Mirror Lake Reunion

 Last week we had our annual Phelps family reunion at Bear Lake, in the Uintahs.  It was such a nice time.

Skylar and Sarah and their family along with Brach and Kendra and their family were able to come.  Kaitlyn had doctor appts. for her kids and decided she did not want to see in a tent.  Gary was working (as usual) so he didn't come.  I thought he might come up for an afternoon to do some fi

We had pretty good weather with just one afternoon with showers for couple of hours.  The first night it rained but it was at bedtime and actually kind of fun to listen to the rain and thunder coming down.  It was really coming down hard and the thunder was really loud so I was worried about the kids in their tents.  Most of the kids are afraid of the thunder and lightening but luckily for Skylar and Sarah three of their kids fell right asleep when they got to their tent and slept right through it.  Brach and Kendra on the other hand got a little spooked along with their kids and hopped into their Suburban and stayed in it for a couple of hours.  Otherwise we had good weather throughout our stay.  I posted these pictures in a random order but her are some of the fun things we did....

Scavenger Hunt for the kids--Charles was the winner

Good Food:  Sarah made us sloppy joes with some side salads and a delicious breakfast of biscuits and gravy, sausage and fruit.  Kendra's meals included taco salad for dinner and a yogurt parfait bar with fruit for breakfast.  For our meal we made spaghetti with meat sauce, salad, sourdough bread, and melon.  We made smore's for dessert.

Playing at the Lake: We had lots of fun at the lake.  There was kayaking, fishing on grandpa's boat, fishing from the shore, paddle boarding, walking around the lake as well was as  getting little wet.  

Hiking:  Uncle Skylar took everyone (except me because of my knee) on a hike to Wall Lake.  The boys got out their float tubes and did a little fishing while the kids stripped down to their undies and hopped in the cold water!

Crafts:  I asked Sarah and Kendra to be in charge of the kids crafts this year.  They had fun painting rocks, carving soap, and decorating sticks into wands.  

Music:  Henry gave us a little taste of what he's been learning this summer in his online guitar class.  He is getting pretty good!  Skylar also did a little strumming.  One night we sang rounds around the campfire.  We made some good harmony!

Piñata:  Of course, this was a highlight!  Plenty of candy for everyone!

Movie Night:  It started sprinkling on us the night of our outdoor movie so Skylar and Sarah took their kids to their tent for a movie there.  Brach and Rafe had to leave for a baseball tournament so Kendra and the kids stayed in our trailer.  We watched Angels in the Outfield.  The kids fell asleep pretty quickly.  I dozed a little but woke up for the end;)

Fishing:  We all went fishing...EVEN ME!  Rick took the kids out on the boat while a few of them fished from the shoreline.  Both places were successful!  I got to go in the boat three different times and watched the kids catch their fish.  They had such a grand time.  I have never been into fishing but at one point Rick handed me the pole and I could actually feel the fish hitting.  And then all of a sudden I got one on!  I reeled and reeled only to have it flip off as it got close to the boat.  I didn't even see it!  The next time I tried I got another one reeled in and he flipped off before we could get hime into the boat but I got to see him this time.  Rick says it counts that I actually caught two fish but I think the rules should be once you get a fish INTO the boat THEN you can count it as a catch.  I'll try again when we get up to Mirror Lake again next month....

Needless to say we had a great reunion with lots of playing and being together! 

                                                     We love our family!

 

Knee Scope

Here we go again....

For the last two months my left knee has been giving me grief.  Just like last year when my right knee decided it didn't want to bend, the same thing happened to me starting two months ago in April.  

After getting an MRI and meeting with two orthopedic surgeons where I found out that I had a torn miniscus (in two places actually) and some bone spurs It was decided that I needed another surgery.  

I had my surgery scheduled for Thursday the 11th but on Monday I was carrying Eric into the garage (because he was having a meltdown since his mama had just left) and something popped inside my knee causing great pain.  I hobbled over to the counter in tears and Henry got me a chair to sit down on while I called Rick to see how close he was to home.  Luckily, he was just driving into town and was able to walk in the door in just a few minutes.  He called around to find someone to help give me a blessing.  He was able to get a hold of Russ Harrington who came right over.  Because I was in such pain and couldn't even walk, Rick called the hospital and got me scheduled for Wednesday instead.   So Wednesday it was.

At 8:30 Skylar, Sarah and the kids came over to wish me well. 

 Henry came up to me and said, "Grandma.  I am fasting for you."  

Well, if that didn't touch this grandma heart!  Henry is such a special boy with special feelings.

I knew all would be well.  

I went into the hospital at 9AM but didn't actually get into the operation until around 11:30.  I was home by 2:30.

I slept all of the day and all of the night with the anesthesia in my system.

Now I am just concentrating on healing.  I am in my second day and the swelling is settling in so it is causing some pain and discomfort so still just taking it easy.

 I should be back to normal in a few months...here's hoping. 

 

4th of July Festivities

We had a fantastic 4th of July this year!  It was a full day but lots of fun.  We started early with the 5k run.  At 7:30 those who wanted to run met out at the pavilion.  I was on kid duty so Skylar, Sarah, and Grandpa could run from our family.  DeeAnn was there along with Dan and Luke and some of the Harrington kids.  At the last minute Henry decided to run along side his dad.  Off they ran, and so I took the kids, including Dan's little Annie back to the house to decorate their bikes.  We brought out some decorations and got the job done.  Not before some of the runners made it back, though.  When we could see some runners coming we hurried back to the pavilion to cheer them on.  Luke was the first one back...Congrats, Luke!  Henry went the whole way with his dad.  It was tough, but he finished!  We are so proud of our Henry!

After the 5k we hurried back to get things ready for the afternoon luncheon. Rick was cooking up some baby back ribs and I was frosting cupcakes and making a broccoli salad.  By 10:15 we were ready to head off to the parade.  We took the rangers filled with kids to our preselected spot over by the First Baptist Church.  Clyde and Sharon were already there, and they helped get our shade up.  The parade is a pretty big deal with LOTS of people.  It is a fun tradition, and it's fun seeing all the kids be so excited about it.

They all got PLENTY of candy!  Here are some pictures...  

Rafe and his dad got to ride on his baseball team's float.

Rafe is on the far right; Brach on the far left.

                        After getting back from the town parade, the kids had their bike parade.

Next was our potluck lunch.

Gary didn't want to join us at the parade, but he came for the lunch and visiting part.

Jenni, Julie, Justin, Kendra, and Gary

For the next couple hours we just relaxed in the shade, visited and played corn hole and the ax throw.

It was a super nice day and not too hot.

We stopped by Grantsville park around 4:30 to donate to Rafe's ball team.  They had a cotton candy booth and a dunk tank.  They are trying to raise money to go to a baseball camp in New York.

At 7:30 we headed over to the Bomans' for their annual bbq and fireworks show.  Some of the Bomans came and some of our family came.  It turned out very nice:)

The fireworks were great, as usual, and we loved watching them.  Quite a large crown had gathered at Brach & Kendra's home for the fireworks, so just as they ended we headed home to miss the traffic.  We ran into some, but we got home fairly quickly.  Tired and happy, we went to bed!

                                                    Happy Birthday, America!