A Wedding To Remember

Sorry I've been so out of commission with the posts of late.

We've been running non-stop and

have lots of company.

My little brother is here with his children (from Texas)

to help us celebrate my Mom and Dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary

coming up this weekend.

And Byron's Mom and super cool Aunt Linda

have been here since last weekend.

We've been partying non-stop.

Our nephew, Zach

got married this past Saturday.

He is Byron's brother Craig's oldest.

On top of being a beautiful wedding on a perfect day

in a gorgeous setting...

it will be one we won't soon forget.
We loved it when the tiny flower girl
took off racing away in the opposite
direction of the wedding.
But what really caught and kept
all of our attention
was when the Preacher
passed out
not once
but twice
during the ceremony.
The first time was while the couple was
exchanging their vows.
He fell pretty hard, hitting his head.
After getting water, his composure
and assuring the audience he was fine,
he did it again...
This time, during the ring exchange.
He fell forward
right into the arms of the Bride and Groom.
Crazy stuff.
(He's fine now. A trip to the hospital showed severe dehydration).
The wedding wasn't ruined.
No, not by a long shot.
It was one that will go down in the books--
and the memories of all of us in attendance.

Vacation Part Deaux: Craters of the Moon

After our stint at Lava Hot Springs, we motored on over

to Craters of the Moon.... where according to Mr. Walking PBS, Byron B.

the astronauts actually practiced for the moon landing.

 The evening we arrived, we went on a guided tour down into a massive cave.

It was cool as in wow and cold as in brrr.

 The ranger said there can be as much as a 50 to 60 degree temperature drop down into these caves.

We even - to the delight of the kids - found snow.

 The next morning we got up and explored two more caves:  Beauty and Boy Scout.

Indian was the big one from the night before.

 Kean made it through one, before getting bored and conking out.

He and I headed back to the truck to wait for the others to finish exploring.

 It was a really amazing place to visit-- but I wouldn't recommend it in the height of the

summer heat or the dead of winter.

Shelter and protection is pretty few and far to be found.

The Big Forty Something or Other...

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog posting of part 2 of the family vacation

to bring you highlights of Byron's birthday which just so happened to fall on

Father's Day.

Double Whammy.

Double the fun.

 As always, my favorite gifts are the ones from the heart.

Greer made him this super cool tie card and a fancy luggage tag.

She even filled it out with his name, address and phone number.

Now whether anyone finding his luggage will be able to read her writing

is another story...

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

Lava Hot Springs

We left the day the girls got out of school last week and headed to Lava Hot Springs in South Eastern Idaho.

It was a little slice of heaven on earth.

They have these series of hot, mineral pools that you just sit around and soak in - in the most

beautiful setting.  (Plus they have pools with huge slides, diving platforms etc. for the kiddos).

 We hiked up and around the mineral pools...

 walked all throughout the landscaped "sunken gardens"  - which the girls dubbed

the "secret garden".

 We had cousins coming and going... but here's a pic of most of us who were there.

These are my cousins (except for my brother Doug in the back)... on my Dad's side.

It's crazy that somehow we all grew up.  When I think of this group, my first thoughts are of all us scraggly kids catching polliwogs, swimming in Boy's Pond and building tree forts at my

Grandpa's farm in Santa Clara, Utah.

 My cousins who were in charge of this reunion, did all the cooking and spoiling.

We ate like kings, had so many treats-- it should've been illegal since we were running around

in swimming suits much of the time and caught up on years of chatting.

 Kean started what will likely be a love affair with corn on the cob!

We had an incredible time and we definitely want to go back.

This is the same group that went to Lake Powell on the Yachts when I was in the hospital.

I'm still hoping that reunion will be repeated for my sake.

Sigh...

(Coming up next... part two of our vacation).

Momma Mia Mucho Magnifico!

I took the girls out on a hot date last night.

They picked the restaurant-- Smoky Mountain Pizza...

and then we all headed to the theatre for Momma Mia.

Reese sat on my lap for the three hour extravaganza.

She said she had to because she didn't have a booster seat!

She also asked if those were real people down there on the stage

because it didn't quite look like the movie.

They were great, as was the production.

It was a bit edgier than I had hoped-- thank goodness it all went over their heads.

They just loved bee-bopping to the music.

They know every word to every song.

The Skinny on the Skinny

Don't ask me to explain their outfits.

It's unexplainable.

But get this, I took the two clowns above to the doctor today for their yearly check-ups.

Holland, at age 10, weighs a whopping 64 pounds (25th percentile) and

measures up at 53 1/2 inches (30th percentile).

Now here's where it gets interesting.

Greer is two years younger and is catching up fast-- not in weight but in height.

Here's her stats:

50 pounds (25th percentile)

51 1/2 inches (74th percentile)-- only two inches shorter than her big sis.

Holland was freaked out enough tonight that she's been

drinking whole milk and munching on veggies like crazy.

Between a Rock and a Shattered Place

Ouch!

Byron was taking Holland and Reese shopping for a birthday present for Greer a week ago...

a shopping spree that is gonna be an expensive one.

Look what happened to the moon roof on my car!

 It appears some hoodlum pre-teen boys

(who have clearly been raised by wolves instead of responsible parents)

were out chucking fist sized rocks into traffic.

Lucky us... we win best timing.

Huge bummer!

