.:Utah trip: July 2008:.

Last day (July 8th):

Katie had to work, so mom was watching Jackson, since I fell asleep the night before during the movie I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to Cam, Tammy, and Talmadge, so, Mom, Jackson, and I walked over to their apartment to say goodbye real quick...which was a bad idea apparently, Jackson DID NOT want t0 leave his cute little cousin...back home to pack real quick and we headed down to Ogden...we went to dinner at Lucky China or something, where Jackson wanted to play the claw game over and over...finally we ate some lunch, then made our way to the Aerospace Museum...I love going there with Dad and hearing the neat stories about the different airplanes, and their purposes...The time came, and we were off to the airport...my flight was scheduled to leave at 5:35pm, so after some negotiating, I convinced Dad to drop me off at 4! (He likes to make sure you have plenty of time to get through security! haha) Well, turns out I had more than enough time! My flight to Seattle, where I was supposed to have a 2 hour layover, kept getting pushed back, and then eventually cancelled...So, I had changed my flight to go through Portland, well, as luck would have it, that flight kept getting pushed back as well, so, I finally boarded a plane in SLC at 9:20pm...I arrived in Portland at 10:20pm and had to wait there for and hour and a half before finally getting onto a plane at midnight, and arriving in Spokane at 1am to find out that the airline had lost my luggage! Looks like we coulda caught that movie ya didn't think we'd have time for Dad!! haha

Day 5 (July 7th):

I ran over to Nielsen's to chat with Susi for a bit in the morning, and then Katie and I were off for the day. We went down to Lehi so that I could see a doctor for my anxiety, which has gotten worse in the last few months, and then back to Layton to do some quick shopping, a chiropractor appointment, and then back home for some Papa Murphy's pizza that Katie and I picked up while we were out and about... The doctor appointment was such and amazing experience, I let Katie sit in on the therapy session, and I discovered a lot of things about myself, and my family, and hopefully I will be able to better cope with my anxiety. Mom and Dad just remodeled the bathroom in the hallway, and I wanted to get her some new accessories to put in it, so we hit every store we could think of, but didn't have much luck! Finally, at our last attempt we found it! (Isn't that how it always goes?!) After we got home and quickly transformed the bathroom, we had some pizza and just talked about my experience earlier that day...Katie and I had picked up The Bucket List while we were out too, so we threw that in, I didn't make it far, but it had been a long and emotional day for me... As we were arriving at my doctors appointment, Mom called and told us that Jackson had taken about 7 steps, and after we got home, he walked a couple of more times for me, and I was able to capture a bit of it on my camera...He is getting so strong and coming along so well! I'm so proud of that little guy!!





Day 4 (July 6th):

I was ripped out of bed and told that Aunt Debby would be at the house in 15 minutes to pick us up to go to Linsey's baby's blessing in West Haven, so I quickly got ready and ran out the door, Deb got us there rather quickly, but we were still alive, so it was all good! It felt good to be at home where I was able to go to that kind of a family gathering, I do miss the convenience of being around for that! We went to the park by Linsey's house for a quick bite, then hurried back to Morgan so that Mom could teach her lesson. We made it for most of Sacrament Meeting, and then off to Mom and Dad's class...I love sitting in on their class and listening to them teach! Although, the one time I was asked a question, Katie had distracted me by asking what we were having for dinner....haha I headed home after Sunday school to take a nap while everyone else finished out church, so that I didn't have to nap while they were all at the house, besides, I had already gotten my 3 hours in, right?! After dinner, Katie and I pulled out the DDR, SingingStar, and Guitar Hero...we got Dad to do some DDR and Guitar Hero...Now that was a site to see!! I have a video of Dad doing DDR and if he'll let me I'll post it, or post it and wait til he finds it! haha And then my cousin Paul came up so that we could make a video for the bridal shower that I was going to be throwing for Shareena the weekend after I got home! We had such a good time making the videos, and laughed so hard! We were pretty tired, but managed to still be creative with it, or so we thought anyway! :)

Day 3 (July 5th):

