Demolition Derby!

At times, some things can make me wonder...
One such time was this summer when we went to the Demolition Derby with the whole Christensen clan plus a few. Ok. Here's the thing...I really loved it! We had so much fun yelling at these cars that were completely trying to obliterate the others in the ring. We would start betting on which ones would win--calling which car was "ours" when they paraded across before the chaos ensued. Then, when the buzzer rang and the smashing began...forget it...alter egos came out!
This was apparent when I looked down at a family friend whom we had invited, along with her five year old son. She had a look of horror on her face as she desperately tried to shield her son from being permanently scarred from the real life violence unfolding before her. She would interject questions about if people could die, or how much they could benefit from a good chiropractor, and what not. She ended up leaving early...probably to reevaluate her friendship with such a primitive group.
Good thing she left early, because the BEST was when the gals got into the cars! One even rolled over the top of another car, completely flipping it on it's top! She was just fine, but we were a bit disappointed when the ambulance blocked our view of the rescue--they even got out the jaws of life.
Now what's not to like about that kind of entertainment?
So, is it nature or nurture? And do I have some mysterious redneck bloodline??

Bountiful Celebration

Bountiful City has a great tradition of having an amazing firework show on the 23rd of July. The Evensens have a fun tradition of getting together to enjoy the celebration. The fireworks are shot off just past their front yard, so we have a perfect view (and parking as well!)
Friends and family congregate on the lawn and enjoy visiting, homemade ice cream and Texas sheet cake, and some killer fireworks.
Then, my kids' favorite...Grandma Evensen yelling out after it's over "thank you Bountiful City...you did it again!" :)

This year, our good friends, the Tolleys, joined us. We had a great time and were able to see and visit with Bob's brother, Chris, who was in town from Las Vegas for a while.

Cottonwood Lake

This summer we went up to Cottonwood Lake with the Evensen family...at least part of the clan was there. We had G-ma and G-Pa Evensen, Lindsay, Ben and Abby, John and Ellie, and our little family.

This time we brought up our motorcycles. The kids absolutely loved that!!

It truly is a beautiful place on this Earth!

Lizzie's got back!!

The other day Liz and CJ decided to go incognito through the neighborhood. They were delivering spy notes to friends. Their get-up was hilarious! It included glasses, hats and some nice body altering padding.
I about fell out of my chair laughing when I saw them. After the notes were delivered they just stuck with the nice padding to go on rides and get some laughs.

Camping Trip

Bob and Tanner had the date set to go camping to the Uinta Mountains. It turned out to be a bit of a wet weekend, but they went anyway and had a great time--just father and son. They hiked in (5 miles up to Granddaddy Lake), set up camp, went fishing, cooked the fish over a campfire, had fun with the head lamps and enjoyed spending time together. Then they hiked out in a hailstorm! (see the evidence in the photo of Tanner's hand)
I think we're onto a new annual tradition...

One of my favorite memories growing up was my own annual Daddy/Daughter overnight camping trip with my Dad. We would pack up and ride in on horses, cook over a campfire (the only way I really trusted my Dad could cook), visit and have some good memory making moments.

I'm so glad Bob takes the time to do things like this with our kids! I know they are making lifetime memories too.

Mysterious Ways...

I had really been wondering about prayer. It takes an experience like going through the garbage and NOT finding what you've been looking and praying for...
Anyway, we had an amazing enrichment night on Tuesday. My friend, Kris, had her nephew come talk about his humanitarian experiences in Cambodia, where he served a mission and later returned several times. It was unreal. We truly take SO much for granted!
His focus was on the children and families who pick garbage for a living, making around a dollar a day. There is a huge landfill in Cambodia which literally smokes from the terrible fumes. I can't even tell you how I felt while hearing about these amazing people (they seem Happy amidst all of their trials and hardships!!) and seeing them on video and pictures. I went away wondering what a true blessing is in this life. We see it through our mortal eyes and think that WE are blessed, but these amazing people are so humble and grateful and receptive to the Spirit. I felt like I had a small blessing to go through my own garbage this last week so that I could have the tiniest smidgen of empathy for these amazing people of Cambodia.
Please check out the website: cambodianchildrensfund.org.

And the award goes to....

So it has been a very long time since my last post! My camera was missing for over a week. I was really worried about it! I knew that it was last seen in a grocery bag on the island counter. From there...anyone's guess since we do have a three year old on site.
I hit a new low in my search on Friday morning. You guessed it--garbage day. Need I say more? It brings on shudders to even recall that morning since I figured if it was in the can at all it was in the very bottom since it went MIA right around garbage day last week.
Bob came home to the awful scene and "helped" a bit (I caught him turning his head and shaking with laughter).
Anyway, after my very HOT shower I got out and found my camera hanging on the towel bar. Bob had found it somewhere in the couch. I'm sure I looked there. After all, who in their right mind would hit the trash 1st???
Oh well, all's well that ends well right? Right...unless I'm scarred for life, which remains to be seen.