Fourth of July 2012

Fourth of July was on a Wednesday this week! There were pro's and con's to this. Con's were that the weekend was thrown off, and Cory and I still had to go to work and school the next day, and we were unable to do regular traditions. Pro's were, a break in the work week, time spent together alone, and new activities! We still had a pretty fun time!!!

Wednesday morning, we woke up at the crack of dawn and went down to the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival in Provo. Unfortunately the winds were a little more than they were used to so all the balloons went up and then basically took off and couldn't get back to the area for the games. Fortunately, we had never been before, so we were still amazed with what we saw! We didn't know anything better! Just Cory and I went to this activity! We then went home and laid on the couch and snoozed and watched some old classic shows on t.v. Once we got up and got ready, we drove up to West Jordan to the city carnival. WHAT A BUST! Remember, I'm almost 8 months pregnant, so no rides for me, and it was like 100 degrees outside! But, it was still nice to be off work and out with my honey. That night we went to the West Jordan Rodeo with my family. Lucky for all of us, dad got us free VIP tickets because he is the West Jordan City Electrician, and was in charge of the lights. It was a pretty great day, up until I started to feel sick and we had to miss the fireworks. But even still, because we left early, we missed the traffic and watched all of the firework shows out the windows of the car on our way back to Orem.

And of course, we didn't get many pics of the day. But, we have the memories of a little bit different of a 4th of July!

Grover Weekend with the Waters Family

 I wish we had gotten more pictures of this vacation. This was the first time that Cory and I had tried hosting a party this big down in Grover, so our thoughts were usually preoccupied with more importantly things than remembering to take pictures. And on that note... shout out to all those who regularly host these family events... they usually go unnoticed and unthanked! After this week, Cory and I are always going to notice and ALWAYS be thankful for how much hard work, time, and energy the hosts put in to the event.

Some of the family got to go down Wednesday evening and stay all the way until Sunday! Cory and I were involved in that group. I was thankful for some time off work, and time in my favorite place.

Thursday: We went in to Calf Creek National Park and hiked the 3 miles in and 3 miles out. This entire hike was in sand, and heat, so it was a little more difficult for some of our party than we originally had planned. We packed a great lunch and tons of water.... and then left it all in the truck! We all packed in a few water bottles (mistake) and no treats or food (another mistake). Cory and I decided against packing our brand new camera in (another mistake), but luckily Steven and Grandma Israelsen packed theirs in. However we haven't exchanged pics yet. After a long long day, we all made it home and felt EMPOWERED that we had made it.

Friday: We decided to stay around the property and just relax (and recover) and wait for the rest of the family to get down. We rode 4-wheelers and we went on a few walks and we went up to Rachel's Rock to look for flint. Steven and Aiden were mountain goats and climbed up everything! By the end of the evening the rest of the family had all showed up. That night we decided to take a hike to the little Grover Cemetery down the way from the cabin. I always hate doing this, because someone always has the BRIGHT idea of slowly breaking off from the group and hiding in the bushes to scare us. I stayed in the middle of the group, and kept my eye on EVERYONE! But as we were walking in to the cemetery I looked  behind me and saw a very small light coming toward us. Of course I panicked and didn't pay attention to my step, and walked right in to some critters hole. It didn't hurt, but being 7 months pregnant and in the dark I lost my balance and started falling and it seemed like I was falling forever! I was pretty darn embarrassed. Geez! And of all the people... it was sweet and innocent STEVEN!!!

Saturday: We spent the day in at Capital Reef. We saw everything there was so see and raced back to the property so the boys could go shoot their guns! Boys and their guns!!!

Sunday: We went in to church, ate some dinner, packed up and went home.

We had a really great time with the family. It was great to be out in nature and catch up with the family. But man, Cory and I decided by the end of the trip, Grover is a happier place when you don't have to host to 30 people. Ha ha ha... We're better prepared now for next time!

Happy Birthday Rachel!

If you can't tell I'm trying to catch up on life around this joint! Sorry the order is a little messed up. I just want to say that this birthday was the hardest one for me. For some reason I haven't had any problem getting older, I've been happy with my life and what I've accomplished. But 28!!! What the? When did I get this old? I still have so much that I need to do! AHHH!!! ha ha ha

This is what I came home to. Do I not have the cutest husband? He got home from work early and decorated the entire apartment!

