July Madness

The past couple of weeks were crazy busy!  But also super fun.  Here's a quick rundown of what happened (in no particular order):

• My sister had her baby. 
• My husband and I hit our one-year mark.
• Attended the Flake reunion.
• Went to the McCleve reunion.
• Celebrated July 24th.
• Traveled in a car a total of about 28-30 hours (there and back).
• Our baby is 34 weeks old.

Who knew so much could happen in two weeks? 

The reason for all this madness is that Jayze and I were able to go to Snowflake for the 24th Celebration, plus some.  Rexburg is about 14 hours away from Snowflake, and we did the trip in one go on the way down.  We traveled with Jayze's sister and brother-in-law, NaElle and Cody, and their toddler, Crue.  It actually wasn't too bad.  We had to stop more (thanks to my pregnant body), but we made it safely.  It helped that we had four drivers in the car because we were able to rotate all night.  We left Rexburg around 9:00p.m. and arrived in Snowflake around 11:30a.m.  It always amazes me how excited I am to make it to Holbrook (those who know the area know why).  From there it's only 30 more minutes to Snowflake.  And dang, it felt soooooo good to be in Snowflake!  Jayze and I hadn't been there since Christmas.  Home is definitely where family is.  I don't think I would like being there quite as much if my family didn't live there.

The same day we got to Snowflake, we went to the Melodrama with my dad and sister, Felicia that Jayze's sister and brother-in-law, Jewel and Steve, were in that night.  It was so much fun!  I was a little skeptical of how it was going to turn out (I don't think I had ever been to a melodrama in my life).  Jewel and Steve did an amazing job - they pretty much stole the show, but maybe I'm a little biased.  :)  Wish I had thought to bring my camera!

That weekend was the Flake reunion, as well as the 24th Celebration.  I was able to have a small, breakfast baby shower before the Flake rodeo, which was so fun.  Jayze's mom and sisters helped plan and decorate for that.  It turned out really cute.  Getting baby clothes made it seem even more real that this baby is going to come out soon....

 Still making me laugh after almost a year of being married.  :)

The rodeo was really fun to watch.  I sat with the Flake's (who else?) and watched my husband wrestle cows and steers and whatever else was out there. 

The parade was on Saturday.  Sadly, I was not able to watch it because...I was in it!  Steve conned, coerced, begged, kindly asked Jayze and I to sit on the Wells Fargo wagon and wave.  It was actually pretty cool to sit in an authentic Wells Fargo wagon.  Plus, it rained towards the end of the parade, so it was good being all nice and dry. 

 Jayze, his sister Jewel, and two of her kids, Maggie and Clark.

The silly kid just wanted a funny picture!  Hence, him sticking out his tongue. 

On Sunday, we watched the play, "What Power Can Stay the Heavens."  My mom had a huge part in bringing it together, so it was neat to go watch it.  It's a play about the prophet Joseph Smith's life.  The Spirit was really strong throughout the whole thing.  I'm so grateful for Joseph Smith and all he did in restoring the gospel.  He was an amazing man.

The next week was pretty chill, which was nice.  We just hopped back and forth between the McCleve and Flake families.  I'm a little sad though, because I realized I took lots of pictures when we were with the Flake's but not so much the McCleve's.  Next year, I will remember to bring my camera battery charger!  :) 

Jayze and I hit our one-year mark on July 31st.  We had already celebrated it in Rexburg (we didn't really feel like celebrating in Snowflake), so we just took it easy that day.  We slept in, watched a movie, ate tons of watermelon and cantaloupe (thank you Dad!), and ate dinner and played games with my dad and grandma that night.  It was a good day. 

The McCleve reunion was wayyyyyy fun too.  Jayze and I actually slept in a tent!  Our first time camping together! It rained cats and dogs on Friday, but thankfully our tent didn't get toooo wet.  And I was grateful sleeping in a tent wasn't uncomfortable, even being 8 months pregnant.  We played games, ate lots of food, chatted with family, took pictures, did crafts, watched and participated in the horseshoe tournament, and had no phone service the entire time (which was nice because then I could focus on the moment better). 

It was soooooo good being with family again.  And what's great is I was able to see my sister, her husband, and their adorable little newborn on the way back up to Idaho!  They named him Breck Silas Andersen, and he is just so perfect.  When we walked into their apartment, I could feel the Spirit really strong.  I think that comes from Emily and Silas, but even more because of a little baby that just came from Heavenly Father.  I'm so grateful I was able to hold that little baby and hope my baby turns out as cute as him.  :)  Only 6 more weeks....

Welp, that about sums up the past couple of weeks.  Happy July!  Now on to August...