Summer Memories

Summer was filled with many highlights. One of the best parts was spending time with family. Mom and Dad Whiting came for a visit and then drove with us to California for Geoff and Arlene Hymas' wedding in New Port beach.

We loved seeing Mom and Dad so relaxed since their retirement.  We spent hours relaxing by the pool, playing games, exercising, visiting all Mom's siblings, eating frozen yogurt (mom and my favorite) and just being together.

Then we drove to California where we stayed in the hotel Portofino Yacht Club. It  had the most amazing  ocean view.  As soon as we arrived we jumped on bikes they provided for us at the hotel and rode up and back the boardwalk to Manhattan beach. 

We went canoeing in the bay out our hotel. We were able to get so close to the seals,  maybe a little too close thanks to Wade.

We spent a day with the Hymas' family at Newport beach.  I always love being with this family, they are so much fun.  We just relaxed, watched the kids swim in the water, and then had a bombfire on the beach where we cooked dinner.

Geoff and Arlene's wedding reception was held on a Yacht.  Such breath taking views and sunsets surrounded us.  It was a beautiful evening and so fun to catch up with all Wade's cousins and family.

What a memory that we will cherish.  We love you Hymas family and are so happy for Geoff and Arlene in their new life together.  Thanks Mom and Dad for making the trip twice as fun with you there.

Fourth of July "Traditions" Endure

Our tradition of Old Navy matching flag shirts continued even though we were in four different states.  It is hard for me to get used to the fact, that we may not always get to be together for the holidays, but we can still continue on with our family traditions which keep us connected.

  We spent the fourth of July at Nana and Paul's cabin.  Relaxing vacation was the goal for this little get-a-way!  Wade and I love to read in the hammock.  Jake brought his friend Brandon and they fished and played games.  And don't forget the "Tradional" fourth of July cake we made and enjoyed eating.

We had the most spectacular display of fireworks ever to be seen and we have seen them all over the U.S., but this topped it all.  It was a beautiful setting over the lake.  Our view on the grass hill next to the lake felt like they were just for us.  It was a perfect night with a coolness left over from the mist of moisture we received.  It was almost the perfect 4th, but I have to admit we all really missed having the whole family together.

Sewing Marathon

This years quilt retreat was an adrenaline rush in more ways than one.  We went on the zip-line at Kelly's cabin in the white mountains.  It is a thrill and gets your heart pumping.  The other adrenaline rush is sewing every minute without any interruptions.  I think this is as close to Heaven as it gets.  I absolutely "Adore" all these women and our friendships that grow with time.  "Friends that quilt together stay together".  I never realized how addicting and exciting quilting is.  Spending three days at Kelly's cabin is "Never" enough. Her cabin is nestled in the pines and is such an amazing resort setting. 

Our strong addictive desire to finish our projects didn't leave us much time to do anything else but quilt.  We never took a break to watch a movie in her movie theatre but we did take breaks to eat amazing meals.  Thank you Sassy Sewers for another exciting, fun, and addictive quilt retreat.  I love you Chay, Lynneann, Robin, Kelly, Dianne, and our amazing quilt instructor Elaine.  Can't wait until next year, I'm sew sew addicted to quilt retreat!!!

How how I love these Utah visitors

I can honestly say it made our summer having The Heaps girls come to Arizona.  It felt like a vacation for me also because we just swam everyday and played.  We made treats, I bought an ice cream maker and snow cone maker so we had to try them out (anything to stay cool). 

Roxy and Paco loved swimming with Jac and Emily.  They would throw the ball into the pool and Roxy would retrieve it.  Emily had a dog fashion show, we went to the beach and swam at Valvista Lakes clubhouse.  We made crafts, and Emily used Wade's face for her craft back drop.
The night before they left we put together a care package for Mitch and the girls helped make BYU cookies!  Thanks for making our summer Heaps, we loved every minute of the time we spent together.

Happy Father's day to the best father ever!

It was a quite father's day with only two of the kids here but Wade felt very loved, and spoiled. He felt loved from all his kids, Mitch and Joslyn started the day with calling him.
We made him his favorite dinner and Laurisa and Grafton bought him barbecue gear to go with his new Infrared state of the art barbecue.

He has been a barbecue maniac ever since. He loves his rotisserie, but my favorite is his grilled veggies. Anyone up for a barbecue come over anytime and will grill you up something.

Three moves all in the same day

How did this happen, three of our children moving all at once. We went from five kids including my nephew to one in 13 months. Wow life is every changing with such wonderful opportunities.  I have realized true happiness is seeing your kids achieving and reaching their goals. 

Since all three of these exciting events happened the exact day I had many helpers to make it happen.  My Mom and Paul helped drive Joslyn and Justin's vehicle to Ohio.  It took them three days to drive across the country.  They loved seeing all the sights and arrived just in time to move in on Saturday!  Their place is so beautiful, can't wait to see it in person.  Nana and Paul thank you so much, I truly couldn't have done it without you.

Three weeks ago weeks we all moved Laurisa and Grafton into a storage because they had a three week interim before moving into their new house.  What a treat to have them stay with us for three weeks until they closed on their house. Happy New House.

Mitch and I headed to Utah to get him all settled in the dorms for BYU.  He decided to go summer term so he could get some schooling in before his mission.   I really enjoyed the parent orientation and it was fun to see Mitch make so many friends the first day.  He is definitely in his element. After we got him all moved into his dorm room we went shopping and out to dinner at the Brick Oven.  It was so fun to reminisce and go down memory lane. I took this picture of where I lived when Wade and I met. 

We really enjoyed being with family, Mom took off work to be with us and we spent time with the Heaps.  It was a fast trip, but much was accomplished in such a short time.  I know Mitch is where he is supposed to be and will have so many great experiences, which makes letting go so much easier. GO Mitch, GO Cougars

2011 Whiting Family Reunion

This year our Whiting Reunion was at Duck Creek at Pinewoods Resort in southern Utah. It may be the last year for quite awhile that everyone was together.  It was worth the effort of arranging all our schedules to make it happen! 
The Whiting Clan...look at all those beautiful smiles.  You can feel the love and support this family has for each other.

Fishing was a favorite.  We only got fishing licenses for one day but by the looks of these pictures you can see that they couldn't get enough.  One day, as a combined effort they caught 21 total.  The last day they even fished way into the dark.  They not only caught them, but cleaned them, filleted them, and cooked them.  I have to admit they were the best fish I have ever tasted. Davin especially liked the taste of the eyeballs, but more importantly he liked the reaction of everyone when he ate them.

 We spent two nights in cabins with a common gathering area.  We had championship games of ping pong, horse shoes, basketball, ladder ball, and bean bag toss.  The official games were called the "Swag Olympics".  It took all day to get through the brackets, but made for a fun day of crazy fun. At night we had a retirement party for Grandpa and Grandma and sang by the campfire, thanks to our guitar performers, Mitch, Mac, and Jake.

Let the games begin!

Mammoth Cave- Our Family

It was a fun way to end the reunion exploring the caves which were several year old lava tubes.

Our family stayed an extra day and hiked Bryce Canyon.  It was stunning and a breathtaking hike.

What a fun reunion spent with those that we love and cherish the relationships we have!