Today ended up being one of those days when you ask "Why me?" This coming weekend is the Brinkerhoff reunion in Bryce Canyon. We thought we would head out a little early and visit Tyler's sister Sharalyn in SLC and do some swimming at one of the nearby water parks. As we approached Fruitland our Suburban started sputtering and coughing and the engine was making some horrific grinding sounds. Yes indeed, the engine is totally a gonner. We were broken down and our trip came to a screeching halt.

Luckily, Tyler's brother Devin has some good connections and came to our rescue with a long trailer to haul our poor suburban home.

Although I hate, hate vehicle break-downs (which stems from my childhood) we were blessed in many ways. Grandpa and Grandma Coon are letting us take their mini van clear to Bryce so we wont miss the reunion. I have come to appreciate good family friends. Thank you Devin, for saving our day.

Tonight, my thoughts are with my good friend Stephanie, who just told me today, that she is expecting another baby. I am so excited for her. And I especially can't wait to hold and spoil the precious bundle.

I will leave you with some beautiful pictures from a camping trip we took last weekend at Paradise with my Mother's family.

This past weekend, we went to the mountains above Vernal and camped with all of my extended family. We had a birthday party on Thursday night for my niece Abigail...hence all the birthday paraphernalia.

On Friday we drove to Flaming Gorge and rented a pontoon boat to float around the huge lake. We docked near some not-too-terribly-high cliffs that almost all of us (yes even Tyler and I did it) jumped off.

I had so much fun the entire weekend. It's times like these that remind me how very blessed I am to have my family in my life.

So yes, I decided to join the rest of civilization and create a blog. I'm still learning how to do most of this...so be patient please.

For our July 4th holiday, we went camping with Devin and Jade's family (Tyler's brother). They have four boys and when you mix that with our three kids...it's quite a treasure-load of kids. We did all the regular things...ride the four-wheeler, roast marshmallows, hike around and a whole lot of visiting and relaxing. I've decided I need to start taking my camera with me when I'm on the four-wheeler because that is where the amazing beauty is. For instance, I came upon some cows grazing in this meadow of yellow flowers that I would have loved to photograph. But for now, you are stuck with photos of the marshmallow- eyeball kids.