Family in Town

Since my family lives on the other side of the country they try to find opportunities to spend as much time here as possible. My mom, dad, and Meggie came out beginning of July and we spent most of the month together. Dad could only stay for 10 days because he had to work, but it is always so great to have him when we can! Mom and Megan bunked at our home and we enjoyed spending time together. When they come in town we always create opportunities to spend time with extended family. It is always fun to spend time with cousins and we are so blessed to have so many, so close. We really enjoyed just spending down time together, chatting, watching family videos, spending time with my brother's girlfriend/fiancé/missionary (long story) etc.

supporting Karlie (zac's gf/fiancé/missioinary) @ her farewell

On the 4th of July we all went to our traditional ward breakfast and enjoyed visiting, and eating yummy food before we headed up to the Roundy Rumble. This is one of my favorite weekends of the year and this was the last one before Shaun comes home! We are really excited to have some of our family missionaries back for next year. We had it up Provo Canyon this year in a fabulous cabin that fit all of us. I think we ended up having anywhere between 30-40 of our cousins/aunts/uncles/etc. there at some point. It's so much fun to be a part of a big family; there is never a dull moment. We had fun playing pool, ping pong, a day of boating, skit night (OF COURSE), and just making each other laugh as we recall "classic" stories of each other.

my mom and her sisters

Unfortunately we had a little bit of misery during the visit with our AC breaking the first week of July. Because it was right around 4th of July it was hard to get it done quickly. We had 5-6 of us in the basement, sharing one bathroom, without AC and not much ventilation. I can't even imagine how miserable it was upstairs where it's not as cool as a basement. On top of that we were finishing up the demolition of our remodel project. We were using hammers and air chisels with no way to cool off. But we made it out alive and made some great memories trying to distract ourselves from the misery.
That is the other major thing about having my mom in town. We like to do projects... a lot. But it is always more fun to have someone to do them with. So naturally my mom and I spent much of the month of July perfecting spaces that really needed some TLC as well as doing the finishing touches on the remodel that "Uncle Marc did  (more on that in another post). When it comes to this kind of stuff, I honestly don't know what I would do without my mama. She is a rock star when it comes to DIY and is one of the strongest women I know. We make a great team - we always seem to have a common vision and the drive to finish. I think that is was makes it hardest for us being apart; we don't have those opportunities to work together, accomplishing something that brings us both satisfaction, that we both appreciate. She's one of the greatest friends I could ask for :)
The month of July was crazy busy, really lacking order and a consistent schedule, but that's what I love about summer - living in the moment.

Here are some pics of the demo process:

the beginning of ripping up tile

and more tile...

and more tile!

and breaking down walls :)

Obviously the biggest highlight of our month of July was the fact that we were finally published with LDSFS - Hoping to Adopt! It was such a relief for us to finally reach that point in the adoption process. We are continuing to hope and pray for the right opportunity to come around for us to be able to become parents :)

here we are! Heading out to celebrate!