls camp.


I am not a huge fan of this picture, but it was so great of Kate's mom to do my hair for the wedding, I wanted to give her credit. She was so cute and offered to do my hair so it wouldn't be boring. I just love her!



Kate and Dana's parents. They looked so snazzy!



Kate and her Maids of Honor waiting for the ceremony to begin


Me, Lucy and Chelsey before the ceremony


Kate and Ben love Carl's Drive in. They thought it would be fun to take the wedding party there for lunch before we took pictures. The food was yummy! Kate was so cute and made us personalized aprons so we didn't ruin our dresses! They put so much time and thought into all of the details of their wedding!




Me and the newlyweds before they left the reception. This was such a wonderful day that went off without a hitch. I was so grateful to be able to be such a part of it! Wouldn't have missed it for the world!