Family Fun in Ogden

We had a wonderful vacation in Ogden. (Who knew Ogden was such fun?) We left Friday morning and stopped in Logan for lunch and our annual trip to Gossners for school lunch milks... and then we took the kids to The Treehouse Museum. This is undoubtedly one of the coolest museums for children... dress up and play 'heroes', act out story books in the children's amphitheater, pretend to be the President of the United States in the Oval Office, play life-size chess... there was so much to enjoy there (and who knew Aunt Michaelene was on the Board of Directors there?) For dinner, we drove up to the mouth of Ogden Canyon and ate at The Timbermine. I highly recommend this one-of-a-kind steakhouse. Delish food, excellent service, and unique ambiance. Saturday was the Packer Family Reunion at Aunt Michaelene's house in Pleasant View. The kids swam in her pool ALL. DAY. LONG. (Emma has green hair to prove it.) Uncle Alan had the food catered and it was plentiful and delicious! (Hawaiian -style, complete with guava cake and homemade ice cream!)

Finally, we ended with Sunday afternoon in Farmington (ahem, forget that the Mister got pulled over in Kaysville for speeding. Luckily, Officer Gillespi was a God-fearing man. We got off with a warning...) My brother and his family live there and blessed their new baby Ethan. Afterwards, we had a delightful luncheon at his in-laws home in Centerville.

Pack in the memories, folks... school starts in T minus 20 days...

Cool Quotes

"It is much easier to build a boy than it is to repair a man."
~ (Boy Scouts of America)

"Some people believe that holding on and hanging in there are signs of strength; however, there are times in life in which it takes much more strength just to let go."
~ Darci Griner Franco

(Darci is beginning a very painful divorce process... she has taught me many things.)

I've come across these two quotes in the past week. Strangely, these quotes have a lot in common...

Sentimental Stuff

It has been a long time since I've had time to post... we have had relatives staying with us for 4 weeks, and they left last week. I love the children's book "The Relatives Came" by Cynthia Rylant, which articulates what we feel about having our company...

"It was different going to sleep with all that new breathing in the house...The relatives stayed for weeks and weeks. They helped us tend the garden and they fixed any broken things they could find. But none of them thought about home too much. We were so busy hugging and eating and breathing together...

"Finally after a long time, the relatives loaded up their ice chest and headed back to Virginia... We watched the relatives disappear down the road, then we crawled back into our beds that felt too big and too quiet...and we fell asleep, thinking about next summer when the relatives would come again..."

"And the relatives drove on, all day long and into the night, and they thought about their dark purple grapes waiting home in Virginia. But they thought about us, too. Missing them. And they missed us."

It was a great experience having the Mister's sister and her children staying with us for the month. Kathryn helped give our master bedroom a makeover... our children played and swam and played some more... we had late night talks and watched movies and ate lots of good food... and we are missing them, but we are glad to get back into our old routine of practicing, reading, a bit o' math, weeding, and swimming in the afternoons and going to bed before dark. We hope they will come visit again next summer.

Kelly Family Reunion 2010

This past week we had our first ever Kelly Family Reunion. Kathryn and her family live in New York; David and his family live in Tucson, and we've finally managed to get everyone 'home' in Idaho for our oldest nephew's homecoming. We spent a day climbing in caves at Craters of the Moon; we spent a day at Ross Swimming Park in Pocatello, we went to movies, restaurants, floating canals, antique car shows and dutch oven dinners...
Paul and Deanne Kelly family: David, Anne, Kathryn, mom, dad, Ruth, Joan and Joseph
Kathryn, Corinne, Madeline and Sam from New York (hubby is earning a living back home so this sweet family could stay the entire month of July)
our oldest nephew just returned home from his mission in Guatemala this week; with Joan, Joseph's oldest sister
Kelly grandkids at Matt's Welcome Home Party
Paul and Deanne Kelly, my in-laws
my sweet nephew Trevy from Tucson, AZ
Savanna and Lizzie
Clayre and David
3 Kelly boys... Josh, Caleb and Cowboy Trevy
a beautiful view on top of Cinder Dome at Craters National Park
Our family on top of Cinder Dome (the wind was terrible, but the hike was fun!)

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

The Good: Joseph's sister is here with her kids visiting from New York. They will be here a month sharing our home. We are excited to spend time with them!

The Bad: Our checking account has been hacked into and someone is on a spending spree quickly draining our account. The account has been frozen, and hopefully our bank will get it sorted out and reimburse our account. Nerve-racking. Maddening. (Dating & Escort Services in Minnesota? Pleeeze!)

The Ugly: I had an obsession with the sun as a teenager and young adult. Picture this: I used to lay out for hours on top of aluminum foil with shortening and baby oil smeared into my skin. Last week, I went to the dermatologist to have him check out a suspicious sun spot. As a consequence for my follies, I came out having 9 pre-cancerous sun spots frozen off. (Pretty picture, see?)

Finally: Today is the anniversary of the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that he was a prophet of God, called to restore the true and living Church of Jesus Christ back to the earth today. Millions shall see Brother Joseph again!

Fathers Day 2010

"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant, I could hardly stand to have the old man around. but when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished by how much he'd learned in seven years."

~Mark Twain
My man... always doing something with his hands.

How to Raise an Empathic, Caring Kid -- It's Harder Than it Used to Be - iVillage

How to Raise an Empathic, Caring Kid -- It's Harder Than it Used to Be - iVillage