AQUARIUMS

We went on a little "field trip" to see the aquariums at Cabela's.

NEW PETS

I would like to introduce you to two new members of our household... Stefanie has been begging us all summer to let her get a pet parakeet. We finally relented and she was elated! Then Rachel got excited about it and said she wanted one too. Last week we went to the pet store and picked out a cage, bird toys, plenty of bird seed, and these two gorgeous creatures. Kiwi (the green one) belongs to Stefanie and Zazu (the blue one) is Rachel's.

The girls have taken very good care of them so far, cleaning the cage and feeding them every day.

Stefanie is convinced she will teach them both to talk and do tricks.

What a fun project!

KENT'S PARK

On our way to Wolf Creek last weekend we passed this sign on the side of the road. We all noticed it at the same time except for Kent who was wondering what all the shouting, pointing and laughing was about. So we made him pull over, turn the car around, drive back to the sign, get out of the car and pose for a picture. He was a good sport about it. After all, very few people are famous enough to have a park named after them!

WOLF CREEK

Summer is the time for family reunions, and we've had our fill of them this month! We just got back from the annual Kindred family reunion, this year it was held at Wolf Creek resort in Ogden Canyon. One of our favorite activities was a group 3-mile hike around nearby Pineview Reservoir.It was a great hike, scenic and rugged with plenty of opportunities to peek at the beautiful blue reservoir.

Here are most of us, 24 in all. This shot was taken at the beginning of the hike before we all got dusty, hot and tired.

We had a lot of fun playing board and card games. Here's Braden, deeply involved in a game of "Risk" with his cousins.

Look how everyone is concentrating so hard on their game of "Phase 10". Not sure what was going on with this game, but there were loud and frequent bursts of laughter coming from them.

Here's Kent demonstrating his athletic abilities in a game of tennis doubles with Kevin, Bryan & Steve P.

It was over 90 degrees this afternoon, and they played in the hot direct sun until they were exhausted.

Time to eat! We had great food at each meal. Kent and I were in charge of Saturday lunch.

A favorite activity for all of us--especially the kids--was playing at the pool.

Thanks, Kindred family, for another great reunion!

SALSA

The tomatoes in my garden are finally coming on, and lately I've had this irresistable craving for fresh homemade salsa. So today I went online to find a good, simple recipe. Then I called Kent with a list of ingredients to pick up on his way home for lunch. When he got home we threw it together in about 10 minutes. We both agreed it was the best fresh salsa we've ever had. Even the kids loved it. It was so good I had to take pictures!

This recipe makes a huge batch so be sure you have a hungry crowd on hand. Here it is:

BEAN SALSA

1 15 oz. can of black beans, rinsed and drained

1 15 oz. can of black eyed peas, rinsed and drained

2 cans diced tomatoes (try it with the spicy ones, if you dare!)

1 8 oz. bottle Zesty Italian salad dressing

3 fresh tomatoes, chopped

3 avacados, chopped

1 bunch green onions, chopped

1 small bag frozen corn

Mix ingredients together in a large bowl, serve with chips. Enjoy!

KARAOKE NIGHT

On the last night of our reunion we had a karaoke party at the cabin. Kent and I are total karaoke geeks, we've been adding to our collection for about eight years now, I think we have over 2000 karaoke songs to choose from at this point. So on the first day of the reunion we put out a sign-up list with the instructions that by Saturday night, everyone had to have looked through the list and signed up to sing, either individually or with a group. Here's Rachel and Linda (Kent's sister) belting out a Hannah Montana song, "Can't Wait To See You Again." They sounded pretty good! Braden, Carter & Hunter entertained us with "Bohemian Rhapsody."

After everyone had had their turn to shine, it became a free-for-all with everyone singing and dancing to just about every known song you can think of.

Crazy, fun family!

BEAR LAKE

We just got back from a fabulous 4-day Smith family reunion at Bear Lake. One of the highlights was playing on the wave runners.

We stayed in a luxurious cabin, high on a hill overlooking the lake.

Here is a small portion of our spectacular view from the balcony.

Our family, as well as Kent's three brothers, one sister, and all their spouses and kids came from Illinois, South Dakota, Idaho and Utah to be at this reunion. There were 30 of us in all. We all had such a fun time playing at the beach with our cousins, aunts, uncles, neices, nephews, siblings and in-laws.

Here's Braden and two of his favorite cousins playing an intense game of beach football.

Here's Stefanie relaxing on the lake.

Here's Rachel building a sand castle.

And here's Kent and I having a blast on the wave runner. What a great reunion! Thanks Smith family for making it a success.