P.S.  the hoodlum/wolf boys were never caught.

Another School Year Whipped On By...

None of us can believe school is over for another year.

How did that happen so fast?

Holland had her 4th grade music program on Idaho history.

She's somewhere in that sea of kids...

 The kids sang, played their recorders and did a dance number.

And out of the whole gym, Holland ended up dancing right smack dab behind us.

 Then it was back to the school for Greer's second grade Birthday Bash.

Once a quarter, they celebrate all the kids birthdays with treats, games and crafts.

 This Birthday Bash's theme was "Polar Bears". 

I was in charge of the game.  We rotated in 4 classes of 2nd graders for a 12 minute fun fest.

We had the "it" kid go out of the room, then come back in and have to guess which child

was holding an ice cube.  I tell you these kids were pretty smart.

Some of them would run to the sink and get their hands wet so they'd look like the kid holding the

dripping ice cube.  It was sure funny to watch.

Then it was back to the gym for the school's talent show.

The stands were packed... and guess who auditioned, made it

and performed in front of her peers and parents? 

 That little speck up there on the stage is Holland singing a solo.

She's much, much braver than her mother!

 Finally, we went back to the school today for the "Family Picnic".

 Somehow we scored some shade-- probably because we were off on our own, away from the crowd.

 We didn't mind a bit.  We were in great company!

Holland ran back to tell her teacher Mrs. Gunn goodbye.

Reese went with her.

Here's our conversation when they got back:

Reese:  "Mom, this is the weirdest thing ever..."

Me:  "What?"

Reese:  "I knew Mrs. Gunn's name but can you believe she didn't know mine!"

"Isn't that the weirdest thing ever?"

Milestones

I have to tell you what Kean did this morning... it was sooo cute.

I got him up out of bed, changed his diaper and asked him if he'd like to go downstairs

and eat some breakfast or drink some milk.

He immediately took his index finger and started pointing to his open mouth...

as if saying "eat, eat"!

His intentions couldn't have been clearer unless he'd said it out loud.

It may be a small step for mankind...

but it was a huge step for the Kean-miester!

P * A * R * T * Y

If there's one thing about our family (which drives Byron crazy)... it's that we love

to stretch out birthdays and milk 'em for all they're worth!

On Greer's actual birthday, she picked Fuddrucker's to celebrate for dinner.

Grandpa and Grandma Bodily and their grandchildren

and their two great grandchildren (did you follow that?) joined us .

 Then this past Saturday, Greer was baptized.

In our church, children are baptized at age eight-- by then, they know right from wrong,

are accountable and can make their own decision as to whether or not to join the LDS faith.

So here's Byron and Greer outside the church.  Greer picked the fabric out and designed the dress

she is wearing.  My very talented mom whipped it together.

 Here they are standing in front of the baptismal font.

 Our super-dooper, dear friend, Ron Moomey hung out with Kean during the event.

Kean, now has a thing for mustaches. 

He loved this new textured toy.

 This was taken right after the baptism.  So Greer has wet hair.

But this is a four generation picture.

My 92 year old Grandmother joined us!

 After the baptism, we headed home for a BBQ with family and friends.

Don't you just love Holland's crazy hair?

 Of course, you can't have a party without cake.

And add to that list, cupcakes too.

Crazy us, we had the baptism in the morning

and then Greer's birthday party in the afternoon.

About a dozen friends came over for a swim party

at Grandpa Bodily's pool.

 Once they were all good and water-logged,

we headed across the lawn to our house for another BBQ

and presents.  GiGi is holding the coolest origami butterflies made out of money.

 I don't know where in the world we are going to put all the presents she received.

 And remember the "burnt" flower pins the girls and I made?

Each girl got one as a thank you gift for coming to the party.

My mom gift bagged them...

 While my amazing Grandma held the bowl to choose from.

 It was perfect weather for a perfect day.

The Sweat Shop

Phew!  We just finished making tons of thank you gifts for Greer

to give out at her birthday party.

They are burned flower barrettes. 

Holland and I singed the edges of the fabric to get them to curl up like petals

and then the girls helped me put them together with brads. 

Pretty simple-- and some are definitely cuter than others....

As for Kean today...

he's so brave.

His ear surgery went smoothly.

The doc cleaned the goop out of the left ear and put in a new tube.

Then, surprise, he put a new tube in the right ear too.

It was looking like it was starting to work it's way out.

It feels kind of like Ground Hog's Day.

 We just did this exact surgery 4 months ago.

Crazy.

But we are soooo glad to have this out of the way.

A Slice of Heaven

Lucky us!

My favorite intern clear back from when I was working at KPNX in Phoenix came to visit last night.

Micaela brought her baby, Maisey and we met her husband, Martin for the first time.

Martin is a chef and happens to own a successful bakery in Salt Lake.

And aren't we the fortunate ones... Martin came bearing a gift.

A very, very tasty gift.... something he just whipped up, I'm sure.

 The girls had a grand time playing outside...

 hanging out with sweet baby Maisey.

Silly me didn't get any pics of Micaela or Martin.

I can blame it on Maisey being so darn cute

and the cake being so darn yummy.

Now for the Keanster update.

We visited his ENT doc today.

And we are scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning at 6:45 a.m. (Yawn)!

He'll suction out the goop in his ear, replace the tube and take a good look at the other ear.

I'm expecting all to go well.