San Diego

Isn't it amazing that the Utah Bar Association has their conference in San Diego every four year.  It was a great excuse to get away.

We headed to St. George on July 1 and spent some quality time with the Tolman's at the Silver Creek pool.  It was a fun coincidence that their family has a vacation home in the same development as Mimi and Pop.  After celebrating the fourth in St. George we headed to San Diego.  We went to the San Diego Zoo, the beach and the USS Midway Museum among other things.  We also ate out so much that I have been excited to cook every night this week.  I don't say that very often.

Here are some fun pictures from our trip.

Watching the Koalas--turns out there isn't much to watch as they sleep a lot

Graham loves birds, but was cautious during this close encounter with a peacock.

Riding the Skyfari is a must!

Graham was more interested in singing to this plaque than watching the orangutans, who were very entertaining.

Clowning around with Drewbie and Jamison Tolman

Graham loved the beach.  We stayed right through his nap and he went into a nap-coma the second we got in the car.

Apparently sand doesn't bug this kid.

The USS Midway was very cool.  Graham got to climb in lots of planes and touch buttons galore.

We also spent a lot of time in Seaport Village, which was right across the street from our hotel.  Lots of fun sights and great food, especially the Greek restaurant.

Bikes

It is official, we are now a biking family.  Jesse got the Weehoo I-Go for Father's Day.  It is amazing!

I also got a new bike and besides our trip to San Diego and the crazy hours Jesse had to work before and after, we have been on the bike every evening and weekend that we could.  There is nothing better than exercising together as a family.

Last night we were getting ready for our evening ride and Graham climbed into the trailer without our help and this is what happened.

It is the worst feeling when your child gets hurt and the bump on his noggin was much worse in person, causing us to feel like inferior parents.

In an attempt to make Graham and ourselves feel better we headed to Harmons for some gelato (in the car and not on the bikes).  It worked.

Quirky

I guess all kids are quirky in their own way, but my son never ceases to amaze, amuse and sometimes concern me. 

Back in May we were at Grammie and Pa's house and he got his shorts dirty so he wore cousin Kate's home.  The next morning he wanted the exact same outfit of his shirt and Kate's shorts back on.  I put them over his jammies and he was pretty excited about it, which I thought was weird.

Last month this loose thread on Binky Bear caused a near colossal melt down. 

Sometimes I wonder about this kid.

Turning 30

Turning 30 isn't all that bad, especially when Beyonce also turns 30 this year.  Seems to lessen the blow.  We had a fun get together with friends and family.  Here are some pics of my "pretty in pink" party.

Although I didn't get any pictures of the adult guests, these are a great representation of how much fun the kids were having.

The BYU Football Cowboy Ball

Although this happened back in May, it still deserves a post because it was absolutely amazing!

The BYU Football team has a charity called "Thursday's Heroes" that connects the BYU players with kids who have special needs or who are experiencing challenging circumstances.  The kids get to go to the Thursday practice, hang out with the players, and get tons of awesome gear.

Holly Mendenhall put togther a fundraiser for the charity.  Due to the fact that Mimi and Pop know the Mendenhalls and they are very generous, we got an invite.  Thanks Mimi and Pop for a wonderful evening!

There was an auction to break some of the players out of jail.  Dinner with that player went to the highest bidder and Mimi and Pop bought JJ Di Luigi, starting running back.

Bruce and Mary Smith, friends of Mimi and Pop, are huge JJ fans.

We all had to get our picture with this guy.

Oh, and then there is the quarterback, Mr. Jake Heaps.

And Cody Hoffman, wide receiver. 

It was so fun to meet all the players, eat some amazing food, and dance to country music which is only allowed on this special occasion.  It got us totally stoked for football season.