Drove 1951 miles, spent lots of $$ on gas, stayed in 4 different places, Memories with family and Friends... Priceless

Our first Summer vacation was a success. We dove lots of miles and everyone was a trooper. We have all memorized the lines to Alvin and the Chipmunks as it continued to be the movie of choice for driving. We stayed in Reno the first night. Cris was able to visit a customer and we stopped to see the Reno Temple before heading on to Calf.



We stayed in Mammoth Lakes, CA for the next three nights. What a fun place! It is a ski resort town but there is plenty to do in the off season. It was wonderful to see all of the Richardson clan. It was the first time in a long time Cris and his siblings were together. We got to meet the newest additions to the family. Kellon Graham - 3 months old and Rusty's girlfriend, Leah. The kids were so excited to be with their cousins. They have missed having them so close and I thought for sure they were going to hide in the van so they could go back to Phoenix with them. Rusty was our tour guide and took us hiking to Rainbow Falls. It was so beautiful and the kids did well on the 3 mile hike. Syd especially enjoyed riding on Dad's shoulders. We went swimming several times, played at the park, ate lots of good food and played a mean game of wiffle ball.





Then it was on to the second leg of the trip which meant a nights stay in Ely, NV. It was the half way point to SLC. Seriously Aunt Marilyn, not sure how you lived there as long as you did. We did see that Wilson Bates is still standing and open for business. We spent the next few days visiting with family and catching up with old friends and celebrating cousin Jeff's wedding. Thanks Trudy and Lance for letting us invade your home.

We also got to hang out with Renchers. Jen and I have been BFF since kindergarten and have made lots of memories over the years. It was great catching up on life and watching our kids play and enjoy each other's company. Jen posted some great pictures of us as kids on her blog. Classic 80's and 90's looks! Thanks Jen for the stroll down memory lane.



Thankfully while staying with Aunt Trudy Cris, Syd and I found our true calling in life. Rockstars!! We are seriously addicted to playing it and stayed up a little too late one night. Is it really bad parenting when you keep saying just a minute to a tired Syd cause you want to finish your song? Thanks Devin for teaching us the Rockband skills!

Sum Sum Summertime

The last couple of weeks have been a crazy blur. We had a great time in Burley. The boys went fishing but weren't very successful. Hopefully, next time it won't be raining so they can go to the good spots. But all in all Alex had a great birthday weekend.




School is out (as of last Wed.) and my excitement was quickly fading in the first few hours we were all home. Continuous comments like this -- I'm bored. I'm hungry. Can we have a friend over? I don't want to do that. You're mean mom. AHHHH. So we made a schedule and things have been running much smoother. We went to the Zoo , had friends over and went swimming last week. Not warm enough for me to swim, but thank goodness the pool is heated and the kids had fun. We had a busy but fun weekend. The guys and their families at Cris work came over for dinner Sat night. Thankfully, they brought most of the food. His one coworker makes the best italian food. Yummy! Sunday we had to speak in church and thankfully it is over. Special thanks to Steph and Jake for keeping the kids quiet during Sacrament. The best part was we were invited to a family in the wards house for lunch and Steph and Jake's for dinner. We also got to try out the Bennett's new Wii. Maybe Santa should start shopping for one. Tomorrow we head for Mammoth Lakes, CA and then Utah for a wedding. Should be some good family times. Most of Cris' family will be there.