Times to Keep!

Warning: We use our blog as a family journal, hence, sometimes things will only be meaningful to us. This might be one of those entries.

We just got home from 2 1/2 fabulous weeks in good old Utah. I sometimes forget how remarkably beautiful Cache Valley is this time of year. After living in the Mid-West for 5 years, I miss those cool, summer mornings, and I miss hearing the sound of rain bird sprinklers off in the distance. How we relished walking through the soft grass in our bare feet without a worry of chiggers, and how we love hiking through the beautiful mountains. And like always, our trip ended too soon. We went with the intentions of helping Sue and her family work on finishing their beautiful new home. We worked a little, played a lot, and had a marvelous time being with family. Our Boys can't get enough of their cousins, on both sides.

Here are just a few memories to treasure. Will and Mike got up early one morning to pick up some needed cement items, like true construction workers they went to Angie's and had a truck stop, smoky breakfast. Only a loving Dad would let his boy have root bear for breakfast. Some other memories: working on the house, going to the temple, seeing Grandpa Anderson be inducted to the Spanish Fork Hall of Fame, having a cookout at the farm, the not so appetizing powdered milk presentation at the Orem Institute (I now know I can live without, but what fun times to share with Brittany and Angie, Thanks Mutsi!), bubble baths at Mutsi's, going to Aggie Ice Cream, going on a hike, Ticket to Ride with Jake and Brianna, feeding the ducks and fish in Centerville, going to the zoo to see the monkeys, shopping with mom, Driving through U.S.U. campus, Jamba Juice and Einstein Bagels, stories from Pops, Popsicles galore from Munga, getting Emma to smile at us. Zelda stories galore, baths in Bear River, American Idol final (Yes, we wish it had been Archuleta). Perhaps the best was just playing with cousins. Sue's boys are around the same age as ours and that makes life wild, mischievous and fun. The things they came up with! Here are a few May- trip creations. The boys loved to get Mawga and Pops red wagon and sit one lucky boy (Who would be Santa Claus) inside and then push him down the hill and listen to the lucky boy scream HO HO HO! Will's favorite morning ritual at Mawga's house was checking the Milk Box outside to see what the Milk Man left. He then loved to put the empty Milk jugs back outside in the box to be picked up once again. This led to hours of Milk Man fun. The boy's would get all of Mawga and Pop's water bottles and pretend to be the Milk Man leaving milk in the box for us. These particular milk men thought doorbell ditching was the best way to make us aware of their delivery. One night during such games, the doorbell kept ringing, the front door was wide open and we could hear the boys laughing, thinking it was only the boys, we didn't check the door. Big mistake. Jared finally came over to Pop's and pointed to the door, Pops followed Jared around the corner to see Brother Owens standing there looking perplexed. He'd been there awhile!
The boys had water fights galore, and thought it was fun to turn on the irrigation water in the back and run. They loved riding bikes down at Luthy's and loved playing in the sandbox and swinging on the swings. Mawga had a neat set of knight's armor for all the boys, and they spent quality time fighting dragons. Will loved to sit on the window seat and get lost in stories galore. Mutsi's and Mawga's houses truly are the places where cousins go to become best friends. And the places we go to feel refreshed. There is no place like home!