Family Reunion July 11-12

This was for my mom's side of the family-the Garrett's. Friday the 11th, we spent a while at Seven Peaks getting sunburned and waterlogged. It was a lot of fun and Hailey and Riley really enjoyed all the cousins and new kids to play with. I didn't get a whole lot of pictures while we were there-it is kind of hard to do when you are surrounded by water! We spent most of our time in the wave pool, it is easy to watch kids on the "shore", and it's not too deep. On Saturday, we went up the canyon for games and crafts for the kids-hence the neat hats!! It was a lot of fun there too. As the kids played games, they earned "Garrett Bucks" and got to spend them at the store they had set up. There were a ton of things for them to buy, and they REALLY liked that part. Hailey keeps asking when we can go back to that store! What a crazy, fun gang of people.

Jumping over waves

He bought suckers and gummy bears with his bucks!

Always something in his face

Waassssuuuppp!!!

My cousin's little girl (right) is six weeks younger than Riley. BIG BOY!!

Getting a pretty flower painted.

First Lily of the Season

About July 9th-now a month later they are gone :(

Let July begin...and end!!

Ok here goes some more catching up. I am going to make these next few entries as short as possible since the month has been gone for awhile. Of course we start with July 4th...
Katie had us all over to her house for food and fireworks. Jared also had a whole bunch of water balloons for the kids. Too bad the wind wasn't working well with the fireworks...hmmm.

Halelujah!!!!

Good News everyone-Wes is NOT going to Kansas. He was hired on permanently with the company he has been apprenticing with. He will now remain in Evanston. He will be close enough to still visit and he will have weekends off. Yeah :)

Fire: Awesome & Frightening

Before I blog our July let me tell you how our August began. There are two kinds of fire: the first obviously is the kind that keeps you warm on a cold winters day. Or the kind that you roast marshmallows or hot dogs in while you are camping. The giver of heat and light, in a way life. The second is the opposite of the first. It is the taker of life. The kind that only has death and destruction on its mind and will stop for nobody, if it has its way. The kind that is mean and nasty. Now keep in mind that the first can quickly become the second if you are not careful. Last night we were very close to meeting the second. Accidentally a fire was started on the mountains behind our house. It started around three yesterday afternoon and is still going in some areas. As is human nature, we watched. We had ring-side seats from our backyard and for awhile we were just voyeurs, but then it became personal. The water helicopters and the fire-retardant dropping plane kept it in line for a little while, but it soon got dark and the wind kept changing direction. As soon as they were gone, all hell broke loose (excuse the language). The back fire the fighters had started, was now part of the problem instead of the solution. Police and other rescue people were evacuating our neighborhood. Of course that is when the panic sets in. What do you grab when you only have ten minutes to get out? How do you decide what is more important than anything else? As the neighborhood south of us quickly became a ghost town, we waited. By this point it was about 11:00 at night and we were exhausted and scared. Then the neighborhood to the east of us was gone too. We waited some more. The wind had shifted too again and it was heading North toward "P" mountain. At around one o'clock a.m., we finally got word that we were safe, and were not going to have to leave. YEAH!! Relief was never more welcome. We were one out of 20ish houses that got to stay home. Let me put it this way, our whole ward was gone except for 6 families. So next time you are mesmerized by fire, remember how evil and personal it can get if you are not nice to it.

Just after it started

Dropping fire retardant

Getting bigger

The wind is starting to shift

A view from Main Street

From my back porch/not zoomed

Panic is setting in...

Saturday, huge water helicopter refilling in reservoir by our house

We estimate this puppy could hold 22 passengers or so, not bad for a chopper!!

This is video of the huge chopper refilling its tank-very cool!!

I have been 3's tagged by Ashley

3 Joys:
Bed time!! (ok,I like my kids when they are awake too!)
Reading Smut (don't judge me :) )
Creating anything (it's jewelry for the moment)

3 Fears:
Growing up (notice I did not say old)
Public restrooms
Deep water (I don't like not knowing what/who is under me)

3 Goals:
Getting out of debt
Being happy (being successful is the same to me)
Selling my jewelry to the public

3 Obsessions:
Today-blogging
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Squishing my kids' cheeks

3 Random Facts:
I have no spleen or gal bladder
I love any crime scene shows
I have never been to a concert-nope, never


I tag Lesley, Sara and Julie

Memory Lane

Okay, I am seeing these on everyones blogs so I am joining in!
Here are the rules (as if you don't know them by now):

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

Some of the stuff I have read on other blogs has been pretty hilarious, so I can't wait to hear what you have to say about me.