The Bird

Somewhere between our trip to Island Park and several baseball tournaments, we managed to spend a week up at Snowbird.  Our family has a timeshare at The Cliff lodge where we get to spend a week each summer.  It seems that no matter how early we schedule this or how hard we try to work it around our summer activities, there is always something going on during that same week.
But that's the point.  It doesn't matter if there is some place someone needs to be or how much BS has to work because Snowbird is so close.  It's like a vacation that is far but near.  We love it.
We also love sharing the condo with family and friends.  This year it was mostly with Mom's family because the cousins were in town from Minnesota.  Our friends the Sepulveda's were there in their condo as well.
With the record moisture we received in May, the ski resort was still open!  It was really cool to be swimming  and laying out in the warm sun while watching people ski by 20 yards away.
We did the usual swimming, more swimming, playing in the arcade, playing in the elevator (which is a no-no but the girls met some boys in the process), playing in the park, and spending a day doing all of the resort activities.  We did as much and as little as we felt like.  The weather was perfect.

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The Lake House

So, at this very moment I am writing this while driving home from the wonderful Lake Powell. It was fabulous. But, I don't want to talk about Lake Powell until I get caught up on a couple of other trip we have been on this summer...Island Park and Snowbird. June was very busy! Now it is July 25th and I am starting to get anxiety about the summer going WAY TOO fast. Seriously, slow down!

There are tons of photos from these trips so I threw them on a Smilebox for the whole family to see :)

Have I mentioned our cousins Caitlyn, Ellie, and Cambree have been here? Caitlyn and Ellie just went back to Minnesota, but lucky for us...Cambree stayed. We are always glad to have them here and always have a really fun time with them.

The weather was still rainy when we went to Island Park and the temperatures ranged in the 50s and 60s. The lake was still cold from winter run-off. Not quite boating condiitions, but it didn't stop us from having a great trip. We rode 4 wheelers and the Ranger a bunch. There is even a track with jumps on it right next door! We played lots of games, hot tubbed, and did a lot of relaxing and hanging out. Of course it wasn't too cold for the kids to play on the beach and take a dip in the lake. We pulled out the raft and played around in the water and rescued the dock. The water had risen so much!
One day we went to Yellowstone and to Mammoth Hot Springs (the kids call it stinky hot springs). It was fun to hike and tour around the quaint little town and hot springs. That evening we ate at our favorite pizza place and watched High School Musical at the Playmill in West Yellowstone.

Another awesome trip to the Lake house! We are in love in that place!

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4th of July

The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind...in a good but busy way! Summer is going way too fast. After spending a week at Snowbird, we kicked off the holiday weekend with a day at Lagoon on Friday{went straight from Snowbird}. Then Saturday Sambo had a baseball game in Tooele, then straight to Provo to watch "Stadium of Fire" fireworks. We spent Sunday at our church then back down to Provo for dinner and family fun. We stayed overnight at Grandma's house because the parade was early the next morning. Monday, the 4th, we went to the parade and then to Grandma's for lunch. Then the guys went golfing at Hobble Creek {even Sambo and Will go to go} while the Mom's and kidlets had naps and went swimming at Jess's house {thanks}!
Then it was the annual BBQ at Aunt Cindy and Norm's house - great food and of course the pinata! Not done yet. Then it was back to Grandma's for more sparklers, fireworks, snaps, and bubble guns! Whew! Great fun everyone...take a look:

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It was awesome having almost everyone in the Clark family in town - We missed the Ludlows - but were happy to spend time with Groneman's. It is always great to be together and Grandpa Judy is so great to welcome us all in and feed everyone.

Something worth mentioning: At the BBQ, someone brought a tank of liquid nitrogen. For dessert we put Half and Half and our toppings/flavors of choice in a foam cup and added some liquid nitrogen. A little stirring and voila...ice cream!

Casper II

Remember Casper?
Well...sadly, he didn't last very long.  3 months to be exact.  How was I to know that he was warming up to the engine of my car when I drove to church?  Very sad situation.

But, it's okay because now we have Casper II:

When Grandma Clark called and told us that a new batch of kittens had arrived, we knew we had to get one for Quincy.  She and the other kids were so devastated from the loss of Casper I.  She had the pick of 4 different colored kittens and of course she chose the white one that looks like the first one.  We are pretty sure it's the same Dad :)
So far, so good.  Kittys are so easy compared to puppies.  And we would know.  And the very best part is seeing the sweet happy smile on my baby girl's face.

Quincy is the biggest animal {especially kitty} lover EVER!

Bringing him home

Memorial Day Weekend

Wow what a fantastic 4th of July weekend we had!  But I refuse to post about it until I write about Memorial Day weekend.
It finally happened...Grandpa and Grandma G moved into their new place {ie East Canyon Retreat}!  It has been a long time coming, building it himself with help from my brothers and the son-in-laws.  These men gave as much time as possible and many Saturdays to get their place completed.  Nice work guys!
It is gorgeous and as cozy as you can imagine.

Taking a break to play some games...

And go 4 wheeling...

And play on the tractor {the girls were acting out 80's Footloose scene, side pony tails and all}

 On Memorial Day, we rose the flag and dedicated the new cabin home.  It was good for Sambo to practice the flag ceremony for Cub Scouts:

We are really, really excited for them and look forward to spending lots of time and holidays up there. I know so many memories will be made there.  It was fun to be all together and help get them moved in and settled in their new abode.  They are so happy!

We were so busy moving that we didn't make it to the graves this year...but we still took a moment to remember our loved ones.

PS: We are soooooo happy to have the cousins here from Minnesota!

Nate and Ellie