I love this time of year. I love how cute our little Hobbit House looks in the summer. The junk trees, that I curse, that surround our property and cover our yard with seed pods in the spring and leaves in the fall are beautiful at this time of year. Wow! Summer is really going by quickly this year. I guess because April and May was so cold and wet this year.

The kids treated me to a great birthday party up at the Spruces. We cooked hotdogs over the fire and Jennilyn made an amazing cake with fondant icing. It was a great afternoon.

We also had a picnic in our back yard for our kids and grandkids (at least all of those that could come.) We enjoy getting all of our kids together, and are looking forward to our family camping trip later this month.












We enjoyed our annual weekend with the family at the ranch, which is located between Evanston and the Uintas. Thanks, Emily, for being in charge this year. We had a great time.

We had a wonderful 4th of July. We enjoyed watching softball, attending the parade, having a barbeque at Cory and Jeri's with great friends and family; and of course enjoying all of the fireworks. We even had a sleep-over at Cory and Jeri's.

I really love the 4th of July and the 24th of July holidays. I think that Jeri put it best when she said that the 4th of July is great. It's not a lot of work. You don't have to decorate or shop to get ready for it. You just get to sit back and have fun with the people you love.

On Monday, Mel and I took the Shake, Rattle and Troll down to Utah Lake for a spin. It was a beautiful day with calm, gorgeous water. The temptation to ski (without a spotter) was too great for me. I got into the water, climbed into my skis, and.....

....sufficient to say that I've missed the last two days of work, and tomorrow is still questionable. ) Ah, the joys of growing old!