Heaven's Gain

It is with a very heavy heart that I make this post.  Yesterday afternoon this wonderful man pictured was taken back to live with his Father in Heaven.  My dad was a pilar of strength to our family.  He never shyed at the opportunity to share his love of the gospel or the love of his family with anyone that he came in contact with.  He was a humble giant that would do anything for those he loved.  He loved each of his 10 grandchildren so much and each have special memories that they will hold close to their hearts for the rest of their lives.  I for one will miss his smile and gentle works of encouragement that he always gave to me.  He as a listening ear, and a big bear hug giver when I needed it.  Dad, I know that our Heavenly Father has a great work for you to do on the other side and that is why he has taken you from us here on earth.  I also know that you are no longer suffering with the pain that the cancer was causing you.  I love you and will miss you everyday until we are able to reunited again.  Please give Grandma and Grandpa a hug for me.  Our loss is definately Heaven's gain!

Willard Bay

Over the last couple of weeks we have taken the boat out to Willard Bay to cruise around the water.  Savanna and Paige have loved getting to help daddy drive the boat, but don't ask them to jump in the water for a swim.  The first time out the water was a little chilly but this past weekend when we went out it wasn't too bad.  Celeste joined us last Friday, we've really needed a break from life and soaking up some vitamin D has helped us all.

 

 

Sand Hallow for Father's Day

Father's day weekend we loaded up the durango and headed out of town for a little time in the sun.  The original plas was to head down to Lake Powell with Steve's dad and his brother Rick's family.  When we woke up nice and early on Friday morning the weather was reporting 30-40 mph winds on the lake. Gregg and Marillyn were already down there trying to get their boat launched into the water, just to have no success.  The rest of us were going to meet up with them around 9 am and get to the fun in the sun.  But with the winds being the way they were, we decided to head to sunny St. George instead.  We were able to stay at Steve's grandparents home and travel the 20 minutes over to Sand Hallow. 

Friday night when we finally rolled into town we didn't want to go launch the boat, so instead we went swimming at the hotel previously known as the Holiday Inn.  Then it was back to the house for some grub.  The kids loved being able to run and play, and we loved that we could sit in a nice cool home.  Saturday we loaded up some coolers with lunch, snacks, and drinks then headed over to Sand Hallow.  There were tons of people out on the lake but we were able to snatch up some nice beach area to hang out on.  The kids loved playing in the water and on the sand.  It was nice to sit and relax a bit even with a 2 year old we were able to accomplish some relaxing.  After a few trips around the lake on the boat Paige decided to cash out and took a nice snooze.  We watched some people cliff diving and just enjoyed being together as family.

Sunday we woke up and it was quite windy outside so we decided not to head over to the lake.  The kids were going crazy not having much to do at the house, so we loaded up and went to Chili's for some lunch.  Then it was off to find something else to do, but we seriously hit a road block.  Everything was closed, so it was off to the park for some energy wasting fun.  The kids played baseball, football and then we set up an obstacle course for the kiddos to run around.  I timed them and they had fun, but the real fun started when Steve decided that he wanted to give it a try.  He lost his shoes seconds in to the course and continued on to the finish line.  Next he brought out the blue painters tape and lets just stay the kids went crazy about it.  Savanna ended up making herself  look like Hannibal Lector, Jake became a Ninja and the other kids just played with it around them.  Who knew that tape could be so much fun on a hot day?  Sunday evening we just hung out at the house and watched a movie and ate indoor smores' that Ambur made.

Monday we spent more time at the lake, which was amazing because there was no one on the lake.  We had the beach all to ourselves and the warmth was again welcomed to our souls.