This and that

Grand kids are the best, in case you didn't know!

 Treslee, Wesley and Millie came to visit so off to Barros Pizza and the merry-go-round we went!

 I spent time at Mindy's with kaylee, Ashlyn and Carter. Ashlyn is sporting her yoga poses!

 John and I went to Utah for four reunions over the 4th of July. (That was a lot of 'F's"!)

On the was home we took a detour to the North Rim of Grand Canyon. Spectacular!

 Sam, Mollie and me having a snuggle moment.

In June Devin, Greg, Brian and Brooklynn did a triathlon in a tiny town an hour east of Stafford, AZ. Brian and Scottee's kids and I were there to cheer them on.

 Funny faces...Jaxson and Oaklee didn't get that memo I guess!

Brooklynn and Greg

 Brian

 The athletes!

 Nothing like a new baby and a sweet little man who loves his new sister!

 Kaylee Forbes

 Timpanogus...east side.

 Dad, mom, John and I drove out to Grantsville, UT to see where John's dad grew up. Ont he way we stopped in Fairfield, a little pioneer town, to take pictures of this quaint little school house and the stage coach inn. We ate lunch in Tooele, UT, another place I have not been to. Have you?

John's dad lived here all alone when he was 15-17 or 18 years old. After years of being a single father and trying to raise his family with the help of the grandparents, his dad remarried. Lucy, his first wife died nine months after giving birth to John's dad. Wes didn't want to move to Salt Lake City when the rest of the family did so he stayed on in Grantsville, even though his grandparents had passed on.

 In the small Grantsville city cemetery we found gravestones belonging to John's ancestors.

 One of the four reunions was the annual Boley family one at the Ault's backyard in Orem. The "Richmond" family: mom's parents Maurice and Grace Richmond's posterity held their reunion at Golden Corral! It was too hot to be outdoors! The old 13th ward reunion, the ward John grew up in was such a good time! I went to school with many of the kids from that ward so it was like a high school reunion only better because there were all age groups included. My 40th year high school reunion was also part of the festivities. But I just don't think I went to school with all of those OLD people that claimed they graduated from Orem High with me! (At least I don't feel as old as I am!)

 More pizza, cousins and summer fun!

 This mustache cup has been in my mom and dad's china cabinet for many, many years. It belonged to my great grandfather on my dad's side. It was made around 1910 in Germany. I learned that the men in those days waxed their mustaches in order to have every hair in place. The problem was that when they drank a hot beverage the wax would melt right into their cup! So that is how this clever invention came about! I found out that this cup is probably only worth $85.00.  But it's priceless to me!

Florida

A few months ago in FHE we talked about what we would like to do this summer. The beach was a favorite suggestion, but the cold Pacific Ocean didn't appeal to us too much. So next thing we know, John has us booked for Clearwater beach near Tampa, Florida. We had a great time eating alligator tail, spending a day at the beach, visiting Orlando's Universal Studios and Tampa's Bushe Gardens. We brought Brooklynn's friend, Ciara who made the vacation even more fun!

 Alligator tails at Crabby Joes.

 The day at the beach yielded a big bad sunburn for Brooklynn.  The water felt divine!

 This is from our ninth floor hotel room. A beautiful sunset!

 Harry Potter world at Universal was our favorite part of this park. The rides, butter beer, and how cleverly the attractions were displayed made us happy!

 This is one of those shrieking plants...what are they called again?

 Another part of the park was Dr. Seuss land. So cute!

 We waited for the parade to start on this HOT, HUMID day and it turned out to be a whole 7 minutes long! But Dora and Sponge Bob were included in it so how can I complain?!?

 The minions were adorable! And so was B and C!

 At Bushe Gardens John and I did the old-folks stuff while the girls did the thrill rides, which were abundant! John and I totally enjoyed the air-conditioned top-notch entertainment. This is an ice skating show. These animals are really people ice skating!

 The grounds were gorgeous with the foliage shaped into animals and insects. There is a zoo on the property also so there was tons to do!

Another piece of entertainment was a Madagascar song and dance show.

"B" and "C" LIVED on their phones saying whoever had the worst life is the one with the least battery left on their phone!

 How blessed I feel!

Our new home!

We have been renovating! John came home from visiting someone close by and suggested we take a chunk out of our over-sized living room to build a walk-in pantry. I didn't need convincing! Here it is complete with our freezer that has been in the garage and our three other pantry's food!

Hard to see from this, but this is our new living room. Notice that there is no wall-to-wall carpet!

 Since we were changing things we decided to wall in the open spaces in our entry. Another change that makes me happy!

 We HAD (!) to install new flooring through out the house so we chose tile that looks like wood. It is MARVELOUS!

As we know, one thing leads to another so as long as we were already in a mess, we had our cabinets updated, got a new fridge, installed a new back splash and changed our corian counter tops to granite.

Next up, we are extending our dining area 8 feet out, taking a portion of our patio in order to seat more of our family around the table. I like change!