RowFam Summer!! Man, it has been one for the books. We did SO MUCH. All thanks to our family shared bucket list. I hope that becomes an annual thing.
4th of July we started our morning with a drive through Wyoming to get to the Rowley family cabin. We passed through a few rural towns on our way that had delays due to parades. The Woodruff Parade had just ended and we were some of the first cars to pass through the town.
People were still scattered everywhere with their friends and family. Off the side of the road, Justin and Andrew spotted a tall guy that resembled Justin's old USU teammate Szymon from Poland. He's playing basketball in Michigan right now. Justin texted him and our minds were blown when he told us he was in Woodruff, UT visiting his girlfriend hahaha. Small world.
I didn't get any pictures from the cabin. It was what it's always been growing up. <3 Homemade root beer, bbq, lightning on the basketball court, moving our camp chairs between the big pine trees to stay in the shade. It was Justin's first time and my highlight was watching him and my cousins beat each other in games of lightning.
Logan (angel baby) again, was such a trooper with this crazy schedule. We dropped him off with some more cousins while the rest of us headed to...
Logan, Ellie, Aaron, Charlotte, Harper
STADIUM OF FIRE!!!! It was the Jonas Brothers and they were SO good live. My favorite SoF concert I've been to. & we thoroughly enjoyed it without Logan haha.
We had listened to Jonas Brothers for a couple of months to prepare and it was a fun night celebrating America together.
A little extra special this year having lived in another country with our family, and knowing we wouldn't be in the States much longer. We love the U.S.A. I'm so grateful for the sacrifices of families and individuals who serve to protect us and our freedoms that we enjoy every single day. It's truly a blessing I want to appreciate more often.
It was fun running into some family & mission friends after the show too. :') I love Provo!!
& then began the last week in Santaquin for summer 2024. Ashlyn brought me Guaraná back from Brazil!!
Logan turned 8 months old!
We played the games we only play once a year while were all together. Spy Alley, Camel Up, Harry Potter etc.
One of my favorite parts has been going to church all together. This is the only consistent time of the year Justin gets to go with his crazy basketball schedule. I'm grateful for all of the extra hands with Logan. All of my anxiety around keeping him quiet and happy alone at church has gone away.
For a few weeks, we had something special in the works for Mom. She turns the big 5-0 in November but Dad had the idea to celebrate a little early while we were all together.
We sped home from church to get the surprise ready while Mom and Dad went to choir. Streamers, banners, donut cake, candy bar poster, 50 things we love about Mom, present, balloon arch, confetti cannons, special bday song, party hats, we were ready.
We tracked her location and couldn't keep the excitement inside. A lot of preparation had gone into this celebration and she truly had no idea. It was so fun to plan with everyone and this reaction made it even better. <3
Mom is a great listener, gives thoughtful advice while encouraging us to make decisions, creates one-on-one scenarios with each child, shares her talents, prefers donuts and cookies over ice cream any day, never turns down a game (board, tennis, pickleball), and is one of my best, best friends.
She's the best mother & grandma!!! HBD, Mom!
Hiked to our lookout.
Spent as much time evening time as we could in the cooler weather.
Visited this place one more time together. <3
COSTCO! Logan sat in the big cart and absolutely loved looking around at everything. & we got him his new car seat. :') He hit the weight limit in his baby one so he's now the user of a toddler car seat. Can't believe it. I feel safer with him in his new seat because European car seats don't have a chest strap on any infant or toddler car seat... Kinda weird.
Snow Cones! Natalie and I rode the bikes down while Justin and Andrew followed us in Gwen.
My best friends!
Got to catch up with these two for an hour. Ha! We should've gotten together sooner but sometimes last minute visits work just as well.
& we just soaked up all the family time we could. I loved watching everyone interact with Logan. My favorite parts of the day were during lunch when Natalie and Andrew would come home from lunch and be so excited to see Logan. The feelings were mutual. Logan loves his aunts and uncles. When my dad came home from work, his first stop was the living room rug to say hi to Logan.
His sweet spirit lights up any room and lightens any situation. <3
Our last morning at home the kids stayed home from work & we spontaneously made a trip up to the Grotto - one of the last items on our bucket list!
The trail is very different than when I was in high school. Fires, mudslides, and high water shifted lots of things around, but I had Andrew and Justin to steady and keep Logan and I on the trail. It was fun, beautiful, and spontaneous. The perfect touch to the end of our time together.
I can't put into words or express how thankful I am for our summers with family. I'm in a group on Facebook with lots of women whose husbands/boyfriends play overseas. Summer can be a stressful time deciding where to spend it and who to spend it with. We hit the jackpot in the family department and I know that both of our parents worked for the families they have today.
We live for our summers and any time we can get with our families. I hope Justin and I can continue building our own strong, loving, fun family. Long live our RowFam summer memories!
