chris.reese.girls1.2.3.4

The morning after fireworks, we packed up and headed to Cresop Bay for camping and boating (after a slight mishap with B&B's car, but the guys figured it out!). We spent the whole day on the boat, broke mid afternoon to set up camp in the campground and have a nap and dinner and then back on the boat for a sunset cruise.  Meg fights sleep hard -- and she did all day on the boat, but it finally caught up to her at dinner time. The kids love love love sleeping outside in the tent. This was my view waking up in the morning. It  was the quietest camping morning I've ever had...the place was quiet until 9 AM! What? Almost unheard of! We ate a yummy breakfast, packed up and then headed back out on the boat!  Thanks Bryce and Beck for hosting us on your awesome new boat and camping with us! Woonderful memories made!

July 4th celebrations came quickly upon my arrival home from Utah. We stayed in North Bend for our ward breakfast and then packed up and headed south to the Dalley's home in Ridgefield for a few days of fun. Here are the girls on the morning of the 4th in all their patriotic garb! We met the Dalleys at their friends, the Barrus' house, and swam in the pool for a bit. Then we came back to their house. The kids were playing pickle ball outside when Meg took a little spill on the driveway, and managed to split open her forehead. It was still pretty early in the evening and we knew we wanted to get her to the ER before the chaos of firework injuries starting rolling in. I took her quickly while Chris and the rest of the crew moved on to dinner and fireworks. I was so grateful the hospital was quiet when I walked in the door and the nurses sent Meg up to pediatrics right away. We were in and out of the hospital with two little stitches in just over and hour.  Meg...

After driving my girls safely home, I turned back around a few days later and headed back to Utah. This time, on a place, thankfully, and with my super fun gal pals from BYU. Jenni and I flew out of Seattle and met the rest of the ladies in Eden, UT for a weekend catch up. I loved reconnecting with these ladies and gleaning so much from all of them. We managed a good balance of fun and relaxation and ate some yummy food.  Hike in the Ogden canyon...I want to say it was something like the Wheeler Creek trail?  We only got minorly disoriented and managed to get back to our car. Driving on the golf cart around the neighborhood, evening dips in the hot tub, an afternoon down on the water at Pineview Reservoir, games and late night chatting.  Sunday afternoon we packed up and drove down to SLC. We stayed at a hotel on our last night and enjoyed downtown SLC with a yummy dinner out and a stroll through Temple Square on a gorgeous summer night. ...

While we were in PV, my dad concocted an adventure to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. With my parent's new Kawasaki licensed for these roads, it seemed the perfect opportunity to attempt the trip after we had just seen the South Rim a few months prior -- and I'm always up for a good adventure! But unlike the south rim, the north rim is remote and hot. So.so.hot...it was 102 degrees the day of our trip. We started out near Twin Cities (east of St. George) and rode 60 miles to the Torweep lookout. We saw a few random vehicles, one other couple at the lookout, and the ranger stationed 2.5 miles shy of the lookout. The girls were total troopers, enduring the heat of the drive, drinking warm water and adjusting to the dust and dirt. They were especially excited for an actual toilet at the lookout... roughing it with girls has its challenges.     Another thing about the north rim vs the south rim...there are no protective railings. Insert complete mom pan...