Songer Family Reunion

 

 We arrived in Utah on my dad's birthday.  And the best thing about my dad is HE treats everyone to a dinner at Maddox for HIS birthday.   We like that guy.  It was a funny night and so great to be together - just the grown-ups.   

Oh there actually was one non grown-up there.  My newest nephew Beckham!  I got to meet him and hold him and love him.  I didn't get a picture of him that night but here is one around the same time -

For my dad's birthday our kids gave him a thank you book for all the cool projects he's done on our house.  Just printed these all these out and they stapled it into a book.  (I guess click on them if you want to actually read the bubbles)

The book

July 16th -
Joey took off to the hills.   He went disc golfing at Solitude and said it was just beautiful.  There were lots of wild flowers, big tall aspen and pine trees, fresh crisp mountain air.  It looked like it had been professionally landscaped but it was all just wild.   He met up with a dental dude who might help manage a practice in Utah if we ever get there and then Mike, Jake, Jared and he spent 4 brutal hours on the FlowRider a the Solomon Center.  Poor Joes - his friends make him have fun too long and then he's all old and broken. 

Meanwhile - the kids and I did some swimming at the McKays with some Hunstville cousins.  Although I think the only actual McKay swimming with us was Brigham.  Those McKays are hard to get. :)

I think Freddy digs the old time feel of Hunstville - riding in the back of the truck with no shirt on. 

I got to take Lucy on a date to The Little Mermaid at Hale Center Theatre.  This was a highlight of the trip for me.   I really wish I would have written about this the night it happened because it was just so magical and such a fun bonding night for us.  Jenny and Eliza came too.

 

I can't even begin to describe the play but I just got that euphoria that comes sometimes with really sensational live performances.  We were sitting on the front row and at any moment we could have reached out and touched the sea witch or flounder or ariel.  And Lucy was in my lap and whenever something funny happened she'd turn around and look at my and we'd laugh and when she got excited she squeezed my hand.  I loved it so much.  

 

And she got to learn about Grandpa Nathan and Grandma Ruth.

By Saturday the Songer Family Reunion was in full swing.  My dad had been building the waterslide of all waterslides for weeks.  This is the view of the waterslide from the deck --- back in the trees behind the garden.

 



 

The Songer men all work to finish what my dad started. 

 

And then we got to enjoy it

 

waterslidin2015 from katiehale on Vimeo.

 
Ahhh cousins 

 

look-a-like cousins?  I think so.

 

 

 ahhh uncles

 



Celebrating Jack

 

Celebrating Star

making birdhouses

(grandpa sponsored activity)

 

A sisters and mom breakfast where we randomly ran into a beloved friend of Sarah's (and all of ours) Downtown Heather Brown.  (Rebekah and Edith had just left)

Our girls got to go to a fancy ball with some stand-in princes  

And play in the newly finished "Kirtland" room at the Harrises with their bestie Eliza



And one of my favorite things was a whole day off.  Joey watched the kids and my mom and I went and got massages and went out to lunch.   It was nice to take our time all day - I never do that.  At the spa we just hung out for a while drinking tea and chatting in the steam room.  Then I think we were at Café Rio for like 3 hours just talking.  It was a very lovely day.  I love me mum.

 

 

and here we all are...

Songer Family 2015

 

and the GRAND parents who started it all

photos by Jenny