July Trip to West Yellowstone

Since our trip to West Yellowstone in June was a quick one, we planned way back in January to take our longer vacation in July and coordinate it with my family's monthly turn at the cabin. So we headed there on Friday, July 11th, and left on Tuesday, July 15th. We crammed a lot into our days there and had a great time. Here's some pictures of the highlights:

At Grandma's and Grandpa's house, Bridget and Felicity loved picking the never-ending supply of wildflowers and picked numerous bouquets while we were there.

All of the kids enjoyed tractor rides with Grandpa, and Felicity and Dayton even enjoyed some naps on Grandpa's shoulder during their rides.

 

I'm a s'mores fanatic, so we had to make a fire and do a little marshmallow roasting while we were there. Even though we have a fire pit at home, there's something about a fire pit in a mountain setting that just seems to make it better.

 

I love this girl and her messy s'more face.

 

We also made it over to the cabin a couple of afternoons so the kids could play on the beach and in the lake. Afternoon thunderstorms seem to be the norm, but any time the sun came out, all the kids got in the lake. The mosquitoes were fierce, but that didn't stop them. Both of the girls enjoyed jumping off the end of the dock multiple times as well.

I'm pretty sure this was the first time ever both of the girls got to go on a boat ride in the super old fishing boat. I have many fond memories for riding and driving that boat in my youth.

The absolute highlight of the trip for me was getting to meet up and hang out with my best friend from high school, Angie.

This was the first time we'd seen each other since her wedding 6 years ago, and hopefully it won't be that long before we see each other again. We are the kind of friends that can talk about anything and pick right up where we left off even if we haven't communicated in a while. She is one amazing woman, and I couldn't wait to give her a big hug and talk with her and her husband, Kevin. We've communicated a lot more frequently the past few months since she and Kevin suffered the devastating loss of their baby girl Ella at 35 weeks - just days before Christmas. And following the delivery, Angie almost died herself. She and Kevin continue to struggle with their grief and loss, and it was wonderful to finally be able to give her the hug I was dying to give her these many months and to reconnect. I'm so glad they made the trip so we could finally see each other again!

I forgot to take a picture of our other dear friends we got to see while there, but our friends Sandy and Bill were camping in Island Park and drove over Sunday evening to visit with us. Even though we get to see them all the time at home, it was fun to meet up for a short visit on vacation.

Certainly a wonderful trip for everyone and lots of great memories made. As usual, the girls didn't want to leave Grandma's and Grandpa's house, but hopefully we'll get there again for a short trip this fall.

My First Wedding Cake

Yesterday two of my very good friends (Corey and Desaray) got married, and I had the opportunity to make my very first wedding cake for them. I was very pleased with how it turned out in appearance as well as taste, so it made all the labor and stress worth it. Making this cake was a definite learning experience and should I attempt to make any more in the future, hopefully it will be a little easier. One of the big things I learned is that attempting a time-consuming project like this with a toddler who constantly wants my attention is not an easy task. For this reason, I may have to postpone doing this as a possible side job/hobby until we're done having children and they're all a little older. I also now understand why wedding cakes are so expensive because they are extremely labor intensive in addition to the cost of the ingredients and decorations.

The bottom and top tiers were white cake with a strawberry mousse filling, and the middle tier was a white/chocolate marble cake with a chocolate mousse filling. The cake is frosted with a white buttercream and topped with chocolate ganache.

So, congratulations Corey and Desaray! And thanks for allowing me this opportunity to challenge myself and advance my cake decorating skills. I also have to thank Nate for being so patient with me the last few days when I was more than a little stressed. He pitched right in and helped me as much as he could, and I wouldn't have survived the last couple of days without him.

Bridget Meets Amy

Last week my friend, Amy, came to Utah for a family reunion. She was kind enough to fit us in her plans and she came for dinner and a visit. She and Bridget color-coordinated outfits that day and the picture turned out perfect.

Thanks, Amy, for taking time away from your family to visit. We can't let it be another 3 years (or was it 4) before we see each other!

Bridget & Mason

A few weeks ago one of my college roommates, Danny, came to town (along with his wife, April, and son, Mason). We were lucky enough to arrange some time to get together and it was entertaining to watch Bridget and Mason interact.

I was nice to reconnect and I guess we now owe them a trip to Albany, NY sometime in the future...

Rather than repost pictures, here's a link to their post: Mason and Bridget. Enjoy!

The Everyday Life...

This last weekend, after spending all day in a birth preparation class, we met up with our friends, Dustin and Emily, for dinner.

I worked with Dustin and Emily at our favorite place, TCH, before they moved to Idaho. Now they are trying to convince me to find a job in wonderful ol' Idaho Falls. It would be fun to move someplace new and have ready-made friends (and babysitters). We'll have to see what happens.