June 2009

So here's what up...everything below the dotted line I wrote quite a while ago (except for some of the stuff that goes with the last two collages) and I won't edit it. I didn't know at the time that I wrote this that I was writing about the last trip I'd ever take with my Dad, or the last time I'd even see him. (The collage of 06/10/09 below has pictures from 06/12/09 which is the last time I ever saw my Dad.) I was really close to posting this when I found out that my Dad died! I'll post more on that another time. I just wish I could have got this posted so he could've seen it before he died. He would have liked to see all of the pictures and hear about how much fun we had with him. I'm just so glad we got to take this last trip together. We had such a nice time.

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05/31/09-06/05/09 Jared and I invited my Dad to go on a trip with us to Yellowstone! I thought we were pretty much going to see Ol' Faithful and a few deer, but I saw so many things that were unlike anything I'd seen before or even imagined. I didn't realize that 1/2 of the worlds geothermal features are in Yellowstone! The park is over 2 million acres, and is covered in geysers, waterfalls and colorful hot springs. Be sure to click on the pictures to enlarge them.

-Day 1 in the park-
*Old Faithful*Bald Eagle's nest*Elk* Huge herds of Bison*Bison on the road and swimming across the river*Continental Divide*Tons of hot springs, boiling mud pits, and hiking*

-Day 2 in the park-
*Waterfalls*Yellowstone Grand Canyon*More hiking*Mammoth Hot Springs*Bacteria Mats*
Look at how colorful the canyons are! (Bottom middle)


-Day 3 in the park-
*Geysers*Bacteria Mats*Waterfalls


Besides the park we played a ton of games, watched movies, hot tubed, and made lots of yummy food. Jared had a great idea of bringing our slow cooker, so we'd throw something in before we went out and when we were done exploring we had Potato Soup or a Pot Roast waiting for us! We stayed in West Yellowstone at the WorldMark resort and it was soooo nice! We took the scenic route on the way home so we could pass by the Grand Teton Mountains. We had a really good time. I'm so glad we got to go and that my Dad got to come with us!

06/06/09 Aaron, Jamie, and Nathan came to visit! (Jared's brother) We had fun chatting, playing games and we watched a movie. It was really nice to see them!

06/10/09 We got the cutest little invitation in the mail that my nephew Jackson made to invite us to his piano recital. He played several songs and he did so well! We're so proud of him. Also in the collage below are pictures from our last game night before dad went back to WA. = ( I love the bunny ears Jackson put on Ryan and Ashley. = )

06/20/09 Periodically Christine, Allie, VeNicia, and I get together for a girl's day/night. Allie and I carpooled to VeNicia's house. We stopped and picked out some way cute fabric on the way. We all brought really yummy food to eat. (Avacado bean dip, oriental salad, artichoke dip, 7 layer dip, etc etc. Mmmm!) VeNicia worked on some stuff for girls camp and got a few things done around the house, and the rest of us made trash bags for our cars, and these really cute purses/bags. Christine 1st sewed her bag into what looked like a huge tank top! We had a lot of fun, but there was a good amount of seam ripping that night. They turned out really cute though. I LOVE my bag! Sometimes I just like to stare at it.

06/25/09 For my sister RaNae's birthday the rest of us sister's flew her out from Indiana so she could spend it with us! We had so much fun! We went to Marie Calenders for pie, we had a game nights/bbqs with the rest of the fam, and the night before her birthday....

06/29-30/09 .... us 4 sisters went to a cabin up little cottonwood canyon for a slumber party! We made really yummy food, and then just talked and talked. We did manicures, we took a personality test and went over out results. And the next day we went to Park City. We ate at Main Street Pizza and Noodle, and went to the outlets. I got a couple cute shirts. Then we met up with RaNae and JaNel's mom, Carole, and RaNae's daughter, Kaley, at Olive Garden for RaNae's birthday dinner. She probably wouldn't want me announcing this to the world...but she turned 51! Can you believe it!?! She's the one in the blue/green shirt blowing out the candle. She doesn't even dye her hair! She makes 51 look very doable.