12 on the 12th--July 2019 Edition

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1. I worked a half day then drove to the airport.
2. I flew to Minneapolis and then on to Grand Rapids, Michigan for my 30th high school reunion.
3. Betsy and Emmit were out collecting berries when I drove into their neighborhood.
4. The message on their chalkboard.
5. Fresh flowers from their yard and Petosky Rocks in the vase.
6. The photos books I've made them from previous trips.
7. View of my guest suite, complete with fan!
8. Brownie ala Betsy.
9. The views are so beautiful.
10. Emmit up to bat.
11. Me, Faye and Betsy at Emmit's baseball game.
12. Their family room that night before we watched What About Bob.

Not Quite Easy Casual--The End

After our chilly afternoon at the pool, Betsy went back to the hotel to get their stuff packed up for their early morning departure (so sad!) so the boys hung out at the house with us and we gave them some BYU shirts.

Later we loaded up in the car to hit our town carnival.

We stopped on the steps of the Alpine Tabernacle for a photo op.

The boys just adore Landon!

We had prebought our tickets which makes the carnival a far more affordable experience.

Cute boys on the kiddie roller coaster.

Betsy and I took a self-portrait but Randy snuck in.

 Betsy is a crazy girl and went on several of the insane rides with Landon and Whitney.

I'm not sure if Emmit was upset that she wasn't with him or that she was spinning upside down like a crazy person.

For real!?

These two were all about the wild rides this year and kept taking off together while we took the little boys around.

Good times on the carousel.

Betsy took this photo while we stood in line for the Ferris Wheel. Randy and I kept our place in line while everyone else ran off to do other rides...I'm officially the line holder, nonride-going fuddy duddy...dang.

Betsy and Emmit, then Landon and Owen, then Randy and Whitney. I leaned against a tree and watched them ride. I saw a ton of kids from school and thought it was interesting how a couple of them stopped to talk to me, others waved, and some others acted like they didn't see me. Maybe they were equally traumatized by the reminder of school starting so soon.

We ran out of tickets so Betsy went and bought some so this ride ended up costing $9.50!! (It would have only been $3 with the prepaid tickets.)

It was finally time for funnel cakes (the only reason I tolerate the carnival) so we sat on the steps of the Tabernacle (as is our tradition) to consume these lovelies.

We were all pretty wasted by the end of the night and didn't drop them off at their hotel until 10:30.

I picked them up for the airport at 5:00am so it was a dark and groggy goodbye. The trip was such a whirlwind, it almost feels like it was a dream.

Not Quite Easy Casual--Day 3A

Water activities seemed like the best bet for our crowd, so Whitney and I got online to search out another fun pool for the day. We settled on the Scera Pool in Orem (which we had never been to before) because it had 2 diving boards, slides and lots of fun stuff.

We got there right when it opened at 12:30 and took this quick self-portrait that Owen and Whitney somehow missed out on.

It was overcast, but the it was supposed to be sunny and 91 degrees that day so we weren't concerned.

The new floatie was a hot commodity, especially since I'd accidentally popped the blue one while closing the back hatch of the car.

Lathering up!

I enjoyed all the colorful Adirondack chairs.

Owen entertained himself by going off the diving board over and over again.

The rest of us hung out in the pool next to the diving board and took turns on the floatie.

Betsy, Landon and Whitney went down the slides a few times, but it got kind of cold so there was only warmth to be had in the water.

My kids are huge.

We lasted almost 3 hours but were so freezing by the end that I was having visions of hot chocolate and a bread bowl of soup! It was ridiculous to feel so cold on a summer day and it made the outing feel like a bust.

Not Quite Easy Casual--Day 2B

Later that day we all fit in my mom's car and drove up to a canyon near Adam and Amy's house for a family gathering to celebrate Megan's 8th birthday and so everyone could see Betsy and the boys.

Emmit fell asleep toward the end of the drive and Betsy wanted to keep him asleep for as long as possible.

This is my favorite picture from the whole trip! Betsy had been sitting in the car with the sleeping Emmit but got out to hug my mom and ended up making this hilarious face.

Owen was so excited to be on a mountain, and Landon was good enough to "be on duty" taking him around.

Betsy had to keep checking on Emmit.

We got a mountain self-portrait.

Whitney, Bella and Megan.

Owen did a little creek crossing, he's hard core.

Robyn and her kids were the last to arrive, but completed to party.

They had gotten a dog that day (which appeared to be a guinea pig or a rabbit upon first glance) which stole the show for sure.

The kids roasted hot dogs, but the rest of us brought better take-out from various place.

Emmit woke up and got busy mountain climbing with the boys.

Megan got to open her presents and was surprised by the $10 bill we gave her.

At one point, Emmit plopped himself on Landon's lap, which was all kinds of cute.

I brought my tripod so we could get a group photo, which turned out great (I think) but is especially funny to us because Olivia's friend planted herself front and center. I just couldn't bring myself to ask her to stand near the tripod to try to make us laugh. Also, check out Randy holding the puppy in a blanket. He held the dog and rocked back and forth like it was a newborn baby.

Good times.

Not Quite Easy Casual--Day 2A

We picked Betsy and the boys up from the hotel (where they had a great time jumping on the beds and eating the complimentary hot breakfast) and headed over to the pond.

The water was freezing! You can tell by Owen's (blue shorts) body language that he was having 2nd and 3rd thoughts about it.

We had gone to Big Lots to buy some sand toys and floaties, so Whitney was super excited about those. We brought the battery-operated air pump so I'm not sure why she started trying to blow it up by herself, that would have taken forever and ended up with her passing out.

Betsy is good to get down and dirty playing with her kids...I always think I should get credit for taking them to fun places and shouldn't have to play.

I was happy to sit in my chair documenting the event. Landon and Whitney enjoyed the 2 new floaties and braved the cold water way out there.

Owen was a little tired and cold so he choose to hang out in a chair texting his dad.

Emmit was happy about everything but stopped by for a caramel popcorn break.

Betsy and Emmit got a turn on the floatie and braved the icy water.

And then there were the sensible folks under the umbrella.

Eventually I gave in to the possibility of having a conversation with Betsy so I gingerly tip toed into the water until I was waist deep. Whitney repeatedly tried to coax me into getting on the orange floating but I knew that would result in humiliation and submersion. I really think she wanted to laugh at my attempt! I didn't give her the satisfaction.

Landon hooked Owen up with some of his old Action Figures, which may have made them friends for life.

 Betsy swiped the camera! I attempted a sportier hat but it looks dumb too. Damn. I'm going to have to brave headaches and sunburn if this is how it's going to be.

I was trying to get a good shot of Emmit with sand all over his face when he leaned in for an extreme close up, he's so cute!