MONDAY
Monday was our BYU/Provo day. We all meet down on the BYU campus (where Rich, his siblings, all of us spouses, his parents and many of his cousins went to school). When we had been thinking of the reunion and things we wanted to do, we thought it would be neat to show the kids BYU campus where all of us meet our spouses… I came up with the idea to do a scavenger hunt of places throughout the campus that had a significant memory for people in the family. I took “clues” that people wrote about a significant place and described the event, and told where it was and then we had to guess which family member had submitted that event. We broke into three groups with three different lists of clues, so each group didn’t have to walk all over the entire campus. Then we would walk to the place, read the clue, decide who we thought it was about, and take a picture of someone in our group holding up the name of who we had decided it was about. It really was a fun activity and I had a lot of fun tagging along with the group and playing the poker face while they tried to figure out who the clue went to…
BYU Scaveger hunt clues (from memory… I can’t find my copy that I had)
Group A:
1. This person described this as the “best class on campus” he took it three times. It was intermediate golf and held on the field south of the Smith Field House. {Dave}
2. Two people in our family went on their first date to a volleyball game at the Smith Field House. Afterward they walked over to the Grandparents house and had dessert and played games. {Rich and Julie}
3. Two people had their first kiss on the steps of the Smith Family Living Center. The steps are no longer there, but there is a new Smith Family Living Center built in it’s place. {Lamar and Eileen}
4. First impressions are not always true. These two people were paired together for a ward dance, and ditched each other at the dance held at the Smith Family Living Center and left with other friends. {Rich and Julie}
5. Two people in our family meet while going to an Astronomy class lab on the top of the Kimball Tower. {Sharon and James}
6. One person in the family spent “a lot of time” at the computer lab in the Talmage building. {Bob}
7. One person in the family spent some time at the jewelry counter selecting matching CTR engagement rings for herself and her intended. {Laura}
Group B:
1. Two people in our family went on their first date to the DeJong Concert Hall. They saw “Magic Flute” {Laura and Bob}
2. Two people in our family had a special spot. It was a fountain on the south side of the Smoot Administration building. There they would practice their two step around the fountain. {Lewis and Dianne}
3. One person in our family spent a lot of time at the Harold B Lee library. He would spend 3-4 hours a day there studying. He was found there one evening by the Hewlett Packard Recruiter with the help of a special significant other. {Lewis}
4. The Wind Tunnel in the Engineering building is where this person spent a lot of time. They would test wing shapes in it. {Troy}
5. The Bike racks at the Knight Magnum building would usually not be considered a romantic spot. For two people in our family it was though. He proposed to her there and after three more hours of talking she said “yes”. {Laura and Bob}
Group C:
1. The museum of Art holds some memories for one person. She had the “Dining plus” on her meal card and would meet her sister there for lunch during her first year at BYU. She also took an Art Appreciation class that left her not appreciating art quite as much. {Laura}
2. Two people in our family went on their first date to the DeJong Concert Hall. They watched “Sunday in the park with George”. {Lamar and Eileen}
3. This person lived in Deseret Towers in “R” Hall. She invited her future spouse to an “R” hall dance for their first date. {Dianne}
4. One person in our family spent a lot of time in the south parking lot of DT practicing with the BYU Marching band. There was a white “tower” that the band members jokingly referred to as the “Rameumptom” where the director would watch to see the formations and shapes the band created. {Heidi}
5. The BYU Basketball team had a thrilling game against Utah and beat them in a close finish at the Marriot Center. One member of the family was there to witness the great game. He was also at a lot of their other games with front row seats as BYU only won that one game that year. {Dave}
It was fun. Afterwards we went to the Wilkenson Student Center and had lunch and then we all went bowling afterwards. It was fun to see the kids try to bowl. A lot of them had never bowled before. After we were all done bowling we went over to Rock Canyon Park.
