Camping with the Sagez Family (Ben's Dad)

After Ben picked me up from Salt Lake we headed up to our campsite in Mantua. We had been planning this camping trip for a long time. We finally got it planned for Labor Day. Ben had gone up on Thursday to get the trailer all set up and then heand Gabbi headed to work dinner party. After the party he and Gabbi went back up and they had a daddy daughter camping trip. Ben and Gabbi were up there Thursday night, all Friday, and Saturday morning. He said they had a blast. They went for walks, sat outside and looked at the scenery, read books (Ben) and pretty much did what ever they wanted. Then when they came to get me, we headed up there and the rest of the family was supposed to meet us there that day. We got up there around noon. Ben's brother, sister-in-law, and sister came up around 1:30, and his dad, step mom, and uncle came up around 4:00, and his grandparents also came up, but it was the next day just for the afternoon. On Saturday we spent time around the campfire just taking and catching up on the things we have all missed. Ben had a blast seeing his brother and his dad. It was like old times. Sunday was the day that Ben was really looking forward to. His dad owns a horse shoe game and Ben's best times are when he is playing this game with his dad. But this was even better, his brother was there, his uncle, and his grandfather. They're were challenges after challenges all afternoon. Us women had to "beg" pretty much to even get to play. We did pretty good defeating some of the men's teams. But over all the men played and we had to drag them away to even eat lunch. As soon as lunch was over they went back to the game. The only reason why the game ended was because it started to rain. Brian and Karen, his brother and sister-in-law, had to run quickly to get there stuff taken down and put in the back of their truck so they could leave. It was literally a mad dash. Then the rest of us spent the rest of the night in the trailers because it didn't stop raining. We did take a drive farther up the camp to go look at a fire that had been started by the lighting, but because of the rain, there wasn't much left. WHich of course is a good things. The rest of the night it just rained and rained. We did get to play card games in the trailer and we even watched a movie, but it still would have been better if the rain stopped and we could spend time outside. That's why we were there, to spend time outside. It rained all night long and only stopped a few times for only an hour at the most. When we got up the next morning, Monday, Ben and I were in charge of breakfast. So we got up and got everything cleaned up and put away before we started to make breakfast. When we were done cooking we all went into Nelson and Deann's trailer to eat and then we cleaned the rest of it up and hitched ourselves back to the jeep and headed down the mountain. It still had not stopped raining, but at least it had lightened up a little bit so we could leave. Over all it was a great time with his family. Even though it rained the majority of the time, it was still a really good camping trip and a time we will never forget :)

Swiss Days

As a tradition my mom and I take a trip to Swiss days. Mom has been going for years, but this is my third year going. Swiss Days is a giant craft fair held in Heber. People come from all over to sell the crafts they have made. Every year it seems to get bigger and bigger. This year felt like it had the most people that I have seen in my three years going. My mom and I go with the same group of ladies each year. Occasionally we will get a new face to add to the group. The weekend starts off with shopping in Park City at the outlet stores and when we are finally tired of shopping we go to check into our hotel and then head out to get some dinner. The next morning we get up really early in order to get a good parking spot even though none of the booths are set up or ready to sell. The entire days consists of shopping at all the booths, looking for the best item and the best price. This year I was looking for bows for Gabbi, last year it was baby stuff in general, and my first year was wedding items. I seem to always have something specific that I am looking for. But in the process of looking for bows for Gabbi, I found some things for my self too. After a very long morning of shopping we wait in the long lines for the famous food they have there (scones, Navajo tacos, and chicken sandwiches). The scones are the best. After we rested and ate, we do more shopping checking out the booths we missed our first time around. Finally after everyone is done, we headed back to the hotel where we got some dinner and played games in the commons room at the hotel. The next morning we get up early again and got ready to check out. Those who wanted to could head back to Swiss days to pick up some items that they may not have gotten the first day. After we were done shopping we headed to Salt Lake. Every year we also go to a show. So we will head down to Salt Lake and go around shops there and then we head to the show. This year I had Ben pick me up at our first shop we stopped at because we were going camping with his dad. So after showing Gabbi off for a few minutes Ben and I got in the car and headed out to meet his family for a weekend of camping. Swiss Days was a blast this year, the best part is I get to spend it with my mom. It's out special thing we do together.

Hiking to Waterfall Canyon

Gabbi loves the outdoors. If we let her she would stay outside all day long. So when my best friend, Melissa text me on Friday night about hiking Ben was all for it. He love hiking and Gabbi loves the outdoors, so it would be fun to go for them. I am not that good at hiking and I am really slow when I hike, but Ben thought it would be really fun, so we decided to go. We got some thing ready that night and headed to ben because we would have to get ready early to meet them up there. When we got up that morning, we finished packing the hiking back pack witht the items Gabbi would need if she got hungry or needed a diaper change, and the goodies and water we would need. We Got Gabbi ready and we got ready and then we headed out. We meet them at

the base of the hiking trail and when we all got there we headed out. It had been a while before

I had been on that hike and it seemed much harder now then it was when I went on it in high school. It was very rocky and lots of obsticles to cross, but eventually we made it to the top. I tended to slow everyone down a little bit, but we still made it. When we got up there the breeze and the spray from the waterfall felt great. It made the hike worth it. Gabbi loved it. She co'ed and gaga'ed the whole time. Ben carried her in her carrier back pack and she just loved it. We thought she would sleep, but nope, she was a wake the whole time and loved the view. We took some pictures, fed Gabbi and then headed back done. The trip down always seems faster then the hike up and a lot easier. But our fun came to an end when we got back down to the bottom. It was a great moring to be outside and to spend time with some really good friends.

