Other Great Activities in Utah

In addition to enjoying the wonderful day of so many family and friends coming to our grandson's open house before leaving for his mission, I was able to enjoy a week's worth of activities in Utah with some of the rest of my family there.  These are some of the memories I made while staying in Utah for a week:

Watching Connor get every minute he could get in of golf before leaving on his mission.

 Knowing he wouldn't be golfing for two years, Connor made sure he got in as much golf as he could.  The kid absolutely loves to golf!

Celebrating Amy's Birthday.

 It has been so fun having two daughters who enjoy each other so much.  I don't think a day goes by that they don't text or call each other.  Alison wanted to make sure Amy had a great birthday, so she contacted some of the relatives who were out in Utah at the time and were able to come for a little birthday celebration.

 What fun we all had together!

 It worked great!  All the kids were at one table . . .

 and all the adults at another.  
From left to right:  Melanie (Amy's cousin) and her little daughter, Cozie; Kim (sister-in-law); Angie  (sister-in-law); me, George, Amy, Alison (sister); and Joyce (my sister).

 George was the lone man at the party, but he was a great sport and wanted to support his daughter at her birthday celebration.

 Amy had flown out from Dallas to attend the farewell for Connor and brought Lola with her.  Lola thought she was pretty special!

 Jenna (Kyle and Kim's daughter) with her Aunt Amy.

 Melanie (Amy's cousin) and Amy.

That evening, Angie made a delicious coconut cake for Amy.  Here Amy is with Alison, Ellie, and Angie.

Making ice cream shakes together.

 Everyone knows how much Grandpa George loves ice cream.  So, before he left to go back to Florida, Connor and Parker decided they all needed to make shakes together.  I think Connor is wondering if he should have ever thought about this idea about now!

 And, yes, the shakes were enjoyed by all!  I don't know how many shakes Connor is going to be able to have in Nicaragua!

Visiting our old home in Murray.

 This is the home we lived in for five or six years in Murray.  We brought home two new babies while living here:  our youngest two, Kent and Craig.  This yard was the mini-baseball diamond and soccer field for all the neighborhood kids.  One time, I counted 25 kids out on the front yard.  This home was just a short distance from the Fashion Place Mall where we owned a Dairy Queen for about 3 1/2 years.

Visiting Taylor and Ellie's Apartment

 One evening, Taylor came and took me over to their darling apartment so that I could see where they live.  Ellie is a full-time interior designer while Taylor is going to school and working part-time.  With a limited budget at this time, they had made their apartment so cozy and liveable.  I loved seeing it!

Enjoying the beautiful Utah scenery.

 

 Every morning, I would get up and see Koda sitting in his favorite spot looking out at the beautiful scenery.  I loved that scenery, too!

 When he wasn't on top of the couch, he was asleep on the floor enjoying the sun.

 I, also, enjoyed going by the piano room, reminding myself that I will soon be able to get my piano out of storage.  I have really missed my piano for the last year since we moved and haven't had room for it in the home we are now living in.

 Hannah couldn't wait for me to see the beautiful garden she and her mom planted.  They had to put it inside a wire cage because the deer eat it so badly otherwise.

 They are even growing an herb garden!

Enjoying watching the cousins have so much fun together.

 Preston and Hannah.

 Tyson was so cute with the little kids.

 I think Lola was missing her little dog, Frisco, back in Texas so she had lots of fun paying attention to Koda.

 One day, we went over to Gardner Village and took Lauren and Preston.  It is such fun place to stroll around.

 This was hysterical!
Some girl time.

 When Lola was getting ready to go back on the airplane, Lauren and Hannah made her shut her eyes:

 and when she saw what they had for her, she was pretty excited!

 A darling necklace, bracelet, and ring!

Lola looked so sweet with all her fun gifts her cousins had given her! 

 Aunt Amy saying "good-bye" to Connor.

 

 Amy and Lola went back to Texas a few days earlier than we left.  It was so much fun having them in Utah.  Lola had a great time riding on the airplane!  Don't you remember how exciting it was to look out the window at all the tiny objects below?

Celebrating Jenna's Birthday

Jenna had the funnest birthday party in a brand new, fluorescent lit bowling alley and fun center.  She was so sweet to invite me to come along.

She has so many darling friends and they all had such a great time together!

The girls could have all the pizza, salad, pasta, and dessert pizza they could eat!  They even had their own chef--who cooked enough for a giant group of boys.  These girls were hardly big eaters!

Jenna, also, had a family party at her home with her Harmer family, plus Lauren and Hannah.

In addition to her aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins, Jenna's great-grandpa came, too.  He is 85 years old and, also, lost his wife a couple of years ago. 

Jenna with her Grandma Laura and Grandma Patrece.  What a happy day it was, Jenna.  Thanks so much for letting me celebrate two birthday parties with you!

One last pizza party.

It's interesting when you know you're probably not going to have something for two years, that boy Connor going to Nicaragua and Cole going to Korea both were excited about having pizza one last time before leaving.  So, we all enjoyed our dinner together.  We even got to have the mascot of the BYU Cougars there!  What a treat!

He even shared Taylor's soft drink!

Such a fun time!  On Sunday morning, I jumped in the car with John and Alison, Parker, Tyson, and Preston and we were off to their home in Danville, California.  We had all enjoyed our week with Connor and his family and some time over at Kyle and Kim's.  Thanks so much, Kevin, Angie, Taylor, Ellie, Connor, Kade, Lauren, Hannah, Kyle, Kim, Carter, Jenna, and Brady!  We loved the time we spent in your homes in Utah! 

I was now onto more adventures--this time with the Wilde family in California!