20 Years and 2 months...and counting!

I remember when I was newly married and someone in my ward asked me how long I had been married, I think I said something like,

"oh we've been married for a while, I think it's been about a year and a half..." 

The person smiled, and laughed,

"yeah, that's a pretty long time!" 

 I didn't understand why it wasn't considered a long time, we had friends that had only been married for 3 months or so, and we felt like experts compared to them...

HOWEVER,

 now that 20 years have passed, I do feel like I've learned a thing or two!!  It's been a wonderful journey and I look forward to the next 20..!    :)

We were married on June 28th, 1991, in the Salt Lake Temple.  Two young kids, stepping out into the world together, so happy!  Such a great time!

Not so young, but still making it in the world, together!  20 years is a big deal, and we wanted to celebrate in style, so we started to plan a trip.  Should we go to Europe?  How about a cruise?  We'd been to Hawaii...love to go again...but then we started thinking, well, Alyssa needs a car, and we have a few things left on the basement to finish...our practical personalities took over so we decided to go to Midway, UT and enjoy a few days in this quaint Swiss town.  We had so much fun bee-bopping around on Karl's Vespa scooter and just eating in fun little restaurants, and basically just relaxing. 

It was perfect for us!!  

So blessed to be married to Karl!!

Camps and Camping

This summer has been full of

camps and camping. 

 

Parker had his week long Deacon's camp in July, and happened to be at Scofield when another scout (not in our ward) was hit and killed by lightening. Needless to say, I was exceptionally anxious to get my boy home.

Alyssa headed off to Girls Camp at Heber Valley Young Women camp. 

Best camp yet, according to her!! 

Connor and Parker have 1 1/2 months together as Deacons before Parker moves on to the Teacher's quorum, so they were excited to go on a campout together.

Our Cousin Avery spent a week with us.  We took her to Payson Lakes, and played, played, played!

The boys had a blast jumping off the dock...

At first I was a little nervous sending two 8yr. olds out in the keyak on their own, but they proved to be great rowing machines out there!

Connor turned 12yrs. old on Aug. 10th, so we invited two friends to come up and spend the day with us at Payson Lakes.  We love Kobe and Chase!

After a day in the water, the kids started to get a little cold and tired, so Alyssa decided to play a game with them.  They thought it was great that a cool teenager would sit down and play with them.  :)

Of course a campout wouldn't be complete without...S'MORES!

The sweetest picture!  My dad and Parker share a love of fishing.  They got up early and headed down to the lake...were they successful?  Wait and see...

My parents brought up a yummy chocolate cake for Connor. Yummy!

What's that you ask???  

Yup, they were successful! 

We all enjoyed a couple bites of trout!  Soooo good!

Time together always breeds creativity..sometimes this is a good thing, other times...not so much.  This time however it was hilarious!  The kids tied all their boats together and then made my mom pull them along in the keyak...

Payson Lakes...Such a fun tradition!

Never-ending Projects!

I married a man that HAS to always have a project going, or he gets antsy. 

Pros:  stuff gets done around my house, he never leaves things undone, and I know that all I have to do is post something on my "honey-do" list and it's as good as done. 

 Con's:  He gets a little (lot) obsessed until the project is completed, and looses sleep, thinking of ways to do it better. 

Take a look at this summer's project.  It started as a little covering for our sandpile, and turned into a beautiful, way too nice for a sandpile, pavillion.

Crazy guy!  It's a wonder he made it without injury!

Karl always pulls in our kids to help.  They have learned everything from how to measure accurately with a measuring tape, to using power tools.

Karl's 82 yr. old dad frequently helps us with projects.  He and Karl are 2 of a kind!!

Beautiful isn't it?? 

Karl created this in his head, and somehow made it a reality, without any construction plans or professional help. Now I get to find some nice patio furniture and make it a perfect reading nook for me!!