RISE AND SHOUT

We are so excited that the BYU football season is upon us again! This is our seventh straight year of having season tickets. The opening game of the season was this afternoon and we had a great time--in spite of temperatures in the upper 90s, a packed stadium, wearing dark shirts, and seats in the direct sunshine. Yes, it was a bit on the warm side, but we came away with a big win so it was worth it. Go Cougars!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

It's the first day of school, where did the summer go? I was at teacher's meetings all last week, Kent's meetings started today, I guess the summer is really over. This school year will be crazy, I have three kids in three different schools! Rachel is in 10th grade at the high school, Braden is in 8th grade at the middle school, and Stefanie is in 4th grade at the elementary. They were all so brave as they left this morning, I'm so proud of all three of them!

ANNIVERSARY

Today marks 18 years since I married my best friend and the love of my life. It's hard to believe it's been that many years but when I look back on it, I wouldn't change much about the path we've taken together. I couldn't ask for a better husband for me, and daddy for my kids. Tonight we're going out to dinner and to the symphony to celebrate. Life is good!

DINOSAUR MUSEUM

Earlier this summer we asked all the kids to list a few places they wanted to go during the summer. One of the items on Stefanie's list was the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. It is just a few miles down the road from us but we make it there so rarely that Stefanie hardly remembers ever going. So we squeezed it in one afternoon last week. Stefanie invited her friend Brianna, and they both loved it. They were fascinated by every display and exhibit, and spent lots of time in each area, they wanted to try out every interactive activity. Kent and I thought we'd be there maybe an hour or so, but we ended up staying all afternoon.

REMEMBERING

While Kent and I were in Illinois last week we wanted to visit his Dad's gravesite. He was laid to rest at Highland Memorial Park Cemetary in Libertyville, Illinois. He passed away five years ago, and other than the day of the funeral and burial, we've only been back to the cemetary once. I've always liked cemetaries, they are so peaceful. It was nice for Kent and I to spend a few moments there together, remembering a great man.

CHICAGO

While we were in the midwest this week for the wedding, Kent and I wanted to take advantage of our time together with no kids! (A big thanks to my dear friend Debbie and my brother Kevin for watching out for my kids for four days!) So Wednesday we drove into Chicago and spent a delightful evening in the city.
We walked the streets of Chicago, and took in the sights, smells and sounds of Navy Pier.

Navy Pier is a 3000 foot long pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan. It has the most impressive view of the Chicago skyline I've ever seen, especially at night. I was surprised to learn that it is the Midwest's #1 tourist attraction!

It has quaint little shops, themed restaraunts, outdoor cafes, botanical gardens, a giant ferris wheel and carousel, outdoor jazz bands, lots of vendors, a couple of museums and theaters, and tons and tons of people! It also has huge cruise and sight-seeing ships all lined up along the pier.

It was named "Navy Pier" in honor of World War I veterans. Kent recalls visiting the Pier a couple of times as a kid, but about 10 years ago it underwent a huge multi-million dollar renovation, so it is very different now than from what he remembers.

We had such a lovely evening, just the two of us. I'm so glad we were able to break away for a few hours and spend this time together.

WEDDING

This week Kent and I attended the most elegant event we've ever been to. It was the wedding of Kent's nephew, Brian, and his beautiful bride, Jessica. It was held at an upscale golf course and club house in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Following a breathtaking outdoor wedding, a formal dinner was held inside the clubhouse overlooking the lake. The table settings were so beautiful I had to take pictures!

Kent's mom (Brian's grandma) had been in the hospital up until the day before the wedding. We were all grateful she was released from the hospital, and felt well enough to attend.

Congratulations to the bride and groom!

TIBBLE FORK

Today we were all excited to take out the canoe. It's the first time we've had it out this summer. We went to Tibble Fork reservoir in American Fork canyon, it was beautiful.

We took turns fishing and paddling around the reservoir

Oops, capsized! Stefanie stepped in off balance, and we all went overboard.

All in all, a pretty fun afternoon.