Smoke, water and fire!

No summer would be complete without a trip across lovely Wyoming. After Cooper's end of year baseball party on Saturday, we headed to the great state of Utah and more importantly, the land of Grandma & Grandpa and many cousins. Doug's family does a big reunion every other year, but we try to make a couple trips each year. Many of the 24 cousins live here (or within a short drive) so it turns into a giant cousin party for my kids. It is so neat to watch them having so much fun and amazing how close they are to their cousins even though they only see them about twice a year.

Jake & Coop

Kaiya & Corinne

Jessica & Kinley

We got in late Saturday night and Doug set his alarm for 6 a.m. on Sunday to help his brothers begin the all-day preparation of the evening meal. Doug's three brothers started a BBQ business (creatively named Triple L) this summer and they have mastered the art of smoking meat. They have sold their goods everywhere from fairs to car shows and from Manti to Logan. The stuff we had on Sunday and again tonight was prize-worthy. They smoked 40 lbs of chicken and 18 full slabs of ribs on Sunday and tonight was their specialty--pulled pork sandwiches (topped with cole slaw and pickles--DO NOT knock it until you try it). I don't normally take pictures of food, but it was an impressive operation. Makes me a little sad that we live too far away for Doug to be a part of it.

The giant smoker

More basting

9 hours of smoking

40 lbs of the best chicken ever Keep in mind--this is just immediate family!

One of Doug's brothers also acquired a soft-serve ice cream machine (that weighs in excess of 500 lbs), so for dessert we were treated to frozen custard. I lost track of how many cones my kids made. *Note to self--healthy eating begins the day we leave! After the feast, the kids got in a water fight and then we capped off the night with a driveway fireworks show.

How to eat an ice cream cone and . . .

not miss a drop of it!

Ready for some driveway fireworks

Pryomaniacs

A rare moment of relaxation

Today, the kids played all day. The moms and girls learned how to make hair bows (thanks, Anneke!) while the guys were busy in the kitchen again. This afternoon, Doug's brother Paul gave us a personal tour of the landslide devastation in Logan since he is a city engineer and was part of the recovery effort. It was an unbelievable sight.

Tomorrow, I get to spend the day with my best friend, Lori and her girls. It just doesn't get any better than this!

The home stretch

I can't believe how fast this summer is going! I'm not ready for it to end, but we are looking forward to a couple of quick trips coming up.

Last week, we went to the annual Cardiac Kids Day at Water World. For the 5th year in a row, we went with our good friends and had a ball. We always manage to squeeze in more rides than the previous year (thanks, in large part, to the fact that Elena worked there in her teenage years and knows that park like the back of her hand!). It's such a fun day and pretty funny to see all these kids with matching zipper scars down the front of their chest. Lots of the kids there this year were former patients I took care of, so it's fun to see them outside the hospital setting doing so well.

Enjoying the catered lunch

The slide that gives you a wedgy!

Just chillin'

Cooling off

Cooper's summer baseball season is winding down. This week, they had 4 games in 4 days and got 4 wins. For a team that started the season 1-3, they sure turned things around by winning 7 straight. They are all playing so well and earned themselves a spot in the tournament next weekend with a final record of 8-3. Cooper caught 23 innings in the last 4 days and he's not moving far from the couch today. He got out of his hitting slump (thanks, Uncle Brandon) and had a couple of rocket shots this week. Behind the plate, he had an unassisted double play and very few balls get by him anymore. His amazing coaches have made some comments to him and to us about his improvement as a catcher and I think that means more to him than anything. I know lots of the parents are ready for the season to be over, but I am quite content with my sunflower seeds and my lawn chair cheering these boys on. :) Way to go, Mudcats!!

Base hit to right center field!

Fabulous 4th!

I always greet the 4th of July with mixed emotions. It is one of my absolute favorite holidays and yet it always means the summer is going by way too fast. Since I was a little kid, we celebrated the 4th in style. It always included the parade and always ended with fireworks. As a family, we have tried to add a few of our own traditions as well andI know my kids love this holiday as much as we do.

We were lucky enough this year to have our weekend start on Friday with a day of boating at the lake with my mom and family. We let the kids each bring a friend and they all had a blast. Each of them tried waterskiing including Miss Kinley, who was the first to try. She did so good! They all got plenty of rides on the "taco" tube and plenty of at bats on the beach with my brothers. At one point, Bennett was riding with all four of the older kids and he was hopping back and forth between the tubes as the boat was moving. So fun!

Ready to ride!

Double trouble!

Sand castle time

Kinley enlisted many helpers

Miss Kinley skiing!

We spent the 4th with our good friends and neighbors, with whom we spend most of our summer nights anyway. We hit the parade, a few of the rides and of course made 5 gallons of homemade root beer, which makes the best root beer floats. We had dinner with my dad, brother and his wife and enjoyed some serious Wyoming fireworks from Brandon's porch (wow!) and then watched some Greeley fireworks from my dad's deck, which are lit right across the street from his house. If that wasn't enough, we then rejoined the neighbors for more fun and fireworks in our backyards. God Bless America!!

A great view

Rides!

Her favorite thing

Time to launch!

Papa's sweethearts