24th of July & Ashby Reunion

On the 24th we headed over to my mom and dad's to swim and BBQ. Ethan loves the slide and thinks he's so cool to sit at the bottom and fall into Kurt's arms. It's pretty dang cute. Phil & Alaina had a family reunion so they weren't able to make it, but my aunt and cousins came, so we had quite the crew.

Pioneer Day has always just been another holiday, another day off work, but as I've gotten older I have much more respect for the Pioneers who came across the plains and settled into the valley. Maybe it's because I really realize what they went through to make it to Salt Lake. I'll admit, I think Heavenly Father knew that I wouldn't make it, I would have given up on the side and probably died, so he saved me for a different day and age. I'm so grateful for those that had the strength to come across and settle here in Utah. The Salt Lake Valley is beautiful and I love living here.

Ethan loves any type of ball. He yells "ball" every time he see anything that looks remotely like a ball. After we ate Ethan high tailed it for the sport court and stayed there forever and played with all the basketballs all by himself. I love the concentrated looks he has to make when he picks it up. It's as big as him but he could care less.

Ashby Reunion
Today we had the annual Ashby Reunion. This year we had it up at the Spruces for the day. Kurt and I were able to make it up there this afternoon and stayed for dinner. It's always fun to see everyone. The family is getting huge and it seems like we only see each other on special occasions. Ethan had fun throwing rocks in the stream, getting dirty, eating any food he could find, pulling faces at anyone who talked to him, and did I mention getting dirty?

Here's everyone in the Ashby crew. I tried to get pictures of everyone but missed a lot of the kids since they were busy with Hal catching squirrels. Lynette has eight siblings including herself, and all but two were there. Here are a few pictures I captured of everyone.