!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a picture of Brad taken in his parents' driveway, which happens to be in the same country, state, city, and house where the rest of us are currently staying!  Yay!  We're a family again!

Bitner Beach Bums

As per family tradition, we got to spend a few days up at Bear Lake with Brad's immediate and extended family.  The Bitner family has been going to Bear Lake over the 24th of July ever since Brad was a little boy.  My family also has been going every summer for as long as I can remember, so both Brad and I think it is the perfect vacation spot.  We consider it a parental truimph that now our kids love Bear Lake as much as we do.

The condos we stayed in surround this big, grassy field that is perfect for mini-baseball games (at least Casey thinks so).  He rounded up as many kids as he could whenever there was a spare minute and organized these baseball games.  Adam especially LOVED this.

Down at the beach the kids had fun getting as sandy as possible.  Here is Hannah in her mud hole.

This is a rare moment when Pepper was actually on the beach.  He got brave this year and spent a lot of time in the water, swimming out to the buoy or paddling around on the tube.

Livvy gives the mud hole a try.  That's what's nice about the beach - the kids can get as dirty as they want, and Moms don't care because the lake is right there to rinse off in.

After much work and creative-juices-flowing, this sand castle was completed.  Here the design team (Livvy, Issac, Taevyn, Emma, Jessica, Tiana, and Luke) shows off their masterpiece.

Gabe, Livvy, Pepper, Taevyn, and Adam warm up on the tube.

Back at the condo, Lukie and Gabers show off their cool shades!

Thank you to Great-grandma and -grandpa Bitner who make this trip possible every year.  So fun!

Surprise!

So, Friday was my 40th birthday, and I thought I was playing it pretty cool. I told my mom that all I wanted to do that day was spend the day shopping by myself, and she agreed to watch my kids so I could do that. Then she asked if she and my dad could take us to dinner that night, and I thought that sounded great. So, in my oblivious way, that is what I planned on.

Friday came, and sure enough, I got up, got dressed and spent the day shopping for my kids. I have been wanting to get their school clothes all ready before we move, so this was the perfect opportunity. I spent a ton of money, but I think I got everything I need for the boys. Day well spent, in my opinion.

Around 4 pm, I got back from my shopping extravanza, and took a little snooze before we were to leave for dinner. Mom told me Jessica was over at my sister Jenny's house spending time with Makell, so we'd just have to stop over there on our way to dinner. 'Sure', I thought. 'No problem.'

When we arrived at Jenny's house, I could see some cars parked on the street beside her house, but all I thought was, 'Oh, someone is having some people over.' I hopped out of the car to go fetch Jessica, and was surprised to see her on the front porch with a goofy grin on her face. Just as I was about to call her over to the car, I noticed lights and paper lanterns on the side of Jenny's house. Like a dummy, I just thought Jen must be having a Young Women event at her house, and we needed to get out of her way. Then, a mob of people appeared and yelled "Surprise!"" Only then did it occur to me that they were throwing me a surprise party. I am clearly not very bright.

After they all yelled surprise, they accosted me, wrapped this grass skirt around my middle and tied on the attractive flower bra. The black lei around my neck had a little "Over the Hill"sign on it. Jen handed me a fancy drink as I stood there in complete shock. You can see the dazed look on my face.

As my eyes started to focus, I could see that all of my brothers and sisters were there with their kids, as well as Brad's parents and siblings. I couldn't believe that everyone had come from all over the state to wish me Happy Birthday!

My sisters and mother had obviously been planning this for a long time. The whole yard was decorated so cute for my birthday luau. Here is the Tiki Bar near the entrance to the party. Every guest was welcomed with an umbrella drink in a fancy cup as soon as they entered.

Jami made the amazing cake. It was decorated with flowers and sea shells. My favorite detail was the brown sugar sand.

Here is the buffet table after everyone had stuffed themselves. We had a yummy dinner of BBQ pork, rice, spinach salad and fruit. I wish I had a picture of the table before we ate - it was amazing!

It was so fun to have both my family and Brad's family there together!

Mark and Lois eating with my parents, Dave and Becky, and Jami and Jeremy.

The whole party - so awesome! You can't see, but the tables were decorated with framed pictures of me throughout my life. Some were cute, but most were embarrassing. Why did I allow myself to be photographed in Jr. High? Someone made the point that seeing the pictures of the awkward years really help make 40 seem not so bad. So true.

My sister Jenny - one of the sisters responsible for the night.

Jodi and I goofing off by the cake.

No luau is complete without a hula contest. Here, Dave, me, Bust, and Katie show off our skills.

Yeah, I wowwed the crowd with my arm hulu-ing!

After the hula-hooping, everyone lined up for a limbo contest...

Becky

Casey (He was the most impressive.)

Isaac

Jenny

Jodi

Lois

Mike

Shelbi

Tiana

Jenny had a "Mad Lib"about my life that detailed my life story up until now, with a few details contributed by the group. It was awesome and funny, and made me totally cry.

We ended the party with cake and lots of good conversation.

Thank you to Jenny, Jami, and Mom for all your hard work and secret-keeping. I absolutely did not see this coming. It was such a fun night for me, and I was really touched that everyone came to wish me Happy Birthday. There were even minimal "Over the Hill" jokes, which I also appreciated.

I guess 40 really isn't so bad.

Up the Canyon

This week for FHE, we headed up American Fork canyon for a weenie roast. It was all of my sisters and their families as well as Josh, who has been staying here from Texas, and of course Mom and Dad. We found a picnic site near the river and did what everyone does on a weenie roast - we roasted weenies and then marshmallows for s'mores. No big surprises, but it was a fun night.

I didn't do much except chase everyone around with my camera the whole night. Here are a few shots:

Here are all the kids on a hill by the banks of the river. Cute, yes?

Jessica

Pepper has suddenly become very vain about his hair. Can you tell he did it himself right before we left? For Pepper, doing his hair means using a quart of mousse, then patting it all down or combing it like Hitler, and cementing it in place with hairspray. What he lacks in know-how, he makes up for in enthusiasm.

Adam

Lukie

Grandpa and Lukie had some good bonding time.

Jodi with her boys

The kid table. Sorry Josh.

This is Luke throwing rocks in the river. You can tell he was very serious about it.

Throwing rocks in water - have you ever met a little boy that didn't love it?

Going for a "hike" with Grandma.

In his first outing since getting the Swine Flu, Mike was pretty wiped out. It didn't stop him from showing the kids how to fish, though.

Grandpa was very nice to help Luke cook his marshmallow for s'mores. Unfortunately, after this picture was taken, the marshie caught fire. When Grandpa tried to extinguish the flames, a piece of marshmallow flicked onto his chin and singed it good. I guess no good deed goes unpunished.

Jess and Makell walked across the bridge to the other side of the river, where they taunted and posed in their "too cool for school" teenagery way...

...until Uncle Jeremy tossed a giant rock into the river and doused them! Ha!

Adam proudly displaying the big rock he managed to dig up.

Adam and Austin

A lovely evening! Of course, when we were done, we all came home covered with dirt and smelling like campfire. Nothing a shower can't cure - a small price to pay for a classic summer outing.