Now that's creativity!

This YouTube video is of our friends' little boy, Conner. Preston (Mr. Super Creative in my book), the dad, made this awesome costume for his son.



Plus, he was on the news.

Good job you guys!

Happy Birthday to Me

I turned 29 this week. (29!!! Suddenly, I feel old.) About a month ago, one of my patients found out that I was almost 29. He's in his mid-50s and told me that 29 was one of his favorite years and that I needed to "live it up" before I turned 30. It got me thinking about my life, where I was headed and where Brady and I were headed, what I wanted/needed to do in my life, my goals and our goals, etc. I was excited to turn 29.

Then, one of the hardest things (ok, probably THE hardest thing) I've ever had to go through happened. I realize that my trial might seem small compared to some and I certainly know people who have it much, much harder than I do. But for me, it was (and still is) really tough. While dealing with this over the past few weeks, I've done A LOT of pondering, reflecting, re-evaluating, crying, learning and praying.

So, in my effort to "live it up" before I turn 30, I'm making some birthday resolutions. I'm going to be better at a lot of things. (I'll write those specifics elsewhere so that I don't have to answer to the world wide web.) I'm going to be more grateful, because I've learned, despite my trials, that I have so much to be grateful for. I'm going to be more dedicated to the things I believe in. I'm going to have more faith, because sometimes, that's the only thing that gets me through. I'm going to trust that someone knows what's best for me and that someone isn't me. I'm not going to stress about the things that I have no control over (Brady's been trying to help me understand this for years and I think I might finally get it!). I'm going to love, serve and pray for others more because I have been the beneficiary of unconditional love, countless acts of service, and thoughtful prayer and know it has power beyond my understanding.

With that, here's wishing for a great year.

For my spandex wearing friends:

Or, just my bicycle-loving husband. :) This captures the personality of hard-core cyclists. I love it.

P.S.

The construction trailer is

GONE!!!

(There is one still nearby, but I can at least look out my north-facing windows and not see a gigantic trailer that advertises for the construction company. Instead, they put a chain-link fence right next to my vinyl fence, which looks a bit silly from my perspective, but there's nothing to be done there except plant something tall to try to hide it. Now if they will just put in the landscaping so I don't have to keep sweeping up inches of dust on the inside and outside of my house, I think I'll be much happier.)

What We Did For Our Summer Vacation

Brady and I were able to get away for a few days over the Pioneer Day Holiday. We camped at Browne (say it like "Brownie") Lake in the Uintas on Thursday night. It was gorgeous. We love that place. My family has camped there forever and Brady's family camped there when he was younger too. Sometimes I wonder if we were ever there at the same time as kids.

I'm pretty sure that Browne has the bluest sky around town. The lake was so calm, it was like canoeing on glass.

My parents and grandparents were there too...this is my grandparents' famous "Red Canoe" we borrowed for a little stroll around the lake. I can't even guess how many times that canoe has been on Browne Lake...let's just guess ALOT!

Brady in the canoe

I just love this place!

Friday morning, we drove to Spirit Lake where we hiked in to Tamarack Lake to stay the night.

All ready to go...Spirit Lake Trailhead

Brady checking out the fishing at Tamarack Lake. The cutthroat were jumping like crazy, but no luck for Brady.

More hiking before the rain came in...

The mosquitoes were super bad and it started raining, so we didn't make it to any of the other lakes like we had originally planned. We set up our tent and hung out until there was a break in the rain. We tried to make a fire, but everything was so wet and the mosquitoes came out full force! We boiled water for our freeze-dried foods (despite what you might think, they were actually really good!) and ate inside our tent. It ended up raining most of the night...I'm starting to wonder about our luck with rain and camping (remember Memorial Day weekend?). We got up early Saturday and as soon as there was a short break in the rain, we packed up and hiked out. I know it might not sound so fun for a lot of you out there, but the weekend away to one of our favorite places was just what we needed.

Elder

My "little" brother left on his mission for our church on July 1st. I use quotations because even though he's the youngest, he's much taller than the rest of us, especially me! He's headed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania after a few weeks at the MTC. I'm going to miss him but am so glad he made the choice to go!

Here's a little walk down memory lane. When I was 9 and found out that my mom was going to have another baby, I was convinced I was going to finally get a little sister. I mean, I already had two brothers, it was time to have a sister, right? Well, my mom came home from a doctor appointment with her ultrasound on a VHS video tape (this was 1990). I could easily tell that I wasn't going to have a sister after all. I ran into the bathroom (I'm pretty sure we were at my grandma's house), cried my little eyes out and refused to talk to my parents for 3 days. I was so mad because they knew how much I wanted a sister. Like they had anything to do with it, but hey, I didn't know about that stuff then. To make "amends," they told me I could help them pick a name for my little brother. I think I'm safe to say that we've been pretty close friends ever since he was born.

Curtis, even though you can't check my blog, I hope you know how happy I am for you. You're going to be a great missionary. I know that you have a testimony and love the gospel. (I'll write it in a letter, don't worry.)

The whole gang before the "farewell" on Sunday

Me & my bros ( just fyi, if we all line up in birth order, we could be in an AT&T commercial!)

And if you're all curious, the "drop-your-missionary-off-at-the-curb-at-the-MTC" wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. In fact, I think it was easier than the old way. Plus, Curtis looked SO happy when he walked in with the other elders. Go get 'em little brother.

Ty, Elder Curtis & Me at the MTC (we missed you Brady, Josh & Krissey!)

We look so good! Mom, I can't tell if you were biting your lip to refrain from crying, or if you just weren't ready for the picture, but it's the only one of all of us I have!

Real Salt Lake Game

Last weekend was so much fun! It was a crazy busy weekend with my family before my youngest brother left on his mission. Friday night (6/26) we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house and out to eat afterwards. It's such a gorgeous temple! The floors and upholstery were my favorites!

On Saturday, all of the kids (plus our guests, Stela & Enri) went to the Real Salt Lake Game. We had such a great time!

Me & Curtis

All of us!

Curtis, me & Brady (I think they were trying to squish my head, or just prove how much taller they are than I am!)

The whole crew outside Rio Tinto Stadium