Good Times with Good Friends

While we were in Salt Lake (after Daniels wedding, but before the trip to Bear Lake) we caught up with our friends from Maryland.  They moved to Utah (pretty close to my parents) right before we moved to Washington.  It's nice to have them close to a place we visit about once a year, so we can catch up and hang out  Luke and Harrison are kindred spirits, and I am really sad they can't grow up together. They love all the same things, and could talk and play for hours on end. I can't remember them ever not getting along.  Noah J. and our Noah also love spending time together.  And Isaac and Olivia are good buddies also. We miss them terribly. The boys and I met up with them at the Dinosaur museum/park in Odgen, Utah.  The kids seemed to pick up right where they had left off almost a year earlier.

 Can't wait to meet up with these guys again next time we come!  They've had an addition since we last saw them (adorable, bright-eyed baby Hyrum), and we'll have a new one before we meet up again.  I'm sure they'll become best buds! 

The Cabin: June trip

This past summer we were lucky enough to get too visit my Grandparent's cabin twice!  We took two family vacations to Utah, to watch my two brothers get married.  So while we were there, we spent a day relaxing and enjoying the back-country Uinta mountains. I have always really relished the opportunity to spend a day or two at the cabin.  For the June trip, I was able to drive up in the evening with Mollie's dad and the boys and leave the next night.  When we arrived at the cabin, it was after dinner and the cabin was cool.  We started to get the wood burning stove going to provide a little warmth.  The boys positively love watching fire and fire building.  I think Harrison exclaimed something like, "This cabin has fire!  It has everything."  Yeah, he's going to make a great boy scout. The boys shared one room, and Brent got another.  I just slept on the couch keeping the fire. The next day both my sister Sara and my brother James came up with their kids (also in the area for the wedding).

I just love the mountains.  I mean take a look at those! It is amazing how refreshing it can be to go spend a day out in nature. The cabin is in the Weber River valley. This June the river was very full.  The past winter and spring had been exceptionally wet for Utah, and as the snow was coming off the mountains, all the local rivers were full.  As you can see from the photo, it was only a few feet from being over the bridge.  I am guessing that it was about 10 feet over it's normal spring level.

Going to visit the river is always a part of our cabin stays.  But this time we could not really do anything but look at it. Usually by June it is only a 1-2 feet deep.   Just barely enough to tube in, as there are some place where you end up scraping bottom.  But this was a raging torrent.  There were new streams that popped up in other places which are usually just grass ravines, so the kids played a bit in those.

We also took some time in the afternoon to go hiking up the mountain that the cabin was on.   We found a hiking stick for all the kids.  They mostly treated them as wands or light sabers or scythes. The crew that I led up was my two boys and Sara's four oldest and my uncle John's daughter. With varying levels of interest and ability, we weren't able to make it all the way to the top. We had some very energetic hikers (Mark) who were disappointed that we could not make it the whole way up.  But we got a great view of the valley.

One other fun thing that we got to do, in part because of all the rain, was have a camp fire.  I have been the to cabin dozens of times, and I can't remember the last time that the fire hazard was not either high or extreme.  In the typically dry summer, you are not supposed to have outdoor fires.  But this time, the fire hazard was "low".  The kids were all very excited about this, and were very active in helping prepare the fire.  I figured I could let some of the older kids learn to use the ax.  It was tough to find the right piece of wood to match their strength.  Adam loved it and Mark was very envious. After chopping, we started to set up the kindling tepee.  Everyone wanted to place sticks and help out.  Then once it was roaring, we had a hot dog roast.

Dan gets married

My younger brother Daniel got married in June to a beautiful Christina Hamilton in the Bountiful Temple.

The celebration started the night before with a dinner with both families.  It was supposed to be at Sugar House Park, but it was unseasonably cold and windy. I think lots of us came unprepared and instead of toughing it out at the park, we went to my grandma's house nearby. It was very informal and fun.

This was a special wedding. Both Daniel and Christina are deaf, so the ceremony was signed in addition to spoken.  I have always gained a little extra out of watching signing.  I'm not sure what, but it does always make the spirit closer and more obvious to me. It's not that I have any real fluency with signing. Afterwards we took pictures outside with the beautiful couple and then went back to hang out at the Madsen's until the reception.

 

The kids all ready for the reception that night.

 The reception was at a beautiful reception house in Bountiful, Eldredge Manor.  I have always like the idea of a reception house.  It is what Mollie and I did.  They take care of most everything for you and that's a big help on such a busy day. Eldredge Manor is a beautiful spot.  They have gorgeous  inside seating area, and an enchanting outdoor patio that we used for dancing and socializing. The weather was amazing, so we spent much of the evening outside.  In addition, there was an upstairs room with toys and a TV/VCR to let bored/crazy kids have a space of their own. Dan and Christina did an amazing job planning out every detail of this wonderful day.  They had assigned all the siblings and nieces and nephews with duties (guest book, collecting gifts, watching kids upstairs, etc.) It was a very organized and wonderful evening.   I think that this really helped having some entertainment for the kids, because they do get restless and rowdy. I had fun dancing and playing around outside.  It was a beautiful summer night and we enjoyed the company of Dan and Christina and all the extended families.

The beautiful bride with the nieces and nephews.

Olivia at the outdoor portion of the reception center.

Dan and Christina with even more nieces and nephews.

Cutting the cake.

Eating the cake.

Playing around.

Hangin' out.

Breaking rules (note sign just below the fountain.  Oops!)

Tossing bouquets.

Dancing...

dancing...

and more dancing. 

 We all had a great time.  The photographer was great, and got some family shots for us. Unfortunately, family weddings are notorious for wearing out my kids, and putting them in a "don't take my picture any more" kind of mood, so this is as good as we got.