July 4th weekend and other fun!

Well, I've been a bit of a slacker the last couple weeks on my blog, so this one will be a big one with lots of fun pictures. Wasn't sure if I should do earliest to latest or visa-versa so maybe you should scroll to the bottom and come up. lol :) We've had some busy days over the last couple weeks, but it's been fun and productive.



Our first real picking of raspberries! We got some raspberry shoots from our neighbors yard a couple years ago but nothing ever came of them, I had almost given up hope on them actually producing raspberries. But this year we have some! We've picked a couple here and there but today we picked our first real bowl full. They are delicious and there are still lots on the bushes, now I just need to find a better way to pick them so I don't get covered in prickles from the bushes.



It was my mom's 65th Birthday yesterday and we spent the day down with her and my sister's family. First we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open house. It was so neat to be able to take the girls through it and show them the beautiful interior of a temple, and to explain to them all the important parts and things that go on inside. It is a beautiful building and even though it has not been dedicated yet, you could feel the Spirit already residing there. Speaking of which, afterwards there was a tent set up with cookies and water for those to look at beautiful paintings, enjoy refreshments, etc. There was a piano that was playing on its own and Bailey said that she thought it was the Holy Ghost playing it. :) Very cute idea and I loved that she thought that. We went with my mom, and the boys in my sister's family (my sister and her 3 girls were just getting back from Girl's Camp so they weren't able to go with us there).

We went to a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant for my mom's birthday, and they had delicious food--especially the Horchata's!! I haven't had a Horchata in years (it's a milk drink with cinnamon in it and who knows what other good ingredients). I didn't know they had them so I didn't order them, but luckily my sister and my neice ordered them and they had free refills so I drank a lot of theirs. :)

These next few pictures were taken at my mom's while we were having a special dedication for her new house and for her birthday celebration as well. It was a busy but very fun day spent with family.

Londa, my sister, and Erin.

My sister's 3 girls: Cassie, Marissa, and Cavin

My sister's oldest, Ky.

Ray and Erin, yes Erin was very tired which is the only time she will ever sit long enough to take a picture it seems!

Another reason why I have been a slacker on the blog is because Josh's parents were visiting with us for a week from Chicago. It was a bit of a last minute trip, but we were sure glad to have them here, it's been a while since we have seen them. We put Josh and his dad to work on putting in new shelves in 3 bedrooms and new storage bins, etc in the garage. They stayed out of trouble with that kind of work ahead of them. Nancy and I did our usual bargain book shopping that has seemed to become a tradition when they come to visit. She also did a lot of weeding in the gardens for me which was WONDERFUL! The girls were especially excited to have them here.

Josh's Dad, Gary, making Dutch Pancakes--they are delicious! They make for a great dinner.

The pictures above are from our visit to the Willow Park and Zoo. The girls were collecting feathers as we went and we spent most of our time feeding the ducks. Bailey had fun counting how many turtles we saw, I think the number was 38 by the time we were done.

These two pictures are from Tony's Grove Lake. What a beautiful area, and so peaceful. We had a nice hike around the lake and then a picnic. Such a nice outing with Gary and Nancy.

We picked A LOT of peas while Gary and Nancy were here as well. Luckily I had extra hands to help pick and shell them all, it would have taken me hours! The girls actually did a really good job helping me shell them so I could blanch them and freeze them. By the time we were done we had several gallon sized bags full of peas.

This year we went to the Lewiston Parade instead of the parade we usually go to, and it was so much better in my opinion. It is in the morning instead of at noon so it's not as hot and it's not as long or as busy as the other. The girls were tired because of the late night we had the night before from watching fireworks, but they had a lot of fun and got a lot of candy.