Camping with the Wise Family (Ben's Mom)

This summer we have been trying to make sure that we fit in the entire family. Well events with each family. A family reunion with my parents, wheat and beet days with Ben's dad, and now we have been able to go camping with Ben's Mom and the family. This is the second time that we have gone camping with them this summer, I just forgot to bring the camera that time. But I made sure I didn't forget on this outing. Because of Drill that weekend we weren't able to stay the night, but as soon as Ben was done with drill on Saturday, we made our way up to the damp site. They like to go to the campsite called the Meadows. Just down from the Causey dam. While we were there we played games, the kids went fishing and swam in the river, we went for walk around the campsites and then of course grilled dinner and the famous s'mores afterwards. It was a lot of fun to see the whole family together. We were only missing Angel, her husband and baby and Robert. But Robert is in Kuwait right now, so he really couldn't be there. Over all we had a great time even though we weren't able to enjoy the whole camping experience, like sleeping in a tent.

New Family Pictures

At our Family Reunion this year, we all had our Family pictures done. A much needed update.

Williams Family Reunion

This year was my mom's turn to plan the Williams family reunion. She was inspired by the movie's National Treasure and National Treasure 2, to have a scavenger hunt for the reunion. The hunt took us all around Logan where my mom and her siblings grew up. The whole family was split into 3 different teams and Jenny, Jeff and I were the team leaders to help our teams find the different location and figure out their clues. Our first clue took us to the Logan Aquatic Center for fun and water challenges. Ben and I were hoping to be able to put Gabbi in the water and have her enjoy it. Her last time in the water was not the best. But this time we went slowly. We started with her feet and made our way down. Eventually we had her completely in the water and even in her floating toy. She loved it. She was laid back and loved being able to kick her feet int he water. He were very glad that she had a much better experience. Challenge 1 was the biggest splash, Challenge 2 was the best belly flop, Challenge 3 was quickest dive for 5 diving rings, and Challenge 4 was best score in the golf ball toss game. The Yellow team, maned by Jeff and Tiffany won the prize from the water park, a package of goldfish crackers and a tennis racket for the next challenge. That night we went back to the hotel and had dinner with everyone and played games on the Wii and the X-box. The night at was not the best one for us though. Gabbi got up almost every hour. We weren't sure what was wrong because this wasn't like her. But we did the best we could, but neither of us got very much sleep. But we didn't want that to effect us because the nest day was full of fun things to do. So the next clue took us to the Logan water resavore. Before we got going on our next challenge we took a large family picture. It was the first year that we had everyone there, so it was the best time to take it. At the resavore we were to make cardboard box boats and get across the "lake" to capture our team flag. The racket won in the previous challenge could be used as an oar. The first team back would win the next prize. The green team, our team, finished first, but we were disqualified because our swimmers feet touched the ground. So by default the Orange team, maned by Jenny and Brian, won. The got a hint to figure out the next clue and a box a Chip's O Hoy cookies. We took a break for lunch and then headed to the Celebration Center for out next set of Challenges. Everyone figured out their clues, but it took them a while. They were almost an hour late. So we started without them. We bought out tickets to ride the different rides and when everyone else came we would do the next challenge. Our family rode the Go cart's, it's one of our favorites and the kids all played inside on their soft gym. Everyone had a really good time there. The Challenge at the park was the best accumulated score in miniature golf. Our team was on a role. We were the winners of that challenge with everyone on our team scoring a 33 or below. Yeah Green Team! We won a box of pringles chips and a cipher for the next clue. The next clue took us the the Logan Fun Park were our challenges were the best accumulated score on laser tag and bowling. It was so much fun to see all the adults really get into laser tag. Even Grandma Shupe played. It was a great finish to the day. The Yellow team took that challenge as well. They won a bumper sticker telling them were the next slue was going and a box of hostess cupcakes. After the Fun park we headed back to the hotel for the night. That night was much better with Gabbi. She actually slept. Both Ben and I got out much needed sleep. In the morning our next clue took us to the place were we would be eating. We went to Angie's Restaurant. Very popular for Logan. The real place to eat. There everyone received their treasure. The little chocolate coins and a picture frame. The picture frame was a signature frame, so we had everyone sign the frame and then we put the family picture in it that we had taken at the resivore. It turned out great and everyone loved the picture. Over all a great success for the reunion. Everyone was together, worked together, and had a blast together.

Medsker Client Appreciation Party

This is the 2nd time we have gone to the Mike Medsker Client Appreciation Party. It is so much fun. Jenny is one of the main people in charge of the event and we are glad to go and help her with the kids and have fun ourselves. Both years we have gone now we have won something in the raffle as well. Last year a bar-b-cue set and this year office supplies. This year they also took every one's picture, we got to dress up as sailors and such. It was a great night. We took Gabbi with us so we could see if she liked the water. We borrowed my brother's floating toy and placed her in it. I have never seen her so mad. She just started to cry. So we took her out and just sat with her. That wasn't as bad, but you could still tell that she wasn't that happy. We are both hoping that she was only mad because she was tired. She hadn't sleep at all that day. But Ben thinks it was because the water was too cold. We have a family reunion coming up and we hope that experience is better. Well back to the party. We had a blast with Kayden jumping off the diving boards and being able to play on the big toys with Miranda and Cameron. Even though Cameron said is was cold he still didn't want to get out of the water. Dinner, games, and swimming, the night was a great success.