Family

This last month has been so much fun! I have been able to spend time with my wonderful family as we celebrated Brock & Madison's wedding.

I have FOUR Wonderful Sister in laws! My brothers did good, didn't they?

Me and four of my wonderful nieces

The Barlow sisters and MOM (Rachel is in the MTC)

The family (Minus a few) but happy to celebrate with Brock & Madison

Miranda Lambert Concert

My BIL Zack had tickets to the Miranda Lambert concert at the Antelope Valley Fair. He gave them to Michelle to use and tonight Rachel and I went out to see the concert. We started the evening with a yummy dinner at BJ's Restaurant and then headed to the concert.

I don't know a lot of her songs, but had a good time. She has a little bit of rock n roll in her music and played the guitar like she was rocking out.



In addition we were able to see the animals...really they are my favorite part of the fair! Ty's friends have been raising sheep, pigs and a steer. They get auctioned off on Thursday and they are hoping for some big numbers.

Kayaking in Ventura Harbor

Corrine took the YW to the harbor to go kayaking. They had so much fun she decided it would be a great activity for us to do with our nieces and nephews. After all of my water problems I volunteered to watch the kids who were too young to go on the boats while the other adults got in the kayaks and paddle boats.

Michelle and Chelsea took turns with the three 4-year olds on the paddle boats. The kids had a great time and the hour-long adventure went by quickly! Rachel T, Chelsea and Corrine were brave and even did kayak exchanges in the middle of the ocean so the kids could take turns on the paddle boat.

I walked around with Brad, Reed and the twins. Michelle and Chelsea rotated baby duty with me. After our ocean fun Corrine treated everyone to a scoop of ice cream. It was a wonderful activity!

A NEW Car!

It is that time of year - my faithful 2007 Acura TL's lease is about to end and so the hunt for a new car began. I knew I wanted to go back to a mid-sized SUV and was pretty sure I wanted a Honda Pilot. In addition to the Pilot I also test drove the Mazda CX-9, the Ford Flex, Ford Explorer, Toyota Highlander. There were things I liked about each car, but not enough to convince me to move away from the Pilot.

The next phase was finding the best deal (I HATE doing this!). Brock was a huge trooper and went with me to all the dealerships and test drove cars with me. He sat through endless sales pitches, etc. I received several quotes but still didn't have the number where I wanted it to be. McKay asked me what my lowest number was and said he felt he could beat it. I told him to 'go for it'. He made a few calls and YES, he was able to hit the number I was looking for! Go McKay. He told me this was the BEST and BIGGEST birthday gift ever...I agree!

Unfortunately they didn't have the color I wanted so the waiting game began. I received a call on Thursday my car was ready to pick up. McKay finished the negotiations over the phone and Rachel and I drove to Cerritos to pick it up. The sales gal was WONDERFUL! She honored everything she said she was going to. There were no gimmicks once I got down there. It was a wonderful experience.

A BIG shout out to McKay and Brock for all of their help. A shout out to Garrett & Leanne who went on the first test drive with me and to Rachel who, after returning from camp spent eight hours with me picking the car up!



Rachel even took a picture of me 'signing' the paperwork!

Elder Andrew Okazaki

Yesterday at Sister Okazaki's funeral I found out her grandson, Andrew, is serving in the San Fernando CA Mission. That is the neighboring mission to me. In addition, I found out he is serving only 45 minutes from me. I took an extra program home with me and drove out to hand deliver the program and tell him about the funeral. I brought my brother, Brock, with me. We had a great time visiting on our drive out and back.

Andrew was surprised to see us, but was genuinely happy I was there to tell him about his Nana's funeral.

Mary Poppins

Michelle, Bryn and Lori invited the girls to join them in Costa Mesa at a showing of Mary Poppins on stage. The drive down (through LA and Orange County) was a nightmare! However, we had a great time together! Corrine and I took Hallie with us. The stage play differs some from the movie, but it was fun to sing along with the cast. THANKS to the Birds for inviting us to join you!

Happy Birthday in July

Today we celebrated the five of us with July birthdays (me, Zack, Leanne, Bryn & Mac). Thanks to everyone for making this a fun day!



Love this picture of Zack trying to blow at the candles and hold Reed at the same time.



Thanks to grandma, the kids had a yummy BIG STICK with the cake.