 Now... some of you may ask... why dont you post more pregnancy pictures? The following is your answer. I swear my maternity shirts look WORSE in pictures, and probably real life, than anything else! But back on topic, These are my two boys helping me to celebrate!

 And of course, me blowing out the candles before they burnt the house down!

MEMORIAL DAY 2012

Memorial Day weekend couldn't have come at a better time for me this year. Things with work had kind of BLOWN UP, and I had been working so many extra hours that I requested to take off the Friday before as well because I was starting to feel physically and emotionally overwhelmed with my life. Cory would say that was an under statement! Poor guy, but he is always so supportive of me and understands that I am the way I am.

So Thursday night Cory drove me to Nephi where Sarah met me and picked me up. I spent the evening at her house with her cute little family. I was planning on sleeping in, but of course, my first day of vacation I woke up at 6 am and couldn't fall back asleep. So as soon as I heard this little bug talking up in her crib, I ran to get her for some company. Seriously, baby Ivie is the BEST baby I've ever been around. She is always so happy and so smiley.

We got some camera lessons for our new camera while we were down from Val, and so I have a ton of weird random pics on my camera from us trying out different things. I couldn't resist putting this one on there. Isn't he such a stud?

 This weekend was all about sitting back and noticing the little things for me. That way I could pull myself back together to return to work. I love this picture. Karen is so great with the kids and Harley just wanted her to read her a story before bed time. Karen tried to get Bridger to sit still and listen as well (you can see that she's holding his foot at the bottom of this page) but if you know Bridger, you know that aint happening! ha ha ha Also, Sarah, always the cheeser!

 Cory got some lessons from the horse whisperer (aka Josh) this weekend. I cannot believe how comfortable Cory is with the horses. I've grown up around horses and still have a real trust issue with them, but Cory comes along and takes control. I don't know why its so surprising to me, he is so great with Stockton too. Maybe Cory is the animal whisperer? ha ha ha.

 Here is The Grover man himself. Doesn't he pretend to be a cowboy real good?

 I love how awesome my new camera is! An amateur like me can actually take a good photo.

 This is my little nephew Gabe. This smile is the best smile there is. He is such a good kid (when his older sisters aren't around).This is the trip where I finally came to terms that I am so GLAD to be having a boy. It seems like all of the Pinterest stuff is for cute little girl stuff, and 4 of my 5 best friends, plus my sister all have little girls, so preparing for a boy has been super different. But after spending time with Bridger and Gabe, I've become extremely excited for a little boy. Not very much longer....

I am forever grateful to my parents for so many things. But one of those things is Grover. It brings me so much peace to be down there. I literally feel closer to heaven while being there. It was in Grover that I truly gained my testimony of the gospel, where I truly felt the love that my father in Heaven has for me. I don't know if its because its so peaceful down there or what? But if you are ever in need of some quiet time, or some time to meditate, give me a call, because I know just the place for you!

Hiking on the West side of Utah Lake

These are our friends the Dents. This day we decided to go and hike out on the West side of Utah Lake. Stockton and I were not huge fans of the heat and the fact that we didn't have a destination, we were just wandering (Cory's favorite). We always have a great time with Jess and Andrew!

Graduation from the Police Academy

On May 16, 2012 Cory graduated from the Utah Valley University Law Enforcement Academy!

 This kid has worked so hard! And we couldn't believe that it was over as fast as it was. It seemed like just yesterday that he made his decision to do the Academy and we were thinking how far out it would be before he was certified! Hopefully his bachelors goes just as fast.

 This is the graduate with his wife and 5 month old baby! ha ha ha...

 Cory with his two biggest fans at Iceburg for some icecream. Harley and Lucy figured out that as soon as they called one of the graduates names they would get to go up and get their picture. So they started yelling as loud as they could " YAY COR COR!!!" even though it wasn't his turn. Waiting for a W last name takes a lot of patience!

I am so proud of my husband and how hard he works all of the time! He is serioulsy such a ROCK!

FINALLY!!!

This past weekend I was finally able to go and see one of my good friends Britt! She was one of my roommates down at my favorite school SUU. This is her new baby! You should see the hair on this cute lil gal! It was so fun to take a break and take the time to sit down with my dear old friend whom I love so much. I wish that we had had more time, but you get what you get and you don't throw a fit!