Just doin' a little throwin'....

...on this #throwbackthursday because....I'm working on my mom's history and I found some gems today one of which I will share as this reminded me of what we used to do for fun in the old days....

...and not one kid has an electronic device, however, Jeff is way ahead of his time as he is communicating with his thumb....that signals the driver to take 'em higher or "I'm havin' a good time".  These kids are sharing a lot of smiles and laughs and my dad was always ever-so-willing to take them on a spin in the dumper, crowding as many in as possible....and speaking "crowding" and  "sharing".....I love this picture. Lauri says Molly has no sense of space.....

She pitched a fit when Lucy got in the chair and I told her she would have to share it with Lucy....so this is her idea of sharing......and I have a few grandkids that like to "share" the spotlight, the term these days is "photobombing" and Seth is the master.

Even though this one was somewhat planned by Seth and Miller, here's one that wasn't.....

...and it bombed. Better luck next time, Seth but good try.....but here is the ultimate photo bomb shot...

..and a big shout out to all my cute little bombers. 

Just a day late....

...but heartfelt none-the-less as I wish my big man Max a "day late" Happy Birthday.....

I got to take him shopping and he chose some spy gear and a couple of shirts. This is a kid that knows the toy section of Target....racing from isle to isle with his brothers and finally zeroing in on this spy pen. Not sure what he plans to do with it but probably some spying....so watch out but if he comes to your door and tells you his parents are dead and he is going to have to live with you, well....you better check that one out. He's got a bit of mischief behind those eyes but an amazing little boy with an imagination gone wild. He'll be a fun one to watch through the years. I'm sure he had a big day yesterday. I'm still waiting to hear about it!!!! But, I was glad to spend last Friday him and his brothers as we started out the day at Fizz....their favorite bar...I mean drinking spot (that sounds like a bar to me).

Their favorite drink was the "Olaf" (lower left) but Jake and Scott made up one called the "Sven" and the owners put it on the menu. I was glad to get introduced to their favorite drinks and spend some time with them before I headed out to return to Folsom after a summer of being away. I was able to help Lauri and James get moved to their new home in Pleasant Grove.

I've been able to spend some good times with all of my kids this summer and I definitely will miss having Lauri and James in my home. The day before they moved, we got a new back yard....

It's just beautiful and will be great for us all to come to when we can. Also, some great improvements to Pine Valley and a great big thanks to all who have helped in both efforts. My nephew, Todd, has been great to get this yard put in and with the help of a lot of people that Mason knows and also my sons, these improvements have come about in Pine Valley.

Thanks again to all who made these improvements happen but now it's time to return yet to my other home, (wow, I have so many places to call home) where Randy and I were able to spend a couple of days with his kids who were vacationing in Lake Tahoe. We had some really great "nature time" in this beautiful place....

We started the day off with this hike....bit off a bit more than I could handle but we made it far enough to see some beautiful vistas.....

...and to be back in my kayak was amazing. It was so beautiful. We got out quite a ways and then saw the clouds roll in and headed back to shore. I just waited for the rain to come but Randy went snorkeling. He turned back and told me that I could have 50% of his find. Wasn't sure I wanted to split this creature so he let it go. It's been a great summer, now looking forward to a new season.

Lately, it takes a birthday.....

...for me to get to my blog. Lots of reasons, maybe I'll go into those later but the birthday of which I speak, is none other than Lauri's....(tomorrow, Aug. 18) and anyone that knows anything about me knows that I waited a long time to get a little girl and when she arrived, you'd have thought I was the only person in the world that had a baby girl. She is as wonderful today as she was the first day we met and has turned out to be everything a parent could ever hope for....wonderful daughter, first and foremost to me but to James, an amazing wife and to Lucy, Molly and Louis, the coolest mom everrrrr. She's also the sweetest grand-daughter as she's helped out with my mom this past summer. She truly is going to be missed as she and James head on to their new adventure in Northern Utah as he has taken on a job with "Kids on the Move". So go here to read of their adventures.....https://www.facebook.com/lauri.w.stewart and maybe HERE where she houses her blog.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Lauri. Can't wait to celebrate with you and celebrate "YOU" and the wonderful person you are. Good luck to you and James on your new adventure. I will miss you and my house will miss you. It's gonna be lonely around here but there comes a time we all gotta move on. I love you and appreciate all you do for me.
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And now to what I will call "Month in Review" as it's been a while. I'll start with the most current which was a wonderful week-end with Mason and Mandy at Lake Powell.....one of my very most favorite annual family adventures. It was Matty's first trip...she always had to stay home because she was too little...it started out awesome!!!!! Actually, I love this picture but the truth is, she was first to go on the tube and didn't know what she was getting into but she did it and Maycee and Emily were troopers to try and make her enjoy the ride.....

She was brave though.....and when I told her I was scared to go and I needed her and Miller to go with me on a "Grandma Ride".....she knew it would be slower and she could help me be brave.

I wasn't pretending to be scared either....I was, but Mason took it slow for the most part. However.....Mandy was about the only one that could go crazy and Emily wasn't sure she wanted to be on the crazy ride. This was a little scarier tube as you sit more on top of it than down in it. Needless to say, the kids chose other activities....it was fun though and no one got hurt.