Rock Canyon Park is where Rich and I took our engagement photo’s at. It has changed sooo much in the past 10 years. I barely recognized the turn off to it because what used to be empty areas surrounding it are now full of houses! We spent the afternoon and early eveing playing games, eating, laughing and just having a great time together. We didn’t leave until dark- and on the way home the Alyssa and Angela fell fast asleep since they hadn’t had any nap at all that day. That made bedtime really fast since we just transferred the little ones into their beds fast asleep. Then again us adults got to stay up and talk and play games probably later than we should have, but it was fun for all of us.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Tues/Wed
Tuesday
Tuesday we woke up early again and drove over to “This is the Place” park in Salt Lake City. It is a pioneer village that has really grown in size in the past few years. We got to see a lot of different houses and buisnesses that would have exhisted in the pioneer days. There is a petting zoo, blacksmith shop, printing shop, bank, carpenters shop, leather workers shop (I can’t remember the official name) church, school, pony rides, wagon rides, “train ride” (the train was not really a train). The kids had a great time.
That afternoon we then went over to Temple Square. We took some family pictures in front of the Salt Lake Temple, and then went on a short tour Rich’s mom put together for the kids. She did a great job with some simple facts and clues that kept the kids attention. The tour included the top floor of the Joseph F Smith Building, the Beehive house, a walk by the Lion House, the Tabernacle, the North Visitors Center (with the Christus statue) and the new assembly hall. Angela fell asleep during the time at the Tabernacle, so I sat down in the visitors center and had a wonderful time chatting with my brother in law’s girlfriend while the others finished the tour.
After our tour was over we all headed over to Golden Corral for a big family dinner. Again we had a good time and then it was time to say goodby to the family members that we had reaquainted ourselves with during the trip. The kids had a great time getting to know cousins that they don’t see as often. Then we headed back to the house to sleep.
Wednesday
Well kind of Wednesday… Angela had the hardest time going to sleep that night. She would wake up after an hour or so and cry… around 3am she started screaming in pain. Poor girl. I wound up sitting up on the couch in the game room for the rest of the night with her sleeping on my chest. With all the excitement and going going going that we had had that week I had forgotten to give her one of her allergy medicines and she had become really really stuffed up. The congestion got to her ear and she was in pain and had a fever. So… after that loveley night we all slept in a little later than the past few days and the morning hours were spent getting kids fed and dressed, and Sharon’s family and mine needed to pack up our suitcases and search for missing items around the house.
We went and had a fun little picnic lunch up at a state park near the house and the kids had fun exploring the little structures they had there. We went from there and ran to a grocery store to pick up more pain reliever for Angela with her ear ache, and then we went to the Heber Valley Railroad. We rode the train down provo canyon. It was a fun and scenic ride. It was a little bit hot though, so on the return trip we “had” to get the kids some ice cream to help them cool off. Poor Angela though was just not feeling well and spent most of the time on my lap and dozing off and on. She did however find enough energy to play on the play structure at Vivian park- the halfway point on the round trip down and back up the canyon. It just amazes me the energy she can find when she gets near a slide- even when she is feeling sick!
After our train ride we said goodby to everyone and drove down to Orem to stay with my parents for a few days. At my parents house my dad took the three big kids over to the park to play with the helicopters he had given them again. Alex had a great time getting to know Mom and Dad’s dog Tasha. He kept sneaking out to the garage to toss her a treat. For Alex this is huge since he has always been so fearfull of dogs.
Tuesday we woke up early again and drove over to “This is the Place” park in Salt Lake City. It is a pioneer village that has really grown in size in the past few years. We got to see a lot of different houses and buisnesses that would have exhisted in the pioneer days. There is a petting zoo, blacksmith shop, printing shop, bank, carpenters shop, leather workers shop (I can’t remember the official name) church, school, pony rides, wagon rides, “train ride” (the train was not really a train). The kids had a great time.
That afternoon we then went over to Temple Square. We took some family pictures in front of the Salt Lake Temple, and then went on a short tour Rich’s mom put together for the kids. She did a great job with some simple facts and clues that kept the kids attention. The tour included the top floor of the Joseph F Smith Building, the Beehive house, a walk by the Lion House, the Tabernacle, the North Visitors Center (with the Christus statue) and the new assembly hall. Angela fell asleep during the time at the Tabernacle, so I sat down in the visitors center and had a wonderful time chatting with my brother in law’s girlfriend while the others finished the tour.
