Weekend Getaway

We escaped to California for a 48 hour  mini vacation with our friends Trent and Jenn Whitney.  They also have season passes to Universal so we thought we would take advantage of that and hang out together :)

On the airplane ready to fly into the Bob Hope/ Burbank Airport.  Neither Jim nor I had ever been to that airport.  You walk right off the plan onto the ramp.  It was pretty cool!

A place that just makes me happy..... Harry Potter World at Universal Studios!!

Us waiting in line for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride

Sorting hat.  You get to see this while in line for the ride. 

Frozen butterbeer...  Oh so delicious!!!

Here we are in line for a doughnut place called VooDoo Doughnuts.  

The next day we woke up and decided to hit a swap meet :)
  It was quite entertaining to see EVERYTHING that could be found there. 

One of Jim's treasures.  A dog named Spike!

Before heading to the airport we stopped at the Hollywood walk of fame and the Grauman's Chinese Theater. 

We found the star of one of my favorite actors :)

Many thanks to mine and Jim's parents for all their help with the kids and getting them to their various activities. 

First Day of School

As of  Wednesday (August 23rd) another school year has started.  Crazy that our kids are another grade older.

 

Ethan Harrison

Grade- 10^th

School- Hillcrest High

Wednesday August 23^rd

 Favorite Color- Blue

Favorite Food- anything

Favorite Things to do- read, sleep, spend time with friends

Favorite TV Show or Movie- Star Wars

Be When Grow Up- Doctor

 

Lizzie Harrison

Grade- 8^th

School- Indian Hills Middle School

Wednesday August 23^rd

 Favorite Color-Purple

Favorite Food-  Potatoes

Favorite Things to Do- read, watch Netflix, Needle Felting, painting, playing Zelda

Favorite TV Show or Movie- A Series of Unfortunate Events

Be When Grow Up- Interior Designer or Food Nutritionist

Afton Harrison

Grade- 4^th

School- Altara Elementary

Wednesday August 23^rd

Favorite Color- yellow

Favorite Food-Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Favorite Things to Do- read, eat, sleep

Favorite TV Show or Movie- Liv and Maddie

Be When Grow Up- Marine Biologist

 

Lilly Harrison

Grade- 4th

School- Altara Elementary

Wednesday August 23^rd

Favorite Color- dark blue

Favorite Food-Fettucine Alfredo

Favorite Things to Do- read, play Wii, play Kindle, ride bike, sleep

Favorite TV Show or Movie- Liv and Maddie

Be When Grow Up- mom

How can my babies be in 4th grade?

  I swear I just dropped them off for Kindergarten the other day. 

Dose of 4th grade cuteness!

Summer Fun- August edition

We tried to squeeze as much summer fun into August as we could before I had to go back to work.

August 1st- Swimming with Cook cousins

August 7th- 11th

Lizzie got to go to Girl's Camp

 August 7th- A Tracy Aviary/ Liberty Park

kind of day (which included paddleboats)

August 10th- Provo Seven Peaks

August 11th- Lehi Fun Center with Cook cousins

August 14th- Activity Days fun at This Is The Place

August 21st- Experiencing as much of the solar eclipse as we could with 93% totality

Run Elevated

On August 19 Ethan ran his very first Half Marathon! We did the Little Cottonwood Run Elevated half marathon.   I am so proud of him for all the work he put into this.  It was fun to be able to run with him 2-3 mornings each week this summer. 

Ethan ran it in 2:04. 

I personally did my worst time ever with 2:26.

  I guess now I have a goal to work on over the winter? 

Family Day- Church History style

We took a Saturday as a family and hit some important church spots near us. 

August 12, 2017

First we went downtown and had the most delicious lunch at the Lion House.

Then we went and toured the Beeehive House and watched a clip from the new Meet the Mormons in the Joseph Smith Building.

Once we were done with that we came home for a little bit, changed our clothes and headed down to Provo to tour the new MTC center.

  It was just amazing and so crazy to thing that in just 3 years Ethan could be pointing to his destination in the world for going on his mission with the girls following after (if they choose). 

 Jim has a 19 year old version of himself in this very spot pointing at the map getting ready to leave for his mission in New Zealand. 

The huge murals there were AMAZING!!

BTS Party 2017

Last night we had our annual

Cousin Back to School Party. 

Always fun to do a spotlight on each of the kids.

The cousins in age order from 15 to almost 1. 

Missing Higley 3. 

Pre-School group- Morgan and Esmae

Elementary Crew- Violet (K), Afton (4th), Lilly (4th), Vince (4th), Shaelynn (3rd), Braeden (1st), Bella (2nd), Grey (3rd)

Middle Schoolers- Lizzie (8th) and Trevor (7th)

High Schoolers- Andrew (10th) and Ethan (10th)

Trek 2017

Jim, Ethan and I had the opportunity to go on Trek with our Stake (August 2nd to August 5th).  It was retracing some of the sacred trails our pioneers walked around Martin's Cove.  It made me so appreciative of the sacrifices that were made and helped put things into perspective and give a very small glimpse into their lives. My eyes were on the brink of tears many times. The first day we hiked 15 miles, 7 miles the 2nd day and 3 the last day.  

A picture of one of the handcarts that were pushed and pulled for 3 days

Ethan pulling the handcart with his pioneer family

Just finished crossing the Sweetwater crossing.  Such a tender, sacred moment

My belongings for a few days. 

Everything had to fit in a 6 gallon bucket and my satchel. 

The medical committee- Jim and Alisha :)

The sunsets each night were AMAZING!

Ethan and his good friends Colin Sierer, Tanner Rima and Josh Dulong

The youth that went from our ward :)

It was hard, amazing, tiring, uplifting and perfect. 

So glad I got to experience it with these two fine men. 

Martin's Cove Trek 2017