The Mother Land

So the llama story wasn't the only cool thing that happened while Avery and I were in Utah...

1. Bear Lake

The first week we were out there, we went on the Butler family reunion to Bear Lake.
First of all, I forgot how sweet this lake was. If you don't mind a little chill in the water, the beaches are amazing, especially for a toddler!



We took advantage of good old Uncle Scott and his boat. It rocked!

Secondly, the place we rented was amazing! Just look at it...

And the view

Thirdly, besides the lake, we had the best time just hanging around the cabin. There were theme nights, games, good food, good conversation and lots of laughs!

Fourthly, I just have to give all my cousins a shout out (none of them will read this because they are way cooler than this blog). I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! We had so much fun. I'm one of the oldest, and all the little teeny boppers keep me young and hip.

fifthly, these two are pretty cool

2) Hanging out with my friends!

No matter where we are in life, things never change when I see my good friends!

Oh and to the Sojo girls... why on earth do we never take pictures when we are together, I think people are starting to wonder if I am making you guys up! Well I'm not, and I love you as well!

3) Two peas in a pod

Avery taught Bella how to scream, and Bella taught Avery how to climb out of her pack and play. Ya gotta watch these two!

4) The beautiful outdoors

Where I came from was a burning sauna. Consequences of leaving our doorsteps would be instant melting, so I couldn't get enough of these outdoors.

And last but not least was Sadie's wedding!

In a wedding, there are a lot of things, first you have to have the perfect day

Check.

The perfect location

Check.

The wedding cake.

Check.

The amazingly cute ring bearers.

Check.

The ridiculously darling flower girls

Double check.

The crazy, cool, funny, beautiful family

(crazy, beautiful)

(cool, beautiful)

(cool, beautiful, sometimes crazy)

(cool)

(all of the above) (self explanatory) (cool, beautiful and crazy) (he's a little cool and crazy)

Check. Check. Check

The girl who catches the bride's flower bouquet

Too bad she is 14

lets see, what am I missing? Oh yeah, the bride and groom. Introducing Devin and Sadie Ekins

And lastly, i'm a little embarrassed to post these, but we partied a little bit, and that is always a big part of weddings.

(and i'm not proud of my weird faces)

The cool thing about this partying was that it was after the photographer, videographer, bride, groom and guests all left.

It was fun.

It is GREAT to be back though, we have missed the sauna!

Only in Draper Utah

While I have been in Utah, I have done a lot of running and walking on the beautiful trails around my parents house. One morning, I went on a walk pushing Avery in the stroller. I didn't realize that Snikkers, my mom's dog, had followed us on the trail. She didn't have a leash, and she pooped on the trail (I tried to clean it the best I could), I was so embarrassed, but that's not the reason for this story. It was near the end of the walk, and I was really getting into my music, I suddenly realized that not only could I hear Snikkers footsteps behind me, but I heard another pair of feet clomping along. When I looked back, this is exactly what I saw...

Yes, a llama, or I guess it was an alpaca. And I'm not joking, it was that close to me. If you were driving on 13800 south and saw a girl in a green shirt jump a mile, well, I'm glad I could entertain you! I peed my pants a little and I probably burned more calories from my heart pumping then during the whole walk. The alpaca looked at me, and then headed home, and I just have to say to Snikkers, what the crap? You didn't even bark! Some guard dog! I love Draper, Utah!

Catching up...

Avery had a great time catching up with her long lost cousins...

1. Utah Trip


After our cruise, we decided to head out to Utah. We went from luxury to dirt and bugs because we went camping in Duck Creek Utah with the Charles family. Sometimes dirt and bugs is a nice change from luxury... uh yeah.

We had fun playing games every night with the adults.. 

See what I mean? This is Mama Kath dying in Mafia. She had the record for most deaths, because seriously, wouldn't you want to kill anyone who made a face like that when they died?

We also went hiking...

I'd be that happy too if I had a ride like that!

...went cave spelunking

Ate lots of dessert...

And just loved being around our family

2. Annual Olympics

After last years Olympics, Trav and I were really pumped for this year's annual Harmon Olympics, minus the Harmon's cause they moved last year!

We were the reigning gold medal champs from last year... and this year... we didn't even place, WHAT????? We precockulated.

Some of the events were:

Spear throwing

In honor of the world cup, soccer goal kicking

Noodle rummaging?

There was also the wheelbarrow races and some other crazy events

I think I took first place in mosquito bite receiving!

Lets hear it for the girls

Oh and the Washburn's for taking the gold this year... sorry I didn't get a picture of you though!

We are going to miss the Kau's so much. They moved back to Hawaii. The neighborhood will NEVER be the same!

3. 4th of July

This is my favorite holiday!

But I don't think its hers...Last year..

This year...

.

The only difference from this year to last year was about 10 pounds and a bit more hair!

)

Don't worry, her fears slowly got better. We left the big firework show and found a smaller show up the street (thanks for letting us crash Marchants!

She even held a sparkler... or sat by me as I held her sparkler

Here is a picture of the gold medal winner Washburns

We also had a breakfast on the 3rd of July

And on the 5th of July, had a BBQ and another firework show

This is why I love this holiday, it was 3 days straight of eating, friends and fireworks! One day Avery will get it.

4. Avery

Where do I start with this girl?

She is very independent and still very busy

She LOVES reading books

She loves kissing

She loves going "fwimming."

She is really into hats and shoes lately

She'll be happy as a clam one minute...

And then this the next

We think she is gorgeous

She loves the outdoors

She loves "flides" (we are working on her "S's")

She loves cookies too! She takes all of my energy, but I don't think I'd want it to go towards any other thing... maybe it would be nice to not fall asleep during EVERY movie though?

We love you Avery!!!

5. Sadie

My youngest sister is getting hitched this August!(d0n't look at this picture Devin).

Avery and I are heading to Utah tomorrow to start the festivities. We are so excited for you Sadjie!!! Sorry we have to leave you Trav... remember how you have a job now?

Well hopefully we are caught up now and can just have normal size blog posts!