July 2023

We were so excited for the Saratoga Springs temple to finally be completed! We loved serving during the Open House. Nate and I were ushers, Aiden helped with parking, and Brennan helped with shoe coverings. We especially loved going through the open house! I may be biased but I feel it is the most beautiful temple!

The view from the temple is beautiful!

It was fun to go through with cousins. We celebrated Lucas' birthday after in the parking lot with cupcakes.

We had fun in the summer going golfing as a family a few times! Nate and I would do golf date nights too. Nate's determined to make us golfers ;)

Brennan and Graham got to participate in a Puka Nacua/Jaron Hall football camp. They had a blast! They did it with some friends. Brennan was elated that he caught a pass from Puka when they were scrimmaging. His new claim to fame!

I snuck away to Cedar for our annual Curtis/Blackham girls trip! We had such a wonderful time! Shopping, eating, and seeing shows. We got to see Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the musical Emma. Christina came with us for the first time. We love this tradition!

We tried a new restaurant this time - Pork Belly's Eatery - and I had the BEST French toast ever. Banana bread french toast. I had to take a picture to remember :)

The set of Emma was stunning! We weren't supposed to take pictures but I snuck one ;)

While I was away, Nate and the kids had a great time together.

Aiden and his friends competed in a little wiffle ball tournament and had a lot of fun. 

We met up with my old South Weber Book club friends and loved catching up for an afternoon! We kayaked on Pineview and spent time visiting. Love summer days like this!

Summer boredom = creativity. This little wagon ride made me a little nervous but the kids were in heaven! Sadly Brennan tried it with some of his teenage friends and the wagon completely broke.

With cousins in town, we had some fun! One afternoon we went bowling all together.

For the 24th of July, my mom convinced the kids and I to do a Pioneer Commemoration Walk. We woke up early one Saturday morning and walked from Donner Park all the way to the first spot pioneers camped - a total of five miles. The kids weren't too thrilled about it but they did it! :) 

We spent some time up the canyon with my parents and Becca. AF canyon gets so busy these days! But we eventually found a secluded spot to enjoy dinner and dessert up there.

I tried to fit in some hiking this summer. Some neighbor friends and I hiked to Grove Creek for the first time. It's a beautiful hike and I can't believe this was my first time doing it!

Our neighborhood put together a fun pie and firework party on the 24th! We love where we live and the people we live by!

We had Splash Summit passes through the summer. We loved meeting up with friends and cousins. 

We volunteered at the Food and Care Coalition as a family. I love that our whole family is old enough to help now! I love getting to serve as a family and helping the kids see that there are many people less fortunate than us. They were great workers! Brennan worked hard cleaning dishes all night and Graham and Callie helped dish food and serve it.

My mom is the best piano teacher for these kids! She comes to our house each week to teach them and help them become well-rounded musicians! They did a Christmas in July recital this year which was a lot of fun!

At the end of the month, Nate and Aiden had the opportunity to go to Youth Conference with our ward. They went to Moab and floated the river and hiked around in Arches. It was HOT! But they had a blast with our ward and exploring together. I love that Nate's in Young Men's with Aiden! We have the best ward and best leaders!