24th of July Activities

We were able to get our new spot for the parade. We didn't get there until 7:30, but we were still able to just set up without any problem. Most of the people around us were older couples, and all the families were in front of us. What was ironic was that one couple and one large family in our vacinity were all from our stake! These flags were from the pre-parade show.
Sara, Whitney and Banner got there just as the parade was about to start. We enjoyed having them with us.


This was one of our favorites -- the mule would pull back while the figure would pull forward. It was quite humorous. Gabe took these next few pictures. He didn't do too bad.
Banner was really tired. It shows.




This was a float of Utah originals. This girl is supposed to be the "Original Fry Sauce."
After the parade was over (which Gabe felt was a little too long), we made plans to go up to our favorite picnic spot. Madi got off work earlier in the afternoon, so she was able to join us. We were lucky to get a table! The place was full, and when we left, there was a very large group that wanted our spot.

John, Banner and Gabe went climbing up the mountain for a ways. This is there descent.

One of the rocks coming down is the perfect slippery slide. This is Gabe and Banner sliding on the rock.




The picnic--It was a great day. After the picnic, we went home to rest for a bit, put John to bed and then the rest of us went to the fireworks. It was a great end to a great day.

Just to end on today -- I finally got all the curtains for the house done. The blue ones are in Gabe's room, and the blue in the fabric just matches the blue on the walls. I got that fabric at Ikea.

These are the sheers for the living room. The hardest part of these was getting them evenly cut!
Well, until next time. . . .

For the 24th Parade

John, Gabe and I are thinking about going to the same parade-watching spot we went to last year. It was a shady spot, cool and pleasant during the entire parade, and there weren't a lot of people there, either. There were even port-a-potties available right there. We thought we would invite anyone who may be interested to come join us. It is at the old library on the corner of 200 East and 500 South. Bring chairs (or you can sit on the cement wall) and treats or anything else you want to. We parked in the Sweet Water building about a block to the east of the library.

Let us know!

This and That

So, we decided to go back to our picnic spot for Family Home Evening. We put together some tinfoil dinners to cook, as well as the fixin's for s'mores. We even had our lesson up there. It was a little windy down in the valley that day, but it was perfect in the canyon.
Tennyson was part of our family for the week. Madi and Arden really seemed to enjoy having her here with them this week.
Gabe blowing bubbles. He made sure we all had our own bottles to blow from.
The dinners prior to cooking--
The cooking -- they turned out perfect! We didn't even burn them! I didn't take pictures of the s'mores process, but they were good, too. However, we did have to put the chocolate in the creek to harden it up.


Here's are a few pictures from Arden's birthday--



I finally got the curtains done for the downstairs tv room and the bedroom. Now I'm working on a set for the living room. Hopefully, I'll blog them next time.

Our garden -- the corn is higher now since I took these pictures.
Corn and tomatoes --
Beans and potatoes --
First crop of beans -- DELICIOUS!


I hope all is going well with everyone else. We love reading your blogs, and we look forward to seeing everyone next week for the double celebration: Maren's #4 and, what was the other? Oh, yeah! Whitney!!!!!!!! YEA!!!!!!!!!!

Family Reunion

John finally had a whole weekend off! I think in the years since we got married, I've been to more of the Jorgensen Family Reunions than he has. But, because the 4th was on Saturday, he actually had 2 days off in a row! He was really excited to get out of town and do something fun!

We took the scenic route to Castle Dale. Fairview and Huntington Canyons were absolutely beautiful! They were so green and lush. At the top, right along the Skyline Drive road, we even found snow!


This is the view of the Fairview Valley (or whatever it is called) from the top of Skyline Drive.

Most of the flowers are gone by now, but there were a few of these yellow little ones.

Arden and Gabe at the Summit. This is at least 2400 feet higher than Soldier Summit. I think we read Soldier Summit as only 72?? feet.
Here is some of the crew at the Reunion. It was good to see Sara's pictures, too.
Brooks -- having the time of his life! It wasn't all bad, was it?
I've never seen a dutch oven this big! This was huge! John says it looks like something pulled off the bottom of a train and pounded into a dutch oven. The meat was sure good!
Gabe had a great time. All that running around gave him red cheeks, as usual.

Arden's "What do you want?" look.
Gabe had quite the audience with those bubbles! They were all lined up to see what he could do. This is just one of the groups he entertained. Such a little showman!



This shot is from the house just before we left. It had rained off and on all day, but in between storms, the sky was just as blue as it could be. Even the clouds were beautiful!

Well, there isn't a lot here, but I hope you enjoy our view of the family reunion.