Boise, ID

This last weekend, Jeremy and I decided to go visit my old roommate and her husband. I had been telling Jeremy about these two since we've been married, and he wanted to go meet them. Angie was my roommate 10 years ago this summer! I can't believe how time flies. We were only roommates for about 2 months, but it was the best summer of my life so far. Not only did I have a great ward and the best roommates, but I was finally happy with where I was in life. I had some serious self-esteem issues throughout junior high and high school. I decided about mid way through my sophomore year of high school that I was going to like myself more. It was something I had worked on for years and that summer was the summer I finally realized I was over all of those issues. I relaxed enough to just be myself and had a WONDERFUL summer. I am also good friends with her husband, and even knew him before I knew Angie. I couldn't wait to see them again.We left after Jeremy got home from work on Thursday, so we arrived in Boise late Thursday night. We stayed up even later because we just couldn't stop visiting.

On Friday we went to a wonderful park. It has great playground equipment as well as a little splash area. Clara loved the water best of all. I wished I had brought our camera to that little outing. It was basically like a whole bunch of different types of sprinklers that came out of cement. Clara loved reaching out her hand and touching the water. She also loved splashing in all the puddles. There was even one water "thing" that filled buckets up with water. Once the buckets were full, they would dump themselves over, getting all who were standing under them wet. Clara didn't want to go stand under the bucket, but she watched it fill and dump for quite a long period of time. It was funny to see her just stand and watch for 10 minutes straight. She would then run to some other water that she could touch with her hand and then run right back to watch the bucket again.

Friday night we had dinner with one of Carl's old roommates and his wife. It was so fun to see Rance and Julie again. Their oldest is 8. I loved how even though all the kids were proof that a lot of time had passed by since we were all single and hanging out, it was as though we constantly see each other. There was never any awkward conversations, just laughing and joking around like we used to do so long ago.

Saturday morning Jeremy and I went to the Boise, ID temple. It is always fun to attend a different temple than you are used to. Jeremy had never been to the Boise temple either. It was great to go so early in the morning too. There really weren't very many people there so we could get in right away. On our way out, we ran into several weddings. It made me remember the day Jeremy and I were married. Oh what a happy day that was for us!When we got back from the temple, we went swimming. Carl and Angie have a pool in their sub division. Clara LOVED it. She is getting more and more comfortable with pools. There was a little pool that is only 1.5 feet deep next to the bigger pool. She loved being able to walk around that little pool. She would go back and forth constantly from the little pool to the big one. She couldn't understand why she couldn't touch the bottom in the big pool either. She even got mad at Jeremy once because he wouldn't put her down in the water that was over her head. It was kind of scary with how comfortable she got. As long as we were semi close, she would just step off the edge into the big pool.

We left Saturday afternoon to come back home. Due to lack of communication on more than one occasion, instead of taking 5.5 hours to get home, it took us 7.5! We were so glad to get out of the car late Saturday night.

Thanks Angie and Carl for being such good hosts. We loved being able to visit with you!

Busy Week

Monday night was a birthday party for a niece and nephew of Jeremy's. Also on Monday, I made a purse for another niece of Jeremy's whose birthday is coming up. They are the same pattern that I used for the last bags I made, the ones for girls camp. But I got a lot of people wanting me to show the lining inside, so these pictures show the whole purse better. Wednesday was when some friends of mine took me out to dinner for my birthday. We truly live in a wonderful little complex. A tradition started sometime last year that all the women would get together for birthdays and treat each other for their birthday dinner. I decided to go to a wonderful Mexican restaurant that is just down the street from us. They have heavenly nachos! I'm so glad I live next to such good friends.
Thursday night my little brother came over to visit and then watched Clara for us while we attended a very late endowment session. Jeremy's cousin received her endowments. It was so fun to get to visit with family in the temple. I had a very special time there. I love going to the temple. It truly pushes things that are not that important out of your mind. I love the peace that comes from going. Thanks Matt for watching Clara so late!
Friday night was a wedding reception for another of Jeremy's cousins. I had never met him before, so it was great to finally meet the last of those cousins. They had a little stream running through the reception place. Clara loved the water and would run and look at the water any chance she got.
Saturday was lunch with some coworkers of Jeremy's. We met as families at a hot dog stand in Provo. It was hot outside, but that didn't stop Clara from running around all over. Her little face was bright red by the time we left. (We were only there for about 45 minutes.) Due to the heat, we were all talking about how wonderful a pool would be. Jeremy's coworker stated that they have a pool in the condos they live in. So after lunch we headed to Lehi to enjoy a wonderful few hours in a pool. I wish I had brought my camera to the pool. Clara usually loves the pool, but is scared of how deep the water is. So when we take her to a pool, she gets in with us, but clings to our necks as we walk around. This time she hung out at the steps and would just get in and out. She loved being able to stick her feet in and splash all around.
Clara has a new favorite "toy." She dumps out the blocks we keep in this container and wears it all around out apartment. She loves her "hat" and is so proud to show it off to anyone on the room.Melissa took some pictures of our little family when we went to visit her for her birthday in June. She sent those to us this week and since we hardly ever have a family picture to post, I wanted to include it. Thanks Melissa for taking it!

Date Night

This week for our date night, Jeremy and I decided to hike Bridal Veil Falls. It was a great date. Jeremy and I "met" on a hike, but don't really get out and hike much anymore. It was nice to remember what it was like when we first started dating 4 years ago. Has it really been that long?I also read a book this week that I received as a birthday gift. It is a very short read, but well worth my time. I don't think I necessarily learned anything reading it, but it was such a good reminder about what it means to be "balanced." I especially loved the story about how her husband excitedly gave her dinosaur earrings for her birthday. At first she was greatly disappointed they weren't the elegant earrings she was hoping for, but then she looked at it in a way that really hit home to me. Anyway, I recommend this book.

Clara has also learned a lot this week. She now tries to say every word I ask her to say. She is so cute as she thinks about it and then tries to make it come out. My favorite word that she says right now is "pillow." It comes out "plillow" in the sweetest voice ever. She has also learned the color yellow. This is also a cute word she says, but I love her face when she says it even more. She gets this look of pride and accomplishment when she recognizes that something is yellow and can show me.

Harold Beck Reunion

Jeremy's extended family reunion was held this last weekend. It was fun to get to know cousins that I don't see very often. We started the reunion by attending an Orem Owls baseball game. The kids got to meet Holly Owl - one of the mascots. (Sorry the picture is blurry; by the time I got around to taking a second picture, Holly was gone.) The next day we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. Clara was tired and hungry, so she wasn't on her best behavior. I was frustrated because I knew she was ruining the experience for so may people around us. Luckily, Aunt Melissa just took her and was able to calm her down. Clara was great for Melissa the whole rest of the "tour." We then went and got a tour of the Relief Society building. Since Aunt Melissa works there, we had our own private tour guide. The kids listened for a little while on a CTR mat. After the tour, we played water games. Clara LOVED the water. Even though she had only gotten a 45 minute nap, she was pretty good the whole evening. I love that little girl so much! In this picture, the kids were trying to pick up marbles with their feet. Whoever got the most marbles out of the pool won. It was a favorite game by both adults and kids. We ended the reuion with festive activities for the 4th of July. We attended the East Mill Creek carnival, played games at John and Sharon's, and ended the evening with fireworks. Clara was pretty tired when the fireworks started, but she wouldn't take her eyes off them. She only got slightly scared when the noisey fireworks went off. She just snuggled right up with her daddy and enjoyed the show. What a great weekend!