Summer was a whirlwind! Jeffrey took on a second full-time job for the summer so the kids and I headed out west to the spend the summer with my mom and family (note: Jeffrey drove out with us and then flew back, no way would I attempt to drive 2,000 miles by myself). It was sort of an up and down of emotions, but I have no regrets. I will just move along and show through pictures...
Somehow the pics got out of order, sorry. A couple of weeks into our trip to UT, I unfortunately lost my Pop Pop. It was heart breaking for our entire family. He was only 76, however, he died doing service which truly exemplified his life and who he was. He is dearly missed.
Carly, Aunt Sue, Chris and Laura
Deisen loved being "babied" by Auntie Carly :)
After Pop Pop's funeral all of us cousins got together at a park and caught up on old and new times.
Char, as always, was in good spirits and seemed to have peace and comfort.
Splash Pad, Alpine.
The kids and I went up to North Ogden and visited with Annie, Ayla and Jane. Annie and I met when she and her husband were living in Alabama. They moved a year or so ago and I have missed hanging out with her, but it was great to see her place and see how big her girls are :)
Jeffrey came out about half way through the summer and the kids were giddy and thrilled!
Splash Pad, Highland.
Dinosaur Museum. We thought Deisen might get a little nervous or scared (he has been battling some anxiety lately), but he loved the Dinos!
I have dubbed this the "BEST science museum EVER!"
Visit to BYU campus
These two pics were taken right when we got home from UT...He makes his own fun!
Pop Pop's casket
This is before our Utah trip. We went strawberry picking with Yu and Kai. All kids got messy and we are still enjoying frozen strawberries!
Kai and Deisen
Also taken before the UT trip. I wanted to capture Ivy's cute teeth
Jeffrey surprised me with an impromptu trip to Birmingham for Mother's Day. I guess we didn't take many pictures, but we did have fun family time.
Cheesecake Factory
Cody and Deisen at Cody's Lake House. This was an awesome day, so much fun on a boat in the sun!
Got the Stifflemire clan together right before Jeffrey flew back to Bama
Emma
Austin and Seth
Maggie
And this is the best shot
Austin's graduation. Deisen entertaining himself by playing Superman
I cleaned out my Mom's entire basement over the summer. It promise you, it was quite the accomplishment. But while sorting through boxes, I came across these super hero capes that my Mom used to make. She told me she used to sell them at craft fairs..who knew?! Deisen of course loves them and played super hero's with Bop Bop (my brother Bradley).
So... while my Mom went to L.A. to be with her family and make funeral arrangements, my brother, sister-in-law and myself decided to makeover my Mom's room. I guess Bradley took all the before and after pics, because when I uploaded all the photos, this is the only one I had on my camera. We worked day and night for 5 days and the outcome was beautiful. Mom was beyond surprised and felt like we should start a HGTV show called, "Amaze your Mom!" Sorry to give all the hype and no photos.
After we drove to California for the funeral, we checked in to the hotel and hit up Ihop for some much needed food fuel.
I love this picture :)
Deisen and Adalie picked a bunch of Pop Pop's veggies, look at that zucchini!
Laura's wedding! Laura married Chris Billings on July 21, 2012. She looked breath taking! The wedding turned out beautiful. These are the professional pics that Laura and Chris had taken. She hasn't posted any of the reception, but you better believe, in true Findeis fashion, we burned a hole in the dance floor all night long Laura, get your butt in gear and post the reception pics, I'm dying to see!!
I love this one :)
I have heard all my life how much I look like my Mom. I honestly don't always see it, but I see it in the picture.
Izzy! Missmelissbeliss! Aunt Lissa! Melissa!
Carly is truly one of my favorite people in this world.
Sarah, I thought you would enjoy this one :)
Gets me teary eyed.
And that was our summer! Much more happened, but not all was documented. Such as, going to Idaho to visit Sarah and her family, watching the mountain burn instead of enjoying fireworks on the 4th of July, a variety of family activities, getting together with old high school friends and their kids, high school reunion and a farm where Deisen and Ivy were both too obsessed with the cows (hmm... are some of you thinking, "they are Amber's kids!?). I will also add that our drive home went well. We took off on a Wednesday night around 7:00 and was planning on stopping around 4:00 pm the next day. But we ended up just driving past our hotel and driving straight home. Yep, that means we spent 31 hours straight in the car! Like I said, we left Wednesday at 7:00 and arrived home at 2:00 AM on Friday morning. We all crashed, then when the kids got up we drove them over so Sharon could watch them and Jeffrey and I slept until about 5:00 pm.
