24th of July in Utah

The 24th of July is a big deal in Utah, and I love that we were here to celebrate it with everyone! The night we got home from Vegas, Christopher loaded up the boys—along with his parents, Megan, and Steve—and headed over to Fred and Wendy’s for fireworks. I stayed home since I still wasn’t feeling well, but I loved hearing all about it afterward. Xander even told Grandma and Papa, “This was really fun, right?!”

The next day, we went to lunch and grabbed ice cream with Julie—it was so fun to catch up and see her again! After that, we headed back to Alpine for a quick stop, then made our way over to visit my cousin Krista at her (new-ish!) house. It was great to see her and meet her sweet dogs!

We also swung by Megan and Steve’s place and were blown away by all the projects they’ve been working on—wow, so impressive! That evening, we went out to dinner with the whole crew, then headed over to Butler Days. Now that is a party! The boys were worn out, so we didn’t stay long, but it was fun to get a little taste of the celebration. On the way home, we capped the night off with 75-cent ice cream cones and went straight to bed—tired and happy.

 

Dad and I go to Vegas!

During our summer vacation in Utah, Dad had a conference in Las Vegas where he was serving on a panel—and I decided to tag along! Ben and Zack (with a little help from Grandma and Papa) held down the fort with Nick and Xander, giving Dad and me a few rare days away—just the two of us. It was so much fun!

I had forgotten how much we used to enjoy road-tripping to Vegas and California. While Dad was busy with conference sessions, I spent my time lounging by the pool and soaking up that dry desert heat. I even managed to sneak into his panel and got into a little trouble for snapping a few pictures of him in action!

We made the most of our time together—eating delicious food (Peppermill, In n out!), catching a hilarious show by Terry Fator, wandering around at night, and marveling at all the unique people and sights. We even went to the top of the Sphere, which was such a cool experience! And of course, we stopped to watch the Bellagio fountains, which was extra special since that’s where we got engaged. It brought back so many sweet memories from our early days together.

We spent hours exploring the different hotels, just enjoying each other’s company and having fun. Unfortunately, I got really sick on the drive home—which was a rough ending to an otherwise perfect couple of days. But it was still so worth it!

Pickleball with Ben

Gosh, it’s fun having older kids! I absolutely adore my younger ones, but there’s something truly magical about watching your kids grow into adults—realizing they’re people you’d genuinely choose to hang out with, and even be friends with.

Ben has totally fallen in love with pickleball—and he’s insanely good at it! He took on Christopher and me as a team, and let’s just say… we were thoroughly defeated. Still, I’m pretty proud of the volleys we pulled off! (Even if my overly ambitious muscles kept getting me into trouble—I just can't not hit that ball way too hard.)

Spending time with Ben like this is just the best. It’s fun, it’s easy, and it makes my heart so full.