These two were the hit of the trip....always together, always talking, always playing and Matty taking care of Miller. He would lay on her lap and she would stroke his hair, such a little mother. I loved, loved, loved watching them.

Mandy schooled George on the chair ski....and he took off. Such a cute kid and had a blast conquering this one.

The favorite is always the knee board as everyone can do it....

It's always a favorite to just stay around the houseboat and chill, swim or play on the paddle boards that are new this year. I was even determined to conquer it....and I did. Can't say I love it but I can do it. I'll take my kayak....'d rather sit and paddle than stand and paddle, but that's just me.

Our beach breaks were fun....Kyle's missing in most of the pictures. He has a back injury so laid pretty low on this trip (lower left)...he kind of just blends into the rock. Spent a lot of time there while we boated.

Just some random pictures on the boat. It's my favorite....I could ride all day, every day and be perfectly happy. My favorite spot is up front just letting the wind rip and feeling the water spray on my face. (Middle Left) Miller made sure he had a pretty good dose of sun screen.

Then there's cliff jumping....oh, my. I'm always glad when this one is done but they all love it. Another favorite activity at Powell is fishing....not real serious fishing, just off the edge of the houseboat fishing and it was awesome.....

We are pretty sure we caught the same catfish about three times....but it was fun. 

So there you have it....another year at Powell. I'm sure I've got more pictures but I always take so many that it's hard to get through them all so check back later and I'll post a few more.

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I've enjoyed some good time in Pine Valley and the boys are doing some wonderful improvements that I'll post when I get the pictures but I was able to attend the Wells Family Reunion which was also Mark's 80th birthday and Marian conned me into singing with her and with the help of Emily and George we made it through. It was also the Annual Family Dutchoven Cook-Off and I don't know what got into me but I've never participated....I'm just good with showing up and eating everyone's food but this year I decided to throw together my favorite casserole (Stovetop Stuffing, veggies, Cream of Chicken Soup and some cheese) and put it in a little dutch oven and cook for 350 in my oven for about an hour.  I probably wasn't even eligible to win but I don't think the other winners were either but it was fun.....

(Bottom Right): Notice how the rest of the contestants slave over their entries....no need. I called it Golden Garden Harvest Casserole and when John saw that name, he just laughed at me and I told him to take a look at the judges.....(elderly members from the Pine Valley Ward, they love veggies) so he named his Golden Garden Harvest Thai Chicken but it didn't help.....good try, John. It was a really fun birthday celebration/family reunion.

Fun, family times celebrating the life of a good man. Mark was a father figure to Scott....their dad died when Scott was only 16 and Mark was 16 years older than him. We've looked to them for so many things in our married life and he and Marian took us in when we were young, starving students. He has been a strength to our family so it was great to be able to celebrate this occasion with him. He and Marian are the King and Queen of Party...and it certainly did not disappoint. I especially loved the live band that Marian had come and play all evening....even got into a little Virginia Reel.

It was fun to go over to Judd and Janice's and watch the kids skim in the irrigation water....epic skimming skills in the making.....and speaking of the S. Wells family, we have a star amongst us......Laynee made the news yesterday.

This was in the sports section of yesterday's Spectrum speaking of the Desert Hills Cross Country Team. Way to go Laynee....it's going to be fun watching you this year. I spent some time with these kids while their parents went to Scotland and it was a pleasure. 

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The family gathered for some wonderful ordinances at the first of the month.

Evan turned 8 and we all gathered for his big day....and then a luau at his house. What a wonderful occasion to bring family from both sides together in honor of his decision to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Evan is a fine young man and I'm proud to call him my grandson. The next day we blessed little Louis James....

He was given a name and a blessing by his father, James Stewart and then we all gathered in his honor for a light lunch. Such wonderful occasions to celebrate. Randy and I both had new grandbabies this past summer. Unfortunately, they were blessed on the same day, his in Salt Lake and mine here in St. George so welcome to the world, Roman Joseph Alsop (son of Joey and Megan Reber Alsop) and Louis James Stewart, son of James and Lauri Wells Stewart.

Very proud grandparents....

Because families gather for these great ordinances, they also have a lot of fun. Traci's family came with her family and it was one big party....

Pool party at Mason's....always willing to host a party at anyone's will and we willed it so happen it did.

Can't have a summer without a gathering or two at Pine Valley....

....and now, we have a children's museum. Woo...hoo....always something to do. Love it when the Staheli's come for a visit. Partay....all day. This blog is a bit discombobulated but a lot happened in the month of July but back to the beginning of the month with the 4th....and this is how we do the Fourth of July in our family. Same every year.... this year, we also welcomed Kyle and JoEllen and their family back from Hawaii. 

Pizza and root beer at mom's....watching fireworks from the street. Tradition....tradition. I'm sure I'm not through but that's it for now. I'm not ever going to get this far behind again. Just gotta hand it to my wonderful family and to Randy that gives me the freedom to spend time with them. I've been able to help out with mom, babysit for Spencer and Shana while they went to Scotland and helped Traci while she and Russ had their first ever (for a long time anyway) get-a-way and saw a lot of baseball, did a lot of swimming and just plain had a good ol' time with my fam. Consider July documented....for the books. Over and out.