Casper, Lovell, Historic Sites, Utah ~July 2015

Grandma and Grandpa Sorensen picked us up from Cheyenne and took us home to Casper. My mom wrote this note to me from Gordon B. Hinkley and I wanted to remember it. We were welcomed by cousins and went to eat at JC Burgers and get ice cream.

Grandpa came with us miniature golfing with the boy cousins. Its a tradition whenever we go to Casper. They had fun and of course enjoyed ice cream afterwards.

We like to play in the sprinklers in Grandma's backyard.

We left Casper for a few days to go to Lovell and see Great Grandpa Brown who is 97. Once we got to Lovell we bought some fireworks to prepare for the 4th of July.

We love to see Grandpa Brown. We picked him up and took him to Aunt Karen's house for a visit and then out to lunch.

Cristy and her family also came to Lovell. On the 4th of July we went rock sledding. You sit

on a cardboard box and slide. It was pretty fun. We also rolled stink bombs down the hill.

Later we went to Russ' parents house. They have a great garden and we picked some veggies to eat with dinner. Russ grilled some delicious meat and we ate, visited and hung out most of the day. When is started getting dark we lit a bunch of different fireworks. Everyone was having such a blast until one bottle rocket went crazy after AJ lit it and it went straight into his eye. It was scary and sad and horrible. Russ got ice for it right away. It wasn't on the pupil, but burnt the white part of his eye and some of his eyelid. We gave him some medicine and headed for Casper first thing to see an eye doctor.

On our way to Casper we drove through the Bighorns. We saw some animals and lots of flowers, even some Indian Paintbrush which is the state flower.

Aaron was so excited to see some snow still on the mountains.

Just playing around at Grandma's house and taking them out for breakfast.

After a few days in Casper we headed to Utah to spend time with Cara's family and attend Stephen and Sarah's wedding. We stopped to see many of the historic sites on the way. Our first stop is Independence Rock. We climbed all over it and made some memories.

Daddy and Aaron climbed to the top of the rock and took some good pictures.

Its hard to see but Daddy and Aaron are waving from the top.

Next we headed to Martin's Cove to teach the kids about the pioneers who crossed this area and to explore the visitors center. My parents come out to help the older couple missionaries who are assigned here to give tours and teach about the many experiences the pioneers had here.

This is an exact replica of the hand carts many pioneers used to carry all of their possessions and food. Not much space and required people to pull and push it. I admire these great ancestors who sacrificed so much to have religious freedom.

Once we pulled into Utah we were greeted by Cara and her boys. We drove over to their shave ice shack Northern Ice and enjoyed some yummy desserts. We usually come here every day we are in Utah.

The next morning we went with my sister Cara, her sons Nathan and Stephen with his fiance Sarah, my brother Kelly, his wife Emily and daughter on a hike to the falls nearby. Stephen and Sara are the cutest couple and so fun! The hike wasn't to hard but gave us a good workout and lots of beautiful views.

On the way down it rained and felt so good. The boys had a rock throwing competition also.

My dad made delicious cinnamon rolls for everyone! He is the best!

All the boys took Stephen out shooting and Uncle Kelly taught Aaron how to shoot.

The next morning we went on another hike to the top of a big rock. Audrey, Cami and her baby joined us this time.

The view from the top was awesome! What a great hike! We had a great time being together.

Someone took a bunch of selfies... I'm so happy these 2 found each other and we've made some wonderful memories with them the last few days.

Cara and her grandson are the just adorable. I love this sister of mine. She has always been my hero!

Daddy decided to run along then down the mountain. He took a great selfie here. The rest of us made our way down enjoying nature as we returned to Cara's house.

Cara treated herself and Audrey to a foot soak while she finished up bow ties for the wedding and reception.

Later we went to the fish farm to feed fish. Audrey absolutely loved it and Aaron tried to feed all the small fish he could find. A lot of the family came along which made it that much more fun.

The girls all helped Cara prepare decorations for the grooms lunch after the wedding. I loved having everyone together and I know Cara appreciated all the help. It's the best working alongside your family! Next we headed to the church and definitely had an adventure hanging the ceiling decorations, setting up and decoration the tables. Aaron and I bought a bunch of rotisserie chickens to add to what other family members brought to feed this decorating crew.

The reception Sarah's parents put on was beautiful. Stephen and Sarah decided to have their reception before the wedding. That way they could just leave for their honeymoon after the Groom's luncheon directly following the wedding tomorrow. At the reception we ate, danced, visited and just had a fabulous time.

Aaron and some of the kids were fighting over this toy gun so I gave it to daddy to hold. When I looked back I saw this pose he looked exactly like a real handsome FBI agent. I love this pic!

We have made some amazing memories with Stephen and Sarah and our extended family these last few days. Families are forever!!

Audrey could not get over how beautiful Sarah was in her wedding dress. She danced with her every chance she could.

Love my mom and dad so much!

Best dad ever!!

The big day is here. The temple ceremony was beautiful and heavenly. My happy place is in the temple with my husband, but add any other family members and its just heavenly! After the ceremony we waited outside in any shade we could find while we waited for the newlyweds to come out for pictures.

After the wedding we headed to the church we decorated for lunch and somehow I didn't get any pictures except the kids standing by this amazing temple drawing cousin Kyle drew for Stephen.

We all helped clean up afterwards and I found Cody wrapping up Aaron. I love to see Aaron connecting with his cousins.

After the luncheon Daddy and Kelly couldn't wait to get some donuts we heard about. They were really good and not your usual donuts. We had a great time staying with Kelly and his family in a house we all rented for the few days we were in Utah.

This is my brother Lane. His girls Bella and Alice love to play with Audrey and there was a lot of playing while we were at Cara's house. They hung out the whole time we were together.

We went with Lane's family to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir record "Music and The Spoken Word". It was amazing! So inspiring and just plain awesome! I love real music that moves me and brings me closer to God.

We got to spend an afternoon with my dear friend Becky Wooten and her family. The kids were playing and next thing we knew all of them were dirty. Must have had some serious fun! Sadly this is the only picture I have with little Gwen in the back.

Cara and David holding Audrey's hand here took us to a beautiful garden and we walked around and enjoyed some of the beautiful nature that Utah produces. There was a huge rose garden and we couldn't get enough of them.

Back at home Audrey and I are out shopping in Daddy's car and loving the wind blow our hair crazy!

Aaron went to Camp Invention and on the last day we got to visit and see his creations and projects.

We love going to the movies with Daddy!!

Little princess has lost her first tooth!

Audrey attended a gymnastics camp and loved it. Her favorite part was jumping into the cheese pit/foam pit.

We are a donut loving family! Almost every Saturday we get donuts with Daddy. I've never found any as good as Grandpa Sorensen's donuts but we still enjoy them.