Elder Khalil

June 19th, 2012

Tonight we were invited to dinner at Caffe' Molise by the Morton's to celebrate Elder Jacob Khalil going into the MTC June 20th.  We met up with the family and friends from Sugar Land Texas and had a wonderful dinner full of fun and the spirit.  Jacob is an amazing young man and will be an amazing missionary in Colorado!  Hurrah for Israel!

Hike #3 - JULIE ANDREWS MEADOWS

It was TRULY a miracle Leanna and I made it up this mountain to the beautiful meadows.  No waterfall this trip.  Just lots of steep, gravel and sun.  It was a tough hike again this week.  Leanna said the funniest things this hike.  Half way up she said she was gonna have to marry a couch potato because she can't be hiking ever again.  She HATES this so much, but she did it and I was so proud of our accomplishment this week.

FHE at Trafalga

We decided to give in to the Utah ways and get "THE PASS OF ALL PASSES" and enjoy our summer at Trafalga and Seven Peaks Water parks.  Tonight we decided to go test out Mini-golf at Trafalga in American Fork.  We had a great time and of course - Rob won.  I came in a close second though.  We miss all the times Wade could be with us but we plan on making new memories when he comes home.  Families are FOREVER!

HIKE #2 - Timpanogos Caves

June 12, 2012

This week Leanna and I went alone to hike Timp and go through the caves.  It was a gorgeous 70 degree day and we got to take our time going up before our scheduled cave tour.  We saw the most beautiful views and even a gorgeous bird!  This trail is tough and there are lots of benches going up the mile and a half hike.  We used every one of them!  haha  We even dropped a packed of Emergen-C in our water for strength and ate our fruit roll-ups to keep us energized!  The caves were awesome and cold.  After thinking we would never make the top we did.  The switch backs at the end are so steep and we thought we'd never make it!  We loved the caves and our guide was long winded and gave us "the rest of the story" throughout our tour.  It was a wonderful day. :)

Orem City Days - Wuergler BBQ

 Jake and Blake

 Landen and Parker

 Garbage truck float - WHAT?

 My personal favorite: Aveda salon float...What tha!

We had a fun time at the Wuerglers with a BBQ dinner and then watching the parade afterwards.  The temp changed that day and it dropped to what felt like 50 degrees or colder and we literally got frozen to the bone!  Rob didn't bring a coat and actually caught cold and stayed cold for a few days.  CRAZY Utah weather sometimes, but we had a fun time with our dear friends and family.

FIRST HIKE OF THE SUMMER!

JUNE 5th, 2012

Many of you know I LOVE HIKING in Utah.  When we first moved here three summers ago, I found a group of lovely ladies who loved to hike with their daughters.  I quickly became a fan of the beautiful atmosphere and the wonderful nature surrounding our home.  My girls, on the other hand, HATE it.  Leanna especially.  Both of them like only one hike: Scout Falls.  I begged Leanna to join me this summer on ALL the hikes and she took the challenge with me.  I am so grateful for that.  Krista made the first hike as well.  It was tough and we are ALWAYS last up the mountain (a little Texas still in us - elevation and breathing that is...) but we enjoy the journey and the company.  This first hike was to Battlecreek Falls or what we like to call PG (Pleasant Grove Falls).  It isn't a long hike but it was tough.  We LOVE the falls though.  Very cool to see the views and the gorgeous waterfalls.

Parade of Homes - Utah County

Marlie's precious Lauren...WE LOVE HER SO MUCH!

I was literally OBSESSED with the pictures of that first room above.  I love it.  Want to recreate it somewhere in my house (Krista would like it to be her room.).  We had a very fun day visiting with the STOUT women.  Great Grandma Lillie came up for a visit and we met everyone and toured the homes, had lunch at Cafe Rio and even had snow cones later in the day.  We love seeing and spending time with family...anytime...anywhere.

Father's Day

message from ELDER JOHNSON on the calendar he sent us for Christmas...

This year we celebrated Rob by surprising him with a Costco cake.  Funny story.  We were off to celebrate the wedding of some friends and as we were leaving Rob said, "Bring me back some cake".  We told him, "NO! You don't go to the reception...NO CAKE."  As we were laughing about this in the car we decided to surprise him with a father's day cake from Costco.  He laughed about it and we all enjoyed the cake for a few days. :)

Birthday DAY

Leanna wanted to spend the day at a pottery place in Orem then go to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner.  We celebrated with cake later that night.  All in all it was a great afternoon and evening celebrating such a wonderful girl.

LEANNA is 19...I'm not happy.

My BABY GIRL

 The morning of her birthday I made her a great homemade cinnamon roll breakfast.  Orange Julius included.  She loved the decorations and the DISNEY themed gifts.  We are taking her to DisneyLand in July.  She is SO excited.  I hate seeing my babies grow up but she is and always will be my angel baby girl.  Happy Birthday beauty.

Birthday for ASHNA

My youngest, sweetest sister, Ashna (with her husband in the photo) celebrates her birthday June 5th.  I hardly ever get the chance to send her something.  I decided to make her a gift out of a Harry Potter book that was shabby chic for her to enjoy since she loves to read and loves HP.  Funny enough I sent it with a can of my homemade jam.  She never got the jam.  When the package arrived it was all jacked up and there was NO JAM.  She laughed (i didn't think it was funny) and said, "I guess when they see your name on the label they assume there is something yummy inside!".  She's so sweet and I am so lucky to have her in my life.  Love you Ash.

SUMMER BEGINS... June 2012

I'm usually a pretty happy person, but when the sun is shinning, homemade jam is cooking/sealing, and a baby duck sighting happens all in one day I AM SUPER HAPPY!  Life is good.

Parker Johnson - GRADUATE 2012

 Our great friend KYLEE ANDERSON graduated as well...

We were so happy to celebrate this day with Parker.  He is an outstanding young man and will do great things in the world.  He graduated from Pleasant Grove High School.