I've become accustomed to Logan's short summer season. But this year's days of warmth seemed especially brief...mostly because they were; not starting until mid-June. Because of the short time the sun decided to grace us with her (his? ;) ) presence, and the stress and sadness of some summer events I was beginning to think that summertime had come and gone without anything happy. It's funny how we can let something sad overtake all of the happy. I began going through my pictures and realized what a great summer I did have in spite of the parts of summer that were beyond bad. My mind and thoughts had just been clouded. I don't need any big "summer vacation" (even though I wouldn't say 'no' to one!) I just need my close friends and family around to bask in everyday life, whether the sun is shining or not. This post kind of became therapy of sorts, so thank you to all of you who share your lives with me and help create happy memorable moments.
.7.4.11.
The 4th of July became quite the eventful day for me! I went for a 4 mile run in the morning, then worked until afternoon, then got to spend the afternoon/evening with my family doing all of these fun things! Then to finish the night off our friends Stan and Chelsey invited me on a 12 mile bike ride through the valley. It was beautiful and the perfect way to end such a fun day! Because I had to work Couper went to Erda to be with his family and celebrate with them!
{ate good food and tie-dyed. don't worry that just about every one of us was wearing that shirt that Maddi has on at some point to protect our clothing..sisterhood of the traveling shirt?}
{slip n' slide and rope swing!}
{nature's tattoo}
{fireworks were the friday before the 4th. we met up at a secret spot for the perfect view!}
{jenni and i tried to harmonize the star spangled banner when it came on...okay, jenni DID, I tried.}
{what are fireworks on the 4th of july without salt water taffy?! credit goes to Summer for the amazing firework photo!}
{happy day.}
.torrey.
The weekend after the 4th of July Coup and I were able to take some time off work and head down to Torrey, UT to the Steadman cabin! Always an adventure, always lots of memories.
We became loggers for the weekend, true mountain men...with trucks of course. We came across a tattered flag and felt it our responsibility to pick it up off the muddy mountain floor. Somehow that abandoned flag found itself perched amongst our freshly sawed stacks of quakies. Driving down the dirt road with nothing but mountain in front of us, the wind blowing through our hair, and country music in the background, we felt like TRUE Americans ;).
{who knew he had lumberjack in him?}
{we spotted a few lonely Sego Lillies standing solo in a meadow, so beautiful! crazy, because for being Utah's state flower that's the first time i've ever seen one in the wild! grandma thinking, "Please don't let a tree fall on someone...but secretly I'm glad they're having so much fun."}
{fishing of course! there can't be a trip to Torrey without grandpa taking us fishing on the Boulder. i had the first couple catches of the morning! Even caught myself a pretty tiger! (thanks for making me look good grandpa)}
{gone fishin'}
.run.
This event kind of deserves its own post, but I thought it might be easier to talk about if it was among other things. My dad and I committed to running our first 1/2 marathon together this summer. Unfortunately, the Saturday of the race was just a few days after my brother passed away and we weren't sure our bodies could handle it. After discussing it with the family, we decided to go ahead and run our race. But not only that, many of my siblings and some friends ran the 5K in honor and memory of Brandon. I was amazed at what we were able to accomplish and how news spread just 24 hours prior to the race. The man in charge at Smithfield Rec was more than accommodating. The whole endeavor was completely emotional and a morning I won't soon forget. What a touching feeling of unity and love.
{you can clearly see on our faces who could have kept going and who was seriously ready to be done. waving to all those wearing BLUE}
{some of my sisters, sister-in-laws, and I stayed up late the night before making shirts for the family. Jenni and I went on quite the journey looking for enough shirts that would work for all 25 of us! It was tear jerking but worth it, and good to all be doing something together.}
{everyone there for Brandon came wearing BLUE}
{what great love and support we have}
{we decided a blue balloon release in memory was fitting. Thanks to the girls at The Rage for loving Brandon so much and supporting our cause. They gratefully supplied and distributed the balloons before our moment of silence.}
{sometimes pictures say a thousand words}
{It's been almost 2 months. And the days haven't necessarily gotten easier. We love you and think about you everyday Brandon. Thank you for "running a race" we could hope to live up to.}
{pictures courtesy of Summer Olsen, thanks Summ.}
.sponge.bob.
