Utah Trip: Pre Wyoming

Sunday we visited with my brother and his wife Jamie who is suffering from back issues and spent most of our visit laying on the floor. But we got to play anyway.

Jamie and Abby

Joseph and Jamie

Rebekah wanted to play hard but playing just made her cough. This is her pouting about the coughs interrupting her play-ablilities. 

The next day we played chalk with Abby and Sam in the morning.

This was me trying to get the chalk and they kids....

Some chalk art with my lower half shadow. Great.

More of the artwork:

Rebekah wanted me to take a picture of her not the art.

Then we saw a rainbow in the beautiful Utah sky.

We finished up with a picture of all our shadows:

We decided to swim. Rebe had so much fun!

Yes, that's me behind Rebekah holding her up high enough for a picture. It looks remarkably freaky...

Then it was time to wind down again. Rebekah was not happy.

So much playing to do and only so many hours in the day.

Utah Trip: Reunion Day 2

I woke up to this:

Very cute but she didn't sleep nearly long enough. It was past 3 when she really got to bed and she was awake way before 7. So we walked around and discovered we weren't the only ones up: 

Meet Oliver

Rebekah wanted to go out and see the horses. Shreann and Katie were there making friends.

Shreann showed Rebekah the proper way to feed a horse:

Katie looking adorable:

Rebekah found a tractor. It was love at first sight.

Then we headed over to Uncle Jerold's home for a wonderful breakfast.

Sam entertained Rebekah who still wasn't feeling quite right.

There was a parade a few streets down. All the cousins went and Rebekah wanted to go to but she wasn't up to walking. Uncle Daniel offered a shoulder ride. Being ever nervous (more so because she was sick) she didn't take him up on this. Sam did though.

Success!

So I gave Rebekah the shoulder ride - which I can do if someone helps me get her on and off. I blame Rebekah's long body rather than my short arms.

Rebekah collects leaves. (I know, you see a sucker and are thinking, "isn't she suppose to be sick...?" but it's her throat that is sore. I figured the sucker might help a little.)

We made it back and aunt Shelly took over Rebekah entertainment with the disappearing candy trick.

It got hot so we found a nice cool place downstairs to play with the cousins.

There was ice cream and popsicles involved.

Then it was time to return to aunt Elaine's home. We offered an extremely illegal ride to Spencer and family. Very daring with the police directing the after parade traffic....

We then had some "Montana Relays:"

Rebekah found her cousins who were not participating in a shady spot with a swing.

Shreann and Katie:

Then we played with the camera and got some just for fun pictures:

We said Goodbye to uncle Michael and aunt AmySue.

We enjoyed the view from the deck:

The beautiful view. Yeah, I could get use to that.

It was time to go but I managed to catch just a few more pictures before we left:

Abby and Shelly

Aunt Diane and mom

Uncle Jerold and me 

Notice we have the same phone. Just one more thing to bond over.

I should say some touching remarks about the Stirland's. Truth is I do not have the right words in me to write them down. I have great pride for my Stirland last name and the honor and the high standards that come with it. It is always good and motivating to know you have a place and you belong to a great group of people. They are also a link to my daddy who will always live in my heart: my heart is so full of him it still overflows with tears when I allow my thoughts to dwell on him 20 years later.

The reunion was over and we head back to uncle Daniel's. Rebekah was very tired and scared to death of the sound of fireworks so we went pretty much straight to bed. She woke up at one point so scared I couldn't calm her down for a very long time. But I prevailed and she slept late into the next morning.