It's Summa Time!

We had quite the day this past Saturday! We got to go to a friend's birthday party and see "Brave". Such a cute movie and so fun to see so many friends. From there, we headed to Leatherby's with some of my sibs to eat cheezy fries and laugh at ourselves and our kids. After which we took a dip in the pool and played. To end the night, we headed to a fun BBQ with some more friends. My sis and I (kids in tow) braved the madness of the WestFest (Local carnival. . ."Carnie Folk. . .Small hands"). We had some free tickets for the rides, so we got to enjoy the entertainment!

Here we are all crammed in the "Berry Go Round". It's a rendition of the Tilt-a-Whirl, only like a "hot box" with excellent accoustics! The girl's high pitched squeals were intensified 100x's.

One of my favorite quotes of the night was when my nephew was riding on the merry-go-round and said "This doesn't even feel like a real horse!"

To end the evening, we got to watch fireworks!

Other favorite quote of the night was while Miss Pretty was watching fireworks. There she was with her face toward the sky and her eyes all sparkly and she says: "Wow! I'm gonna have to tell Grammy about this!"  There really is something magical about watching fireworks on a hot summer night.

It was a fun day with so many great people!

For Father's Day this year, D got tickets to the concert of his dreams:

"Heart" & "3 Dog Night"

They'll be at the Blackfoot Fair this year and he is sooooo excited to go! It was one of those "firsts" that I've talked about.  The first Father's Day since my dad passed away.  I thought about my dad a lot all day. There are days that I feel at peace about things, then there are days that I feel in a constant turmoil. I have to keep reminding myself that it wasn't that long ago and that I don't have to be "completely over it". I was really wishing that I could have a big ol' hug from my dad on Father's Day. Monday night, I got my hug. I had a dream about my dad. I've had a couple of dreams with him in them since he died, but he was more like a memory in them. In this dream, he was talking right to me and it was very real. I was planning a party at my parent's house and on my way over there, I realized that I couldn't have a party there because we had cleaned it all out and sold it. But I went there anyway and when I walked in, my dad was sitting in the front room in his recliner. That was the only thing in the house. When I saw him, I was shocked and we both started crying. I walked over to him and he looked very weak, like he'd just gotten out of the hospital. He had oxygen on. I told him that I was so happy to see him and that everyone thought he had died. Through his tears he said "It just feels really good to be clean finally!" He hugged me really tight and said he was sorry. I just remember sobbing and being so glad that he was there. Then he told me that he needed to go lay down because he was so tired. When I woke up, it felt like I had just seen him. It felt so real. I sure miss him. I wish that I had been more forgiving with him. Addiction is one of those ugly things that Satan uses to beat us down until we give up. That's what I feel like my dad's addiction did to all of us. I got to where I didn't have anything left to give. But now I know that he's okay and he's getting better. But I sure wish that he was here to go camping with us and to be there to hold my babies when and if I have any more.

We are heading to our first camping trip of the season pretty soon and I've been thinking about all the memories that I have of being out on the lake with him. The smell of the water, the worm guts on his fingers, and of course, the country music! I'm excited to be up there in the mountains and to hopefully feel him close by me for a bit.

I miss you dad!