So good ol' Davey sure knows how to cheer up a bunch of gloomy wallabies! My sister Summer's birthday was July 23rd and her husband Dave planned a surprise party up Logan canyon since most of the family was in town. It was a hit and she really had NO idea! Who says you can't have a sponge bob themed birthday party when you're turning 30?? No one. That's why it works :). There's a strange fondness of sponge bob in the fam, and Summer just adores his lovable innocence, if the little, yellow, square dude makes you happy, then it's alright by me!
{Shantel made the happy birthday poster, and the kids tried their best to hide in the shrubbery to jump out for a surprise.}
{we had sponge bob cupcakes instead of cake....yes that is ALL 30 candles on one cupcake, she's lucky she still has her eyebrows!!! with mine and Jenni's combined efforts we were able to make Plankton! We tried making spongie and patrick too...but they popped!}
{summ loves mexican food, so momma cooked up some dutch oven enchiladas! delicioso! Dave also made a tasty dutch oven soup. And I experimented on everyone with some apple crisp, turned out pretty fabulous! Especially to go along with our hand cranked homemade vanilla ice cream!}
{click on
this link if you want to know the story behind this picture and how to really add some bean to your vanilla... brothers know how to make everything fun...and scandalous...}
.ecuador.
After an SLT training I had down in Salt Lake, staying in the Shilo Inn for a week and getting certified as a Speech Language Technician, Couper came down to stay with my my last night. Then we were able to meet up with some of my besties that I met when I lived in Ecuador! Lindsay and her hubby Rory live in California, so anytime they're in Utah we jump at a chance to see them! We ate at PF Changs in Salt Lake and laughed the whole night. Thanks guys! Hope those who couldn't make it can make it next time!
{so glad to see some of the greatest people i know!}
{i look horrible in this picture! but all of my friends look super cute, and the other pic was blurry...}
.long.
My mom was in charge of the Long family reunion this year so naturally it was a blast! We pitched tents outside of my aunt and uncles cabin up Provo canyon and stayed busy with activities! There were delicious dutch oven meals, playing sports, writing letters to my brother on a mission in Mexico, jamming out to music streaming from Jana's new car, tie-dying, and much more!
{oh how i remember times sharing the tent with the whole fam, those were the days! i think i may just have a picture of dad and maddi asleep and cuddled like this on many more than one occasion :) }
{one of the "much more" stated previously...the "marker game"... that's Grant's intense face..you know this was serious business...then you catch a glimpse of Coup's laughter and wonder what's really going on...you may never know.}
{loved spending time with family! love you Diane, Dave, and Jana! and all of the rest of you too! pictures were just limited :)}
.derby.
The Tooele Demolition Derby has become quite the tradition...as red neck as it is, it really is quite fun. People watching is one of my favorite things to do at these events! I even snapped a couple photos...then felt a little guilty about posting about some strangers red-neck-edness on my blog with them none the wiser so I decided against it...oh to be red neck! And we are; once a year at this crowded derby!
{love these three pictures!}
{a little look into some of the action! there was a lot of laughing and hollering throughout it all. we were so glad friends Kim and Cody could make it and spend some time with us!}
{I snagged this collage from my sister-in-law Brittney's blog because it was too cute, thanks! one of the best parts of the derby is getting to be with all of these beautiful folks!)
.baptism.
I am so proud of my sister Amber for choosing to be baptized. She is great, as you can tell by that contagious smile!! I was asked to give a talk on the Holy Ghost, what a great topic to have to talk about!
welp, if you stuck with it, i think you might just like me a little, and i probably reciprocate the feelings :). Now go rest your eyes.
