Rest, Relaxation, and Relations...

One of our summer highlights was a fun visit from my big brother, Abraham, and his cute family.  Although he came to us somewhat exhausted, complete with his own ready-to-use massage table...

...he, Chels, and their kiddos were good sports about packing in the fun!

We had creative cousin time...

MANY dips in the pool... (this was our life-saver!)

(The picture above is my favorite picture of the summer. :)

We burned some energy hiking mountains... (Camel's Back has a great view and is even fun for kids.)

Afterwords we had lunch Abe-style at a fun fast-food authentic Mexican Restaurant.  It was quite tasty.

We tried to unwind watching a moving and eating ice cream.

The boys also fit in a trip to a movie and Chels and I went shopping at Charming Charlie's. 

And we wrapped it all up with the grand finale'!  We spent an entire day at Roaring Springs Water Park.  We soaked in lots of sun and had a blast.  Chels was a good sport hauling Pearl and Ruby around, but we ended on a high with Isaac, Autumn, Chels, and I going down the scary tubes and getting some serious wedgies. :)

But no trip is complete with out a girl party.  These girls got along really well.  Autumn really loves cute Ruby.

And I really love these two.  They are such great examples to me!  I am just so impressed by their faith and so proud of them just going wherever the Lord wants them to.  They are good people!  I'm so grateful they fit us into their summer plans!  We LOVE seeing them!

Quick Trip... (Ogden Temple Interview)

You know when you are in the thick of a challenge, and it's hard to see your way through?  The summer was full of a lot of question marks for us.  We knew Doug's job at the Country Club was a temporary spring-board into something else, but we didn't know what.  Doug had several interviews, and many times he was selected as a final candidate, from colleges to Landscaping companies.  Needless to say it was a bit disheartening to be turned down so many times.  I noticed a posting for the Grounds Supervisor at the Brigham City Temple.  I told Doug he ought to apply, and he made it to the final interview, but once again, was told that they gave the job to someone else; however, they strongly encouraged him to apply for Ogden Temple that would soon be hiring.  Doug figured it was just to "soften the blow" and didn't think anything of it... until about a month later when they called asking him to come to Ogden for an in-person interview.  

We were afraid to get our hopes up yet again, but felt good about at least giving it a shot.  Doug was nice to let us join him, and we made a quick family vacation of it.

We stayed at a cheap hotel and spent the morning visiting the Dinosaur Museum.

The kids were highly amazed.  Both Doug and I remembered going there as kids, so it was fun to watch them enjoy the same exciting experience.

Seth was actually a little nervous- they had speakers in the bushes making scaring dinosaur sounds, and he was pretty sure if he followed the mystery trail, he was going to have an unpleasant encounter.  :)

There were a couple times he ran for his life, and we tried hard not to crack up. :)

Another special part of the interview was that we got to meet up with my little brother Anthony and his little crew.  We had lunch and played at a park together while Doug interviewed.

The results were wonderful!  Doug had some anxieties going into the interview that were quickly resolved.  The men he interviewed with were kind, professional, and down-to-earth.  They made him a competitive offer on the spot.  What a blessing-- it was such a contrast to past experiences.  Doug said it felt so good just to know they were seeking him out and recognized the many skills and abilities he had to offer.  We discussed it and prayed about it for a couple days, and the more we did, the better it felt.  He accepted the job, and before we knew it, a move to Ogden was in the near future plans!

Summer-time and the Livin' in Easy...

This last summer is a blur, but thank goodness for pictures! 

Our's consisted of Popsicle...

Picnics...

A few last trips to the aquarium... (we definitely got our moneys worth out of that pass!)

A fun girl's night trip to the movie...

(I was lucky to make some sweet friend- we saw Maleficent.)

The fountains at The Village are fantastic!

More late nights at work...

(But such a beautiful scene to walk out to!)

Much need hair cuts. :)

And cheering for friends at their baseball game...

Lots of fun to fit in!