Maxed out.....

....on fun this past week-end but first and foremost, speaking of MAX....it's his birthday and this first collage goes out to him....man of the week and a little man he is in every way. Strong-willed but very cute about it and with that smile, he's a charmer. Love this kid and hope he has the best day ever. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, big Max. You are awesome in every way....

....and speaking of max, I maxed out my camera this past week-end at Lake Powell 'cause we also maxed out on fun.....I really don't think we could have put any more of it into the 2 days we had there. So here come the collages....

Ya gotta start out with a bit of swimming and just relaxing....kinda testing the water....

..then some fishing and jumping off the dock.....

...with a little cliff jumping.....

...some boogie boarding (Evan is rockin' this one)!!!!

Throw in some wake boarding (the kids did awesome on this one but it was good to finally see the pros at their finest).

...and just riding in the boat.....(my favorite part of it all. I could do it all day and all night).

I just love being with my family and watching the cousins play and get along so well. I have to add one last collage just to let you know how they watch out for each other. Notice Maycee (upper left) is trying to signal to the driver (Mason) to slow down a bit because they all realize that McKay isn't doing so well......

Kyle's trying to give encouraging words but it's just not happening fast enough so George takes it on himself to jump so the driver will stop the boat. Way to go George.....McKay is fine and Kyle's just taking it all in. They carry on and once again, we are home safe and sound, no casualties. I am so grateful each time we get home safely. I used to pray really hard when my boys would hike the Subway and then give a prayer of gratitude for their safe return. Nothing has changed....they still play hard and are teaching their kids to play hard so I will keep praying (and close my eyes a lot). Thanks, Mason for a fun couple of days. He and Mandy are always willing to sacrifice so we can have this yearly trip. Everyone's lives are so busy, a lot of things have to be shuffled (some even missed) to make it happen but it's so worth it.  

Emily got to spend some quality time with her dad. This will be her Daddy/Daughter Date picture that she missed. Thanks again Mason. We do love our "Powell Time". Now I'm off for a little "Tahoe Time" with Randy and his family.

Redemption.....

.....finally getting a proper birthday blog post for Lauri.  I hope she had a wonderful "day after her birthday" and that she got the celebration she deserves. James made a book for her of her accomplishments over the last 30 years which include a mission, a 3-month BYU study in Mexico, a B.S. degree in Psychology, a wonderful mother to two, awesome wife to James....and a very important one is being a sister to Traci....(sorry Traci, about the finger in the nose but this was the best one of the two of you)...

...and an exceptional daughter to me. She has a wonderful cooking blog that you really must check out if you haven't already. lauriskitchencabinet.blogspot.com All recipes are tried and tested with only the best making publication.

She's accomplished a lot in her 30 years on this earth and brought a lot of joy and happiness to a lot of people. This little girl came to me after 4 boys so there was a lot of pink in the house and a lot of oohs and aws. Here's to another 30 and then some. Hope you got to eat some cake....

....and to quote Emily, "may there always be cousins". Lucy enjoyed her cousins in Traci's back yard on Saturday. I saw this quote about cousins the other day ....“A cousin sees the first tear, catches the second, and stops the third".....and it really should say.. "A cousin causes the first tear, catches the second and stops the third". There are always a few tears when the cousins get together but they never last long. Cousins are the extra brothers and sisters we get to have because our parents couldn't handle us all....they are the childhood memories that we can always take with us. These kids made some really good memories last Saturday. Thanks, again Traci. It was lots of fun.

Not sure I'm gonna make it back to town in the next couple of months so I took in this last night.....Tuacahn is just the most amazing venue. It's hard to be "from" here and not take in all the plays and concerts that are offered. So, I must.....('cause everyone knows that I don't wanna miss a thing).

I'll take in this one tonight. The St. George kids are all back in school (even Kyle) and Scott and Jake will start next week in Bountiful. These kids are bizzzzzy......oh my, I do remember those days. Makes me tired thinking about it. Can I just finish this with one last picture to put a smile on your face......

....and just so you know, I do love my family....each and every one of them. 

Expectations....

....it's just better to not have them and one can avoid a lot of disappointment. I'm sure Lauri's big.....  three oh was a disappointment as today was spent on the road and as I sensed a little dismay in her voice as to how the day was going, I could tell her expectations for this birthday probably had not been met very well. But, Happy Birthday anyway Lauri. You are loved.....

I flew into Vegas on Thursday and we motored to St. George for the night then on to Bountiful to spend some time with Traci and her boys. It was relaxing and fun but the real reason for the trip was to go to our annual Acapellastock in Ogden.....of which we always have high expectations and those expectations are always met...and then some. The show was awesome.....

We all had a really good time....

Even our "newbys" this year seemed to enjoy it. 

My expectations of the show were really high 'cause my favorite Acapella guy, Paul Sperazza was the M-cee.. He is so awesome. There were some really great groups and we loved them all....especially Nota, the winner of the 2009 Sing-off. It was all just very awesome awesomeness except for one thing and my blog will not have integrity if I don't get this off my chest here and now. This wonderful, fun group (Nota from Puerto Rico) invited the whole audience to come down front and dance and they did. I always pay big bucks for front row seats....and my expectations were just shattered all to bits as we had to watch bare bellies jiggle and huge behinds bounce to the salsa tunes of Nota.....I Nota like it very much, just so you know my world isn't completely perfect. I figure if ya'all are gonna have a party, don't charge top dollar for seats. Just charge everyone the same price and we will all dance to our hearts content. There, I said it, I'm done. Next year...general admission then we'll go down front and dance our heads off with the rest of 'em......it was a great show though.

We got up this morning and headed down to Temple Square....where every expectation was met as we enjoyed the always enjoyable surroundings of this beautiful edifice......

...and the ever-consistently excellent Tabernacle Choir and Music and the Spoken Word. If you had high expectations of this blog post, well I'm just really sorry 'cause I'm tired and I my pictures aren't the greatest but I just needed Lauri to know that I wish her a happier birthday tomorrow when James will make sure she knows she is loved. As I was thinking about my big three oh.....well, it wasn't so great either. I lost my 4th little boy to still birth just 10 days before my birthday and went on later in that year to have part of my thyroid removed. Now if that isn't just a downer I don't know what is but the point being....keep those expectations real low folks if you don't want a little disappointment around the corner now and then. As my dad said....."cheer up, things could be worse. So I cheered up and sure enough, things got worse." Happy Birthday once again Lauri and thanks Traci and Russ for hosting us. Now I'm going to bed expecting a good night's sleep. Aw...there I go again, inviting disappointment. Good night!!!!! 

The winding down of summer....

.......puts me in a philosophical mood but this says it best.

I've loved my summer days, lounging lazily in the sun....but now it's Fall....I really must get something done. How philosophical is that???? Yep, I have big plans to finish up some histories, some UFOs (unfinished objects in my knitting bin) and maybe (I said "maybe") get a head start on Christmas. We have been out enjoying these last warm summer days. I'm always amazed when we find new places and hide-a-ways and discover new favorites. We have been passing this restaurant for a year and a half now but decided to try it...got seating on the deck on a beautiful evening overlooking the American River and the food was wonderful....

Randy hasn't missed a Friday night taking me out on the town. I do love my Friday night dates......

As we were out enjoying nature this past week-end, I finally got to try out a kayak...and I must say, I LOVED IT.....(I had the camera so there is no proof but I did it and I'm hooked). The American River is really a nice place to play. Excitement is in the air and I have fond memories of this time of year. I wait anxiously to hear about the first day of school from my grandchildren. I must get some tomato soup cookin' to get the full effect.....good bye summer. It's been great!!!!!