July was a bit more eventful than June.
We started off July with a Canada Day celebration on the 1st. Because I worked an evening shift that day, we decided to get all of our celebrating done in the day-time. We went to a big Canada Day party that Jonathan & Amanda's stake put on for the community at the stake centre. They had games, hotdogs, cotton candy, a talent show and a bounce house. Pretty impressive! After the party, we went to Jonathan & Amanda's for lunch and then I headed off to work.
Mid-July, I attended the first portion of our Stake Young Women's camp. I was very impressed with how well it seemed to go while I was there. The girls were so friendly and willing to serve one another. I love being a part of the Young Women's organization and this camp was no exception. The only downside was the very uncomfortable ground I had to sleep on that night. Had I known how uncomfortable I would be, I would have brought something a bit better than an inch of foam to sleep on. Yikes!
I left the stake Young Women's camp early due to another camping trip Jared & I has planned with my parents that weekend. We left Friday the 18th to go to Kalispell, Montana and camp in my parents trailer (much better than tenting it). Friday, we went to Hu Hot for dinner (my mom and I love that restaurant). Saturday, we went out for breakfast at Echo Lake Cafe in Echo Lake. The portions were enormous! I'm not joking when I say the pancakes were literally as big as my plate (and I had two of them!). Later, we went shopping, mostly to JoAnne, the craft store, to buy fabric for a baby quilt and receiving blankets for baby girl (yes, we found out she's a girl). We had great luck and found everything we needed and then some. Sunday, we had a nice quiet day. We went to church in Kalispell and then played games and had dinner in the trailer the remainder of the day. We left Monday morning to come back home.
Jared's big purchase of the trip was a blow-gun which he thoroughly enjoyed using. When we got back to the campsite on Saturday, he spent the evening blowing darts at a fence in our site. My dad even gave it a try and ended up sending a dart between the planks of the fence and into the neighboring campsite (woops!). He and Jared searched for the dart afterwards but had no luck finding it.
About a week after our camping trip in Kalispell, we started our Olsen Family reunion in Cardston. Sunday-Thursday, it was just my family. We packed in a ton of fun events, however.
Sunday, we travelled to Cardston. Erin arrived later that evening so we mostly relaxed and lit some fireworks in the street in front of the house that dad bought.
 |
| Our fireworks in the street. |
 |
| Tech savvy Carter and Nana |
Monday, we visited the farm where my mom grew up in Aetna. Her brother, my Uncle Rick, now owns and lives on the farm with his family. It was cool seeing the place where she used to live and play. We also took some time to visit the graves of my Grandpa Olsen in the Cardston cemetery who has been gone for 55 years this November and my Grandma and Grandpa May in the Aetna cemetery. It was special getting to visit and remember them, even if I'd never met them as was the case for both of my grandfathers. It was a nice day of reminiscing and getting to know our family history a little better.
 |
| The farm in Aetna that my mom grew up on. My Uncle Rick now lives there. |
 |
| Grandpa Hugh Morris May & Grandma Louise (Jensen) May's grave. |
 |
| Grandpa Olsen's grave. He's been gone 55 years this year. |
Tuesday was our day trip to Calaway Park in Calgary. Jared met us at the park as he'd stayed in Calgary for a couple days to get some school stuff figured out. We had an awesome day. I was a bit bummed that I really couldn't go on any rides due to being pregnant. However, I did get what I came for: mini donuts! I ate a whole bag by myself and I didn't feel bad at all. The whole family had a great day, having a picnic, going on rides, and having tasty treats. For some of us, it had been over 10 years since we had been to Calaway Park since we used to go occasionally as kids. We had a blast! We went to Jonathan and Amanda's house afterwards for dinner and then we travelled back to Cardston for the rest of the week.
 |
| Erin, Ezra, Aria, and Jonathan on the carousel. |
 |
| OCEAN MOTION! Jared, Sarah, and Brian are in the back. Jonathan, Josh, and Erin are fourth row from the back. |
 |
| View of the park. |
 |
| Erin & Ezra. This is one of the only rides I could go on. |
 |
| Jared & Josh |
 |
| Ezra & Natalie |
 |
| It was a busy day. Aria was bushed. |
Wednesday, we went horseback riding at the farm of someone my dad had connected with. He let the little kids ride horseback and they all had a blast. Aria, Jonathan & Amanda's third, was so excit4ed to ride horses but became instantly terrified when she was about to mount it. She eventually did get on but she was very hesitant. All of the other kids seemed to be okay. After horseback riding, the owner took us for a half hour wagon ride with the horses. It was a lot of fun. He even took us down mainstreet with all of the Cardston traffic. I felt like I was in a parade as we waved at all the cars and people passing by. The only thing missing was candy to throw at people.
 |
| Isaiah & Ezra |
 |
| Jonathan & Trenton |
 |
| Aria getting on the horse. |
 |
| On our wagon ride. |
 |
| Our sweet ride. |
Thursday, we went to a water slide (more like a monster-sized slip & slide) in Magrath. My parents had rented it out for the evening so we all went to play. We flew down that slide so many times that night that I'm sure we got our money's worth and more. The grandkids loved it as they grinned ear to ear going down the slide. We had a few bumps and bruises, a scraped knee, a banged head, and a tweaked knee, but all in all, a great time. We went for icecream cones at the local convenience store and then went home. It was a blast.
 |
| Darrin tried to see if wearing a garbage bag would give him more speed...didn't work. I think he just thought it was fashionable. |
Friday was the start of the Nan Olsen family reunion with all of my dad's siblings and their kids and grandkids. Everyone arrived and got set up in their campsites. We were lucky enough to rent some land that had three cabins, a large kitchen, and plenty of space from tents. We definitely needed the space since we had a turnout of over 60 people. Saturday, we mostly played all day and had our traditional talent show in the evening. Our family chose to dance and lip-sync to the song "Tacky" by Weird Al Yankovic which is a parody of the song "Happy" by Pharell. We all dressed up in super tacky clothes and dances our little hearts out. Sunday, we went to church in Mountain View and then spent the remainder of the day relaxing. We had a nice spiritual testimony meeting in the evening and it was great hearing everyone and how their testimonies have grown over the years and the great people they've become. It's cool to see how much everyone has grown up on the years, including myself.
 |
| Dad's "Tacky" costume. |
Well, that basically concludes July. Sorry if it was a little long-winded. If you knew me in person, you'd know that I don't normally talk a lot. Maybe this is my way of "letting it all out" and documenting the events of day to day life.
Now on to August!
