Temple excursion!

I need to document this, mostly so I can be reminded :)  When we lived in Saratoga we were within 30 min. of like 6 temples.  Attending the temple has always been important to us and from the time we were first married we have tried to go once a month.  Before we had kids I remember going more often, after kids, sometimes we didn't manage the once a month.  But it has always been something we try to make a priority. Since we've lived in Grace, I'm almost embarrassed to say that in a year we have only been to the temple 3 times to do a session.  We have been to a bunch of weddings & sealings and other events but to actually go to do a session it's been much less than I like to admit. 
While this isn't even a good excuse I would like to document what it take for us now to get to the temple.  The drive to the Logan temple, which is our temple, takes 1hr. 15 min. - so right off we've got 2.5 hrs. just to the temple and back.  Then to do a session it takes 2-3 hrs. depending on if we time our arrival right (they only do sessions every half hour) So it's usually a good 5 hours if all we do is drive to the temple, do a session and come home BUT we usually have to grab something to eat, and while we're in Logan run some errands, it's literally an entire day excursion not to mention tacking on the expense of paying a babysitter for 6-8 hrs.
While this has been hard for me to get used to, budget for & prioritize I can't help but think of those members of the church who save money for years or travel for days, to attend the temple just once.  I hope I can always try to take advantage of the "convenience" of having a temple so close.

{On our way home from the Temple!}

Lights, Camera, Action!

I LOVE my time at Studio 5!  I have such a passion for broadcast & I know the day will come that I get to spend much more time in a studio/news room, but for now I appreciate the team at Studio 5 that allows me to have some 'Me' time every once in a while and do what I love!  I got the theme of 'Wow them with Wallpaper' for this segment & had a blast just 'running with it'!  Brooke was sick so Amy Iverson from 'The browser' Radio show filled in --she was so nice & fun and of course I always have a blast with Darrin - He's one of my favorite people there (It's hard to believe his oldest son is coming home from a mission soon, he looks so young!)

I brought my cute neighbor Laura to tag along, we had a fun girls trip!

Fish'n & Swim'n

At the Soda Springs Hydro plant where LeGrand works there is a beautiful Lake so we packed the kids, snacks & fishing gear and headed for a day to relax!  It's so nice to have this awesome get-away only a 10min. drive away. 

The day wasn't that hot so I hadn't planned on swimming but the kids couldn't help themselves!

LeGrand and I caught a few fish right off the boat dock!

What a nice little adventure!

'Guy' time!

LeGrand took Laex camping on Caribou Mountain!  The main reason for the camping trip is so LeGrand could do some Gold prospecting (Yes! I am married to a Gold Digger ;) --They stayed in a cute little cabin owned by the forest service.

They did a little fishing...

They did things mom would've been opposed to (that's my 5 year old with a hand gun!)...

They rode many miles on the 4-wheeler to the area of the Gold Claim...

And after all that...they couldn't get to the Claim because of the steep hike down a mountain that LeGrand probably would've done had he been alone, but not with Laex.  He was bummed but he's been investigating other ways to get there-so I'm sure he'll be trying again!  After all that, they still had a great time!

Meagan's Married!

LeGrand's Niece Meagan got married in August.  We made a quick trip to Syracuse to the wedding, it was nice to see family & attend the wedding!

Luau!

At the end of July our ward had a Luau, complete with a pig cooked under ground!  It was a good time with lots of great food!

Caribou County Fair

You know you live in Grace when you spend the entire year looking forward to the first week in August which brings the Caribou County Fair!!!  This is serious business, everyone adjusts their schedules to accommodate fair week, no church functions happen this week, all the extended family shows up for the week, and Grace sees more people in 6 days than it sees all year!

We spent the week taking advantage of all the activities we could, it felt weird to have a whole week of things to do :)
*We watched the 4-H horse show
*We entered home made items in the fair

*We ate enough fair food calories to last until next year ;) (Berries & Cream, Hand dipped corn dogs, Fair burgers, Carmel Corn, Shaved Ice, Philly Cheese stake Sandwiches, Teton Fries, Fresh squeezed Lemonade, Homemade Donuts...I don't think I cooked the whole week!)
*Laex rode in the Kids Parade, lost one training wheel along the way & made it to us at the end of the parade route with only one training wheel :)

*We enjoyed shows by the Hypnotist, Ventriloquist & Comedian--Laexin got called on stage and got to help out --all of the balls on the sticks and his hat are spinning!

*We checked out all the fair animals

*Got lots of candy at the parade (this parade also runs through twice, watch it go by then wait for it to come back, it makes me laugh!)

*We topped off the week at the Demolition Derby/ATV competitions!