On July 8, 2 days after Elsie's birthday, the M family arrived in Cache Valley in time for dinner and another birthday celebration for Elsie. She requested donuts with sprinkles so we loaded her donut with candles and sang away. The kids didn't mind the donut treat in the least.
One of their reasons for coming was so that Aaron could ride in the 100 mile Gran Fondo ride in CV the next morning. Taylor and Jen decided to sign up and ride too instead of doing the Echo triathlon.
Here are Jen, Taylor and Aaron just before starting the big ride. Heather and Hilary went on their own ride that morning also. Tiffany, Adam and I took the younger kids to the family day at the Patriot camp that Korinne and Abigail had been attending all week.
We arrived just in time for a bagpipe rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and the pledge of allegiance. It was awesome!
The younger kids went back and forth between playground and activities associated with the event.
They weren't so interested in listening to Benjamin Franklin but they loved the rocket launch and the candle making and were willing to wait in line for that.
They did the launch dozens of times. I think they were the most consistent participants.
They also climbed trees and ate hot dogs and drank rootbeer. Mostly they had fun while parents were riding bicycles all around the valley.
Aaron finished with a smile on his face. Congrats, Aaron.
Jen placed first in the women's division and Taylor placed first in the men's. Surprised? June and Will loved their medals.
Back at Grandma's we pulled out the slip and slide and ran the water for an opportunity to cool off.
Abigail, Korrine and Elsie willingly agreed to sing in Sacrament Mtg the next day so we went over to the church later that afternoon to rehearse.
We had enough taco salad food that Steve invited the neighbors so Kirks and Nights happily finished up the leftovers. Whew! I'm glad there was enough food.
Siblings, Tiffany, Taylor, Heather and Hilary posed for a photo before Heather loaded up her family and headed north and Taylor took his south. He flew out the next day for China and Jen spent her last week with her sister, Jamie.
Goodbye hugs!
In betwixt and between, we continued to pick cherries. Heather took a bunch home. I made more jam, dehydrated cherries and froze pie cherries from our own small tree. We have loved all the delicious cherries this year.
That is a lot of pits from our last batch.
This bag of dried cherries represents a lot of work.
On Thursday night the 14th, we went to Murray High School to watch Larah, Cassidy and Parker perform in the play, "The Little Mermaid." They each had key roles and did a fabulous job during their performance. We were lucky that Kathy, Brent, Marci and Jake came that night too. How fun to be there together.
Earlier in the day, Steve and I went with Tiffany, Abigail and Elsie to the zoo. Here we are at the new and improved bird show. It was fascinating.
Friday morning, we picked up Kathy and Brent and went to breakfast at Penny Ann's Cafe which recently opened a location nearby. This eatery is famous for their breakfasts and particularly their "heavenly pancakes." We enjoyed our breakfast so much we really didn't need lunch.
It was a good thing because just about lunch time, Heather arrived with her family. We needed to get to the zoo again in time to see a few animals before it closed. Tanner was dropped off to spend some time with a friend. They ended up doing baptisms at the Draper temple while we were at the zoo. Anna was with her cousin Lillian.
After the zoo, we joined back together for some sloppy Joes, chips, watermelon, etc. and then Heather and Aaron drove north to Aaron's brother's home to spend the night there.
The next morning we were scheduled to meet at the UT Co. location of Hale Center Theatre for the 11 o'clock play, "Peter Pan." Grandma Ann wanted to host as many grandkids and great grandkids as possible. Of course, parents had to bring them and supervise so there were a lot of adults too.
The play was performed in an incredibly creative way and was a delight for all ages. What a great gift for Grandma Ann to give. Heather and Aaron were the first to arrive and we followed shortly thereafter. We all congregated in the parking lot and visited with seldom seen relatives.
Here is part of Karlin's family and Baylee with Peter Pan and Wendy. We haven't seen them in years so we welcomed the opportunity to say hello.
We had arrived early and scouted out nearby parks so we could join together for lunch after the play. Here the kids are with the 6 foot Subway sandwich we ordered. We added fruit, salad, chips, veggies, drinks and carmel corn puffs for a nice lunch. It was our mini-reunion with half of the families there.
Ann was disappointed that she couldn't join us as she had company arriving from California. Steve K. stopped by for a quick bite though. It was great to see him.
We were so happy that we had a little time to visit. Then everyone was able to travel several hours back home with happy and contented stomachs. Our family does love to eat.
Here are some random, out of order pictures. One day during Taylor's visit, Steve went with them on a 4-wheeler ride over the mountain into Idaho. He thoroughly enjoyed the excursion. Will loved it too but June wasn't so sure it was fun.
Here is a photo of Elsie and Abigail with Ursula and Cassidy from the Little Mermaid play.
Here is a group photo from our Friday afternoon visit to the zoo and below is a picture of the sea lion gliding in front of our group at the zoo. Awesome!
Brinley, Elsie and Abigail at the zoo.
Here Elsie, Korinne and Abigail smile for a picture on the Sunday after they sang in church. They did a really great job and I believe the experience gave them some confidence for future singing opportunities. Thanks, girls. I really loved having my beautiful granddaughters blend their voices in singing. They chose to sing Children Holding Hands Around the World. I was one happy grandmother that day!
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