After our tour was over we all headed over to Golden Corral for a big family dinner. Again we had a good time and then it was time to say goodby to the family members that we had reaquainted ourselves with during the trip. The kids had a great time getting to know cousins that they don’t see as often. Then we headed back to the house to sleep.
Wednesday
Well kind of Wednesday… Angela had the hardest time going to sleep that night. She would wake up after an hour or so and cry… around 3am she started screaming in pain. Poor girl. I wound up sitting up on the couch in the game room for the rest of the night with her sleeping on my chest. With all the excitement and going going going that we had had that week I had forgotten to give her one of her allergy medicines and she had become really really stuffed up. The congestion got to her ear and she was in pain and had a fever. So… after that loveley night we all slept in a little later than the past few days and the morning hours were spent getting kids fed and dressed, and Sharon’s family and mine needed to pack up our suitcases and search for missing items around the house.
We went and had a fun little picnic lunch up at a state park near the house and the kids had fun exploring the little structures they had there. We went from there and ran to a grocery store to pick up more pain reliever for Angela with her ear ache, and then we went to the Heber Valley Railroad. We rode the train down provo canyon. It was a fun and scenic ride. It was a little bit hot though, so on the return trip we “had” to get the kids some ice cream to help them cool off. Poor Angela though was just not feeling well and spent most of the time on my lap and dozing off and on. She did however find enough energy to play on the play structure at Vivian park- the halfway point on the round trip down and back up the canyon. It just amazes me the energy she can find when she gets near a slide- even when she is feeling sick!
After our train ride we said goodby to everyone and drove down to Orem to stay with my parents for a few days. At my parents house my dad took the three big kids over to the park to play with the helicopters he had given them again. Alex had a great time getting to know Mom and Dad’s dog Tasha. He kept sneaking out to the garage to toss her a treat. For Alex this is huge since he has always been so fearfull of dogs.
Thurs/Friday
Thursday
Thursday morning we took it easy and slept in. That afternoon Ashley went with my mom and Susan to go shopping. It was her birthday present from Grandma- so they were going to try and find a dress for her since we hadn’t had much luck the Friday before when we had to buy new clothes for the family. After they had been gone for about 15 minutes, my mom called me and told me that they were headed back to the house. Ashley had thrown up in the car on the drive. So she brought her back home and she had a fever so we gave her some meds and Rich went and laid down with all the girls. They were so tired from the busy schedule we had had the past few days. They all fell asleep down on the bed Rich and I were using and took a nice long nap.
I had a wonderful opportunity to go and visit with an old Highschool friend for a few hours that afternoon. Originally we had intended to get the families together and the kids could play, but since my kids were sick we thought it would be better for me to just go and visit with her while her kids were taking naps. It was so good to see her and just sit and talk for a while. Email and phone are nice, but it isn’t the same thing as sitting and chatting together.
That evening Angela’s fever was getting progressively worse and she was in more and more pain, so we took her into the Urgent Care clinic. I was very happy with the clinic- they took our out of state insurance and they bill it as a regular office visit- even though it was open in the evening and they could choose to bill as Urgent/emergency care. Angela’s ear was very swollen and the dr asked us if we had noticed any discharge from it- it was close to rupturing. We got a prescription for antibiotics for her and left. By then it was 9pm and we soon discovered that there are not very many pharmacies open past 9pm in Orem. We finally found a Wal-greens that was open 24 hours and got it filled.
Friday
Friday we had planned on going to the zoo, but since Ashley was sick and Angela was sick, we sent Alex and Alyssa with my sister Susan and her boyfriend. They would meet my brother and his wife up at the zoo and the four of them would be with the kids. Alyssa and Alex were so excited to go to the zoo with Susan without mom and dad along. Lol!
