Happy Labor Day 2022

Another Labor Day weekend in the books! Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer...and I'm ready to move on! We still have one more "summer" trip planned to Lake Powell in a couple of weeks, but I'm ready to embrace all things Fall. This summer has been awesome! We got to spend time with family, enjoy the absence of school schedules and homework, participate in some fun activities, and even take a couple small weekend trips (Idaho Falls and Flaming Gorge). Yet, I'm glad that there is a change in seasons. Nevertheless, we tried to enjoy this last unofficial weekend of summer to the fullest extent. Jeff and Jonas joined Jacob on a little hunting excursion on Friday night near Strawberry Reservoir. Jonas was super excited to go camping, and Jeff was super excited to have an excuse to bring his air guns. They all enjoyed a cool evening around a campfire and an early morning sunrise over the summit. They didn't find any elk (until after Jonas and Jeff left), but Jonas really loved shooting the air pistol.

Around noon on Saturday, Dallin, Aubrey (his girlfriend), Danny, and I picked up Jeff and Jonas and drove a little further east to Starvation Reservoir with the boat. Jeff was curious about this body of water and the boys are always up for boating so that is how we spent the rest of Saturday. Laurin, Casey, Carter, Everly, Amber, and two of her friends, Skyler and Sarah (not a couple) joined us as well. It was a full boat and a full day of fun! I think everyone enjoyed the tubes the most. I even got out there with Jonas on one tube while Laurin, Casey, and Carter were on the other one.

Sunday was fairly routine, but Monday (September 5th, Labor Day) we continued the fun. Jeff, Jonas, Danny, and I caught the last part of the Payson Days parade then walked around the car show. Southwick Plumbing was one of the sponsors this year so we got to choose a car to win a sponsor prize. Jeff was pretty methodical about which ones he would even consider. We ultimately chose a 1927 Studebaker. The owner has taken over a decade to restore it! It was pretty fun to see the original engine and all the fun amenities.

That evening, we had everyone over again for a steak and chicken bbq. I just love gathering my family together. My cousin, Jayde (Jonhenry's son) and his brother (from another father/same mom), Rylan, even joined us. I haven't had a lot of contact with my dad's side of the family so it has been fun to connect and spend time with them. Family really is everything. Sometimes, I'll admit, it's tiring and a little stressful to try to plan holiday events/meals/etc. As the kids get older, they seem to want to do more adventurous things or be consistently stimulated while I am to the point where I just like to sit around and enjoy the company. Thankfully, my kids enjoy that too and are pretty self-motivated at creating their own games and entertainment when we're at the house. I just hope they will keep coming around...so I'll still put in the time and energy to have reasons to gather. It is never not worth it!