We made it!

What do you get when you put 9 people (and all their "stuff") in a minivan and drive over 2,000 miles??? Lots of memories and lots of TOGETHERNESS!

Here is a report of our big family adventure to California...

Day 1: Drove from Tremonton to Reno and stayed with cousins, John and Lisa and their family.

Day 2: Drove from Reno to Riverbank Ca. to visit Great Grandma DeWitt, just home from a brief stay in the hospital. We also got to visit with Aunt Reanette and Uncle Bob and Aunt Joyce.

Then more driving from Riverbank to Fresno where we stayed with Eric's sister Stacy. While there we saw all of her family ( Stacy, Carl, Sonja Grace and fiancee Chris, Tasia and husband Allen, Jaden and fiancee Rose, Ben, 4 little dogs, 2 big huskies, 3 cats, 6 fish, 2 turtle, and a partridge in a pear tree.) We also saw Papa Lee, David and Nathan, Steven, and Tricia, Randy and Lavell, and Aaron and his family, and the Kelleys. Everyone had fun visiting and cooling off in the pool!

Day 3: We all went to the cemetery where Eric dedicated Sonja's grave. There were a lot of family and friends there. Sonja was buried right next to her mother and just a short distance from her baby, William. The cemetery was beautiful and we left yellow roses on all of their graves. Then we went over to the Church for a beautiful memorial service. Lots of beautiful music and a few short remarks (as Sonja had requested).

The rest of the day was spent catching up with lots of aunts, uncles, cousins, and old friends back at Stacy's house. The kids had a fantastic time in the pool again and playing with all the animals.

Day 4: We went to church in Fresno and then drove down to the Los Angelas area. We thought the traffic wouldn't be so bad through LA on a Sunday afternoon, but it was crazy! I'd hate to be there for rush hour! Thanks to help from "Maggie" we made it to our hotel in Anaheim and then to see Will in Orange. We saw his charming 101 year old apartment and he gave us a tour of down town Orange, We had a nice picnic together before we went back to the hotel to crash...

Day 5: DISNEY LAND!!!

We packed in as much fun and excitement as we could from about 8:00 am to 11:00 pm. We didn't do it all, but we sure had a great time! There was something for everyone and we all found our favorites!

Day 6: We checked out of the hotel and headed for the beach! We walked out on the pier, waded in the waves, and built a sandcastle. It was terrific! We could have spent the day there, but we had to head for home before "rush hour" hit. After many long hours on the road and a detour through Las Vegas, we made it to St. George (barely!) and relaxed for the night. We were all beyond exhausted by that time and appreciated a clean, quite hotel!

Day 7: We hit the road again and headed for SLC. We loved the beautiful scenery in southern Uath and hope to go back and spend more time visiting the National Parks around there. We got to Salt Lake in time to have dinner with Bathany and Stetsen at the Myan. (Unfortunately Brianna and Nick were at work.) The kids enjoyed the mexican food (a nice change from PB&Js and rice cakes!) and we loved the diving show!




We finally arrived home at about 7:00pm. YEA! Out of the car!!! We saw lots of wonderful places but there is no place like HOME! :)

JULY...

JULY has been a fun and busy month! Here is a look at a few of our family's activities...



July 2nd ws an "empty" day on our calendar so we took a little family trip to Mantua to see the beautiful lake and play and picnic. We found a great rope swing and everyone had fun with it.



July4th and 5th was spent in Star Id. for Cache's baptism. It was so exciting to see him get baptized and confirmed! We are all so proud of him and happy for the great choices he is making! We had a wonderful time with the Olsens! Grammie and Grandpa C. were there and Uncle Will made the trip from Ca! It was so much fun to be together! The whole valley celebrated that night and we could see at least 6 different fireworks displays from the Olsens deck! (Unfortunately, my camera got left behind in Tremonton! Hopefully somome else will post some pictures of this fantastic weekend!)





On July 10-11th our family joined with some cousins for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life on the USU campus in Logan, Utah. We have all lost loved ones to cancer and have many family and friends who have been touched by cancer. We gathered sponsors and had various fundraisers to help raise money for the fight against cancer. With help from Heather and Ginger's employer (Impact Commercial), who made a large donation, and assorted other donations, lemonade stands, and craft/cooler sales, etc. our team raised almost $4,000!
We spent 24 hours taking turns walking around the "quad" and celebrating life. There was great food, entertainment, and inspirational moments. It was a great way to remember those who have fought the battle against cancer and pledge to continue the fight!

FAMILIES ARE FOREVER!!!

Eric's sweet sister, Sonja, finished her battle with breast cancer this month. We will miss her greatly,but we are so thankful to know of our loving Heavenly Father's plan of salvation and know that we can be with her again someday!





July 14-17 was our ward's YW Camp at Cinnamon Creek. It was a beautiful place and Janelle and Rebecca had a great time hiking, exploring a mine, playing in the water, doing crafts and all the other fun camp activities! We have fantastic YW leaders and a wonderful group of girls. Eric even got to go help for a couple days.

Following girls camp, Janelle spent a few days in Alpine Wyoming with a couple friends. She hiked to periodic springs, played at the lake, rode (and drove!) a 4-wheeler, floated the river, and relaxed with good friends!

While Janelle was gone, the rest of us went down to SLC for a day. We picniced and went to the Zoo with Brianna. Then we met Bethany and Stetsen and played at their apt. and went to dinner and a concert in the park by temple square.

We went on a fun trip to Sun Valley to visit Papa and Nana. We hiked and swam. We went to the pool near their house, we also went to Redfish Lake. Janelle did some woodworking with Papa. Spencer, Rebecca, Janelle, and Joseph, all learned to shoot from Papa. We had fun checking out the Shoshone Ice Caves too!

When we got back from Hailey, it was time for the play! Spencer, Rebecca, Sarah and Joseph have been working all summer with the Garland Children's Theater. Spencer and Rebecca were in "The Pirates of Penzance" and Sarah and Joseph were in "Of Mice and Mozart". They had 6 performances last week with great audiences each time! They loved performing and making new friends, and we all LOVED watching them share their talents!








Well--- there's a look at a some of the fun we had in July! Summer is not over yet and we have big plans for August...