Ashley was feeling a little bit better, so by that afternoon we decided that she could go shopping with Grandma again. She had a great time and came home with two dresses, a shirt and a skirt that she talked Grandma into buying. Rich and I had the unusual experience of running errands with just Angela along for the ride. We ran a bunch of errands for ourselves, and my mom and even stopped at my dad’s uncles house and visited with some extended family members that were there for a little luncheon that day.
That evening after dinner we went and meet up with another friend of mine. I’ve been “talking” to her via message boards for about 4-5 years now and this is the first chance we have had to meet each other. It was fun and her kids and my kids seemed to get along well and play together. The time went by much too quickly though and soon the kids were starting to get cranky and tired and we had to say goodby and head back to the house for bedtime.
Thursday morning we took it easy and slept in. That afternoon Ashley went with my mom and Susan to go shopping. It was her birthday present from Grandma- so they were going to try and find a dress for her since we hadn’t had much luck the Friday before when we had to buy new clothes for the family. After they had been gone for about 15 minutes, my mom called me and told me that they were headed back to the house. Ashley had thrown up in the car on the drive. So she brought her back home and she had a fever so we gave her some meds and Rich went and laid down with all the girls. They were so tired from the busy schedule we had had the past few days. They all fell asleep down on the bed Rich and I were using and took a nice long nap.
I had a wonderful opportunity to go and visit with an old Highschool friend for a few hours that afternoon. Originally we had intended to get the families together and the kids could play, but since my kids were sick we thought it would be better for me to just go and visit with her while her kids were taking naps. It was so good to see her and just sit and talk for a while. Email and phone are nice, but it isn’t the same thing as sitting and chatting together.
That evening Angela’s fever was getting progressively worse and she was in more and more pain, so we took her into the Urgent Care clinic. I was very happy with the clinic- they took our out of state insurance and they bill it as a regular office visit- even though it was open in the evening and they could choose to bill as Urgent/emergency care. Angela’s ear was very swollen and the dr asked us if we had noticed any discharge from it- it was close to rupturing. We got a prescription for antibiotics for her and left. By then it was 9pm and we soon discovered that there are not very many pharmacies open past 9pm in Orem. We finally found a Wal-greens that was open 24 hours and got it filled.
Friday
Friday we had planned on going to the zoo, but since Ashley was sick and Angela was sick, we sent Alex and Alyssa with my sister Susan and her boyfriend. They would meet my brother and his wife up at the zoo and the four of them would be with the kids. Alyssa and Alex were so excited to go to the zoo with Susan without mom and dad along. Lol!
Ashley was feeling a little bit better, so by that afternoon we decided that she could go shopping with Grandma again. She had a great time and came home with two dresses, a shirt and a skirt that she talked Grandma into buying. Rich and I had the unusual experience of running errands with just Angela along for the ride. We ran a bunch of errands for ourselves, and my mom and even stopped at my dad’s uncles house and visited with some extended family members that were there for a little luncheon that day.
That evening after dinner we went and meet up with another friend of mine. I’ve been “talking” to her via message boards for about 4-5 years now and this is the first chance we have had to meet each other. It was fun and her kids and my kids seemed to get along well and play together. The time went by much too quickly though and soon the kids were starting to get cranky and tired and we had to say goodby and head back to the house for bedtime.
Saturday
Saturday was the 2nd big day for my sister. The wedding was the previous Saturday, and this Saturday was the reception. We slept in again (we were down in the basement… no sunlight to wake us up… yep!) and filled the day up with last minute preperations for the reception. My brother and his wife showed up around lunch time and Alex really enjoyed being around their dog. Their dog had a rough life before they adopted her and she is very skittish around other people. Alex being so timid around dogs really seemed to click with her and she would let him sit and pet her. They took both dogs up to the park with Alex and he had a great time playing with the dogs and learning more about them.
