sun valley

Almost every July, we get to go to Sun Valley for the Utah State Bar Convention (yep ... a lawyers' convention!).  We've pretty much fallen in love with Sun Valley.  What a beautiful little place.  And there's so much to do!  We stay busy swimming, biking, bowling, picnicing, golfing and checking out new places (this year it was Redfish Lake).  We also eat the biggest, yummiest chocolate chip cookies ever ... even for breakfast.  :)

The beautiful Sun Valley Lodge:

Redfish Lake:

There were a few who braved the frigid water:

Great food and friends at the annual family BBQ and carnival:

Swimming:

We biked the Corral Creek trail:

The Sawtooth Putting Course (no course records were set):

san fran & the u.s. open

The week before the big move we took a little trip to California.  Now, this trip wasn't just your little relaxing summer vacation.  No, this trip had a purpose.  And that purpose was to see the U.S. Open golf tournament at Pebble Beach.  And let me just say ... it was SO COOL!  It was really fun to be at such a big golf tournament on such a beautiful golf course.  Ben was pretty much in heaven.  And the boys loved every minute of it, too.  Well, okay, Luke did say that his legs were so tired they were about to fall off, but other than all the walking, they loved every minute of it.

We saw all the famous golfers ... Tiger, Phil, Ernie, Sergio, Vijay, Mike Weir.  In fact, on the 14th tee, my boys even got Tiger's attention and totally cracked him up after his tee shot.  It was awesome!  We spent two days at the tournament, but much to our dismay, we don't have any photos of it because no cameras were allowed on the course during the tournament.  Correction, we have exactly three photos from the U.S. Open, but we didn't take them.  Here they are ...

That's us with the U.S. Open trophy

The boys with the trophy

Us next to a car that sort of looked like a golf ball

I really wish we had been able to take our camera, because it really was neat to be there.

If and when we go to the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach again, there are a few things I'll do differently ...

1.  Sneak food in.  This would have prevented us from spending $65 on greasy hot dogs and hamburgers, and paying $3 per Snickers.

2.  Take warmer clothes.  Seriously, California in June?  You'd think it would be warm, right?  Think again.

3.  Don't forget to look up our good friend, Ken Musket.  He saved the day, or night, and saved us from waiting in a 3 hour long line to get on the shuttle bus!

While we were in the Monterey area, we also spent a morning at the Monterey Bay Aquarium ...

I really liked these jellyfish!

We also spent a couple of days in San Francisco, and had a great time there, too.  Here's a little run-down of the San Fran portion of our trip:

We caught a Giants game at AT&T Park (for free I might add, except for the 40 bucks it cost us to park!) ...

Of course, we drove down Lombard Street ...

We saw, walked along, and drove across the Golden Gate Bridge ...

We went to Muir Woods and saw the Redwoods ...

We soaked in the sights, smells, and street shows on Fishermans Wharf and Pier 39 ...

And we finished off our trip with a stop at the Oakland Temple ...

We were thoroughly worn out when we got home, but we sure had a good time!

no trespassing

We went for a drive last Sunday.  Somehow we ended up on a little dirt road not far from our new home.  Sam had seen this road before, and he knew there was a sign on the road that said, "no trespassing."  He became very concerned and exclaimed, "Dad, don't drive on this!  Trespassers will be executed!"

released

For the last two years I've served as the Young Womens President in my ward.  Definitely the most challenging calling I've ever had.  Definitely the most rewarding calling I've ever had.  Well, since we moved out of the ward, I was released from my calling last Sunday.  It's amazing how attached you become to others through callings.  These girls and the leaders I served with have been a huge part of my life for the past two years, and they have impacted my life more than they'll ever know.  I've loved every minute of it and I'm really going to miss being with them!

thoughts about the big move

This move has been interesting.  Much different than what I expected.  There was a time when Ben and I moved a lot.  Before, during and after law school we moved about 10 times in five years ... Salt Lake, East Millcreek, Midvale, St. George, Oregon, back to St. George, back to Oregon, back to Salt Lake, and back to St. George, before we finally settled in Centerville.  So, I thought I knew what to expect with this move.  I thought it would be easy ... especially since we weren't moving far.  But the funny thing is, even though this home feels right, everything else seems a little "off."  The neighborhood is different, the views out my windows are different, church last Sunday was particularly rough.  Where were the familiar faces?  Where were my friends?  It's amazing how you can be in a room, surrounded by lots and lots of people, yet feel so alone. 

I know we didn't move far, I know that our wonderful friends "there" are still our wonderful friends. But it's just "different" when I don't see them drive down the street every day, when I don't see them at church every Sunday.

I knew the move in and of itself would be hard ... and it was ... completely exhausting in fact.  But I didn't expect it to be as emotionally hard as it is.  I kind of thought that my kids would miss their friends, but that I'd be just fine.  But I was wrong.  It's tough to go from feeling so supported, involved, included, to feeling somewhat detached, separated. 

I know that time will change all of this.  I know that I will love this ward, this neighborhood, these people, as much as I do those people I'm missing so much right now ... it will just take a little time.

Hopefully it won't take too long.  I was amazed this morning, as I was reflecting on all of these thoughts and feelings, when I opened my front door and found that a new, "future" neighbor had delivered a box of cookies to our family.  It helped.

moving

Where in the world did June go???  It's all a blur to me.  All I remember is boxes ... lots and lots of boxes!  (Oh, and a little trip to California, too.  More on that later.)  Back to the boxes ... we moved the last week of June, and it's been a little crazy trying to get unpacked and settled in our new place.  I didn't realize how much crap stuff we have!  We've been in our new place a week now, and it's starting to look much better, although we still have a whole slew of boxes to unpack.

Moving out:

Moving in:

So far we're loving our new home ... but a yard would be nice!  :)