Spider Solitaire

Summertime and the livin is easy...? Our summer hasn't been too hard, but it sure has been busy. My last day of work at Laurel was May 31st and we loaded up the truck and drove out the next day. After a series of unfortunate events, we ended up leaving our SUV in Cleveland, so me and Eli hopped in the truck with Ben and made the drive cross country. Eli did remarkably well--the rumble of the big diesel engine put him right to sleep and when he woke up, there was Dad to his right and Mom to his left. He was a happy camper. 

Our Burger King

The truck, on the other hand, caused more problems. Three times the engine didn't want to start and we had to pull over and wait for roadside assistance. Luckily, Penske was full of empathy and paid for the extra night that we stayed in a hotel as well as a bonus $500 for our troubles. Thanks for understanding!! 

With Great Grandma Bertucci

Almost as soon as we arrived in Utah, we turned around and went to Texas for a 10 day visit. It was great to hang out at Mom and Dad's and spend time with the whole family. I'm super glad that Rachael and Kory could come down from VA to hand out with us. We were even able to visit Sal in San Antonio where he was doing basic training for the Army. 

After Texas, we went straight to Aspen Grove for the Cope family reunion. There was so much to do at Aspen Grove and we had a blast. I was especially excited to get to know and spend time with the Cope side of the family, since I didn't know any of them before this. Turns out they're wonderful. Ben and Austin spent the whole week competing in anything they could think of--badminton, ping pong, billiards, shuffle board, mini golf, you name it. I really enjoyed volleyball, arts and crafties, and hiking. Plus the BYU Creamery ice cream was a mega bonus.  

                                  

Now after this excursion we had a few days off. Unfortunately, they weren't really "off." We spent the whole time unpacking, organizing, and getting settled in to our new little house in SLC. We definitely downsized when we moved (no more dining room, office, or basement), so we had to do some creative thinking to squeeze our stuff in. Thankfully, I have a tetris-master handy-man husband who can custom make just about anything, so now I have a few extra shelves in the closets with everything fitting perfectly. We even took some time to paint the kitchen and a wall in the living room! But it was nice to come home to a clean house after our next reunions. 

                                     

                                     

After and fun, and of course spiritual, week at Hobble Creek, we drove down to Zions for the first ever Jim and Kimberly Cope family reunion. Mom had rented a very nice house at Zion Ponderosa Ranch Resort. Julie met us there and we had a ton of fun zip-lining, horseback riding, swimming, and hiking. 

My mule was named Peanut.

Since the family reunion mania, we've been able to relax at home a start to settle into a groove. Ben is loving his residency. I'm spending a lot of time having fun with Eli. 

Celebrating Eli's half birthday.

For Pioneer Day, Ben and Eli and I had a campout on the floor in the living room where we ate chili cheese hot dogs and watched westerns that I'd checked out from the library. Thank you, John Wayne, for making our holiday great. We spent the following morning on a beautiful hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon with Mariah and Lisa. So lovely. 

Besides these fun times, we've just been hanging out around the house and with friends. We're just living life and trying to have fun. We've both become shamefully obsessed with spider solitaire (I just checked the stats on the game and we've literally played 240 games), but that's just part of the fun. 

Eli loving bathtime.