First, a Tradition

Fourth of July Traditions returned this year!

Levi and Liberty had a magical day with friends, climbing onto roofs to watch fireworks and setting off fireworks. Reagan bought his own massive fireworks this year and HE had a great time setting them off. I did not.

The Tween

Liberty turned 11 in July. We had a simple family party this year, but Reagan took her to the mall with his girlfriend, Brooke, and gave Libby the most magical birthday ever. They spent all day shopping with her, going to candy stores, eating at the food court and buying her jewelry and clothes. A dream day for an 11 year old girl.

Speaking of which, I don’t know if I’ve blogged about that or not. Liberty decided she wanted to redo her room in red, white and blue. No-this was not my idea. She designed it and helped decorate it. Here’s some of the finished product.

This is Libby’s twin in more ways than just the way they dress. This sweet lady in our ward has been a friend to Libby ever since she was little. They both love to sew and love to plan parties. They are kindred spirits. Thanks, Sara!

Lastly, a Trip

I took a quick trip down to Utah in July to renew my teaching certificate. We got pedicures, shopped at Ikea (ok, I shopped and the girls humored me), and they took me up to Cascade Springs and the Alpine Loop which takes you around the back side of Mount Timpanogas. So beautiful!

Alli and I also went rollerblading down the Provo River Trail that I used to rollerblade on more than 20 years ago in college. It was so much fun!! Seriously made me feel like I was 19!

A couple other random things from July. The temple opened back up and I took this picture the first time back in over a year and a half!

Also in July, my first Clematis flower bloomed! Very exciting for this novice landscaper.

Covid killed our South Carolina planned family reunion of 2020, so we opted for Park City, UT, for the 2021 reunion. As always it was lots of fun to see everyone and be in the beautiful mountains of Utah. I’ve never been to Park City before and it was gorgeous! We stayed in a beautiful cabin-like house. I wish I’d gotten some pictures of the outside.

Our first full day in Park City we went to the Olympic Sports Park to do all the cool things like the alpine slide, tubing down the ski jumps, riding the ski lifts, jumping from towers and ziplines. It was a gorgeous day and the kids had a blast.

One of our activities at the reunion was making a cyanotype. Sam helped us all make the coolest pictures! He is a photographer and asked us to take pictures of things that would work well as a cyanotype, ie-lots of contrast. I took so many cool pictures in an attempt to get just the right one. Here are some of them, then I’ll show you the final picture and cyanotype.

The kids always have a blast reconnecting with their cousins. Can’t wait for the next Hymas Family Reunion!