31 on Mt. Evans

Monday, July 19th was my 31st birthday. Matt had to fly home this evening and so we decided to head up with our little family and Catherine to drive the highest road in North America. Eve first spotted the mountain goat. She gets the eagle eye award! Can you spot the goat in this pic?



When we reached the road's end, Matt and I ran to the peak(14,258 ft) and enjoyed the view! Being on top of a mountain is always breathtaking!
We really love the Rocky Mountains and miss them back home. We were glad to get some mountain time! Here are some additional pics of the trip.

Beautiful Colorado

Friday, July 16th we packed the car and headed to Denver. We both have family and friends there and decided to spend a little vacation time there. The kids were so good for the car ride out. We made it in 13 hrs. We are so lucky that my parents invited us to stay. The kids have enjoyed staying with Grandpa John and Grandma Bonnie.
Saturday was very fun for me! Matt played bastketball with my dad while I whipped up a batch of whole wheat pancakes. Later, Matt watched the kids while I went to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with my girls (Mom, sisters, and nieces.) We also did a little shopping :)




In the evening, Matt took the kids down to Franktown for a dinner/tennis tournament with his family and I got to see my sister, Catherine perform with her dance company. It was great to see her dance again!
Sunday, we went to a previous ward and got to hear Emma give a talk on keeping the Sabbath Day holy, and Hannah sing Oh Lord, My Redeemer. Both girls did a wonderful job!
Following church, I went to my sister's house for a BIG surprise. Here are the words of my sister Annie from her blog: "So Beckie and her family got into town late last Friday night for a 2 1/2 week visit! Our entire family is thrilled. We have had so much fun already and have lots of plans while she is here . . . a family photo, get-togethers, etc. But I was most excited about one event in particular.

Beckie's best friend, Christina, told me this Spring that she was pregnant again and that she wanted to keep it a secret from Beckie until she came to visit. So this whole time I've kept it from everyone in my family (except Jeff and - only recently - Jennifer - with Christina's permission. . .

Well, Christina had her baby on Saturday and we decided to reveal the secret on Sunday afternoon after church.

I had coordinated with Jennifer to keep Beckie at her place after church (Beckie went to her ward). I left Mary with Jeff, drove to Jen's, we blind-folded her, and hopped into the car and drove to Skyridge Medical Center.

Beckie had guessed that Christina had something to do with this surprise, but she thought it might have to do with her birthday on Monday. Still blind-folded, we took her up the elevator to the second floor. She remembered the smell since she delivered two babies there and said "Are we in a hospital?". Then right as we came up to Christina's room she asked, "Did Christina have a baby??!". Then we stepped into the room and lifted the blindfold. And there to Beckie's surprise was Christina in a hospital bed and her husband to her left holding their newest little baby, Charlotte.

Beckie was definately surprised! I think she almost cried. It was a pretty neat moment. I was glad I got to be a part of it."

Isn't that amazing? I just have to say, Sometimes a smell can give a clear picture of where you are! After having 2 babies at Sky Ridge, I can remember that place blindfolded (literally.) It is not a bad hospital smell, just distinct! I am so happy for Christina and her little family! I am sure you can imagine how much effort went in to keeping this a surprise with facebook and everything! I guess it just shows how awesome my friends & sisters are, and how much changes in 9 months of being gone!

Sunday evening, we had a family dinner to celebrate the July birthdays in our family. Talk about a fun and eventful weekend!

Nauvoo

Last weekend we went to Nauvoo with our friends. It was so much fun for the kids. The 3 hour car ride was smooth and the weather was pretty temperate for the middle of July. There were lots of fun activities for the kids.
We started at Pioneer Pasttimes where the kids dressed up and played pioneer games, played house, and climbed trees. Later we got to take a ride in a wagon pulled by oxen and we saw lots of the historic buildings (blacksmith shop, gun shop, tin smith shop, school, brick making shop, the bakery, and more.)-some were on Saturday. We also enjoyed the visitor center and the gardens.
Every meal was a picnic with occasional brass band or bagpipe band in the background. We were able to see the pageant Friday night which was enjoyable. We didn't have time for the festivities beforehand. (Next time, I guess) On Saturday the kids swam at the hotel and we were lucky enough to take a turn going to the Nauvoo temple (an especially neat experience!) We saw more historic buildings and learned how they made rope, candles, barrels, etc.
We also got to dance in the cultural hall where the early saints had dances. It was a great weekend! We really enjoyed being with friends and getting away from the routine. We hope to go again if anyone wants to join us:) There was so much to see and do! I know next time I could see even more. Here are some pics. I especially think the pic of Adam and Eve hanging laundry is fun!

Fourth of July Surprise

This year for the 4th of July we watched fireworks by the bridge on Friday. The day following the 4th we had the Corless and Owen families over for a potluck. The food was great. We watched The Princess Bride on the big screen and afterwards when Eve was showing off her loose tooth, surprise, out came the tooth. Everyone cheered and she was so proud! It was all she could think about for the rest of the evening. We had the traditional flag cake and that evening Eve put her tooth in her little pocket pillow for the tooth fairy. That was such a fun first for me!

We're going to the ZOO ZOO ZOO . . .

We have enjoyed the St Louis Zoo many times this season. The kids love to ride the train and carousel. You may still notice Eve's cheeks in some of the pics. Incidentally, we love to sing the song that goes with this title, especially when we really are going to the zoo!

Eve gets "Slapped Cheek Syndrome" Aka "Fifth Disease"

In June, Eve picked up an interesting virus that I had never heard of that causes "Slapped Cheek Syndrome." I am sure you can see why they call it that. Except for itching, she felt ok. We are glad it wasn't too hard on her. We think most of the residual rashes (it moves to the rest of the body in patches) are now gone.