The few hours before the reception were busy. I made a big dinner for any who were hanging out at the house beforehand, and for people to eat afterward if they were hungry. We also had to get Rachel back into her gown and her hair done. A photographer came and took pictures of Rachel getting ready. Angela was clinging to me all afternoon and when it came time to get myself dressed I sat her down on our bed. I then went and changed and turned around and she had fallen fast asleep on the bed. She resisted waking up or even letting us change her while she slept, so Rich stayed at the house with her while I went down to the reception. The reception turned out very nicely. It was a beautiful night and the decorations were nice. The food was yummy. Alex got a little bored, but he survived. Rich showed up after an hour with Angela. He said she woke up and he asked if she wanted to put her dress on and she tried to put it on herself, so he decided that she would be up to coming for a little while.
After the reception it took at least an hour- hour and a half to clean up most of the stuff. Then we had to load up trucks and vans with chairs and tables and all the stuff used in decorating. We cleaned it up and then everyone went back to the house and watched while Rachel and Nathan opened presents. It was fun and we had a good time sitting and talking and just spending time together. We went to bed late that night… I’m sure it was past midnight by the time we got all the kids in bed and in bed ourselves.
The few hours before the reception were busy. I made a big dinner for any who were hanging out at the house beforehand, and for people to eat afterward if they were hungry. We also had to get Rachel back into her gown and her hair done. A photographer came and took pictures of Rachel getting ready. Angela was clinging to me all afternoon and when it came time to get myself dressed I sat her down on our bed. I then went and changed and turned around and she had fallen fast asleep on the bed. She resisted waking up or even letting us change her while she slept, so Rich stayed at the house with her while I went down to the reception. The reception turned out very nicely. It was a beautiful night and the decorations were nice. The food was yummy. Alex got a little bored, but he survived. Rich showed up after an hour with Angela. He said she woke up and he asked if she wanted to put her dress on and she tried to put it on herself, so he decided that she would be up to coming for a little while.
After the reception it took at least an hour- hour and a half to clean up most of the stuff. Then we had to load up trucks and vans with chairs and tables and all the stuff used in decorating. We cleaned it up and then everyone went back to the house and watched while Rachel and Nathan opened presents. It was fun and we had a good time sitting and talking and just spending time together. We went to bed late that night… I’m sure it was past midnight by the time we got all the kids in bed and in bed ourselves.
Sunday
Sunday morning we got up- not too early since we had been up late the night before, but early enough that it was still a short night. We got the car packed up and breakfast for everyone and got on the road by about 8:30 or 9am.
Now… we had three kids that were running fevers and I knew it would be a long drive. Within the first three hours Alex and Ashley had both had coughing attacks that left them coughing up phlegm… we had a bucket and some old towels in the car just in case and after a while we were able to get them dosed up to keep their fevers down and when their fevers were down they didn’t seem to throw up. It was a long drive home. 17 hours and we got home around 4am. We were slowed down through the Rockies when traffic was travelling at about 20 miles an hour for about an hour- we still don’t know what caused that, but when your driving 17 hours, what’s one more right? The kids had times when they cooperated great, and times when it seemed like all four of them were demanding something we couldn’t give them at that moment, and so they were all crying and screaming. Normally our kids travel amazingly well- which is why we usually drive home straight after trips like this, but this time it definitly was harder on me to keep them happy or content on the ride.
Monday we slept… and slept and slept. Rich was supposed to work that day, but he called in sick to help me with the kids.
Now… we had three kids that were running fevers and I knew it would be a long drive. Within the first three hours Alex and Ashley had both had coughing attacks that left them coughing up phlegm… we had a bucket and some old towels in the car just in case and after a while we were able to get them dosed up to keep their fevers down and when their fevers were down they didn’t seem to throw up. It was a long drive home. 17 hours and we got home around 4am. We were slowed down through the Rockies when traffic was travelling at about 20 miles an hour for about an hour- we still don’t know what caused that, but when your driving 17 hours, what’s one more right? The kids had times when they cooperated great, and times when it seemed like all four of them were demanding something we couldn’t give them at that moment, and so they were all crying and screaming. Normally our kids travel amazingly well- which is why we usually drive home straight after trips like this, but this time it definitly was harder on me to keep them happy or content on the ride.
Monday we slept… and slept and slept. Rich was supposed to work that day, but he called in sick to help me with the kids.
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