July 1 - July 7

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This week we visit the Dairy after our bi-weekly library visit, celebrate my birthday, have fun on the Fourth, celebrate Mom's birthday, and play at the Crowther's house. Darren takes his new (used) motorcycle on it's longest trip yet as he rides to Fishlake and surrounding areas to go fishing with Brian and Skyler.  He returns home happy but sun-burned.

Independence Day

I love the 4th of July in Richfield.  From the Miss Richfield pageant to the Patriotic Program to the Children's Parade to the planes to the big Parade and the festivities at the Park, I spend a perfect week surrounded by people I love and reminded of the greatness of our nation and the sacrifices of those that have come before.
This year we were in such a hurry to get to the parade so we could see the jets fly over that I forgot to take the cupcakes I was making out of the oven. It wasn't until almost 3 hours later when we were heading to the Smith's house for lunch when I remembered them. The house smelled terrible but at least was still standing.
The parade was great as usual. It was so funny to see how fast my nephew Roman learned the whole get candy at the parade routine.  E2 was in the parade with the drill team and they looked so cute in their new jerseys.
We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon at the Smith's while the kids enjoyed the booths at the park and hit Grandpa up for dollars.  It is a tradition that I enjoy.  N participated in the fish grab (another Richfield tradition but one I usually make sure we are not around for). 
After a nap at home in the late afternoon, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Taylors for a BBQ.  My Aunt Peggy and Uncle Burke had come over from Moab so they could see all of my sisters while they were in town.  We had a nice evening.  The best part was seeing how happy my parents were to have all their children and grandchildren in one place.  During the firework show my four and JB climbed up on the roof to watch. It was fun to see them all together just hanging out and having fun.  It made me very happy.

Happy Birthday to me.... Happy Birthday to me....

Following in the footsteps of my mother-in-law, I throw my own birthday party.
I don't know remember exactly when or even why we started doing this, but I do know it's been several years running now.  We used to have pizza at the park with my parents after the Children's Parade  while we enjoyed the entertainment but somewhere along the line we switched to a shin-dig at our house.    We always serve "Cafe-Rio" style salads with my mom's yummy frozen lemon dessert.

I appreciate those that come each year and help make my birthday special.  I am blessed with amazing friends that make my life so much more complete.  It was especially awesome this year to have all three of my sisters in town. I was surprised when Todd and Angie came from Cedar City.  It meant a lot.   New this year were the Morgans.  It was fun to get to know them even more.  We had about 40 people in attendance.  The weather was gorgeous.  The cilantro rice turned out PERFECT.  Regina brought six flavors of "Aggie" Ice-cream.  It was truly birthday bliss.

YUBA

We took our boat out for the first time on June 30th.  We have started putting in on the Gunnison side rather than the Scipio side.  After launching, we took a drive around the entire lake.  When we got to the Scipio side near the dam, we could see several fires burning on the left side of the freeway near Scipio. The smoke was blowing up I-15  towards Nephi.  It was exciting as the helicopters with their water buckets were coming to Yuba to get water. We were hoping they would dip in near us but they were taking it from the output of the dam.  We could also see planes flying in to dump retardant. The smoke would all of a sudden turn odd colors and then you could see a plane flying out of the thick of it.

As the day progressed, the smoke from the fire over the ridge got thicker and thicker.  Soon it was covering the sun which made it bright red.  It looked like a sunset and the reflection of the sky turned the lake a bright orange.  The pictures above were taken about 6:00 in the evening.  The smoke looks bad in the picture but it was never so bad that we were uncomfortable or could even smell it.  It just made for an unusual experience as the lake water looked fiery.

June 24 - June 30

June 10 - June 23

We buy our school shoes at Gary's annual sale.  We visit Bryce Canyon in order to use the telescopes. We see the rings of Saturn and a spiral galaxy. Very cool.  E3's Young Women leaders come over to welcome her.  E1 and N make a rocking constellation viewer. We have our first swim meet.  Our family visits 7 Peaks in SLC and we have a great day in the sun.

June 3 - June 9

We visit the library and the Piggy Bank.  N plays his last baseball game.  He makes an awesome weather vane for scouts. E3 turns 12 and gets her own cell phone.  She is one happy girl!

May 27 - June 2

May 20 - May 26

May 13 - May 19

May 6 - May 12

April 29 - May 5

April 22 - April 28

April 15 - April 21

April 8 - April 14

April 1 - April 7

March 25 - 31

We say goodbye to Teven Sherman as he leaves for Brazil.
I play Bunko with my wonderful friends.
N wows the crowd with his dance moves at his 3rd grade program. We laugh so hard we cry.
E1 visits BYU and the highlight of her visit is seeing Riley Nelson.
We watch the Jr. Promenade.
I test out my new blender. :)

March 18 - March 24