Bright and early Dad, Katie, Barry, and I hit ol Round Valley for some golf...I wasn't sure how I would do because my finger still wasn't doing too well, but I couldn't not go golfing while I was home...I did relatively well considering I was missing a finger...Not to mention that Dad and Barry made me look a little better too, haha, they both had some struggling rounds, but even Tiger has a bad day! After golf Tasha and her sister MacKenzie came over. It was soooo good to see Tash! I miss her so much, and I got to see her little boy Trenten for the first time. He is such a cute little kid! I'm so happy for Tash and the wife and mother that she has become! She wasn't able to stay for very long, but it was still good to talk to her. So, Drew and I went to Larry's Spring Chicken Inn for some lunch, and then I wanted to go to the cemetery to see my Grandpa Johanson's head stone, I hadn't seen it yet, and it was beautiful! We wandered around for a bit and took some pictures by Grandpa Sommers' grave as well. It was just a peaceful feeling to visit those that have influenced your life so much, and have passed on...I got home and prepared myself for Grandma Sommers' annual steak fry! She usually has it later on in July, but her nephew and his family from Virginia were in town visiting, so we all got together. I love when family parties happen when I'm in town! It is such a wonderful oppurtunity to see everyone and their little growing families! It's weird to see all my cousins and siblings raising their own families now! That night we went to Cam and Tammy's to play some games that I had brought down! We had so much fun and laughed so hard! It was definitely a night to remember! It reminded me of how wonderful of a family I have...they are hilarious to be around!

Day 2 (July 4):

I woke up to Barry and Jackson coming over for breakfast. I was so happy to see them! It took a bit for Jackson to warm up but all it took was some serious jumping on the trampoline to get him to like me again...that and giving him treats when his mom wasn't looking, but don't tell Katie! haha Cam, Tammy, and Talmadge came over for breakfast too...nobody can pass up one of Dad's breakfasts!! We chilled at Mom and Dad's for most of the day, until Barry and Jackson had to leave to go to Katie's parents for their celebration, and Cam had to work...So, I made my way over to Grandma Sommers to visit with her, because even though we were having a party at her house the next day, I knew that I wouldn't really get to talk to her as much as I wanted because of the comotion of everyone being there. I had gotten her a deck of Cougar cards, and she told me that I couldn't mail them, if I wanted her to have them, then I would have to deliver them myself! So, I did what I was told...After talking to Grandma for a bit, I heard Barry and Katie pull up...Katie came around the corner pretty quick, I had been there a day and a half and hadn't seen her yet, she had stayed at her parents house because she was running in a 5K on the Fourth. So, we all sat and visited with Grandma...one of all of our favorite things to do! After a while we went back home to have a BBQ and when it got dark enough we would start lighting some fireworks...Cam was lighting them, and then he turned over the reigns to me...this was the first time that I was going to be allowed to be a part of the firework show! (I now see why they never let me, it took me a while to get the fireworks to light! Or maybe it was the lack of practice in lighting them...yeah, I'll go with that! :) After our own little show, we walked over to the elementary school to watch the city fireworks. I hadn't been home for the Fourth for quite a while, so the city show wasn't all that bad! (not that it was ever "bad")

Day 1 (July 3):

After 4-5 hours in the airport, I made it to SLC. Dad, Mom, Tammy, and Talmadge were there waiting for me! It was a nice to come out of the airport and see them! We made a quick stop at Subway to get some dinner, and then we were off to Lagoon...about a half hour drive, right?! Well, Utah traffic is BEAUTIFUL, and we made it to the gates of Lagoon about 2 hours later...Talk about a little built up frustration! Well, we got in there and off to roller coaster land we went!! I absolutely LOVE riding coasters with my dad! Not many old fold will ride em like he will! :) First ride we went on was call Wicked...and wicked it was! It starts off going straight up 90 degrees...but makes a quick change and goes straight DOWN at a 90 degree angle...yes, staring at the asphalt, plummeting to your death! It was the scariest ride that I think that I had been on! It was sooo fun though! We went on another new one that is called the Spider...that one gives ya a rush too! After we got off the flight Annette and her kids were there to greet us. I had promised Talmadge that I would take him on the "Dragon ride"...so, off we went and it was one of the funniest things to watch his face! We were able to hit some other pretty good rides, but seeing my dad after Rattle Snake Rapids and being drenched was pretty hilarious! I had never seen my dad's hair not done! We left Lagoon around 11pm, but don't you worry, the excitement wasn't even close to being over! We went to pick up Barry's truck which had mom and dad's new bed in it. So, we were following Dad home, and the wind from the canyon picked up the head board and flipped it out of the truck in the middle of the highway...we pulled over and mom took off across the highway...as she opened the door to get out, we heard the sound of a car running over the head board! Mom and Tammy ran over and drug the head board over to the side of the road! I would have helped more, but I was missing shoes because Mom was wearing mine! We got Dad to turn around, and we got the headboard back in the truck and strapped down, and then preceded to make our way home...I definitely had more excitement than I was expecting in being at home! It turned out to be an interesting, yet successful trip!

In closing:

Thank you all for taking out the time to spend with me while I was there! You all do your best to make it a memorable experience! You are all so wonderful, and I love and appreciate you so much! I hope that you all realize how much you mean to me! You are definitely the world to me!! Thank you so much again for a trip to remember and I will see you all again next time!