Get comfortable for this one

Its been a couple of weeks, I know! Our family has been really busy and sadly I haven't been able to blog about it all until now. Which of course means its going to be a looooooong one with LOTS of pictures.

Beaver Mountain

My girls and I headed up to Utah a couple of weeks ago so that we could go to our family cabin on Beaver Mountain. My mom, stepdad, and ALL of my siblings were there (except for Markie and we totally missed her) and then a few of my sisters friends too. It was a packed cabin but it was nice and cozy! A little background on the cabin. My great-grandpa purchased this property on Beaver Mountain back in the 1930's. He built the cabin, the man made lake (Corky says its a pond...but I say lake!) and it has been shared and passed down in the family since then. It is one of, if not my favorite places to be in this whole wide world! So here is a collage of all the fun pictures there with explanations to follow.

From Left to right, first row (like your reading a book!)

1- Gracey and Grandpa Ron watching humming birds

2- Don't ask....I guess I am just making a disgusting face because Bailey is jealous of my tan skin compared to hers.

3- A little better

4- Fishing down by the lake

5- Somebody *cough* (Grandma) snuck Emily some chocolate.

6- I am pretty sure the funny face is not from the chocolate....if it is, she is not my daughter.

7- Jessica (dallas's friend), Dallas, Bailey, Zander (bailey's friend), Skyler (Bailey's friend), and Gracey. They were all getting ready to take the annual plunge into the 42 degree lake. Even Gracey went in, with the help of Grandma Joyce jumping in with her.

8- Emily examining the marshmallow

9- Emily now eating the marshmallow.

10- Grandma and Emily

11- Gracey fishing with her Barbie fishing pole. She would cast and immediately say "I got one!"

12- Me and my favorite 2 year old.

13- Taking the path back to the cabin.

14- Emily taking the traditional baby bath in the sink. I bathed in that sink, and my mom bathed in that sink.

15- Gracey clearly being a big help. I am sure Emily really appreciated it.

16- Emily finally catching her breath.

17- Bailey blowing out her birthday candles...okay, they were matches....we forgot the candles.

18- Just packing up, making sure we aren't forgetting ANYTHING!

Now on to the St. George trip

So then we spent some time in St. George while we waited for Corky to join us on the the 4th of July. We swam a lot and just hung out. It was lots of fun. Gracey, Emily, and I met up with Jessica and her cute kids, Brynlee and Crew. We went to Blue Bunny for some ice cream and holy cow...there was ice cream everywhere! Check out these pictures of Brynnlee and Gracey. (I wish I would have taken a picture of Jessica too...I forgot to mention this to her but she had some great earrings on!)

Then the next day I met up with Val, Pam, Abby, and Pam's sister in law. We went to Pasta Factory and it was so much fun. I love getting together with my friends and just chit chatting. Sadly I didn't take any pictures...and I even had my camera with me! Dang.

Then the 4th of July came rolling around and we were happy that Corky could finally come up. We swam all day then we went to my aunt's house that is on the black hill. She has a beautiful view of the city and we were lucky enough to crash her house to get a great view of the fireworks show.

Picture 1- Just chillin with my mama.

2- Swimming

3- and again

4- Gracey getting a sparkler

5- Gracey liking her sparkler

6- Watching fireworks in the comfort of Corky's arms.

7- Showing some love

8- Me, Gracey, and Corky

9-Grandpa Ron, Grandma Joyce, and Emily

Also during the trip we went to a couple of movies. We saw Ratatouille and Transformers. I really enjoyed Ratatouille but I must say that Transformers was AWESOME!!!! No joke! The graphics were amazing and it wasn't just a movie about robots beating each other up. It had a great story and lots and lots of humor! I was laughing a lot more than I expected. Also, I have always had a little crush on Shia Labeouf ever since he was in Even Stevens!!

fun fact: The Black Hawk helicopter that is shown in the movie is in Corky's unit. The pilot of the helicopter that says "We've got the boy" is actually the pilot of the helicopter. He thought he was pretty neat stuff after filming for the movie! :) I don't blame him though, I would too!

Corky and I took Gracey to see Cinderella out at the Tuachan amphitheater. I am a dork and thought that it would be just like the movie with all the songs that she knows and I was excited to see how they would portray Gus Gus!! Nope, it wasn't like the movie at all but that didn't stop Gracey from loving it! Neither did the 104 degree weather that we had to sit in to watch the play. It really was a fun play and of course, we got pictures afterwards

And that is the conclusion of our trip to Utah. We all had a really good time and are excited that we get to go on vacation again in only a few weeks. One thing I forgot to mention though was that Abby cut my hair last week. No length was taken off but she thinned the heck out of it and it feels great! It is seriously the most favorite haircut I have ever had. Thanks Abs!!!