Dan

Happy Birthday!

You are simply and indisputably the very best!

I LOVE YOU!

ra xoxoxo

July 24th

We spent the evening of July 24th a.k.a. Pioneer Day with the Snows in Mapleton.

All of the six kids (but the Maryland clan) were in town.

Julia loves playing with the only girl cousin close to her age on the Snow side of the family--Eva.

This is the view from Jeanmarie and Jim's backyard--it's beautiful!

The hammock kept the old and young kids entertained.

Grandpa shared some pioneer stories of his ancestors with the grand kids.

Emily snagged my camera and ventured into the grassy fields behind the Andersen's house and took photos, here is just one she captured.

Despite the rain which descended on us for a short time, it was a beautiful evening--

thanks Andersens!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

What a treat to get to attend our second temple open house in the Salt Lake Valley this year!

The Oquirrh Mountain Temple is beautiful!

We attended the open house with the Browns visiting from AZ and the Estes family.

If you look closely at the statue of the Angel Moroni, you can see the dark spots along its left side where lightening hit it a few months ago.


Hannah


Emily

Hilary

The Snow Girls

And last but not least...Julia and Eliza

What a memorable day!

St. George

I've decided that I like St. George ANYTIME of year--even the dead of summer.

We took the girls south for a few days to reconnect with the Snow ancestral "roots"

and for a little rest and relaxation.

Our first stop was the St. George Cemetery to show the girls where some of

their ancestors are buried.

Of course, no trip to St. George would be complete without a little swimming

which Julia loves!

Another "must see" for the family is the St. George Tabernacle.

We've actually had a few pictures taken of the girls in this spot over the years.

The Erastus Snow Monument

Julia Josephine in front of Julia Josephine Spencer Snow's gravestone--

she was so excited about seeing this for the first time.

We drove home through Zion National Park for a few photo ops but

we really didn't do the park justice with our quick pass through.

Next time we'll be better prepared to hike and spend some more time.

It is truly amazing how many beautiful places to visit are in our backyard!

When the Parents are Away...

Thanks to Emily and her desire to document life, we found out what the girls do when we aren't around...check it out...I wish I could get my camera to take pictures like these.

P.S. Really not much has changed since we started leaving the kids alone a few years ago. Several weeks ago while watching old home videos, we uncovered an unknown stash of video footage Emily had taken of all of the girls while she was babysitting them--crying, fighting, playing, laughing, all of it for Dan and I to see--very funny and eye opening to say the least!

Good News...Bad News

The good news is that Hannah does not have strep or the swine flu...

The bad news is that she still feels crummy and has a very sore throat...

The good news for Hilary is that she braved another blood test to see (once and for all) if she has celiac disease... (I say braved because she almost always passes out when she gives blood)

The bad news is that she passed out after the blood test and felt horrible the rest of the day...

The good news for Dan, Emily and Julia is that they are feeling great...

The bad news is that I have a sore throat and a sore body (which actually may be from working out yesterday but who knows) and I don't want any vacation plans thwarted because of it...

TODAY

Emily... tuned the forgotten guitar resting alone in the living room and lamented about her broken camera...

Hilary...ran four miles and requested that we make chocolate chip cookie dough with extra chocolate chips...

Hannah...is finishing the 6th Harry Potter book before the movie premiere, oh, and she ran four miles too..

Julia...dutifully practiced piano, went to the library and played with a favorite cousin...

Yours truly...said goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma Clark after a very short stay; distracted her husband working at home only a few times; enjoyed a cool, quiet trip to the library; and decided to skip going to the gym and make chocolate chip cookies instead.