26 June 2022
VOLUME 10 – NUMBER 458
Brigham and his grandpa at Lehi Rodeo
Natalie
This is our favorite time of year, when we celebrate the Lehi round up. We went to the rodeo and the kids watched all the bull riders and horses. We also went to the parades and the kids loved getting candy and being around our extended family.
It was Mateo’s first rodeo. From now on, he can say, “This isn’t my first rodeo..” (Ha ha! So funny, I know). He did so well sitting through the three hours, and the other kids were very entertained with all of the action.
Emma, Mckay, Brigham with kittens
On another note, we have a lot of mice at our house, since we have chickens and animals, so we convinced Nate to get us a cat. She has been the perfect addition to our crazy household!
The kids absolutely love her, and Nate is just excited for her to start doing her job. We always struggle naming our animals, so we let the kids pick out her name. Emma calls her Stella, and the boys named her Cabela, so we switch off!
Gutierrez family in Wisconsin
Aura
This week we were in Wisconsin visiting my dad. We tried to keep busy. We rode an ATV through a couple country roads, celebrated Father’s Day, witnessed Yarima being proposed to by Selvin, and Yaretzie turned 13 (I know right).
We also walked around Redwing, Minnesota, enjoyed the beautiful scenery, rode horses, ate lots of food, and visited the Mall of America (it’s HUGE!) Overall, we had a great time. The not so fun part was the 41-hour roundtrip drive!
Yaretzie’s birthday celebration
Gloria
Last week, girls camp was really fun because I was able to talk a lot more with people, and become a better friend to others. The weather there was really cold. The only warm place was the bathroom or by the fireplace!
During the week, we did a lot of activities like Archery and knife/axe throwing. We also got to make friendship bracelets and paint rocks.
We also got to draw on our white canvas shoes, but mine did not turn out really well. We went on a hike, and it was really pretty being out in nature, and seeing the waterfall and the streams that connect to it.
My tent was really fun with the people that were there. Each tent has a tent leader and mine was Michelle. We had Julian, Sophie H, and Bella. Some nights we had a party in our tent and stayed up until 12:00am!
Children playing games
London
This summer has been a little unusual for me because my planned trips started a little later in the season. Needless to say, I was super ready to go on an awesome adventure!
Hannah and I have been talking about going down south for a quick trip to Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, so we went down with Endia and Heidi this weekend. Hannah and Heidi have some close family friends who live in St. George, and they were kind enough to let us stay with them.
I had already been to Zion a couple of times, but it has been on my bucket list to hike the narrows for a while. Well, I finally made it there, and it was absolutely breathtaking!
Endia and London at Bryce Canyon
It was just my kind of hike, since it was beautiful the entire time, and we were literally hiking through the water for most of it. So cool! At some points there were so many people that I kind of felt like the children of Israel leaving Egypt J.
We stopped by Bryce Canyon on Sunday on the way home, and it was completely different but also stunning. The overlook spots that we drove to gave us so many different perspectives of the park.
Being out in nature always seems to fill my soul somehow. From here on out, I have plans every weekend, so I have a feeling the summer is going to fly by!
Hiking the narrows
Endia
Since it was a holiday this Monday, Cougar got to stay for an extra day and we went on a short hike to this beautiful waterfall/grotto near Payson. It was very beautiful, and I always love a chance to get soaking wet!
This weekend London and I went down to southern Utah to Zions and Bryce Canyon. I love going to Zion, and this time we were able to go hike through the narrows. It was so fun and beautiful! It was kind of hard walking over the river rocks with the current pushing at my legs, but it was so fun.
Endia and Cougar at Payson waterfall
We hiked about ten miles that day! I slept very well that night, and then on Sunday we drove through Bryce Canyon. As we walked up to the first overlook, we couldn’t really see anything, just trees and fog, and then all of a sudden, you could see all of the bright orange rocks and hoodoos.
It was so amazing, I just started to cry and laugh! It was really spectacular. I can’t wait til I can go back and hike around in the mazes of rocks and trees! The trip was so much fun!
Caleb and Elder Jones
Vanessa
For our last visit, we went to the fair. It was a lot of fun to go on the different rides. Me, Selena, and Mark’s girlfriend went on a really fun ride where it would spin us really fast and we would go really high. It was really fun to do this with Selena. She is really awesome and lots of fun.
I also got to hold Mark’s baby, Lotus. She is really cute and small. She is so awesome. At the fair, we had fried Oreos and they were so good. I loved it. I had a really fun time with my family, and it was great
Braden and Ellie kayaking
Braden
We have had a great last couple weeks visiting family in Utah! We were able to hang out with West Jordan family, and also travel up to Rexburg for a wedding reception.
We did have to deal with bit of sickness (all three of us came down with a stomach bug at different times) but aside from that, the trip was perfect. We really do miss our Utah fam!
On Tuesday we started our 30-hour drive back to North Carolina. This whole trip we did a combined 70+ hours of driving so we were very happy to be back and done.
Braden, Ellie, Brook on drive home
Once we got back, we still had a few family things here in North Carolina. Brooke’s sister had a wedding reception out here, so we spent the weekend with her new in-laws. We spent time outside and, on the lake, which is always fun.
After everything was over, Brooke and I realized we are excited to get back to a regular routine which we haven’t had in the last three weeks.
Jenny training five dogs
Christian
A couple weeks ago Vanessa, Alex and I went to the fair with our biological family. We tried a lot of good food, like fried Oreos, which was really good, surprisingly. We also went on rides, which looked really scary.
Later at night, we sat on the grass and watched the fireworks. They were really loud, but it was fun. I like spending time with my little niece.
Smith family at Lehi Rodeo
Joanna
Me, Veidi, Dad, and Gloria made chocolate chip cookies and it was really fun. They tasted really good. Then we took them to an activity.
At the activity, I played with some girls. We played like a monster where someone has to be the princess monster, and there is a Quinn monster too. Gloria had to blow the M&M's in the cup with a straw, and she did good!
Joanna at Daddy Daughter activity
Dad
Last weekend Gloria, Veidi, and Joanna and I went to an Elders Quorum daddy/daughter activity (Vanessa was on a visit with the Bautista family).
We made a batch of cookies to take to the activity, but since I haven’t had desserts for over six months, I couldn’t taste test the cookie dough, or sample any baked treats at the activity. However, Brother Oaks brought some amazing grilled pineapple that was kosher for me. Delicious!
Dad and girls making cookies
The activity was very laid back (as you might guess, since a bunch of guys organized it J). Veidi spent a lot of time with new friends she made at girls camp, Joanna ran wild with a pack of older girls, and I Gloria and I played several games, like trying to get an Oreo from your forehead to your mouth, or sucking up M&Ms with a straw. It was great to be with my girls!
This weekend we were busy preparing for our upcoming river trip. We spent the day taking inventory of supplies, testing new tubes, gathering parts for a new raft, and I even showed old river trip videos as “training.” It’s a lot of work to plan these trips. I hope that the memories that are made are worth the effort!
Lots of dogs!