Back in January we decided to sign up for a “Fun For Less” tour to Israel and Egypt with my brothers, Mark and Matt, and their wives. So 10 months later, on October 25th, we headed on our way. We were gone 17 days and enjoyed visiting so many wonderful sites. It was fun to travel with family and we were lucky to have Michael Wilcox as our educator during the week in Israel. If you have ever considered taking this trip, do it!
Labor day weekend we took Clark and traveled up to WA to celebrate baby Asher and participate in his baby blessing. Loren gave Asher a very nice blessing and it was fun to spend time with many of Anne’s family who came to support them as well. We had a fun weekend playing with Kenyon, Emmy and Asher! Their cute family took us to a flower farm where we could pick a bucket full of flowers to take home and enjoy. It was hard to get in the car and drive away from all of them. Christmas can’t come soon enough!
This year everyone came home to Utah for a fun week together. It’s getting kind of rowdy with 16 of us now – including 4 grandkids! We had lots of fun playing, swimming, picnicking, hiking, going on field trips and celebrating birthdays! It was great to have Aunti Di here visiting from NY.
Yes, our friends Marla and Steve Lundgren, who were supposed to come back last year are still in working and living in Laie Hawaii. So yep, we had to go visit them again! We had a great time walking on the beach, eating yummy seafood and playing games. We’ll see if they come home next year like they are promising! Otherwise, another trip?
January is always a boring cold month, so why not plan a weekend get-a-way to sunny CA with the cute girl that lives in San Diego?! We managed to fit in a day at Disneyland, time on the beach, a session at the San Diego Temple, and of course some tacos!
Where is the best place to spend a few days resting and enjoying family after the busyness that comes from two weddings? A house on the beach of course! This time we tried Lincoln City. We just love the Oregon Coast — the whole thing is beautiful!
We flew kites, made sand castles, discovered tide pools, enjoyed good meals, naps, games and lots of stories. The beach is a great spot to bring the generations together!
Loren has taken a job with Counseling and Psychology Services at Washington State University. So Loren, Anne, Kenyon and Emmy have moved to Pullman, Washington! While we miss having them around to read to, hug and kiss whenever we want to, we know that this is a good move for them. I do however need to have “visual” on each of my children so that I can picture them in their lives. So, over Halloween weekend, Alan and I drove up to visit. It was fun to see their “new” oldish house, the park they always play at, Loren’s office, their church, and the Farmer’s Market. We had a great couple of days celebrating Halloween with them. Kenyon loved wearing the Cat in the Hat costume that both Elliot and Clark wore when they were his age. Emmeline was Eeyore and adorable. Of course.
My good friend and college roommate, Melora, lives in Bedford, New Hampshire. Fall is a great time to visit! The colors were turning and we had great weather . We spent four days driving to the coast, checking out lighthouses, hiking and kayaking. We also saw the longest covered bridge in the U.S. and took a tour of Saint-Gaudens. Oh, and some shopping, movie watching and eating pumpkin spice yogurt-covered pretzels. Yeah, pretty sure I ate half the bag by myself.
The fact is, Mt. Rushmore is not actually on the way to anywhere. So, since I’ve always wanted to see it, we decided we would just drive there and see it. It was way cooler than I even thought it was going to be! So worth the drive! Did you know there is a Woolly Mammoth Dig Site close to Rushmore? Then, on “the way home” we stayed north and visited Yellowstone National Park. Did you know they have their own Grand Canyon — with two amazing waterfalls? Oh, and “Old Faithful” was cool too. 😉
Well, since almost everyone lives out of state, we decided it would be fun to have everyone come home for a family vacation this year! We started with a 4th of July extended Morgan Family Reunion and then spent the rest of the week having a great time together. Madeleine was our photographer / videographer and after taking about a million videos, she put together this great documentary of our week…enjoy!
